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54-593: The South Summit is a dome-shaped peak of snow and ice approximately 130 metres (430 ft) distant from the summit of Mount Everest and 100 metres (330 ft) below it, connected to it by the Cornice Traverse and Hillary Step . It was first climbed by Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition on 26 May 1953. They arrived at 1 pm, too late to continue on because of problems with Evans' oxygen set. Three days later, on 29 May, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay passed over

108-726: A serac collapsed above the Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest, causing an avalanche of massive chunks of ice and snow which killed 16 Nepalese guides, mostly Sherpas. The 2014 avalanche is the second-deadliest disaster in Everest's history, only exceeded by avalanches in the Khumbu Icefall area a year later, on 25 April 2015, caused by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal . In response to that tragedy and others involving deaths and injuries sustained by Sherpas hired by climbers, and

162-513: A guide or mentor in other situations. Sherpas are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at very high altitudes. It has been speculated that part of the Sherpas' climbing ability is the result of a genetic adaptation to living in high altitudes . Some of these adaptations include unique hemoglobin -binding capacity and doubled nitric oxide production. On 18 April 2014,

216-911: A livelihood. The Sherpa people descend from historically nomadic progenitors who first settled the Khumbu and Solu regions of the Mahālangūr Himāl section of the Himalayan range in the Tibetan Plateau . This area is situated along the modern border dividing the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal from the People's Republic of China within Solukhumbu District in Koshi , the easternmost Nepali province , to

270-509: A national park, and tourism became a major economic force. The term sherpa derives from the Tibetan words shar ( ཤར , 'east') and pa ( པ , 'people'). The reasons for adoption of this term are unclear; one common explanation describes origins in eastern Tibet but the community is based in the Nepalese highlands which is to Tibet's south. Genetic studies show that much of

324-634: A need for a swift escape. On top of this, rumors spread among the Sherpa community that others would hurt them if they were to continue to take foreigners on their expeditions (Peedom, 2016). The 2014 event killed 16 Sherpas and, in 2015, 10 Sherpas died at the Everest Base Camp after the earthquake. In total, 118 Sherpas have died on Mount Everest between 1921 and 2018. An April 2018 report by NPR stated that Sherpas account for one-third of Everest deaths. According to oral Buddhist traditions,

378-606: A new and unsuspected peak of alpine stature stood above the South Col." A geologist with the 1965 Indian Everest expedition discovered a deposit of fossils of seashells in limestone about 100 feet above the South Summit. Recounting his first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen in 1978, Reinhold Messner described the South Summit as "quite a milestone for me". During the 1996 Mount Everest disaster , mountain guide Rob Hall and three other people died at

432-761: A photo exhibition at the Nepal Tourism Board showing how the Hillary Step area had changed. Rangdu has climbed Everest multiple times since 2005, including before and after the big Nepal earthquake. The combination of these skills—high-altitude photography and mountaineering—allowed him to provide a photographic history of the Hillary Step, and he has said that it is indeed gone. 27°59′14″N 86°55′32″E  /  27.9871066°N 86.9256306°E  / 27.9871066; 86.9256306 Sherpa people The Sherpa people ( Standard Tibetan : ཤར་པ། , romanized:  shar pa ) are one of

486-544: A small portion of Sherpas' and Tibetans' allele frequencies originated from separate ancient populations, which were estimated to have remained somewhat distributed for 11,000 to 7,000 years. A 2014 study observed that considerable genetic components from the Indian Subcontinent were found in Sherpa people living in Tibet. The western Y chromosomal haplogroups R1a1a-M17, J-M304, and F*-M89 comprise almost 17% of

540-414: A son marries and has children, the community may help to construct a new house, as the extended family becomes too large for a single home. The neighbours often contribute food, drinks and labour to help the family. Houses are typically spaced to allow fields in between. A spiritual ceremony may be conducted at every building stage as the house must have space for deities, humans and animals. Once constructed,

594-433: A spectacle for foreign climbers. In addition, the entirety of the national park is not governed by the Sherpas but rather foreigners to the land. Park managers have made an effort to try to include Sherpas' voices by creating buffer-zone user groups. These groups are made up of political leaders from the surrounding villages, and serve as a platform for Sherpa demands. However, these groups do not have any official status and

