For a two-time Sagarmatha summiteer, and the third Nepali woman to climb the world's highest peak, 32-year-old Pemba Doma Sherpa is surprisingly modest.

Before leaving for Tibet for her attempt from the Chomolungma side, she told her family she was off on short trek with friends. But there is a hint of pride as she recalls the moment on 19 May 2000 that she stood on the world's highest peak. "It was exhilerating and at the same time I was nervous about the descent," she recalls. And it was a harrowing one: she slipped and nearly slid down the near-vertical 3,000 m Kangshung face. Only after making it safely back to base camp did she call home to share the good news.

Pemba was on the same flight back to Kathmandu as Lakpa Sherpa, another summiteer who made it to the top only a few hours ahead of her from the Nepal side. While Lakpa was received with great fanfare, Pemba herself left the airport unnoticed to meet her family outside.

Her second successful ascent of Everest from the Nepali south face in May this year received scant coverage in the local media. It could be that the public is getting blas? about Nepali women climbing Sagarmatha. And that suits Pemba just fine. This mountaineer prefers to keep a low profile. She works from the quiet of her home although as an Everest summiteer, Pemba travels abroad frequently to present papers, and lecture and train other mountain enthusiasts. All the proceeds are channelled into a trust fund she established for underprivileged children.

Her grandmother, who raised her after her mother died, taught her to love the mountains and respect Sherpa traditions. As a child she walked 5 kms everyday to and from school in her native Namche Bazaar. It was only later in Paris, where Pemba was a computer science student, that she took up serious rock climbing. She doesn't believe in the Sherpa rituals and predictions that many others rely on before their expeditions.

Her only concession, in honour of her grandmother, before her climb was a prayer: "Mother Chomolungma, I am now setting foot on your snow. Please bless me with courage and success. I climb notout of disrespect, but because my soul rests in you."