Today is a rest day with no climbing activity for me, so in the pause let me just share some of my thoughts on the Sherpa people.
Of course you can still donate to my campaign here. I promise I will be back on my feet tomorrow!
Sherpa is both a name and an ethnic identity. The word itself is derived from words in their own language Shyar ("east") and Pa ("people"). They originally migrated across the roof of the world from Tibet, and are a minority group in Nepal only about 1% of the population, although this is where the majority of Sherpa live.
Sherpas are integral to the trekking and climbing business in Nepal, as discussed in this video.
Every Kiwi has heard of Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa guide who famously accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on the first successful summit of Mt Everest in 1953. Sherpas have a reputation for humility dating from this time at least, and in many ways this reputation is deserved. They are an extraordinarily welcoming and gentle people, as well as being legendary for their hospitality.
One morning in the village of Phakding, I went wandering in search of a good coffee. I found a little cafe which was practically empty except for the middle-aged Sherpa proprietor. He prepared me an very good flat white and we chatted as I sat and drank it. He was very aware of the Hillary family (he knew that Peter Hillary was in Nepal at that time) and of the work done in Hillary's name through the Himalayan Trust. He spoke about Hillary with genuine reverence and respect and it emerged that he had attended one of the schools built by the trust. His conversation (in perfect English) ranged across all kinds of subjects from world politics to local subsistence farming challenges. He was clearly someone who had made the most of his education. It was one of the most interesting chance encounters I have had in my life.
All of the Sherpa people that I met shared this ability to project wisdom, strength and humility at the same time. I found it easy to understand why Hillary was motivated to help them, and I am too.
Doing this challenge is just one of the ways I am doing that.
Comments