Three Sherpas of the Himalaya

There is a tendency to refer to any local Himalayan mountain guide or porter as a ‘Sherpa’, although they may not strictly belong to the Sherpa ethnic group. In Nepal at least, Sherpas often insist on distinguishing between themselves and general porters as they usually hold positions of greater authority and are more experienced, able mountaineers. If you aim to climb any Himalayan peaks or simply head off for an Everest Base Camp trek, you will see why they are so respected and will doubtless hear tell of their famous predecessors. Here are three such men.

Tenzing Norgay

Controversially, Norgay may not even have been born a Sherpa. Though he claimed so in an early autobiography, later research has revealed that he was likely born in Tibet and forced into bonded servitude to a Sherpa family when his own was left destitute by disaster. Regardless of his origins, Norgay’s achievement, alongside Hillary, or being the first men to summit Everest on the 29th of May, 1953 is regarded as one of the greatest achievements not only in the field of mountaineering, but in human history.

A modest man, he famously responded to the insistent questioning of journalists keen to know every detail of the ascent, “If it is a shame to be the second man on Mount Everest, then I will have to live with this shame.â€