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Testing the third group of Sherpa trekkers in Namche.
This week we started testing the third group of Sherpa trekkers in Namche. After a very cold, grey and snowy day on their arrival, we were lucky to welcome the sun again, allowing us all to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. The day started off white, but soon the sun put some colour into it by melting down the snowy crust, and the blue, blue sky made a superb and photogenetic contrast with the impressive peaks surrounding the town.
The ability to speak English varies a lot amongst the Sherpas, but with help of local translators we managed to explain all tests. After ‘stepping’ into the day as part of the daily diary, we started testing in the laboratory, where the thermometer read 5.3 ℃ and a humidity of 70%. Soon, the breath-clouds of the subjects brought the room to a comfortable 14 ℃ and 55% humidity.
Some of the tests cause a lot of giggling, when a clip is put on the nose, and lungs being emptied in a tube, a flowmeter, or a plastic bag. Others are less popular, such as the blood test, or the hour long bike ride. The latter especially because many of the Sherpas have never ridden a bike before. This does not hold for Lakpa Sonam Sherpa, with his 18 years making him the youngest of the group. He was born at 2200 m in Kharikhola in the Solu Khumbu, not far from Lukla, where his father used to farm after many years of portering for a trekking company. He joined the Summit Nepal trekking company at the age of 16 after finishing his School Leaving Certificate. His first trek was across the Cho La pass (5370m), and ever since he has been part of many treks to Everest Base Camp and several 6000m+ peaks. Very rarely he experiences a headache, in contrast to many of the clients who he has seen suffering from altitude related illnesses. He is proud to be part of this expedition and is keen to know more about what all the tests involve so that he can tell his friends after his return.
Mingma Phuti Sherpa is 39 years old, and the oldest trekker within this group. She was born into a family of seven girls and one boy in Rowalwing, a valley west of the Sagarmatha National Park, at an altitude of 4000m. Her town is similar to Namche Bazar only with fewer houses. Her father worked for a trekking company. Only her brother followed his footsteps and higher; he summited on Mount Everest and on many other 8000+ peaks. Mingma Phuti is married to a climbing Sherpa, who has summited Everest 8 times along with countless other ‘8000-ers’. Now ‘retired’ and working as a trekking sirdar, Migma Phuti has less reason to worry - in the past her husband would be away in the mountains for one to two months at a time with only rare satellite contact. Now the couple and their family live in Kathmandu where they moved 13 years ago and all three of their children attend college. In the Nepali summertime, she and her husband travel to Norway to work as a cook in a hotel and lead treks respectively. A cousin of hers was a climbing Sherpa on the Caudwell Xtreme Everest expedition in 2007. This time she heard about the expedition through another cousin, working for Summit Trekking in Nepal. She is very excited about joining this expedition, as it is a great opportunity to visit Everest Base Camp, together with friends and relatives present in this group. Her gold tooth blinks in the afternoon sun, soon to be covered by in-coming clouds, when she replies ‘ramro’ when asked how she finds the trek so far: great!
Created 21st Mar 2013 |
Trek C
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| By: Kate E Smith | When: 23rd Mar 2013 16:00 | Interesting read Alan. It's good to hear how the Sherpas are chosen and trained. Brilliant blokes not praised enough. Cheers Kate |
