Sherpas are people who live in the northeastern part of Nepal, in the valleys of the Himalaya Mountains. There are about 40,000 sherpas , many of which live near Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain.
Sherpas probably came to Nepal from Tibet in the early part of the 16th century. They still have many customs and traditions of the Tibetan people and they also dress in Tibetan clothes.
Most sherpas are Tibetan Buddhists. They have no written language and worship the mountains around them, which they view as the home of the gods. Mount Everest, for example, is called Chomolungma, the Mother of Gods.
At first the world did not know very much about the sherpas. They lived alone in their villages, traded goods and grew corn and potatoes. When the British started mountain climbing expeditions in the 20 th century they used sherpas as guides. With the help of yaks sherpas helped mountaineers bring their heavy loads into great heights.
Over the years sherpas have been admired for their physical strength. They need less oxygen to breathe and can work better at high attitudes and in thin air. Even today sherpas rely on walking to move around. There are no cars or other vehicles.
In 1953 a sherpa named Tensing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, a mountaineer from New Zealand, became the first people to get to the top of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain.
Helping tourists get to the top of high mountains has become is a great source of income. While mountain climbers pay around $ 60,000 for an expedition, sherpas earn $2,000 and more on a trip. Some of them have even started their own business, or operate hotels and lodges for tourists.
Even though sherpas know the region better than anyone else they risk their lives on expeditions. About a third of the people who have died trying to conquer Mount Everest have been sherpas.
In the last few decades many international organizations have helped sherpas improve their life. A foundation set up by Sir Edmund Hillary has brought health care and modern medicine to remote villages. Water power plants and hospitals have also been set up.
The tourist industry has made life easier for most sherpas. Many have adapted to a more western way of life even though some of them still live as their ancestors did many centuries ago.
By Jamie McGuinness, author of Trekking in the Everest region, by Trailblazer and into its 6th edition and six time Everest summitter.
**Shameless ad: we run wonderful long-form treks in Nepal and Ladakh (India).**
Sherpa ethnic group
With a capital "S", Sherpa is an ethnic group, one of the many pseudo-Tibetan ethnic groups that live at the higher altitudes in Nepal. The Khumbu, the Everest region from Namche and up to Everest Base Camp is inhabited by Sherpas and there are pockets of Sherpas throughout the Nepal's district of Solukhumbu and close by.
And sherpa, the worker
Whereas "sherpa", uncapitalized, means a trek or expedition worker, a jack of all trekking trades who puts up and packs tents, serves meals (made by the cook) and walks/climbs with the the clients (also called members) during the day, ensuring they don't get lost and help them if tired or sick.
Of course, sherpa is derived from Sherpa, and all the first "sherpas" were from the Sherpa ethnic group, however, now there are trek and climbing sherpas from other ethnic groups too. Please take care with the distinction.
Personally, I feel that the BEST term for a sherpa who carries loads on Everest and other high Himalayan mountains is a "climbing sherpa". Expedition leaders should not be calling these workers "the sherpa" or "our sherpas", more accurately they are "climbing sherpas" or high altitude mountain workers/support staff or climbing staff and other more neutral terms.
Respect. And, believe it or not, every climbing sherpa has a name. Naming and/or tagging the crew who assisted you is a mark of deserved respect.
For the difference between guides, leaders, climbing sherpas and personal sherpas and trek sherpas, read on!
Job rolesBe confused no more!
There more job roles than you imagine to run treks and expeditions.
Green are trek staff; turquoise are expedition staff.
Porter
A porter is a load carrier BELOW base camp levels, for both trekking groups, expeditions trekking in to BC (normal load 30-45kgs) and to supply lodges or towns (variable loads but carrying for themselves, sometimes over 150lbs/80kgs - seriously). They come from a variety of ethnic groups, although in the Everest region many are Rai, from a couple of districts below the Everest region. Basically they are never from the Sherpa ethnic group. In Nepal, locals mostly refer to them as "coolies" in the vernacular.
Porters enjoying the warmth with dinner plates in hand
- credit Jamie McGuinness/Project Himalaya
Sirdar
For expeditions coordinating tons of supplies broken into hundreds of loads is a big job, and a sirdar manages all of that, the labour relations of all the staff and more.
For treks, unless there is a designated trek leader, the sirdar will will be manager and guide and coordinator - respect!
Porter leader
On camping treks with lots of porters a porter leader sorts the loads each day and generally helps out.
Porter cook
Although few companies ever provide, on a long camping trip it often works better to have a cook to prepare meals for the porters too.
