text:  I also didn't know what I would gain by climbing the mountain. I just wanted to, and I did. Lakpa Sherpa became the first Nepalese woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and survive. And afterwards, not only did she tour the streets of Kathmandu in a victory parade, she was also welcomed home to her family for the first time since leaving, unmarried, with her son. Her father, she says, welcomed her with great pride.