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648-509: A time could traverse it. With increasing numbers of people climbing the mountain, the Step frequently became a bottleneck , with climbers forced to wait for their turn on the ropes and thereby slowing the flow of people up and down the mountain. Before 2015, the descending sequence along Everest's southeast ridge was: It was suspected in 2016 that the April 2015 Nepal earthquake had altered

702-413: A variant called lokpa made from sheepskin. Chuba are worn over raatuk, a blouse (traditionally made out of bure , white raw silk), trousers called kanam , and a stiff collared shirt called tetung . Women traditionally wear long-sleeved floor-length dresses called tongkok . A sleeveless variation called aangi is worn over a full sleeved shirt called honju and with a raatuk (blouse) underneath

756-531: Is separate from Lhasa Tibetan and unintelligible to Lhasa speakers. The number of Sherpas migrating to Western countries has significantly increased in recent years, especially to the United States. New York City has the largest Sherpa community in the United States, with a population of approximately 16,000. The 2011 Nepal census recorded 512,946 Sherpas within its borders. Members of the Sherpa population are known for their skills in mountaineering as

810-422: Is sloping and is made from local natural materials, or imported metal. There's space in the roof to allow for fire smoke to escape. There may be an internal or external outhouse for making compost. "A Sherpa community will most commonly get together for a party, which is held by the host with the purpose of gaining favour with the community and neighbours". Guests are invited hours before the party will start by

864-472: Is the prayer hall for either villages or monasteries. There are numerous gompas and about two dozen monasteries scattered throughout the Solukhumbu region. The monasteries are communities of lamas or monks (sometimes of nuns) who take a vow of celibacy and lead a life of isolation searching for truth and religious enlightenment. They are respected by and supported by the community at large. Their contact with

918-463: The Himalayan region, serving as guides at the extreme altitudes of the peaks and passes in the region, particularly for expeditions to climb Mount Everest . Today, the term is often used by foreigners to refer to almost any guide or climbing supporter hired for mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas, regardless of their ethnicity. Because of this usage, the term has become a slang byword for

972-621: The Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal and Tibetan Autonomous Region of China . The majority of Sherpas live in the eastern regions of Nepal, namely in Solukhumba , Khatra , Kama , Rolwaling , Barun and Pharak valleys; though some live farther West in the Bigu and in the Helambu region north of Kathmandu , Nepal. Sherpas establish gompas where they practice their religious traditions. Tengboche

1026-479: The First Assault Party of Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans when they reached the South Summit on 26 May at 13:00, too late to continue on. Seated on the snow dome, they could look closely at the last 90 m (300 ft) ascent to the summit. It was not the gentle snow ridge they had hoped for, but a thin crest of snow and ice on rock, steep on the left, overhanging as a cornice on the right. It

1080-410: The Hillary Step, but there was so much snow it was not clear whether it had truly changed. Kenton Cool wrote that the Hillary Step "is only 12 to 15 feet [3.7 to 4.6 m] high." In May 2017, Tim Mosedale and other climbers reported that "the Hillary Step is no more", although the full extent and interpretation of the changes were still nascent. Another climber who thought the Step changed by 2016

1134-411: The Khumbu Icefall around 30 times each season; in comparison, foreigners only go through the icefall 2 or 3 times during the season. Sherpas are expected to haul the majority of their clients' gear to each of the five camps and to set up before their clients reach the camps. During each season, Sherpas typically make up to $ 5000 US dollars during their 2 or 3-month period of taking international clients to

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1188-481: The Sherpa population has allele frequencies that are often found in other Tibeto-Burman regions. In tested genes, the strongest affinity was for Tibetan population sample studies done in the Tibet Autonomous Region . Genetically, the Sherpa cluster is closest to the sample Tibetan and Han populations. Additionally, the Sherpa had exhibited an affinity for several Nepalese populations , with

1242-455: The South Summit en route to achieving the main peak. On reaching the South Col in 1953, expedition leader John Hunt was struck by the sight, writing "Above us rose the South Summit of Everest ... an elegant snow spire, breathtakingly close yet nearly 3000 feet above our heads ... none of us had been prepared for any spectacle quite so sharp, quite so beautiful as this. To me it seemed that