(Trek) sherpa
On a trek, the job of a sherpa is to serve meals, set and pack camp, ensure the members don't get lost along the way and generally help the sirdar run a good trek. Note "sherpa" is a job description that I have yet to find a better word for something so all encompassing. (For Sherpa with a capital "S" see above.)
Pasang Gomba Sherpa, a climbing sherpa, about to lead a sick climber down from South Col
- credit Jamie McGuinness/Project Himalaya
Climbing sherpa
These guys are superheros. Watch anything about Everest and there is endless talk about "the sherpas", which are more accurately called climbing sherpas or perhaps high altitude mountain workers, but that doesn't have much of a ring to it. Again, a climbing sherpa is a broad job, serving meals, carrying loads above BC (but definitely not below BC), fixing camps, and then providing backup by literally following just behind a member on summit day with extra oxygen. Some also assist with the rope fixing, and in general climbing sherpas are indispensable on Everest.
I, Jamie McGuinness, am the only foreigner who has worked as a true climbing sherpa ever (on Everest, Tibet, in 2003).
Personal sherpa
On Everest (and other 8000m mountains) a personal sherpa is essentially a guide and climbing partner who climbs beside the member on all climbs to the camps and to the summit, and is a source of advice and a helping hand. Normally they will have some local mountaineering qualifications.
Climbing guide
They climb with the members on "trekking" peaks, such as Island Peak and Mera Peak, and if Nepali will have a Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) course certificate. There are basic and advanced levels and I feel only guides with the advanced level are suitable for trekking peaks, although many guides have only the basic level or no certificate at all.
Aspirant mountain guide
Nepal now trains guides to the UIAGM/FMGA standards, with a Nepal-specialised course that switches out ski guiding for 8000m peaks - sensible!
An aspirant guide is one who has passed most or all the modules and is in a two year "aspirant" phase where they keep a log book and must climb a variety of mountains, some high, some technical, to get all round guiding experience.
Mountain guide
Although many people guide in the mountains, the term "mountain guide" is best reserved for fully qualified UIAGM/IFMGA mountain guides, or similar. They are internationally recognized and have a badge and/or pin showing their qualification, and are the true mountain experts as it takes years and more than a hundred climbs and many study modules and tests to pass. Some mountain guides are summer-qualified, so are part way through and still have the ski modules to go.
In general when a company offers a guide ratio, ie 1:3 meaning one guide to three members, they mean that the guide is a fully qualified mountain guide.
In Nepal there are less than 100 qualified mountain guides, qualified through special nepal-based qualification courses and instead of being a ski guide (basically there is no skiing in Nepal), they have an 8000m peak module.
Member / client
A trekker or climber who has paid their way on a trek or expedition. Until recently they were most "westerners" or foreigners but now Nepalis and Indians are joining treks and expeditions too as "members" or clients.
(Trekking) guide
In a trekking scenario a guide will be someone who walks with the members explaining what they see and perhaps eats with them, or at minimum gives a briefing over meals. In Nepal, they should have a certificate from a basic ~24 day course.
Porter-guide
A trek guide who also carries some member's gear, perhaps 8-12kgs.
(Trek) leader
On trek, they could also be called the guide, but differently can be a representative of the foreign trekking company that acts as a liaison between the overseas agency and the local trekking company, and generally ensures everything goes smoothly, and whose opinion especially counts when times are challenging.
(Professional) leader
A "professionally lead" Everest expedition will have a leader that is in overall charge, working closely with the sirdar, climbing sherpas and personal sherpas and other crew. Their role is partly to guide but without a fixed guide ratio. Usually there will one leader for the whole team (check the max team size!) They discuss and manage, and as such will normally eat with the members and climb mostly with them. They may or may not be qualified, but invariably will be experienced on big peaks. (I am a professional leader.)
Liaison officer /LO
Notable usually for their absence, an "LO" is a government official randomly assigned to an expedition to accompany them to help arrange logistics with the "village headman" (a job the sirdar now does) and check that every member is obeying the law, although now police supersede them. This old-style position is utterly anachronistic and the main barrier to progress in changes of mountaineering rules, but with under-the-table money being made, officials have been unable to stomach change. Certainly there is a need for an official to observe and manage various issues at a big base camp such as Everest, however this is not an old-style "LO".
Mountain leader
This is a British qualification for leading groups in the mountains, both on approach, and on basic snow and ice. There is discussion in Nepal about introducing a similar system, but so far a discussion only.
Cook
In charge of the kitchen, whether an on-the-move trekking kitchen or a fixed expedition base camp kitchen. The majority are from a village and learned from other cooks and basic cooking classes. None are what we would call a chef, although I hope this does develop. The cook oversees the other kitchen staff and on trek just carries his personal gear.
