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12/06-06/07
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What The Heck Is A Sherpa?
During my recent research for the article on Sir Edmund Hillary the term Sherpa came up again and again. I knew it was a group of people who guide the climbers up Mt. Everest. I wondered perhaps if that was simply a label for anyone that helps climbers or if it was a little bigger than that.What I found out was that the Sherpa is essentially an ethic group which maintains its own language and can be found in the highest sustainable regions of the Himalayans. Within the last five hundred years they migrated from Tibet to Nepal. There are some Sherpas in India as well. Of the 150,000 Sherpas in Nepal the vast majority are Buddhists.
That being said the mountaineering community will refer to any local man who assists climbers on an expedition, whether he is of the Sherpa ethnicity or not, as a sherpa. The term would generally apply to anyone that is employed as a guide or porter for mountaineers in the Himalayas.
Sherpas are known and respected by mountaineers for their knowledge, skill and experience in the field. Some feel that they make better climbers because of a genetically superior lung capacity.
Having chosen one of the most oppressive and difficult climates in which to live is indicative that being a Sherpa can also imply a certain level of resilience and toughness. They seem to be an interesting people with a rather specialized and unique career opportunity.
Now that I have satisfied my curiosity about Sherpa's I guess I better figure out where the hell Nepal is.
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