I met Himalayan trekking guide Thubten Sherpa in 2011 when I signed up for a trip to Tibet with REI Adventures. I had seen a picture of the Potala Place in Lhasa on their website and thought that would be an interesting trip. I arrived in Kathmandu to start the trip excited for a new adventure, but in hindsight, I was not prepared for the politics, cultural differences or the high altitude. Thubten was our trip leader and guided us all through these challenges in his quiet, confident manner. I had never taken a guided trip before and was impressed enough to sign up for REI’s Everest Base Camp Trek the next year. I thought it would be fun to go to Everest Base Camp on the Nepal side since I had been to the north side in Tibet, not really considering that we had been driven by Jeeps almost the whole way to the north side Everest Base Camp, and we would be hiking our way up on the Nepal side.

When I arrived back in Kathmandu in the fall of 2012 for the EBC Trek, Thubten was again our trip leader. It was nice to see a familiar face. This trip was much harder as we ascended on our own steam, taking eight days to arrive at Everest Base Camp. It was a large group, and we all did well. The feeling of accomplishment is one that has never left me. This trip has been described as “a trip of a lifetime” and “life changing,” and I find both to be true. I loved the challenge of the trip so much that I immediately signed up again for the same trip when I arrived home.

REI ran international trips until the spring of 2021, when they decided to stop and only run trips within the United States. Up until that point, I continued my trips to Everest Base Camp, totaling eight. For all but one of those, I was lucky enough to have Thubten as trip leader, and I’m thrilled that Hobnail Trekking has taken over the “mantle” for REI and is now working with amazing guides like Thubten.

Now a fixture in the Himalayan trekking, Thubten started leading treks long before I met him. In 2006, he was awarded the Top Guides Award from REI Adventures. His father, Ila Testing Sherpa, was a part the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition and received The Hubbard Medal from John F. Kennedy at the White House along with his teammates for their part in that success. (See the photos below!) Thubten has a relative who has climbed Mount Everest 23 times before retiring.

The mountains, specifically the Khumbu region, are definitely part of his heritage. Thubten spent 10 years as monk at the famous Tengboche Monastery and is also an accomplished artist specializing in Thangka painting.

Thubten has an impressive resume, but the reason I returned to Nepal year after year for this challenging trek was for something more than that. Thubten has the background and experience to be a great trip leader, but what makes him stand out is his attention to detail and feel for timing. When do you start out in the morning to get to your end destination before the sun goes behind the mountains and the wind picks up and then the temperatures drop? How long do you walk before people need to stop for water and maybe remove a jacket, or at least catch their breath? Are you drinking enough water? How is your appetite? Do you have more than just a slight headache? Thubten and the staff that work with him are aware of all these things. They work well together, and the days are organized with confidence and a smile. If someone is struggling through a certain section to keep up with the group, a sherpa guide will offer to carry your daypack to make things a little easier. If a few people find a slower pace suits them better, then that group might set out 20 minutes earlier in the morning, so everyone arrives at the end destination together. These are small things, but the things that make all the difference.

There is no one I would rather do this trek with than Thubten. If we are lucky, sometimes we meet someone, a teacher or mentor that makes a difference in your life. For me, Thubten is such a person. I learned more than I ever thought I would on my trips about the Khumbu region about Buddhism and the Sherpa people. I watched him work with the staff in a fair and kind way, and they all respected him. His past experience as a Buddhist monk is evident in his happy and calm demeanor. In my own life, I have more than once asked myself, “How would Thubten handle this?”

This is a special trip to a magical place full of challenges and rewards, but well worth the time and effort.

See Thubten’s Everest Base Camp Special Edition and EBC + Gokyo Lakes Extension treks by tapping the buttons below.