The Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalaya. In Tibetan shar means East; pa is a suffix meaning 'people': hence the word sharpa or Sherpa. The Sherpa migrated from eastern Tibet to Nepal 1500 years ago. A female sherpa is known as a "sherpani". The Sherpa eked their livelihood from high-altitude farming, cattle raising, and wool spinning and weaving.

The Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalaya. In Tibetan shar means East; pa is a suffix meaning 'people': hence the word sharpa or Sherpa. The Sherpa migrated from eastern Tibet to Nepal 1500 years ago. A female sherpa is known as a "sherpani". The Sherpa eked their livelihood from high-altitude farming, cattle raising, and wool spinning and weaving. Their main living area is Solu-Khumbu in North-Eastern Nepal, Southwest of Mount Everest (sh.: Chomolungma, nep.: Sagarmatha). The term 'sherpa' (the preferred spelling with a lower case first letter) is also used to refer to local people, typically men, employed as porters or guides for mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas. They are highly regarded as elite mountaineers and experts in their local terrain, as well as having good physical endurance and resilience to high altitude conditions. However, a sherpa is not necessarily a member of the Sherpa ethnic group. Sherpa society is organized along exogamous clans. A hierarchical structure of society, as it is found among Nepal's Hindu castes, is totally strange to Sherpa society. According to the traditional kipat system, the whole Sherpa area was clan land of the Sherpas, i.e. the land belonged to the several clans and not to individuals. This clan land was expropriated with the abolition of the kipat system forced by the expanding Nepali state (final annulment in 1949).

Traditionally (although not very strictly followed), the names of Sherpa men often reflect the day of the week on which they were born:

 Sherpa  and Mountaineering 

Sherpas were of immeasurable value to early explorers of the Himalayan region, serving as guides and porters at the extreme altitudes of the peaks and passes in the region. Today, the term is used casually to refer to almost any guide or porter hired for mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas. However, in Nepal Sherpas insist on making the distinction between themselves and general porters, as they often serve in a more guide-like role and command higher pay and respect from the community.

Sherpas are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at high altitudes. Many have speculated that a portion of Sherpas' climbing ability may be due to a genetically greater lung capacity, allowing much better performance at high altitudes.It has also been suggested that one reason why they were widely used as porters is that they had fewer dietary prohibitions than most people of the region and were prepared to eat whatever was given to them on expeditions.Until the 1920s that Sherpas were not involved in mountain climbing. became involved in climbing. The British, who controlled the Indian subcontinent at the time, planned mountain climbing expeditions and hired Sherpa as porters. Now a days, due to their willingness to climb the peak mountains, climbing the Mountains and Himalayas has become their part of culture.

Famous Sherpas 
The most famous Sherpa is Tenzing Norgay, who climbed Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary for the first time in 1953.

Two Sherpas, Pemba Dorjie and Lhakpa Gelu, have recently competed as to who can climb Everest from Basecamp the fastest. On May 23 2003 Dorjie summitted in 12 hours and 46 minutes. Three days later, Gelu beat his record by two hours, summitting in 10 hours 46 minutes. On May 21 2004 Dorjie again improved the record by more than two hours with a total time of 8 hours and 10 minutes.

On May 22 2008, Appa Sherpa successfully summited Mt. Everest for the 18th time, breaking his own record for most successful ascents.

Perhaps the most famous Nepalese female mountaineer, two-time Everest summiteer Pemba Doma Sherpa, died after falling from Lhotse on 22 May 2007

The Sherpas contribute substantially to the economic growth and stability of Nepal.

Comments (1) >>

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written by lonelyanand, December 08, 2007

Good work. Keep it up....

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