Mount Everest's Sherpas Shut Down the Rest of This Year's Climbing Season

[Gingersnap]

Mount Everest's Sherpas Shut Down the Rest of This Year's Climbing Season
ABBY OHLHEISER

After sixteen of their colleagues lost their lives on the first climbing day of the year, Mount Everest's sherpa guides voted on Tuesday to end the 2014 climbing season entirely, the AFP reported. Some of the guides have already left the mountain in mourning for their colleagues, while others will pack up and follow suit soon.

Although the sherpas threatened to quit this season unless the government awarded them higher compensation for their grueling, risky jobs, the vote to end the season now is mainly about honoring the dead. "How can we step on it now?" Pasang Sherpa told the AFP, "Sixteen people have died on this mountain on the first day of our climb."

Sherpas climb the mountain first each season to prepare the way for the recreational climbing season in the spring. It's dangerous work, all in the name of making things easier for the mountain's paying customers. The guides have long argued that their compensation for the climbs, and the insurance payouts from the government in the event of a disaster are not nearly enough for the nature of their work.

That complaint was repeated in the wake of the deadly avalanche this weekend, prompting talks between the Nepalese government and the Sherpas. The Sherpas also asked the government for additional regulations to protect them. The Nepalese government makes a profit off of the permits it sells to tourists and adventurers who want to climb the world's highest peak, as the Associated Press explained.

The annual climbing season is vital to the economic well-being of the ethnic Sherpa community, so a vote to shut down an entire season is not something the Sherpas would have taken lightly. Friday's tragedy was the deadliest avalanche in the history of Mount Everest.

Interesting. Will the hardcore adventure tourists boil their own tea?

The Wire

[phillygirl]

Good for them.

[Gingersnap]

I kind of follow this stuff. Not because I harbor any ambitions in that direction but because I know a lot of climbers and because Jon Krakauer's book was so riveting (including the the online nuclear bitch-slapping fest that followed on message boards).

I find the ambition at this point in time to be perplexing. Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were obviously real explorers and true heroes for their respective peoples.

Some orthopedic surgeon from Trenton and his wallet, sherpas, guides, travel agent, medical crew, blog writer, and Internet support/cheering system? Not so much.

Yes, it's still a physically demanding excursion but thanks to technology, not as physically demanding as living 365 days a year above the Arctic Circle and small children do that. I guess I don't get why people do it now. I guess I don't feel a lot of sympathy for them if their big dream-thing is impacted by this.

[scott]

Supply and demand.

This will be an interesting season. Ten bucks says some people will try it on their own and some sherpas will break from the pack and go on their own.

[Gingersnap]

Supply and demand.

This will be an interesting season. Ten bucks says some people will try it on their own and some sherpas will break from the pack and go on their own.

You're probably right. The whole "sherpas have a vibrant and important cultural heritage" is overstated. They are a people who lived a subsistence lifestyle until the late 80s. The money and opportunity from mountaineering tourism was very seductive and many of these families derive all their income from tourism so they are very impacted by Western notions about a lot of things.

They are not as religious, "cultural", or naive as many Western tourists believe them to be. Drugs are an issue, hyper-sexuality is an issue, consumerism is an issue.

We'll see what happens.

It's a Western conceit that non-Western peoples aren't driven by the exact same forces that drive the Average Milwaukee Joe. They are at best, one generation behind.

[Michele]

Interesting. Will the hardcore adventure tourists boil their own tea?

The Wire

Did you ever read or see "Into Thin Air"? Can't help thinking of the socialite and fashion editor.

[Adam]

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, I used to be big into the climber community, as I was a bigtime climber myself. My personal best was a 5.13c five-pitch climb out in Arizona, and I routinely did 5.12bs in North Carolina. When I was in college, I went with friends out to a 5.10c literally every afternoon for months on end; Darren and Peter and I would drive thirty miles east every afternoon and do a full pitch of 5.10c and try to make it more difficult so that we could challenge ourselves.

Sherpas have long been a controversial subject. The Nepalese government has required sherpas since the '50s, if not earlier. They also regulate those sherpas, to the point that ultimately, one pays the Nepalese government for sherpa services, not the sherpas themselves. It's actually illegal to pay sherpas more, so if a wealthy American or Brit or Aussie shows up and wants to offer a sherpa $10,000, they may not do so; sherpa services are strictly governed by the government so that no one sherpa may earn more than another sherpa, regardless of the skills of one vs. another.

One must remember that sherpas are less like bellboys carrying baggage and instead more like caddies who not only bear the weight, but also know the best routes and methods of ascent. Regardless of how good or bad any one particular sherpa is, they all get paid the same, because the climbers pay the government, and the government pays the sherpas.

Like I said, this is a controversial subject in climbing circles, in a strange duality: climbers tend to be far-Leftists, but they also believe very strongly in individual liberty and self-reliance. These people are the original Sierra Club: do on your own, do right by the environment, explore, and leave no footprints behind.

Sherpas become controversial because were it not for Brits and Americans and Aussies coming there to climb, these people would have no income. And the government would have no income either, but again for those climbers. But these people are barely above slave status to the state, so is it morally right to employ these people to climb Everest? It's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation. The only way to say "no" is to simply not go to Everest, which means that these people (and their families) will effectively starve, but if one does say "yes," then they are basically pressed into something closely resembling slave labor.

Brutal call. I had a teacher in high school who decided that the ascent was worth it (made it to about 13.5K), and another friend who ultimately decided that he wasn't willing to put sherpas through that and cancelled his trip and decided to just climb in Australia instead.

I will say that, based upon what I have heard from people who have been there, the sherpas generally enjoy their work. Not only are they relatively wealthy from these trips, but they genuinely enjoy the climb. I think that at least some of these people died doing what they loved, but it's highly unlikely that all of them felt that way.

