Mount Everest guide Ang Dawa Sherpa moves to Vermont and earns his CDL with support from VSAC

According to modern historical records, 7,269 recorded individuals have summited Mount Everest, from Edmund Hillary’s history-making climb in 1953 through the end of 2024. Not only is Ang Dawa Sherpa one of those people, but he’s stood at the top 10 times.

Ang, who is originally from Nepal and now lives in South Burlington, is a Sherpa—a name that is both an ethnic group and a job. The Sherpa people, who are native to the mountainous regions of Nepal, have long been known for their skills in mountaineering and serve as essential guides for visiting adventurers.

Ang grew up in Solukhumbu, Nepal—about a five-day walk to the base of Mt. Everest, which sits on the border of Nepal and Tibet. He followed family members into the mountain guide business at age 21, when his uncle hired him on as part of a group expedition he was leading. But without having had any formal training, Ang barely survived that trip.

Ang and his client, a climber from New Zealand, hit bad weather as they descended from the north (Tibet) side, which is more remote and has more challenging weather conditions.

The day we were coming down from Camp 3, it was very windy and snowing hard. The others stayed just below Camp 2, but I came down by myself to Camp 1. It was very hard. Then, when I arrived at camp, I didn’t zip my tent correctly. I didn’t get frostbite, but the conditions were very challenging, and my friends thought I was finished. Now I realize how risky it was for me to do that without any experience.

There’s nothing like waking up in a tent full of snow on Mount Everest to make you realize the importance of education. Ang decided that for future expeditions, he’d get more training. In 2008, he took a mountaineering course from the Nepal Mountaineering Association, and he continued with several more advanced classes, including high mountain rescue, Wilderness First Responder and an experienced guide course, to earn a final diploma of mountaineering in 2016.

Looks like home

Ang and his wife, who have climbed Everest together, moved to the US almost two years ago after visiting Vermont for a climbing trip. Sherpa migration to the United States has increased in recent years, with New York City having about 16,000 people of Sherpa origin. But Ang prefers the peaks of Vermont to the skyscrapers of Manhattan. “I love being in Vermont because the state looks like my country, with a lot of mountains for hiking, skiing and adventure activities.”

The couple plans to start a mountain guide business here, organizing Everest expeditions and a seven-summit mountaineering trip to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents—Mount Everest in Asia, Mount Elbrus in Europe, Aconcagua in South America, Denali in North America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Vinson in Antarctica, and Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania.

“I want to share this experience with younger generations and pass along my training,” Ang says.

But climbing expeditions typically only happen in the spring and early summer, and Ang needed something to do in the off-season. Back in Nepal, he worked as an instructor with the Nepal Mountain Instructor Association and did social work in his village. Here in Vermont, his options were more limited. When he learned about a way he could qualify for higher-paying work—by taking a CDL class to become a truck driver—he contacted VSAC’s Educational Opportunity Center, which helps adult students, including many newly arrived people like Ang, earn professional certifications.

A new career

Ang worked with VSAC counselor Hemant Ghising to enroll at Pro Driver Training in Milton and apply for funding that could help him pay for it. With the help of a VSAC Advancement Grant and The Curtis Fund – Credentials of Value Scholarship, Ang earned his CDL-B license earlier this year.

While Ang says the CDL class was “a bit easier” than summiting Everest in a blizzard, he still faced challenges as someone still learning English and learning how to access the American higher education system—something that can be challenging for any student. “Hemant made the experience much easier, and he was so nice. I want to say thank you to VSAC for managing this and making it happen.” Ghising says he was instantly impressed with Ang’s gentle, compassionate nature. The two took a couple of hiking trips together outside the VSAC offices, trekking up Mt. Mansfield, Camel’s Hump, Smugglers’ Notch and Hunger Mountain. “Hemant showed me some great places in Vermont,” says Ang. “Maybe in the future I can take him to Nepal.”