WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A West Hartford woman is back in the spotlight after climbing to the top of Mount Everest for the 10^th time, breaking her own record.

Lhakpa Sherpa and several other climbers took advantage of favorable weather to reach the summit early in the morning. The expedition organizer said she was in good health and was safely descending from the peak.

Sherpa will return home to West Hartford, where her family, friends, and even coworkers will honor her for climbing Everest, again. She broke her own record she set in 2018.

Sherpa was also the first Nepali woman to successfully ascend and descend Everest in 2000.

“That’s 29,000 feet. I can’t imagine doing that, like oh my God, how steep,” said Naravn Pauldel, President of the Nepalese Association of Connecticut.

As the president of the Nepalese Association of Connecticut, Pauldel has been close friends with Sherpa since she moved to West Hartford nearly 20 years ago. A single mother of three children, Sherpa’s 15-year-old daughter went with her to Everest base camp. The two posed with a Conard High School banner.

“She has always had a passion to climb Mount Everest. She’s always enthusiastic and energetic,” Pauldel said.

An inspiration for Nepalis and women around the world, and for her coworkers at Whole Foods at Bishop’s Corner, where she still works as a dishwasher.

“She didn’t bring a resume or anything. She simply brought a photo of her on the summit of Everest with a whole market flag. I essentially hired her right then and there,” said Dan Furtado of Whole Foods.

Sherpa never got a chance to get a formal education because she had to start earning a living by carrying climbing gear and supplies for trekkers.

She has said she wanted to inspire all women so they too can achieve their dreams.

Now that Everest is done, Sherpa plans to climb K2 in Asia, the second-highest mountain in the world.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.