GOLDEN, COLO. — The four-hour round trip commute to school never fazed Lhakpa Sherpa. Granted, this was no ordinary commute for any ordinary person. Before the sun peeked over the Himalayan mountains, Lhakpa loaded his bag and hiked to school from Syangma, a fairly remote Nepalese village neighboring the Mount Everest base camp — crossing creeks, dodging snakes and bears, and plowing through the jungle on his route.