Reaching the top

All photos courtesy of Sherpa Himalaya

This has been a challenging year; we all have been affected in some way; there has been a need to adapt to new standards, and ways of working, studying, and living. In times like these, it may seem difficult to set goals and, more importantly, accomplish them.

Today I would like to share with you an interesting point of view from a particular group of people who live and work in conditions that may be seen as hard for most of the world. They are the people who take care of travelers looking to reach a specific goal, getting to the top of some of the world’s highest mountains.

Sherpa is a specific ethnic group in Nepal (Nepal is a home of 125 ethnic groups); business entrepreneurs, pilots, and many other professions proudly take the Sherpa Title. It is said that Sherpa is a native person from Tibet who migrated to the Himalayan region of Nepal many decades back.

Almost 90% of Sherpa people are Buddhist and live in the Himalayan Region of Nepal. Since most of the Sherpa people work in the mountain, they are well acclimatized to the environment and altitude, so they are taken as the primary leaders to guide travelers to make any summit of a mountain or trekking.

Sherpa people have a unique culture, traditions, and lifestyle. By being a Sherpa mountain climber and trekking guide, they have the opportunity to work in the area where there were born. An opportunity that many of us who work in the travel industry are not so fortunate to have.

All Sherpa climbers are very proud of their jobs and being connected with travelers and climbers throughout the world; they are seen as ambassadors of Nepal. Almost 80% of the travelers that go to Nepal are interested in trekking and climbing. The help and support from the Sherpas, and the way they care for international travelers while climbing and trekking reflect a lot about this beautiful country.

Decades back, when there were not much gear, development, and well-trained people in the mountains of Nepal, Sherpa people were taken to help to be the guide and climbing partner in their birthplace. Since the majority of Sherpa people are involved in the climbing and tourism sector, today, Sherpa has become positioned in a climbing or trekking team.

Sherpa (Position) is taken as an assistant of the guide (either climbing guide or trekking guide), so they are not the porters. They help the travelers in the team with day bags when necessary, services and they are most helpful in emergencies when any of the team members get sick or injured.

Climbers, trekking guides, tour guides, and all sorts of entrepreneurs compose the tourism industry in Nepal. Although having all kinds of climbing and trekking guides, many international travelers search for a specific Sherpa climber or guide, due to the positive message and support that the Sherpa's ancestors have given to the world.

Today we will meet Mingma Chhiri Sherpa, who has been working in the Trekking and Climbing sector in Nepal since 2002; he started working in this industry as Sherpa (assistant), a position he held for many years. He has climbed many 6000m peaks, 7000 m (Mt. Himlung-7126m, Mt. Baruntse) & 8000 m (Mt. Kanchanjunga-8586m, Mt.Makalu-8463m) + mountains of Nepal. In 2005 he started developing his skills further; he took mountain climbing training, trekking guide training, and some language courses; he worked as a Climbing Guide and Trekking Guide until 2017.

With almost 15 years of broad experience in the Himalayas and the tourism sector, he can understand the needs of travelers that visit the region, and in 2017 he decided to establish his own company. Since then he has been running the company with a highly experienced team in trekking and climbing although they provide different adventure activities in Nepal, all Sherpa people constitute his team by caste who have great past experiences and are professional at their jobs.

Mingma Sherpa's long experience has allowed him to see many changes in the tourism industry in Nepal. He shares that from 2002 to the current time, there has been a drastic change in the Himalayan region. In the past, almost all trips were costly and had a lower workforce quality, services, and living facilities; the transportation facilities were limited, and local guides were not allowed to obtain insurance during any kind of trip.

Fortunately, now there are appropriate hotels at every overnight stay for travelers who perform trekking activities, travelers now can select a variety of meals from continental, American, Indian, and others. With the development of transportation facilities, the days for most of the trips have decreased significantly, although the transportation facility can still be improved. Currently, the guides and team members are well-trained and licensed; they can communicate well and give proper information; every single team member is secured with insurance right from the day the trip starts.

In Nepal, there are very few tours that do not positively impact the local community; most trekking activities support the local community. Visitors have to travel from a specific place to a destination with a minimum of a three-day overnight stay. As they enter a particular region, there are local taxes for the development of the local community. The local people are offered job opportunities such as porters, guides, assistants, and many more.

For travelers who prefer low-intensity activities, there are other types of cultural tours, such as monastery tours, where travelers can learn about the culture, tradition, and lifestyle of the local people. Almost all the tours are thought to support the local community and culture while having a specific final destination to reach during the trip.

Mingma Sherpa's long time in the industry has permitted him to work with experienced guides and climbers, and most of them have become his friends or even family. Right now, he has six regular mountain guides and two city tour guides. Besides them, his close group of friends (who have been working with him for decades) occasionally are offered to tag along on a trip when times are busy.

Both travelers and the local community are well-educated on the importance of the preservation of the environment. Companies are bound by rules and regulations, and team members are well-informed about the conservation and cleanliness of the environment.

During peak climbing or expeditions, the companies have to pay a deposit to the local organizations as a garbage deposit; there are certain fixpoints in the trail that serve as checkpoints. After the climb, they will bring down the garbage they collected during the trip to the checkpoint, so they can get a letter from the checkpoint stating that the trash has been deposited after that can refund the money, which was collected as a garbage deposit. All companies must provide detailed information at the checkpoint about the number of gas cans, plastic items, and compostable and non-biodegradable items that they are bringing. Hence companies work together to save the environment.

Preparations are essential with specialized tours, before starting the expedition, the primary thing they must do is to get the permit for the expedition; once they get it, they select the team who is best for that specific expedition. His team consists of a climbing guide, a climbing Sherpa (assistant), a cook, a kitchen helper, and a porter.

When these preparations are in place, the chief cook will buy all the necessary things to use in the kitchen; the climbing guide and Sherpa assistant will get all the required items such as gears, ropes, and tents, and make sure they are well prepared. Once everything is together, they take a day for packing, and the luggage is sent to a certain base camp before the climber arrives in Nepal.

Once the climber arrives in Nepal and treks to the base camp, all team members set themselves there for a minimum of three days to get well acclimatized at that altitude. When they set at the base camp, all team members gather together, and a monk performs a praying ceremony for their well-being and safe return. After choosing a specific day according to the weather forecast, they start climbing from the base camp.

The traditional and mostly taken meal of Nepali is rice and lentils with curry, called Dal Bhat in Nepali, although Sherpa people have their own traditional foods mostly made from potatoes. Some of the famous Sherpa meals are Rildok (smashed steamed potatoes until all the starch appears and become a semi-liquid state which is eaten with soup), Rikikur (Grinded potato into a semi-liquid state and made bread on a hot pan), Syan (Dido in Nepali) hard-paste made from flour which is eaten with soup and Shyakpa (known as sherpa stew which is the mixture of many ingredients) many more.

Mingma Sherpa shares that his profession is amazing as they have the opportunity to meet hundreds of travelers every year; they are never at a specific place. They get to indulge in nature and see the happy faces of the achievement of many travelers. Nature trails and mountains look different every time. He shares that personally, there is nothing that he does not enjoy about his work. It is certain that they face different kinds of travelers and many challenging situations, but it's always an adventure.