1296-511: The South Summit while descending from the main summit in an unexpected blizzard . Hall survived overnight, and established radio contact the following day, but froze to death later that day, May 11, 1996. His body remains on the South Summit. The South Summit is a popular place for Everest climbers to pause, change oxygen bottles, and turn around if necessary. From this location the cornice traverse, Hillary Step , and summit can be seen in clear weather. Hillary Step The Hillary Step

1350-412: The ascent and descent over the Step were generally made with the assistance of fixed ropes , usually placed there by the first ascending team of the season. In a good climbing situation, it was about a two-hour climb from the South Summit to the Hillary Step, one to two hours to climb the cliff, and then another 20 minutes from the top of the Hillary Step to the summit of Mount Everest. Only one climber at

1404-514: The fabric of Buddhist ritual life. Many of the great Himalayan mountains are considered sacred. The Sherpa call Mount Everest Chomolungma and respect it as the "Mother of the World." Mount Makalu is respected as the deity Shankar (Shiva). Each clan reveres certain mountain peaks and their protective deities. Today, the day-to-day Sherpa religious affairs are presided over by lamas (Buddhist spiritual leaders) and other religious practitioners living in

1458-408: The government can decide whether or not to hear these demands or make the desired changes. Men wear long-sleeved robes called chuba , which fall to slightly below the knee. The chuba is tied at the waist with a cloth sash called kara , creating a pouch-like space called namdok which can be used for storing and carrying small items. Traditionally, chuba were made from thick home-spun wool, or

1512-579: The government. The documentary Sherpa contains footage of one of their meetings. Sherpas wanted to cancel the climbing season that year out of respect for those who lost their lives. They argued that "This route has become a graveyard," and asked "How could we walk over their bodies?". Their clients were debating whether or not to continue to try to reach the summit of Everest because they had paid tens of thousands of dollars to be there. However, international clients were fearful of this strike and how it would affect themselves and had their bags packed in case of

1566-421: The host's children to reduce the chance of rejection. In all social gatherings the men are seated by order of status, with those of lesser status sitting closer to the door and men of higher status sitting by the fireplace, while the women sit in the center with no ordering. It is polite to sit in a space lower than one's proper place so one may be invited by the host to their proper place. The first several hours of

1620-407: The house is often handed down within a family and not sold. The house style depends on the lay of the land: old river terraces, former lake beds or mountain slopes. There are stone single-story, 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 -story (on a slope), and the two-story houses, with ample room for animals. Many well-to-do families will have an annex shrine room for sacred statues, scriptures and ritual objects. The roof

1674-409: The icefall. The families of those who died in the avalanche were offered 40,000 rupees, the equivalent of about $ 400 US dollars, from the Nepalese government. At the time of the disaster, the Sherpas were carrying loads of equipment for their clients, including many luxury items. There had been two broken ladders causing a traffic jam in the Khumbu Icefall. It is not uncommon for Sherpas to go through

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1728-562: The initial Tibetan migration was a search for a beyul (Buddhist pure-lands). Sherpa practised the Nyingma ("Ancient") school of Buddhism. Allegedly the oldest Buddhist sect in Tibet, founded by Padmasambhava (commonly known as Guru Rinpoche) during the 8th century, it emphasizes mysticism and the incorporation of local deities shared by the pre-Buddhist Bön religion , which has shamanic elements. Sherpa particularly believe in hidden treasures and valleys . Traditionally, Nyingmapa practice

1782-425: The journey through the Khumbu Icefall is in the pitch black. It is safer for climbers to go through the icefall at night because the temperatures at night drop. Therefore, the icefall is not melting as fast as it would during the day. These dangers have resulted in 66 deaths as of 2017, including 6 deaths from falling in a crevasse, 9 deaths from a collapse in a section of the icefall, and 29 deaths from avalanches onto

