How to Survive Being a Sherpa

5 min read

You’ve done this more than a dozen times. The tallest mountain in the world is your workplace, and you know it like the palm of your hand. Unfortunately, your companions aren’t as skilled as you are. They’re running out of oxygen. Oh, no, is that avalanche? Everyone’s survival depends on what you do next.

The Sherpas migrated from Eastern Tibet to Nepal, and some of them have a unique profession. Now that scaling the 8,850 m (29,032ft) tall mountain is more common, the word “sherpa” means the guides who take mountain climbers up the world’s highest mountains.

Sherpas live at an average altitude of 4,480 m (14,700 ft), which is inhospitable to most people. But they aren’t like most of us. These superhumans are genetically adapted to endure these extremely high mountain conditions, and their different physiological traits give them advantages. But even they are not immune to the dangers of mountain climbing. About one-third of the people who have died while climbing Mount Everest were Sherpas.

What temperatures would you be exposed to? What’s the easiest way to carry luggage up the mountain? How much money would you make?

Step 1. Lift With Your Head

Along with guiding climbers up the mountain, Sherpas help other climbers haul their gear and supplies. On average, Sherpa men can carry about 93% of their body weight and the women around 66%. Sometimes, you’ll carry more than your body weighs.

To do this, you’d need proper gear called a doko. It’s an oversized basket that would sit on your back, with a strap going underneath the load and around your head. This way, your head would bear most of the weight. You’d also need a walking stick called a tokma to support the load when you stop.

Step 2. Go slow

When you’re climbing at high altitudes, your body produces more red blood cells to carry more oxygen to your muscles. But this thickens the blood, puts extra stress on your heart and causes altitude sickness.
A Sherpas’ red blood cell count won’t increase as much as other people’s, but they don’t abuse their superpower. They take their time and take regular breaks.

They walk at less than 2 km/h (1.2 mph). On a steep incline, Sherpas might walk for 15 seconds and then rest for 45. Short, intense exercise with frequent rests helps them work at such intense levels throughout the day.

Step 3. Carry oxygen

Some mountaineers think it is impure to climb Mount Everest with oxygen, and if you want to test your body you should do it breathing only the available air. That way of thinking could kill you. Even if you’re a Sherpa, it is crucial to use supplemental oxygen, especially when summiting.

In 2017, Sherpas climbing down the mountain found two people, a climber and another Sherpa. They had thrown away their oxygen without using it and could no longer move. The Sherpas quickly realized that the only way to save them was to drag them down Mount Everest to safety. They brought the two injured people down to a camp. After they got rushed to the hospital, they survived.

Step 4. Eat rice

To climb Mount Everest, carry another human on your back and endure temperatures down to -50 °C (-58 °F), you’d need to eat well. A high-carb diet would ensure that you don’t lose muscle during all the intense physical work, so you’d eat white rice with curried vegetables and drink lentil juice. This would give you the fuel needed for this exhausting task.

Step 5. Say no

As an experienced Sherpa ascending to the higher camps and the summit, you’d make about $5,000 per two-month season bringing people up and down the mountain. And that price, or any, is not worth putting your life in extreme danger.

This might mean making the tough decision not to summit because of excessively hazardous conditions on the mountain or because your client doesn’t seem well enough to handle it. Regardless of the clients’ wishes, it should be your call to finish the climb or to head back to base camp. You are the expert.

I’m impressed. You successfully guided stubborn climbers through extreme altitudes and icefalls. Now you can return home to the warmth of the city, unless you live here, where the average temperature is -50 °C (-58 °F), earning it the title of one of the most dangerous cities on Earth. Want to know how 500 people call this frigid landscape home?