April 20, 2002
Camp 2: 21,300 feet — While Midge, Lynn, Alison, Jody and Kim lie in their tents acclimatizing on the Western Cwm, more than a dozen Sherpas continue to ferry gear up the mountain. It has taken the team three days to get from base camp to Camp 2; the Sherpas cover that treacherous ground in three and a half hours.
That's not a reflection on the ability of the climbers, but rather a glimpse at the power and importance of Sherpas on Everest. The Sherpas are the backbone of any climb, and without them, very, very few mountaineers could ever make it to the top.
"They are so strong it is truly astonishing," says Midge. "We are in awe of them."
"It is hard work," admits 33-year-old Panuru Sherpa, who is on his 12th Everest expedition and has summited three times. "But it is worth it," he says, "because the money is good."
At the beginning of the expedition each Sherpa is paid an equipment salary of $1,700, intended to outfit him with the latest climbing and safety gear. However, most Sherpas prefer to make due with old gear and pocket the bulk of the equipment allowance. During the expedition, each Sherpa earns $7 a day, totaling around $450. At the end of the expedition, bonus pay is doled out, and that's the real cash cow. The number of loads and how high they were carried the Sherpa's bonus.
The schedule is set and the books kept by Ang Pasang Sherpa, the leader of this Sherpa team. At 37, he has worked on 16 Everest expeditions and summited the mountain three times. He arrived at base camp with the advance team of Sherpas on March 12 to begin setting up camp, building flat platforms out of the rock, pitching tents, constructing two stone kitchen houses and the outhouses. Then he began organizing a climbing plan for the movement of 17 Sherpas and more than 8,000 pounds of gear up the mountain.
"He has my confidence and trust," says expedition leader Eric Simonson, of International Mountain Guides, the organization responsible for hiring the Sherpa team.
Ang Pasang's leadership also has earned the respect of Sherpas from other expeditions. They will have to work together on the upper mountain.
Most of the Sherpas on our team were born and raised in the nearby village of Phortse at 12,600 feet, so their bodies are naturally tuned to high altitude. Within one or two days of arriving at base camp, most are ready to begin climbing with loads averaging 33 pounds each.
But before establishing a progression of camps up the mountain, the Sherpas must wait for the "ice doctors," three Sherpas who "fix" the Khumbu icefall, attaching ropes and aluminum ladders to the precarious route from base camp to Camp 1. As the glacier moves and crevasses widen, ladders are lost and pickets melt out of the snow. The ice doctors, who are hired by Sagarmatha National Park, perform the necessary repairs. Every expedition pays $400 per climber for this service.
Establishing Camp 1 takes 16 loads, one trip for each Sherpa, and a few hours to set up tents and cooking equipment for the climbers. Bonus pay: $10 per carry.
Establishing Camp 2, or "advance base camp," takes a week, nine trips per Sherpa to haul more than 5,000 pounds of tents, sleeping bags, food, fuel, cooking equipment and oxygen bottles. A cook and an eating tent are also provided. Bonus pay: $20 per carry.
From Camp 2, the route up the Lhotse Face is fixed to Camp 3. A meeting of all Sherpa teams a few days ago divvied up the responsibility of affixing ropes to this part of the mountain. The project begins tomorrow with Ang Pasang's team joined by four other expeditions to begin the route. Once the ropes are in place, Sherpas from seven other climbing teams will create the route even higher up, to the South Col and Camp 4.
Setting up Camp 3 at 24,000 feet requires a dozen trips by each Sherpa carrying tents, food and oxygen canisters. Bonus pay: $20 per carry.
To build and supply Camp 4 at 26,000 feet on the South Col requires at least four trips per Sherpa. Here, the Sherpas stash three oxygen bottles for each climber and two for themselves. Bonus pay: $55 per carry.
On summit day, every climber has an accompanying Sherpa, who will carry an extra bottle of oxygen. Bonus for accompanying a climber to the summit: $300.
When the climb is over, the Sherpas will break down the camps and carry loads down the mountain in a single week. The expedition is required to return with all the oxygen bottles and batteries they took up. Sagarmatha National Park checks the inventory and keeps a garbage deposit. But if the Sherpas find oxygen bottles from previous expeditions and haul them down, they can cash them in for $20 a piece.
All totaled, a good climbing Sherpa can make nearly $4,000 on a two-month expedition. In American terms, that's not much. But in Nepal, where the average annual income is close to $500, it's a relative fortune. And it's a deadly profession: At least 55 Sherpas have been killed on the mountain.
Panuru's job allows his son to attend private school in Katmandu. But does he want his son to follow in his footsteps?
"No, I would like my son to have a different job," he says. "It is dangerous."
The women arrived in Camp 2 at 21,300 feet today, after a long, slow plod up the Western Cwm. They'll spend two nights acclimatizing there at Camp 2, then return to base camp for several days of rest. Then they'll start another rotation, working ever higher on the mountain. The women will repeat this process of acclimatization until they're ready for a possible summit bid in mid-May.
The Sherpas will have the camps ready. Weather and the women will determine the rest.
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