“One of the most important changes that has occurred in Nepal in recent years is the prominence that the Sherpas have taken on. Before, they were the servants of Westerners, very strong physically but without technique; “Now they are good climbers, they are interested in opening new routes, in achieving records and they are the ones who control the expedition business,” summarizes Billi Bierling, witness in recent decades of the evolution of mountaineering in this country and coordinator of the team of the Himalayan Database . From the anonymity of long-suffering high mountain workers, dedicated to carrying heavy loads on their backs and preparing the way to the summit for clients, to an emerging elite of respected Sherpas who seek virgin peaks, defend the alpine style and speak English.
Dynafit-sponsored athlete Prakash Sherpa on Kiajo Ri in the Everest region
Mingma G., the only Nepalese who has climbed the 14 eight-thousanders without using artificial oxygen, a member of the group that crossed K2 in winter for the first time in history and one of the pioneers in tracing unprecedented routes, is the paradigm of the new era Sherpa. Mingma, 37, represents success; Their achievements encourage the self-esteem of this group. He runs the company Imagine Nepal, travels around the world and designs challenging projects.
Mingma G. received in Kathmandu in the smell of crowds after his winter K2, in 2021
Mingma is one of the 74 Nepalese who certify their solvency with the title of the International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations (IFMGA), just like Prakash Sherpa, born in the Everest region, or Pasang Kidar Sherpa , by Rolwaling; Both have offered their testimony in interviews in Kathmandu. Prakash and Pasang have also founded their own agencies and combine their forays into the most commercial eight-thousanders, which report succulent profits, with the search for more stimulating routes.
I left school when I was twelve, my father sent me to the Kopan monastery, I ran away because what I wanted was to be a guide and when I was 14 I started as a porter
“When I was little I saw trekking groups passing through my town, Beding, at 3,760 meters above sea level, it seemed like they were having fun and I wanted to be like them, like foreigners, I wanted to try different foods, travel… My mother took care of of animals, of yaks and goats, and my father worked as a guide, climbed Everest, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu… and was the first person from Rolwaling to open an agency in Kathmandu. I left school when I was twelve, my father sent me to the Kopan monastery, I ran away because what I wanted was to be a guide and when I was 14 I started as a porter,” explained Pasang, last November in the Nepalese capital. The path followed by this 45-year-old man is the same one followed by the majority of Sherpas who aspire to dedicate themselves to this world. After training for a while as porters, they act as kitchen assistants, carry loads to high altitude camps, and when they have accumulated experience, they dedicate themselves to guiding. Only the best obtain the IFMGA title, still a minority, and the most entrepreneurial start their agencies. Pasang opened its own, Khangri Trek, in 2014. and Prakash founded Alpinist Climber Expeditions in 2021. “I estimate that there are currently about 2,000 trekking and expedition companies in Nepal,” Prakash specifies.
Pasang Kidar Sherpa on the summit of Everest showing the photo of two revered lamas
Pasang Kidar Sherpa in a selfie with Danika Gilbert at the top of Beding Go, last October
Another common denominator is the priority to ascend Everest as soon as possible. “I wanted to climb it at least once, I have officially been to the top seven times; Later I realized that the Sherpas of my generation should focus on opening new routes, every year I investigate virgin mountains, where there are the most is in the Kangchenjunga area and Dolpo. In addition to making money, what inspires me is to do different things,” he says, sipping a coffee in the central neighborhood of Thamel a few weeks after signing a new itinerary on the northwest face of Beding Go (6,125 meters), in his native Rolwaling, with the American Danika Gilbert. In winter 2017, together with three other Sherpas, Nima Tenji, Dawa Yangzum and Dawa Gyalje, they climbed the unprecedented Langdung (6,357 m.), also in Rolwaling, in alpine style. Dawa Yangzum is the first Nepali and Asian woman to be certified as an IFMGA guide and also the only one from her country to have walked all 14 eight-thousanders.
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Prakash Sherpa, 31 years old
He belongs to a family of mountaineers: his grandparents, his father, an uncle… have dedicated themselves to this
Prakash belongs to a family of mountaineers; His grandparents, his father and his uncle were already dedicated to this, but of his five siblings, two girls and three boys, only one, Ongchhu, lives like he does from mountaineering. “At the age of 15 I started as an assistant guide on Mera Peak (6,476 m.); At that time I decided to change my name, my name was Pemba. “But there were so many Pemba!” he explains in a trendy Kathmandu cafe frequented by expedition members.
Prakash Sherpa in a selfie with a client
Prakash ice climbing
He says that thanks to the support of a German couple he was able to study in Kathmandu and learn English. “In 2016 I achieved my first eight thousand, the Makalu, without the help of artificial oxygen, then I went to work for a while in a refuge in Austria and when I returned, in 2017, Adventure Consultants (a New Zealand agency) hired me to set ropes in the Dhaulagiri. I climbed it without bottled oxygen, they saw that it was fast, I learned with them, I told them that I wanted to get the IFMGA guide title and they helped me,” he says. In addition to Everest, Lhotse, Manaslu, Cho Oyu, Nuptse, Pumori or Ama Dablam…, this athlete sponsored by the Dynafit firm is specializing in fast ascents. With the German Benedikt Böhm they summited Himlung (7,126 m.) in 6h46m and skied down it in just over three hours, in September 2022. A year later, they climbed Cho Oyu and returned to base camp in 19 hours.
20 years ago for Sherpas, mountaineering was just a way to make a living, now, for me and others it is a passion, we have accounts on social networks, sponsors support us and we enjoy searching for solitary peaks
“One of the reasons that led me to set up my agency was to be able to decide which peaks I was going to. 20 years ago for Sherpas, mountaineering was just a way to make a living, now, for me and others it is a passion, we have accounts on social networks, sponsors support us and we enjoy searching for solitary peaks; It hurts me to see mountains like Everest, Ama Dablam, Lobuche or Island Peak full of garbage,” he laments.
Seventy-four IFMGA guides are not enough, and some have moved to live in the United States, Canada or Australia. Unfortunately, there are some companies that do not hire good Sherpas and there are accidents.
A concern shared by Prakash and Pasang is that there are not enough Sherpas to meet the growing demand from foreign clients. “Seventy-four IFMGA guides are not enough, and some have moved to live in the United States, Canada or Australia. Unfortunately, there are some companies that do not hire good Sherpas and there are accidents. I think that limits should be set on Everest, but in general all types of clients are accepted,” Prakash deplores.
We parents do not want our children to dedicate themselves to this; Yes, you make a lot of money, but it is very dangerous, we prefer them to be doctors, engineers…
“Young people don’t want to be Sherpas, I estimate that in ten or fifteen years, when I retire, there won’t be enough of them. We parents do not want our children to dedicate themselves to this; Yes, you make a lot of money, but it is very dangerous, we prefer them to be doctors, engineers…,” says Pasang. His eldest son studied computer science in the United States and now, at 25 years old, works in Colorado. One of his daughters graduated in hotel management and after a period in Dubai has landed a contract in a five-star establishment in Kathmandu. The little one is still in school.
Prakash’s brothers and sisters live in Europe, some in Belgium and France, and others come and go from Austria. Nepali youth are eager to get a visa to earn a living abroad. Prakash is comfortable in the Himalayas, he is passionate about the mountains, he knows that he has the opportunity to travel whenever he wants and he is happy to encourage Sherpa self-esteem.
Prakash Sherpa, at the top of Pumori
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