For most climbers, summiting Everest is the crown jewel of their climbing repertoire. For Dorchi Sherpa, a world-class IFMGA-certified guide from Nepal’s Bhojpur district, this spring’s ascent was not about glory — it was about heart, courage, and an unwavering commitment to another man's dream.

On May 15, 2025, Dorchi stood atop the world’s highest peak for the second time. But it wasn’t his own achievement that moved him to tears — it was that of his client, American climber Michael Kirby, who fulfilled a deeply personal promise: to stand on Everest on his daughter Winslow’s 9th birthday.

“This summit was special,” Dorchi said, his voice thick with emotion. “Michael made it to the top, not for himself, but for his daughter. He wanted to gift her the world — and I had to help make that happen.” In his visit to Nepal with his family a couple of years ago, Kirby’s daughter had asked him to climb Everest as a birthday gift for her.

The path to the top was anything but easy. Kirby, who had previously failed to summit Mount Manaslu, faced an uphill battle — literally and figuratively. With a heavier build and limited high-altitude experience, Everest was a monumental challenge.

Dorchi meticulously crafted a plan — increasing oxygen flow, adjusting pace, and even mentally prepping his client for the psychological toll of the climb. “I trusted him,” Dorchi said. “He was highly motivated to fulfil a promise to his daughter.”

On summit night, progress was slow. Kirby, exhausted and oxygen-depleted, nearly gave up at the South Summit — just shy of the top.

“He was done. I gave him hot water and energy juice, pointed at the summit, and said, ‘We’re almost there.’ He dug deep,” Dorchi recalled.

Kirby was consuming oxygen at 3mm per minute — double the normal flow. It kept him going but came at a price. After summiting successfully, they began the descent. But Kirby’s oxygen ran out at South Summit, just above camp IV. Staggering and disoriented, Kirby was seconds away from collapse when Dorchi sprang into action, swiftly replacing Kirby’s empty tank with his own.

“I saw it in his eyes — he was slipping. I changed his oxygen immediately, and he began descending again. But then I began to have difficulties of my own,” Dorchi admitted.

Dorchi faced a life-or-death decision. “There was a pile of used oxygen cylinders at the South Summit,” he recalled. “I searched desperately — and luckily found one with a bit left. I took it at 0.5mm, and made do.” He then made his assistant guide go down with Kirby at a swifter pace while he trudged behind slowly.

Slowing his pace to conserve oxygen, Dorchi descended alone, step by painful step. He later confessed it was the only time in his decade-long mountaineering career that he felt truly vulnerable.

“I’ve never been that close to the edge,” said Dorchi, who had summited Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam multiple times. “But I couldn’t let Michael down. We had come too far.”

Dorchi Sherpa’s story begins in the humble village Chyaksila nestled deep in the hills of Eastern Nepal. Born in 1995 in Bhojpur district, he started working in a hotel at the age of 12. He started as a porter in trekking industry when he was 13. By 16, he had summited Mera Peak. Between 2014 and 2017, he completed the Great Himalayan Trail twice. In 2020, after rigorous training, he became an internationally certified IFMGA guide.

In 2023, Dorchi made headlines by summiting Everest and Lhotse in under 24 hours — a feat only a handful climbers have achieved.

But it was this season’s Everest climb with Michael Kirby that he finds the most meaningful.

“I’ve never been so emotional on a summit. Not even on my first,” Dorchi admitted.

Dorchi is more than just a mountain guide. He’s a guardian, a mentor, and a hero whose name is etched into Everest’s icy ridges not for personal records — but for the lives he’s lifted along the way.

“I don’t fear death,” he says. “But if I failed to bring my client down safely, we would have lost everything. That would have been the real tragedy.”

Dorchi Sherpa didn’t just guide a man to the top of the world — he gave a daughter the gift of her father’s dream, and in doing so, reminded us all of the heights the human spirit can reach.