Exploiting the Sherpas
BY BILLIE MANDELBAUM
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mt. Everest when they ascended the mountain on May 29, 1953. A Nepali folk song, later written to commemorate the successful ascent, describes the expedition: “Our Tenzing Sherpa climbed the highest mountain, pulling Hillary along.” Although Norgay, a member of the Nepalese Sherpa ethnic group, guided Hillary, a mountaineer from New Zealand, Norgay has often been cast in Hillary’s shadow. Following the feat, the British Crown knighted Hillary while Norgay received the George Medal, a civil decoration. Norgay’s family and many within the Nepalese Sherpa community protested this unequal treatment. In a 2003 interview with The Guardian, Tashi Tenzing, Norgay’s grandson, said, “’It was not fair. If the Queen had knighted my grandfather it would have been a nice gesture. Without him, Hillary would never have reached the summit.
However, more than sixty years since that initial ascent, a clear division remains between the Westerners who climb Everest and the Sherpas who guide them—lugging their gear and clearing a pathway up the mountain. In order to maintain an industry that generates millions of dollars for both the Nepalese government and Western outfitters, Sherpas are placed in dangerous situations so that wealthy, novice climbers can summit the world’s most famous and romanticized mountain.
In Nepal, where the average person makes less than $700 each year, the Nepalese government pockets nearly $20 million in permit fees and ancillary economic benefits from the Everest climbing industry. While Everest can be summited from its Chinese (northern) side, most western expeditions leave from the Nepalese (southern) side. Over the last few decades, Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries, has become economically dependent on tourism—much of which is generated by the climbing industry. Climbers hoping to make it to the top of Everest arrive in Nepal each year, and pay outfitters between $40,000 and $100,000 to partake in a single climbing expedition. Everest also provides an economic opportunity for Sherpas, who can make up to $6,000 each climbing season, which typically runs from March through May. Because Everest generates so much money for the impoverished nation, the Nepalese government caters to Western climbing interests. However, this favorable treatment has often come at the cost of Sherpas, whose attempts to petition the government for greater safety and life insurance rights have been futile.
The perils of being a Sherpa became clear in April 2014, when 16 Sherpas were killed during an avalanche after a 113-foot-tall piece of ice broke off the mountain’s West Shoulder. Following the accident—the deadliest incident in Everest’s climbing history—tensions between Sherpas, the Nepalese government, and Western climbers came to a head. Sherpas, in conjunction with the Nepalese Mountain Guide Association, issued a 13-point petition to the Nepal Ministry of Tourism. Demands included a $20,000 death benefit, disability benefits for Sherpas injured while working, and the establishment of a memorial fund. While the Ministry of Tourism accepted some of the demands, the government was generally unsympathetic to Sherpa demands in the wake of the accident. Despite the anger and mourning within the Sherpa community, the Ministry of Tourism issued a statement that said, “all climbing activities, will surely resume in a day or two.” Although the 2014 climbing season ended a month earlier than usual when Sherpas decided to temporarily stop working so that they could mourn, the government’s callousness towards the Sherpas demonstrates the way in which the Nepalese government, desperate for much needed revenue, has come to support the interests of Western climbers over those of its own people.
Western climbers were also dismissive of the Sherpas’ demands and claimed that the Sherpas were “Maoists” and “militants”—a reference to the armed Maoist insurgency in Nepal in the 1990s and early 2000s. Like the Nepalese government, Western outfitters have much to gain from the Everest industry, with wealthy thrill-seekers willing to pay up to $100,000 to check Mt. Everest off their bucket list. As climbing Everest has become more commonplace, Sherpas are expected to lead less skilled climbers. While Sherpas continue to carry typical climbing gear, including tents and ropes, they are now also expected to transport unnecessary luxury items including espresso machines, heated carpets, and plastic flowers to display at base camps. Though technological advances, especially the bottled oxygen, have made the Everest journey safer for western climbers, Sherpas, who are often given less of this costly oxygen, still face great risk.
Despite the April avalanche, the 2015 climbing season is expected to go on as planned. In the aftermath of the tragic accident, the general inaction on the part of the Nepalese government and Western climbing outfitters provides little hope that conditions will be improved for the Sherpas that allow the Everest climbing industry to function. While the Nepalese government and Western outfitters stand to benefit economically from the climbing industry, it’s important to note that Everest also provides Sherpas an opportunity for economic advancement. However, the indifference towards Sherpas’ rights and safety undermines this promise.