Politics in the Himalayas: The Sacrifices of Sherpas for Western ‘Accomplishment’

Image - Eugene Ga‍

As the expedition season approaches, it is hard to see summiting Mount Everest as the incredible feat that it is, knowing the risks and sacrifices made by the Sherpas each year for Western mountaineers to boast of their achievement.

Sherpas are native Nepalese people living in the Solukhumbu area of the Himalayas, who have worked as guides and experts on Mount Everest for decades as their innate tolerance of high altitudes means that they are highly skilled mountaineers. 

In fears that the capacity of Everest is being pushed to its limit, evident in the famous ‘traffic jam’ photo taken at the summit by famous climber Nirmal Purja MBE, in 2025, Nepal increased the cost of climbing permits to $15,000. However, the real cost for climbers is dependent on which expedition company they choose and the average cost is believed to be around $60,000 per climber. Even the most experienced of climbers may never come close to being able to summit, but if you have enough money… 

Attempting the summit of Mount Everest is a high-risk high-reward situation and has increasingly appealed to Westerners who wish to say they’ve conquered the world's tallest mountain. However, this means there are increased pressures on Sherpas who, in a busy year, will oversee nearly 1,000 climbers (the estimate for 2024), while struggling against sporadic weather changes and maintaining spiritual respects for the mountain. 

The First Expeditions and Colonial Tensions:

Mount Everest falls on the border between Nepal and China, the Himalayas as a whole also span across the Indian-Chinese border, close to Pakistan. 

The first expedition was led by Britain’s George Mallory in the 1920s, starting from the Chinese side of the peak, which is notably more dangerous and physically demanding, because Nepal had a closed door policy until the 1940s. The first ascent from the Nepalese side was carried out by Edmund Hillary and the sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

Furthermore, historically there has been a lot of tensions around the true name of the mountain. For native communities, the Tibetan name ‘Chomolungma’ was adopted for the peak - mother Goddess of the earth,  while the Nepalese coined the name ‘Sagarmatha’ - Goddess of the sky.  ‘Everest’ is seen by some as another legacy of British colonialism - taking the name from the British surveyor George Everest. 

The role of Sherpas:

There is a belief that Sherpa’s have superhuman capabilities, able to make multiple summits of Everest each year, hauling equipment up and down from each camp to provide comfort for expedition climbers. Their ‘superhuman capabilities’ in fact lie in their selflessness - there have been many accounts of Sherpas ‘sacrificing their safety for someone else’s achievement’. The infamous selfless character of Sherpas has even been deemed as a philosophy that can be applied to marketing and advertising in the eyes of Outreach Nepal. Data from the Himalayan Database estimates that around 300 people have died attempting to summit the mountain, over 90 of the deaths have been Sherpas (around ⅓ of the total) - this is put into perspective with the 13 American deaths, which is the leading nationality in expeditions. 

One of the deadliest sections of the climb is the Khumbu Icefall - a glacier in constant motion, believed to be moving around 3 feet each day, creating deep crevasses that have to be crossed using horizontal ladders - a truly hair-raising sight. One source has described the icefall as ‘A Tomb For Countless Sherpas’. In 2014, 16 sherpas lost their lives during an avalanche while trying to set up the ladders and other equipment on it in preparation for the upcoming expedition season. Mike Chambers’ piece in the New York Times depicting his experience during the avalanche is very aptly titled ‘Sherpa: They Die, We Go Home’. 

The Khumbu Icefall is becoming increasingly more dangerous as a result of climate change, accelerating the melting of the glacier and the movement of the ice. The terrain is becoming unpredictable even for Sherpas who have dedicated their entire lives to Everest. The global use of fossil fuels and other warming-processes are adding to the already extensive list of risks of expeditions, giving Sherpas two choices; continue to put their lives at risk, or sacrifice the career that has been passed down to them from generation to generation since the 1920s. Summiting Mount Everest has always been an unpredictable and dangerous task, the 1996 expedition being the deadliest ever recorded after unprecedented weather, but climate change and global warming are putting further pressure on Sherpas and expedition leaders. 

