Sherpas, the Porters of Nepal

On 2019, a helicopter crashed in Pathibhara, Nepal. The helicopter belonged to Air Dynasty, part of the Yeti group, dubbed one of the most powerful business groups in Nepal, caused the death of  Ang Tsering Sherpa, the Chairman of the Yeti Group.

Sherpas are a community famous for being professional porters and outstanding travel guides. Ang Tsering Sherpa like many other Sherpas started as a porter and in the process amassing wealth, fame, and fortune in Nepal. 

Social mobility from a porter to a historically significant person is rare around the world but in Nepal, this is a thing. One of the internationally renowned Nepali who summited Everest- Tenzing Norgay started his career as a porter at the age of 19. 

Nepali Porters is a fascinating topic, porters carry loads of up to 120% of their body mass. In contrast, a fit European or North American adult can only carry a quarter of their body mass. 

Nepali Porters carry goods in locations where pack animals cannot, such as expeditions with treacherous terrain in high-altitude summits.  

Foreign Trekkers are known to teach English, and Western games to porters, and they teach hikers Nepali songs and dances and give tourists a unique peak into life in the Himalayas. 

However, the bigger picture is indeed much grimmer, the vast majority of porters do not end up becoming business tycoons like Lhakpa Sonam Sherpa and a celebrity like Tenzing Norgay but do struggle to make ends meet. 

A third of people who die in summiting Everest, are Sherpas and even though people prefer to use the word guide, sherpas are more than guides, they are given labor-intensive tasks. Nepal lacks social security and the revenue collected from permits does not benefit the locals.  Tourism has been both a blessing and a curse to the locals of the Khumbu region of Nepal.  

So much can be explored and documented in this rich celebrated Nepali community of Sherpas.