Homeland of the Sherpa

As I already stated and as you can see from the background for the blog they live in a very mountainous region in Nepal. Mt.Everest is basically right around the corner from these guys, and they definitely have become the masters of the mountain region that we all know as the Himalayas. They live mainly high up in elevation but also down in the valleys of the area. High up in the mountains the air is thinner, it;s colder, and agriculture is much tougher. Therefore they must stick to the types of food that will grow in that type of climate, which is mainly potatoes and wheat. Down in the valleys the villages are able to trade with other markets which is where other main Sherpa foods come from. The rough and mountainous terrain has led to their amazing ability to climb a mountain like it's nothing... Most of us here in America will never climb a mountain, yet the Sherpa can basically do it from birth! People from the Sherpa culture hold many climbing records, especially for Mt. Everest. Some of these Everest records include: fastest ascent, fastest descent, most successful climbs(21), first woman, and many others. Some people believe that the Sherpa people have a genetic adaptation to living in the high elevation and that's why they're able to climb so well and live in the high altitude.

Current Article

Here's a current article that I found while researching the culture. It's about the recent tragedy on Mt. Everest and how it's been shut down for the rest of this climbing season.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/27/everest-sherpas-fears-killer-avalanche

History of the Sherpa

The Sherpa people migrated from areas of Tibet to their current areas in Nepal starting around the 15th century. They migrated to the east and this is where their name Sherpa, which means "east people", came from. Their migration led them to some of the most mountainous regions in the whole area, which are the Khumbu and Solu regions. Since the original Sherpa originated in Tibet, their language and religion come from old Tibetan books and therefore is very similar to other languages in the area. Since the Sherpa people live their lives up in the mountains where agriculture is tough, they must stick to only crops that can survive at the altitude. Their location up in the mountains has also allowed them to achieve the status that they're best known for, and that's of the best mountaineers in the world. In fact, A Sherpa man accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on his first successful climb of Mt. Everest. Although the Sherpa people did not take fondly to the idea of tourism and being known as being porters, they eventually embraced the mountaineering fueled tourism. I'll talk a little more on that later though.

Here's a picture of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay, the Sherpa man who accompanied Hillary on his first successful climb:

Introduction

This blog is all about the Sherpa people who live in the mountainous regions in Nepal. They are an extremely fascinating culture who are the unknown heroes of mountaineering! In this blog you will learn about their history, homeland, landscape, world beliefs, the birds of the area, their neighbors, cultural migrations, and their cultural survival. You'll always get to learn about an interview that I am going to do with people of the Sherpa culture! Thank you!