1836-599: The lack of government support for Sherpas injured or killed while providing their services, some Sherpa climbing guides resigned, and their respective climbing companies stopped providing guides and porters for Everest expeditions. The Khumbu Icefall is a waterfall of ice with continuous structural shifts, requiring continuous changes to the route through the area and making this is one of the most dangerous parts of climbing Mount Everest. Climbers have to walk on ladders over crevasses, while walking underneath large serac formations that could potentially fall at any moment. Oftentimes

1890-644: The migration out of Tibet in the 13th and 14th centuries and its arrival in the Khumbu regions of Nepal. Sherpa migrants travelled through Ü and Tsang, before crossing the Himalaya. By the 1400s, the Khumbu Sherpa people had attained autonomy within the newly formed Nepali state. In the 1960s, as tension with China increased, the Nepali government influence on the Sherpa people grew. In 1976, Khumbu became

1944-420: The opportunity to bypass Hillary, by way of snow and ice climbing. The Hillary Step has claimed its share of lives, due to its strenuous conditions and unpredictable, rapidly changing weather. Author Anatoli Boukreev found the body of Bruce Herrod hanging from ropes at the base of the step in 1996, according to his book The Climb . The step was closed during the 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition by

1998-597: The outside world is focused on monastery practices and annual festivals to which the public is invited, as well as the reading of sacred texts at funerals. Mt. Everest is located within the Sagarmatha National Park , which is a sacred landscape for local Sherpas. The region is considered the dwelling of supernatural beings. Sherpas value life and the beauty it provides, meaning they avoid killing living creatures. Furthermore, Mt. Everest has attracted many tourists who unknowingly or knowingly are disrupting

2052-418: The party will have only beer served, followed by the serving of food, and then several more hours of singing and dancing before people start to drift out. The act of manipulating one's neighbours into cooperation by hosting a party is known as Yangdzi, and works by expecting the hospitality done by the host with the serving of food and alcohol to be repaid. The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies

2106-517: The paternal gene pool in tested individuals. In the maternal side, M5c2, M21d, and U from the west also count up to 8% of people in given Sherpa populations. However, a later study from 2015 did not support the results from the 2014 study; the 2015 study concluded that genetic sharing from the Indian subcontinent was highly limited; a 2017 study found the same. In a 2015 study of 582 Sherpa individuals (277 males) from China and Nepal, haplogroup D-M174

2160-442: The sacred land of the park. For example, finding firewood has been deemed problematic. Many tourists stick with the methods they know how to do, which is oftentimes cutting down trees or taking branches off trees to make a fire. This practice is against Sherpas' spiritual law of the land. Moreover, the Sherpas do a spiritual ritual before climbing the mountain to ask the mountain for permission to climb. This ritual seems to have become

2214-422: The shirt. These are worn with colourful striped aprons; pangden (or metil ) aprons are worn in front, and gewe (or gyabtil ) in back, and are held together by an embossed silver buckle called kyetig and a kara Sherpa clothing resembles Tibetan clothing. Increasingly, home-spun wool and silk is being replaced by factory-made material. Many Sherpa people also now wear ready-made western clothing. When

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2268-458: The south of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. According to Sherpa oral history, four groups migrated from Kham in Tibet to Solukhumbu at different times, giving rise to the four fundamental Sherpa clans: Minyakpa, Thimmi, Lamasherwa, and Chawa. These four groups gradually split into the more than 20 different clans that exist today. Mahayana Buddhism religious conflict may have contributed to

2322-483: The step had conclusively changed. Dave Hahn , who has climbed Everest 15 times, was shown photos and agreed that it was changed. A special kind of mourning hit the community with realization of missing rocks and freshly hewn scars of new coloured rock at this landmark feature. Hahn noted how it was a great tribute to Hillary and Tenzing and he thought of them whenever he scrambled over it. Later in 2017, mountaineering guide and trained photographer Lhakpa Rangdu mounted

2376-564: The strongest for the Rai people , followed by the Magars and the Tamang . A 2010 study identified more than 30 genetic factors that make Tibetan bodies well-suited for high altitudes, including EPAS1 , referred to as the "super-athlete gene," that regulates the body's production of hemoglobin, allowing for greater efficiency in the use of oxygen. A 2016 study of Sherpas in Tibet suggested that

