When he was 12 years old, Apa Sherpa became a mountain porter. There was no other way he could support his family. He went on to become the living Everest legend, when he summated the world’s highest peak for the 21st time recently.

Apa Sherpa, in his early 50s and Nepal’s ambassador to promote tourism, reached the 8848m peak with American Chris Shumate, 49, Swiss Bruno Gremior, 39, and three more high altitude Sherpa guides all of whom are members of the Eco Everest Expedition 2011, an initiative to clean the peak of the litter left behind by earlier climbers and warn the world of the perils of climate change.

Apa is also seeking to draw world attention to the impact of global warming on the Himalayas, the source of some of Asia’s greatest rivers. The snow has been receding from the mountain slopes in the recent years, leaving bare the rocks underneath, and raising fears of a glacial lake outburst that could flood and destroy hundreds of Sherpa villages in northern Nepal. Source>>