An unusual, dramatic, and moving documentary by filmmaker Lucy Walker, Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa centers on the 2022 climb of Mount Everest by Tibetan-born Lhapka Sherpa accompanied to base camp by her teenage daughter (with fascinating juxtaposition with her other daughter back home). Lhapka has the almost unbelievable record of ten Everest climbs, yet works as a dishwasher in Connecticut. The director alternates stunning climb footage, scenery footage, archival material, and interviews, while also telling Lhapka’s life story: her other incredible climbs, her determination to be allowed as a Tibetan woman to be a sherpa; and the traumas of emigration to Connecticut with an American-Romanian abusive alcoholic. This is a tale of soaring triumphs, juddering lows, and the love of the high snowy mountains. Superb scripting maintains tension throughout. A must for fans of climbing and the snow, Mountain Queen is also a rousing adventure of the human spirit.
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