2430-401: The summit of Everest. As of 2019, expeditions on Mt. Everest contributed $ 300 million. The economy of Nepal thrives off of tourism and adventure seekers . As a result of the 2014 disaster, the remaining Sherpas went on strike. They were angry at the government, lack of compensation, and their working conditions. Sherpas came together in the days after the disaster to make a list of demands for

2484-401: The upper portion of the step had indeed changed. Peter Hillary , Edmund Hillary's son, was asked his opinion about the Step based on photos. He agreed it was there in part, but seemed to think it had undergone some sort of a change, noting especially what looked like a fresh broken rock. By early June 2017, more reports and photographic evidence came in, with Garrett Madison reporting that

2538-421: The villages. The village lama who presides over ceremonies and rituals can be a celibate monk or a married householder. In addition, shamans ( lhawa ) and soothsayers ( mindung ) deal with the supernatural and the spirit world. Lamas identify witches ( pem ), act as the mouthpiece of deities and spirits, and diagnose spiritual illnesses. An important aspect of Sherpa religion is the temple or gompa . A gompa

2592-532: Was a 40-foot vertical rock face that sits 8,790 metres (28,839 ft) above sea level. It was located near the summit of Mount Everest . Located on the Southeast ridge, halfway between the " South Summit " and the True Summit, the Hillary Step was the most technically difficult part of the typical Nepal-side Everest climb and the last real challenge before reaching the top of the mountain. The rock face

2646-447: Was destroyed by an earthquake that struck the region in 2015 . The Hillary Step has a reputation among climbers for its 3,000-metre (10,000 ft) and 2,400-metre (8,000 ft) drops on the ascent. Without a guide, the climb is Class 4 and in the death zone . One expedition noted that climbing the Hillary Step was "strenuous" and offered little to no escape from the changing elements. Heavy snowfall events can allow climbers

2700-715: Was found most frequently, followed by Haplogroup O-M175 , Haplogroup F-M89 and Haplogroup K-M9 . The Y-chromosome haplogroup distribution for Sherpas follow a pattern similar to that for Tibetans. Sherpa mtDNA distribution shows greater diversity, as Haplogroup A was found most frequently, followed by Haplogroup M9a , Haplogroup C4a , Haplogroup M70, and Haplogroup D . These haplogroups are also found in some Tibetan populations. However, two common mtDNA sub-haplogroups unique to Sherpas populations were identified: Haplogroup A15c1 and Haplogroup C4a3b1. Many Sherpas are highly regarded as elite mountaineers and experts in their local area. They were valuable to early explorers of

2754-472: Was interrupted by a formidable-looking 12 m (40 ft) rock step two-thirds of the way up. The step was named after Sir Edmund Hillary , who led Sherpa Tenzing Norgay , on 29 May 1953 climbing the crack between the snow and the rock, earning the feature its name. Upon completion of the summit, the pair reported the snowpack on Hillary is harder than that of lower elevation. In his 1953 account of summiting Everest he wrote: In more recent years,

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2808-427: Was passed down orally through a loose network of lay practitioners. Monasteries with celibate monks and nuns, along with the belief in reincarnated spiritual leaders, are later adaptations. In addition to Buddha and the great Buddhist divinities, the Sherpa also believe in numerous deities and demons who inhabit every mountain, cave, and forest. These have to be respected or appeased through ancient practices woven into

2862-544: Was six-time Everest summiter David Liaño Gonzalez , who summited in 2013 and 2016, when the relevant changes are reported to have occurred. However, some important Nepalese climbers, including Ang Tshering Sherpa, chairman of the Nepal Mountaineering Association , reported that the Step was still intact but covered in more snow than before. Later in the year, after seeing a large exhibition of photos from 2006 to 2016, he did agree that at least

2916-649: Was the first celibate monastery in Solu-Khumbu . Sherpa people also live in Tingri County , Bhutan , and the Indian states of Sikkim and the northern portion of West Bengal , specifically the district of Darjeeling . The Sherpa language belongs to the southern branch of the Tibeto-Burman languages , mixed with Eastern Tibetan ( Khams Tibetan ) and central Tibetan dialects. However, this language

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