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Tragedy on Everest
Sherpas fear for their livelihoods as Everest ‘shuts down’
The deadly avalanche of 18th April 2014 led to labour dispute and a closure of the mountain route.
A shutdown of Mount Everest after the worst ever accident on the world’s highest peak has left grieving Nepalese sherpa guides and their families fearing for their livelihoods.
The avalanche that tore through a group of sherpas – who were hauling gear up the mountain for their foreign clients before dawn – left 16 people dead and three others seriously wounded.
The resulting labour dispute, with sherpas looking for better death and injury benefits from the Nepalese government which reaps huge revenues from the multi-million dollar climbing industry, saw scores of expeditions cancelled.
The closure of the mountain this season dealt a huge blow to international climbers who paid large sums for the chance to fulfil their dreams of climbing the 29,029-foot mountain.
But sherpas, who are often the sole breadwinners for their families, face a more desperate problem, with many left struggling to make ends meet in a very poor country.
“All of us came here to climb and earn. To choose not to climb is a critical decision for us,” Lam Babu Sherpa told reporters as his expedition prepared to leave Everest base camp.
As the climbing business has grown in Nepal, sherpas, have become indispensable as guides and porters for expeditions.
The most famous sherpa is Tenzing Norgay, who made the first summit of Everest with New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary in 1953.
The term today is used for all local guides who assist Himalayan expeditions, earning between $3,000 to $6,000 during the two to three month season, a relatively good wage in a country where hundreds of thousands of others are forced overseas in search of work.
The government pledged $400 for the families of those killed to cover funeral expenses, an offer rejected by angry Sherpas.
The disaster underscored the huge risks borne by sherpas who carry food, fix ropes, repair ladders and more to enable climbers to reach the “roof of the world”.
Sherpas fear for their livelihoods as Everest ‘shuts down’
The deadly avalanche of 18th April 2014 led to labour dispute and a closure of the mountain route.
A shutdown of Mount Everest after the worst ever accident on the world’s highest peak has left grieving Nepalese sherpa guides and their families fearing for their livelihoods.
The avalanche that tore through a group of sherpas – who were hauling gear up the mountain for their foreign clients before dawn – left 16 people dead and three others seriously wounded.
The resulting labour dispute, with sherpas looking for better death and injury benefits from the Nepalese government which reaps huge revenues from the multi-million dollar climbing industry, saw scores of expeditions cancelled.
The closure of the mountain this season dealt a huge blow to international climbers who paid large sums for the chance to fulfil their dreams of climbing the 29,029-foot mountain.
But sherpas, who are often the sole breadwinners for their families, face a more desperate problem, with many left struggling to make ends meet in a very poor country.
“All of us came here to climb and earn. To choose not to climb is a critical decision for us,” Lam Babu Sherpa told reporters as his expedition prepared to leave Everest base camp.
As the climbing business has grown in Nepal, sherpas, have become indispensable as guides and porters for expeditions.
The most famous sherpa is Tenzing Norgay, who made the first summit of Everest with New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary in 1953.
The term today is used for all local guides who assist Himalayan expeditions, earning between $3,000 to $6,000 during the two to three month season, a relatively good wage in a country where hundreds of thousands of others are forced overseas in search of work.
The government pledged $400 for the families of those killed to cover funeral expenses, an offer rejected by angry Sherpas.
The disaster underscored the huge risks borne by sherpas who carry food, fix ropes, repair ladders and more to enable climbers to reach the “roof of the world”.
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- Dispute
- Grieving
- Hauling
- Benefits
- Revenues
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- Indispensable
- Critical
- Forced
- Assist
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