Edmund Hillary Norgay

In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The pair were congratulated by the British crown for their achievement. Although both of these climbers accomplished the same task, Norgay did not receive as much congratulations as Hillary, even though his presence was very valuable to Hillary. Norgay was a member of the Nepalese sherpas, who are an ethnic group that live in the high regions surrounding Everest, and are comfortable with the high altitudes that they thrive in. Sherpas are very important to those who want to ascend Everest, for they have adapted to the high altitude conditions of their home. In addition, they know the area around Everest, which is necessary to climb the

First, they face safety concerns while ascending Everest. Billie Mandelbaum, author of “Exploiting The Sherpas”, writes, “Sherpas are placed in dangerous situations so that wealthy, novice climbers can summit the world’s most famous and romanticized mountain” (Mandelbaum 1). As seen, sherpas are used to help inexperienced climbers summit Everest, putting their lives’ on the line. For example, Mandelbaum says, “The perils of being a Sherpa became clear in April 2014, when 16 Sherpas were killed during an avalanche after a 113-foot-tall piece of ice broke off the mountain’s West Shoulder” (MandelBaum 2). Evidently, sherpas are in danger when on the mountain, and with the recent 2014 avalanche, tensions have aroused between the ethnic group, and the government. As a result of the tragedy, the Nepalese government said that it “would provide a pittance of 40,000 rupees, or $US410, in compensation to the families of the workers killed” (Morrow 1). But, many of the sherpa people exclaim that in order to get the rupees, it would be more of a hassle. To illustrate, Morrow notes, “There are procedural hurdles to get those 40,000 rupees. You might have to spend 80,000 rupees to get” (Morrow 1). As seen, not only did the government provide little money, but they made it difficult to receive the money. Moreover, the sherpas are also concerned about the dead. Dorje Sherpa, a guide on Everest states, “It is just