CHOMOLUNGMA: the Mother Goddess of the Earth (Satis Shroff)

Chomolungma: the Mother Goddess of the Earth (Satis Shroff)

The highest peak on earth is Mt. Everest but to the Nepalese living below the Himalayas it has always been Sagarmatha, and to the Sherpas the mountain was always Chomolungma, the Mother Goddess of the Earth. The Sherpas are born at altitudes of 3000m and above, and you can find them around the Solokhumbu area, and they are acclimatized to high altitudes and are recognized for their climbing prowess.

In 1953 Tenzing Norgay became the first Sherpa to climb Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) with Edmund Hillary, and since then the experienced Sherpas bear the title Tigers of the Snow. The Sherpas settled in the Khumbu area circa 300 years ago after a long journey from Tibet (China). The Sherpas were traders before they became famous as porters and mountain guides. A relatively small group of Sherpas also live in Helambu, and there are many clans among the Sherpas. All Sherpas speak the official language of Nepal, namely, Nepal, fluently, in addition to their own tongue, as well as English.

Sherpas are mongoloid in appearance, as are the Tamangs, Thakalis, Khampas, Gurungs and Rais,and are often called bhotias, because 'bhot' is the Nepalese name Tibet. You see traders with their yak and mule caravans in the cold winter months heading for the south with products such as spices and medicinal plants and roots to trade them with wares from the south. Some of these traders, who are also from Manang,Khumbu and Thakkhola, go as far as Bangkok and Hong Kong. The Sherpa folk originally came from Kham in Eastern Tibet. 'Sher-pa' means 'those who came from the East,' which was 600 years ago across the Himalayas and settled down in Khumbu, where they worked as semi-nomadic small farmers or traders. Khumbu is derived from the local deity who protects the land and people against evil. The name of this God is Khumbila Tetsan Gelbu.

Even though a lot of international cuisine can be found being sold along the Everest trail in the Nepali-run lodges and restaurants, tsampa is still a favourite food among the Sherpas, a dish with barley, butter, tea or beer. The Sherpas still keep herds of yaks, goat and sheep in the highlands. Formerly agriculture and livestock were the mainstay of the Sherpas, but since the conquest of Everest, catering to the increasing number of tourists, climbers and wanderers and offering them lodges and hotels has become a lucrative business.

The path to Everest gets filled with life in the month of April. You see Nepalese porters carrying heavy loads, cooking utensils, tents and other equipment for the expedition members from all over the world. And this, despite the knowledge that only last year (April 14,2014) was the biggest tragedy in the history of Mt. Everest in which 16 Nepalese climbers lost their lives. The cause was a block of ice that loosened itself from the Khumbu Icefall, crashed on the glacier and which started an avalanche that roared down to the Everest approach. The 16 Nepalese were caught in the avalanche and buried under ice and snow. Bergwache? Keine spur!

This April around 350 foreign climbers, just as many as last year, are underway in Nepal to climb the 88848m peak. Last year, only one team from China made it to the Everest summit: Wang King and her team of Sherpas. Whether it was by fair means is another question because she'd used a chopper to Camp 2, thus elegantly avoiding the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. A good many climbers use also doping to get to the top.

When 350 expeditions climb Everest this year, the Nepalese government will have cashed in 3,640,000 euros for the 350 climbers alone. Three physicians are stationed in the base camp and a new, safer approach has been prepared by the Nepalese government.

When does mountain-climbing become dangerous? When people who've never climbed a mountain scale the Himalayan peaks, when they have no experience but a lot of money in their bank accounts, and are willing to pay the travel agencies, and the Sherpas and porters. And when people don't give their bodies time to acclimatize to the Himalayan environment and against acute mountain sickness (AMS). Even experienced climbers have AMS and give their bodies time to adjust to the high altitudes. Your body tells you when the going gets tough, when your haemocrit value is abnormal, when you have no appetite, when you have headaches, suffer from insomnia, feel weak and dizzy in those heights. If you're a clever, experienced climber, you'll stop going up. If you don't feel better, you descend. Try it the next season or you might disappear in a crevice and turn up five or ten years later in the Khumbu moraine. Trust a Sherpa and don't nag or budge him for he knows when it's safe for you and when not. He's your guide and friend in this white battlefield.