"Heather di-di - Good morning to you..!" sang a cheery voice as my tent was unzipped and a thick-gloved hand lay a tray of biscuits and a cup of warm tea at the foot of my Thermarest. I smiled to myself as I fumbled for the warm thermos, marveling at the gracious hospitality of the Sherpa culture. I couldn't believe that I was actually getting tea and cookies in bed..! I don't even get this kind of first-class service at sea-level, let alone 6000m..!!
There is something about Everest and its neighboring cultures that intensifies our desire to better understand it. Its profound presence, geography, glaciology, the Sherpa culture, Buddhism, the mighty Yak and even legend of the Yeti seems to draw us deeper into Everest's mystique. The 'social geographer' in me prompts me to include an entry here on the Sherpas culture and the Sherpas themselves - the local people who are employed as guides for mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas and who will form an invaluable part of our Everest team on the mountain. They are, for me, an awe-inspiring part of the 'Everest experience' -- or the "Nepal" experience for that matter..! Sherpas are highly regarded as elite mountaineers and experts in their local terrain, renowned for their hardiness and experience at high altitudes and were of immeasurable value to early explorers of the Himalayan region, serving as guides and porters at the extreme altitudes of the peaks and passes in the Himalayan region.
While the climbers use Everest Base camp as a place to acclimatise, recuperate and make training runs up the mountain, the Sherpas will be busy servicing the camp and looking after the climbers. More importantly, they will constantly conduct essential repairs to the route for the treks up Everest - fixing ropes, breaking trails and conducting crevasse reconaissance. In a single day the Sherpas may make multiple trips up the formidable mountain to fix ropes and the ladder bridges across the crevasses and to maintain the supplies on the higher stages of the climb - with loads significantly heavier than my own and at triple my speed..! It is not a wonder that during the first Everest expedition in 1921, the skill, expertise, honesty and dedication of the Sherpas impressed the English climbers. From that point on, the Sherpas became an integral part of international Himalayan climbing as guides and partners. The affinity of Westerners for the Sherpa/Buddhist civilization eventually grew into an increasingly close sharing, understanding and friendship between these two cultures and today form an integral and vital part of every Everest expedition. Sherpas moved to the Everest region from Tibet over 500 years ago. The name "sherpa" literally means "people from the east" because they originally came from the Kham in eastern Tibet and went on to settle in the mountain valleys of northern Nepal. Today approximately 30,000 Sherpas live in Nepal, and around 3,000 of them live in the Khumbu region, the gateway to Everest. Sherpas are traditionally farmers and traders, raising yaks and growing and trading barley, buckwheat, potatoes, wheat and animal products however since the 1950s, tourism has become the dominant source of employment and income in the area.
Before they were recognised for their tremendous contributions to mountaineering, the Sherpas considered climbing the mountains - particularly Everest - to be blasphemous, as they viewed the lofty peaks as the homes of deities. Everest is believed to be the home of an enlightened deity - Sagarmatha, "The Churning Stick in the Sea of Existence". Even today the starting point for any Everest expedition is the Puja ceremony, in which the Sherpas pay homage to the gods. Over 90% of Sherpas are Buddhists.The Sherpas became famous as mountain climbers much before Sherpa Tenzing Norgay scaled Mt Everest along with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953. It was during the pioneering British expeditions in the early part of the century that the Sherpas rose to prominence.
The photo at the right is of Pemba, one of our amazing Sherpas on Mera Peak. He was a fantastic guide - to the point when during our summit descent he could 'hear' cravasses buried beneath a thin layer of snow and expertly leading us out of harms way. His manner was calm, peaceful and gracious. It was a nice 'counter balance' to my own state of excitement and altituide / summit delirium..!
Adventure Peaks NE Ridge Sherpa Staff
We will have 10 Sherpas and 2 cooks on our Everest expedition. I've listed their names below. Many have climbed Everest with Adventure Peaks in previous expeditions. Their experience, comraderie, partnership and hospitality will be an integral part of our dynamic team.
Bhola Paudel - Sirdar/Manager
Nuru Wangchhu Sherpa
Tsring Namgyal Sherpa
Sonam Dorjee Sherpa
Nima Thundu Sherpa
Dawa Dorjee Sherpa
Dorjee Khatri Chheten Sherpa
Phurba Ridar Bhote Lakpa Sherpa
Surendra Gurung Pasang Sherpa
Norbu Bhote
Gyanu Lama - BC cook
Raj Kurar Magar - ABC cook