[Gingersnap]

Did you ever read or see "Into Thin Air"? Can't help thinking of the socialite and fashion editor.

I've read it several times. Things are much, much worse today. Some outfits will essentially drag you to the summit if you're a little shy on that mountaineering experience. For the right amount of money, of course.

[Frostbit]

Some orthopedic surgeon from Trenton and his wallet, sherpas, guides, travel agent, medical crew, blog writer, and Internet support/cheering system? Not so much.

Is that the rub? What if it were my school teacher neighbor that actually taught climbing classes at UAA on the side and summited Denali and about every peak in South America? Would his experience, should he choose to try Everest, be any greater or better accepted because he was a teacher and not a surgeon.

You are correct in your probable assumption this broad brush you just used bothers me.

I've spend large bucks hunting Africa. Was I trying to emulate Hunter, Bell, or Soleus? No. It's 2014 not 1896. It will never be 1896 again. PERIOD!!

The closest an American can get to emulating that level of adventure on an African hunt would be a "Chasse Libre" hunt in Cameroon. EXAMPLE

I doubt one in 1,000 that summit Everest are trying to be Hillary. They are simply attempting the next level in a dangerous hobby that is expensive regardless of socio-economic background and employment title.

[Billy Jingo]

Did you ever read or see "Into Thin Air"? Can't help thinking of the socialite and fashion editor.

I have never read the book, and I'm a bit surprised by the characterizations of those who choose to climb Everest, so I went looking for who you are talking about.

This is her wiki page. She seems legit to me.

[phillygirl]

I have never read the book, and I'm a bit surprised by the characterizations of those who choose to climb Everest, so I went looking for who you are talking about.

This is her wiki page. She seems legit to me.

Legit what? I have only read Into Thin Air...I've not read all the rebuttal books or articles, although I've skimmed a few. I suspect there's some truth to both sides of it.

I have no issues with those that would attempt it, regardless of the fact that many have already conquered it. Lots of people have hiked the Grand Canyon and the Appalachian Trail, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to do so as well.

[Billy Jingo]

Legit what?

Mountaineer.

Perhaps I misread. It seemed socialite and fashion designer was a sneer. I was picturing Paris Hilton with a small dog or some such, not an experienced climber who had already ascended all of the Seven Summits save Everest (and had attempted Everest twice before).

[phillygirl]

Mountaineer.

Perhaps I misread. It seemed socialite and fashion designer was a sneer. I was picturing Paris Hilton with a small dog or some such, not an experienced climber who had already ascended all of the Seven Summits save Everest (and had attempted Everest twice before).

Yes, there's definitely some controversy about her. I agree that she apparently is more experienced than generally being given credit for, but apparently she's also a bit of a publicity hound and perhaps some of her other summits weren't quite as self-propelled as may appear at first blush.

I do think it's a shame that Mt. Everest is now such a trash pit. Saddens me.

[Michele]

Mountaineer.

Perhaps I misread. It seemed socialite and fashion designer was a sneer. I was picturing Paris Hilton with a small dog or some such, not an experienced climber who had already ascended all of the Seven Summits save Everest (and had attempted Everest twice before).

It wasn't a sneer. It was how she was portrayed in the book and the movie that fit what Ginger said, "Will the hardcore adventure tourists boil their own tea?". She comes off in both as a demanding master who treats her Sherpa like a slave. What I remember the most is the amount of items (which was portrayed as very excessive) that her Sherpa had to carry for her to make her comfortable.

If you look on her own Wiki page that you linked to, she is called a socialite and fashion editor which was emphasized more than her being a mountaineer, which is also mentioned. Also on her page, you see that she disagrees with Jon Krakauer about different things in his book, as do some others.

Who's telling the truth? From what I've read or seen, I don't know how anyone who wasn't there would be able to tell.

[Gingersnap]

Is that the rub? What if it were my school teacher neighbor that actually taught climbing classes at UAA on the side and summited Denali and about every peak in South America? Would his experience, should he choose to try Everest, be any greater or better accepted because he was a teacher and not a surgeon.

You are correct in your probable assumption this broad brush you just used bothers me.

I've spend large bucks hunting Africa. Was I trying to emulate Hunter, Bell, or Soleus? No. It's 2014 not 1896. It will never be 1896 again. PERIOD!!

The closest an American can get to emulating that level of adventure on an African hunt would be a "Chasse Libre" hunt in Cameroon. EXAMPLE

I doubt one in 1,000 that summit Everest are trying to be Hillary. They are simply attempting the next level in a dangerous hobby that is expensive regardless of socio-economic background and employment title.

I used that career because docs are one of the largest professional groups to currently attempt the summit.

My point (and I do have one) is that today a large number of people in the Everest pool are not people who have a notable and extensive mountaineering career. They are adventure groupies who get just enough experience with heavily guided climbs in a very short amount of time to meet the ever-lowering standards ginned up by expeditions.

I have no idea what standards, if any, are used with guided African hunts, nor do I care since I consider the two activities to be essentially different. Sun-burnt Catholic nuns have walked out of the African bush after walking through it for a month - no weapons, no gear, no guides. They were lucky or blessed or both but they have done it so other people can do it.

Even skilled climbers with the right balance of youth and experience die on Everest. Without any guides, Sherpa-maintained infrastructure, supplemental oxy, or a fully staffed base camp, it's unlikely 1 out of 1,000 young, skilled climbers could make the summit and then descend alone, recover alone, and proceed to a safer elevation quickly. Everyone in base camp is constantly operating with a severe mental decline just by being there. This is not the case for people in dangerous places on the flat.

Two different situations, in my mind.