The Sherpas

I discovered the name Sherpa for the first time at the start of the 1980s in the French daily newspaper the Voix du Nord.
It referred to Jacques Attali, the Sherpa of President François Mitterrand and it was a nickname often given to representatives and personal advisors to Heads of State, in particular in the field of international relations. Later, I learnt that Sherpa actually refers to a Nepalese ethnic group originally from Tibet, a people from the east... shar (east) and pa (people). In the middle of the 16th century the Sherpas left eastern Tibet to settle in the upper Himalayan valleys on the northern border of Nepal, in particular at the foot of Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.

Sherpas have always been animal breeders, farmers and traders. They travel on foot and the distances they cover are measured in time. In the Khumbu region, the heart of the Sherpa world, there are no roads and daily life has always meant walking from one place to another with a load on your back. Sherpas are Buddhists and maintain a strong relationship with religion. In traditional Hindu and Buddhist writings, the Himalayan mountain range is the place of origin and the centre of the universe. In the many mountainside monasteries, caves and hermitages, the monks and lamas who meditate and teach have a strong influence over the Sherpa community. In 1920, Everest, which takes its name from the British colonel and geophysicist George Everest, became the ultimate challenge for Anglo-Saxon mountaineers. It is the symbol of transcending one's abilities, the confrontation with effort, difficulty, fatigue and fear in this death zone. Everest's history reveals all that is best and most noble in human nature. Several expeditions to conquer the roof of the world, the impossible peak, succeeded one another and these very quickly led to a change in the relationship which Sherpas had with the "home of the Gods".

Living at the foot of the high peaks, being strong, courageous, physically resistant and familiar with the difficulties of life in the high mountains, they were very quickly singled out and chosen by Westerners to act as porters and guides. Their lives and professions changed and many of them started to work in the field of mountaineering, accompanying expeditions on the mountains and on treks. The most famous Sherpa is Tenzing Norgay. He spoke seven languages but did not know how to read or write. He was a man of incredible determination and strength. On 29 May 1953 at 11.30 am, alongside the New Zealander Edmund Hillary, he became the first man to reach the 8,848 m summit of Everest. Tenzing Norgay's name became famous around the world and helped to raise awareness of the Sherpa people. He was received by some of the greatest figures in the world and was decorated by the Queen of England.

Fabrice Larivière