Lead guide, Everest and Annapurna

Tashi Sherpa

“Bistari, bistari: slowly, slowly. The mountain will still be there tomorrow.”

Tashi grew up in Khumjung, below Ama Dablam, and started guiding at nineteen after summers as a porter. He has led more than sixty treks in the Khumbu and Annapurna and knows every tea house owner by name. He is strict about acclimatisation and generous with butter tea.

Lives in: Khumjung, Khumbu
Guiding since: 2015
Speaks: Nepali, Sherpa, English, Hindi
Trips: 4

Trips with Tashi

Why I guide

I grew up in Khumjung, two days' walk from the nearest road. As a teenager I carried loads for trekking groups in the summer holidays and listened to the guides explain the mountains in English. I wanted to be the one telling those stories.

I trained as a guide at nineteen and studied tourism in Kathmandu in the winters. Today I bring people to the villages and monasteries I know, and I make sure their money stays with the families who run the lodges.

How I guide

Acclimatisation comes first, always. We climb high, sleep low, drink a lot of tea and never rush a rest day. I check every guest morning and evening, and if someone is not well, we wait or turn back together.

What I love out there

Morning light on Ama Dablam from my village
Dal bhat with my aunt in Namche Bazaar
The prayer flags and chanting at Tengboche monastery
Playing cards with guests in the tea houses

Favourite places

Gokyo Ri above the turquoise lakes
The rhododendron forests below Poon Hill in April
The red cliffs of Upper Mustang

My pick

Everest Base Camp trek

Nepal · 14 days · €2,890 per person

“It walks through my home valley, and we go slowly enough that everyone arrives well. Standing at base camp with someone who never thought they could is the best part of my job.”

See the trip