Mount Everest calls, but some

sherpa guides say they will not

climb again
By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.01.15
Word Count 761

A boy holds a candle during a memorial service in Katmandu, Nepal, on April 30, 2014, for the 16
Nepalese sherpa guides killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest two weeks earlier. The April 18 avalanche
was the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain. Photo: AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha

Galden Sherpa wasn't startled by the low, thunderous boom he heard at the
bsae camp of Mount Everest. Mountain climbers are used to such noises, which
happen when the ice breaks under the sun's morning heat.
But then he heard the radio: A massive glacier had crashed down the mountain.
Twenty-ve Nepalese sherpa guides were buried under ice sheets the size of
houses.
The next morning, Galden ew down the mountain in a helicopter. He hiked a
short distance to where a dead body lay half-buried in the snow. Using a shovel
and ax, he helped uncover the body. His heart sank when he recognized the
face of a friend laying before him.

Time For A Different Job

In all, 13 bodies were recovered, nine men were rescued and three sherpas
remained missing.
Galden will not return to Mount Everest this year. His mother begged him to nd
another job. The 28-year-old knew she was right. The job had become deadly
and it was devastating to see his friends die on the mountain. Still, it was not
easy for Galden to leave the career that he had known for so long.
The avalanche in April 2014 was the deadliest ever recorded on Mount Everest.
The mountain is the world's highest peak. All 16 victims who died in the disaster
were sherpas, the term for local men who are paid to help tourists climb the
mountain. Sherpas guide climbers, carry supplies and work at the camps. The
profession is dominated by the ethnic Sherpa people who live in the Himalayan
highlands, at the bottom of Mount Everest.
A sherpa can earn up to $6,000 for reaching the top of Mount Everest, which is
a lot of money in a country where most people make about $700 a year. Many
sherpas earn extra income in the offseason by guiding tours of the lower peaks
and studying English.

More Sherpas Needed

The climbing and weather conditions have changed a lot over the years at
Mount Everest. Temperatures are increasing on the mountain, which melts the
ice and leads to avalanches. In addition, as more climbers visit the peak, the
working conditions get worse for the sherpas.
The mountain is extremely important to Nepal's tourism industry. According to
the Himalayan Database, 658 people reached the summit of Everest in 2013,
ve times the number in 2000.
With customers willing to pay more than $60,000 to reach the summit, tour
companies compete to provide their wealthy clients with luxury comforts. Highend expeditions now offer sushi, espresso, fully stocked bars and Internet cafes
on the mountain. These amenities require equipment, which means that sherpas
need to haul it all up themselves.

Safety And Insurance

The Nepalese government has taken some steps to make the climbing industry
safer. They require that companies have insurance policies for their sherpas.
These policies will help pay for any injuries the sherpas get while climbing the
moutnain. Ofcials also contributed money to education funds for children of
sherpas who died and paid death benets to families following last year's
avalanche.

Some critics say that country should be doing more and that the families of
sherpas who are killed should receive more money from the government.
The avalanche happened early in the morning on April 18. As the foreign
climbers slept at base camp, the sherpas set off to begin preparations for the
day's journey. They slowly hauled supplies up the peak, through a long maze of
jagged glaciers and yawning crevasses. Shaky aluminum ladders lined the
pathway to give the climbers support when walking.

The Ice Crashed Down

The team stopped for more than half an hour, working to repair a broken ladder.
As they worked, a "trafc jam developed, recalled Dawa Tashi, a 23-year-old
sherpa.
Suddenly the ice crashed down. Tashi turned his body as the snow hurtled
toward him to protect his spine from impact. He then fell unconscious.
Eventually, rescuers found his body and dug him out of the snow using a shovel.
His left shoulder, four ribs and nose were broken, and sharp pieces of ice had
lodged in his face. It took him months to recover.
Tashi hasn't decided about whether he will return to climbing. His wife and
doctor have encouraged him not to. But Tashi is the son of a climber and the
oldest of three brothers. He feels a sense of duty that is hard to deny.
The whole family would be unhappy if I go back, he said. But our profession
is mountaineering. It will be difcult for me to do anything else."

Quiz
1

Which of the following details from the text is LEAST relevant to the central idea of
the article?
(A)

how much climbers pay to reach the summit

(B)

how much sherpas earn when reaching the summit

(C)

why the sherpas continue doing such dangerous work

(D)

why climbing Mount Everest can be so dangerous

Which of the following sentences is a personal opinion or judgment?

(A)

The team stopped for more than a half an hour, working to repair a
broken ladder.

(B)

Tashi hasn't decided about whether he will return to climbing.

(C)

His left shoulder, four ribs and nose were broken, and sharp pieces
of ice had lodged in his face.

(D)

He feels a sense of duty that is hard to deny.

Which answer option BEST explains how the article introduces the sherpas of
Mount Everest?
(A)

anecdote

(B)

summary

(C)

observation

(D)

prediction

To explain why the sherpas are willing to do such dangerous work, the author:
(A)

describes the beauty of Mount Everest

(B)

compares their pay to the pay of other people in the area

(C)

describes the importance of their work

(D)

compares their pay to the pay of the tourists climbing Mount

Everest

Answer Key
1

Which of the following details from the text is LEAST relevant to the central idea of
the article?
(A)

how much climbers pay to reach the summit

(B)

how much sherpas earn when reaching the summit

(C)

why the sherpas continue doing such dangerous work

(D)

why climbing Mount Everest can be so dangerous

Which of the following sentences is a personal opinion or judgment?

(A)

The team stopped for more than a half an hour, working to repair a
broken ladder.

(B)

Tashi hasn't decided about whether he will return to climbing.

(C)

His left shoulder, four ribs and nose were broken, and sharp pieces
of ice had lodged in his face.

(D)

He feels a sense of duty that is hard to deny.

Which answer option BEST explains how the article introduces the sherpas of
Mount Everest?
(A)

anecdote

(B)

summary

(C)

observation

(D)

prediction

To explain why the sherpas are willing to do such dangerous work, the author:
(A)

describes the beauty of Mount Everest

(B)

compares their pay to the pay of other people in the area

(C)

describes the importance of their work

(D)

compares their pay to the pay of the tourists climbing Mount

Everest