LIFE:

Phunjo Lama may be the fastest woman on Everest, and a HIMALI Athlete, but she wasn't always a mountaineer.

"I was born and raised in Nepal in the mountain region with yaks, but I wasn’t from a mountaineering climbing community; I was a yak herder. But to do good things in life, it doesn’t matter what community you come from! I officially started mountaineering in 2015." - Phunjo

Her mother died when she was 2, leaving her to be raised by her grandfather. They lived in a remote village called Chhokangparo in the Tsum Valley of Nepal’s Manaslu region, and often climbed up to 5,000m together to take care of their yak herd. They were very close, and this relationship also helped her to find a connection to nature. 

Since then, Phunjo became the first female helicopter longline rescuer in Nepal, has been awarded the Tenzing-Hillary Award by her country, and set the Women's Everest speed record twice (the first time by accident). 

"In 2018, I wasn’t aiming to set a record. I felt a burst of energy and wanted to challenge myself. I was guiding my Australian friend, Samantha McMahon, who encouraged me to go for it. She played a big role in my mountaineering journey. I didn’t think it was a world record at the time, but Guinness World Records recognized it two years later. I was happy but not fully satisfied with my time due to technical problems that prevented me from climbing in my desired time." - Phunjo

When her original speed record was broken by Ada Tsang Yin-hung (a climber from Hong Kong), Phunjo came back to push her limits and see what was possible. Her first record was spontaneous and she had to deal with the normal traffic on Everest. To avoid this on her most recent record, she climbed at night to avoid encountering any other people. Her 2024 record breaking climb took 24 hours and 26 minutes from base camp to base camp (14 hours and 31 minutes to the summit, and 9 hours and 18 minutes back to basecamp). Phunjo's 2018 record was in 39 hours and 6 minutes. 

“As a guide, my goal in setting this record is to promote the beautiful mountains of Nepal to people all over the world. I want to ensure that not only I, but everyone, can witness and appreciate the stunning beauty of these natural wonders.

I didn’t follow a specific training routine; instead, I train consistently every day. To me, consistent training is as important as food. The most important aspect of my training was learning to control my mind, keeping it in check, and practicing patience. The most important thing on success to climbing is that we need a dream team, with right people and right intentions. And all of my record credits go to HIMALI, CTSS team, and Tag Nepal team, without the support of these teams, I wouldn’t even dare to dream.

I am very happy that I summited, and rather than being more happy I’m more appreciative to people who have supported me throughout my entire journey!” - Phunjo

Being in the mountains gives Phunjo a profound sense of security, and she hopes to share the benefits of being in the mountains with everyone she climbs with. 

“I hope those who climb with me respect the Mother Goddess and understand the power she holds to heal a person spiritually. I would advise all climbers to have a balance between mental and physical strength.”

She also has two daughters, one of which wants to follow in her footsteps, saying that she will break her mom’s speed record someday. 

“I always encouraged her to be confident and independent. I told her that if something happened to me on the mountain, she shouldn’t be sad because I was doing something I loved. She understands this and is ready for whatever comes, whether I come back or not.”