Kitchen hand
A "kitchen boy" in the vernacular, they are the hardest workers on a trek, waking before dawn to start boiling water and prepare breakfast. After breakfast they wash the dishes, carry them and the supplies needed for lunch (25kgs/55lbs+) and march off to catch the trekkers at a suitable spot. Once at camp in the afternoon they prepare afternoon tea then dinner, and can be found washing the dishes as everyone heads to bed. Kudos to them.
Tipping
With the low rates of pay, tips are especially appreciated and are part of treks and expeditions. For our Project Himalaya treks we suggest putting aside a ballpark figure of 5% of the trip cost, and note the western guides don't take tips so all that goes to the directly to the crew. For our expeditions we provide guidelines.
Re "low rates of pay" - well, why not just pay more? The issue is the normal rates of pay for office work etc in Nepal are low, and basically Nepal is in an economic black hole with providing jobs. I can feel a rant coming on so will stop here!
Everest / Sagarmatha / ChomolungmaJournalists, be accurate!
Why so many names?
There are three different main names for the highest mountain above sea level on our planet. Everest, sometimes called Mount Everest or Mt. Everest, was named after a surveyor in 1865. Chomolungma (Qomolungma and other spellings) is the Tibetan name while Sagarmatha is the name the Nepal government gave the mountain. Chomolungma is local name and should be the main name but isn't. See wikipedia for more detail.
North vs South / Tibet vs Nepal
Everest can be climbed from the north side, from Tibet (TAR, Tibet Autonomous Region, a province in China), or from the south side in Nepal, the Everest region or locally called the "Khumbu" and administratively called Solukhumbu, a district.
The Everest Base Camp trek is in Nepal while on the Tibet side you can drive to Everest Base Camp. Mallory and Irvine, missing on the 1924 Everest expedition were climbing on the Tibetan side of the mountain. The first summiters, Hillary and Tenzing, climbed from Nepal in 1953.
For more about the dangers of Nepal vs Tibet, check out:
Everest thoughts | Everest North or south? | Everest gear | Expedition history
Walking, trekking or climbing?
People trek (walk) to Everest Base camp in Nepal, no climbing needed. Climbers/Everest clients, guides and climbing sherpas climb beyond Everest Base Camp.
Nepal organization rolesA select list of trekking, mountaineering and tourism-related associations.
MoCTCA - Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
They write the mountaineering rules, collect the royalties and issue the permits for mountaineering. This is the "Ministry", based in Bhirkuti Mandap and is where expedition briefings are held. They have a list of registered Tourism associations. The top people are the Minister (appointed by the political party in power) and the Secretary, who is the top ranking civil service officer and theoretically apolitical. Each department has its own Joint Secretary.
Department of Tourism
This is within MoCTCA and the Joint Secretary is in day to day charge, under the Minister and Secretary.
CAAN - Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal
This is within MoCTCA and is MASSIVELY corrupt and utterly dysfunctional, and only pays lips service to safety or airport management.
NMA - Nepal Mountaineering Association
The NMA is the national alpine association and promotes mountaineering and training, so more than just the trekking peaks, although trekking peak fees are their main source of funding. It acts in the short term best interests of Nepal's trekking agencies rather than the industry or guides.
NNMGA - Nepal National Mountain Guides Association
This is the governing body for mountain guides and so is the office that deals with the UIAA and with training mountain guides.
NMIA - Nepal Mountain Instructors Association
Once a qualified guide, this is their own association, their voice.
TAAN - Trekking Agents Association of Nepal
An umbrella organization, they look after the overall interests of the trekking companies, often at odds with what is better for the trekking industry as a whole or the country, eg pushing for the implementation of the useless TIMS (Trekkers Information Management System) card system. In theory this would track where trekkers are; in practice it was a way of forcing individual trekkers to go to a trekking company office to get a permit, and so suffer a sales pitch.
EOA - Expedition Operators Association
This is only open to Nepal trekking companies who have run an 8000m expedition spring and autumn season for three years in a row. Invited foreign observers are allowed to meetings.
The EOA is currently responsible for fixing the ropes on Everest from Camp 2 (~6400m) to the summit. A per climber (foreign climber) fee is collected by the Nepal trekking companies and put into a pool and rope and associated protection gear is purchased, and climbing sherpas are paid extra for rope fixing.
HRA - Himalayan Rescue Association
They do NOT provide rescue services; however they do have very useful medical posts staffed by volunteer doctors in Manang, Pheriche and Everest BC during the seasons. They are funded by the clinic charges.