Climbing permits, equipment, travel fares, training, all create an obscene sum of money for those wishing to attempt the peak. Between this and the actual desire to reach the summit, sherpas frequently encounter stubborn climbers who would prefer to ignore expert opinion in order to complete the climb - a fine line between bravery and stupidity, particularly when it is putting someone else's life at risk. In 2024, Nawang Sherpa and his client Cheruiyot Kirui lost their lives during an attempt to summit without supplemental oxygen, causing an episode of HAPE (High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema) after Kirui reportedly refused oxygen and Nawang unfortunately had no authority to force his client into retreating. Nawang’s body was never recovered from the Hillary Step where they found Kirui, the final obstacle to the summit. 

Effects of commercialising the mountains:

The region has been overcome with the Western idea that it is something to be conquered. This is a notion of complete disrespect for the mountain which is treated as a God-like power by the Nepalese people. It is believed that natural disasters, like the infamous 2015 earthquake that took the lives of nearly 9,000 people in Nepal, are as a result of angering the Gods or even an attempt from Everest to ‘shake off’ climbers. An area of controversy in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake was the use of helicopters in saving the Westerners stuck on Everest, rather than them being sent to help the Nepalese. These are the effects of commercialisation - regardless of natural disasters and humanitarian crises, expedition teams and their network of connections are still businesses with contracts. 

The agency of Sherpas has to be acknowledged and respected - they have made the choice to pursue the career passed on from generations before them and do so with admiration for the landscape and skilled expertise. By no means should it thought that Sherpas despise their jobs and/or are being forced down this path for reasons such as their tolerance of high altitudes. Expedition season brings in the majority of their annual income and it is therefore very important to them that everything runs smoothly. In 2013 there were reports of two independent climbers, who were interfering with the established path while attempting their own goals, being attacked by Sherpas who felt their livelihoods were being put at risk. This gives perspective to how important Mount Everest is to the Sherpas, the usually relaxed and selfless climbers uncharacteristically losing their tempers. But also worth noting is the subsequent demonisation of the Sherpas involved, despite it being such a rare outburst, and a blatant mistelling of the truth in Western media. A BBC article claims that the clash started because Sherpas ‘damaged pride’ from the climbers being able to reach the camp quicker – in reality, the Sherpas had been behind them because they were setting up ropes and ladders and the outburst was caused by from the risk of falling ice from the alpinists above them. 

The commercialisation and increasing number of expeditions has meant that there are more sherpas with more responsibilities, alongside an increased risk of human error from people on their first attempt of Everest - all of this accompanied by unpredictable and changing terrain. 

Commercialisation has meant that Nepal has had little choice in the matter of supporting expeditions, with tourism being crucial to the national economy. Last year in 2025, Nepal made 97 of the Himalayan mountains free to climb  for 2 years in the hopes of diluting tourism into more remote and under-appreciated areas. The government hopes to deconcentrate the location of tourism in the region but this places a strain on the remote communities to accommodate tourists that are being directed there. In the long term, it will provide additional national income if these mountains gain popularity and permit fees are reintroduced - but in the short term rural infrastructure will need significant support to withstand the wave of people that will use these climbs as training and preparation for Everest. In a highly critical sense, this could be seen to make the problem of overcrowding and ‘traffic jams’ on Everest worse as it is free for people to climb other mountains and frames Everest as the ‘main goal’. 

Capitalism has permeated even the most remote parts of the world. 

While the work of Sherpas is truly remarkable, they should not be treated as some superhuman race who are exempt from the risks and dangers that Mount Everest poses. The Nepalese people, particularly those living in the Himalayas, hold the peak in high respect and have been working with it for generations. The arrival of alpinists and expeditions has come with its benefits and disadvantages; the maintenance of Sherpa livelihoods and contribution to the national income of Nepal in parallel to overcrowding on Everest and increased pressures on safety. In addition, there is a harsh visual juxtaposition at the summit of Everest; a beautiful natural landscape being covered at every square inch with flags and personal items of climbers wishing to mark their presence. One of the greatest downfalls of the climber-sherpa dynamic is that, despite all their expertise, Sherpas technically do not hold any position of authority and are frequently overpowered by the ignorance of self-assured alpinists that often results in disaster. With the expedition season approaching, all that can be done is to hope that weather conditions and clients work in favour of the Sherpas so no casualties ensue.

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