Should Sherpas be allowed on Everest?

[Josef Lovell]

If you have a sherpa carrying all of your stuff and cooking all of your food. Your not surviving the mountain climb you are getting pampered with gormet food and all of your necessities. Now sherpas should be allowed to keep the bridges in shape because that is something that every expedition cannot do but I believe that we should climb Everest as Alpinests carrying our own gear

[Ron]

If you wanna climb it "like alpinist" then do so, its a nice and respectable goal. But dont expect others to have your standards or ideas on ethical climbing.

Besides that. Your taking away the sherpas main source of income were they feed and dress their whole family and relatives with...

[7summits]

I agree with Ron here; it is your decision to climb alpine style or not. It is also your decision to start the climb in Lukla, Kathmandu or at sealevel or anywhere else.  
But the Sherpas need the income from expeditions, so for them I hope there will be many 'gourmet' expeditions to come, so they can educate and feed their children.

[trunl]

you did not say it directly, but you disagree with the guy who wrote that 'we should not pull rich people up the mountain,' meaning that you think we should. sit there and think about it for a couple of hours and it will come to you.

[Ron]

as far as im concerned those rich no skill "climbers"are kept away from the mountains

but you cannot say sherpa dont belong there..their are many very skilled ones and the urn money not for their own family but for a whole vilage sometimes
Its just to much to say they dont belong thier..they take risks they are aware of..just like climbers do (they are also climbers)

The only ones to blame for something if you would dothat are the rich "climbers" who have no idea and ake an overpropartianl risk for their own and the people they climb with.

Luckely their are also a lot of experianced climbers who hire them so they can take the same calculated risk as the climbers themselves

in short..rather no rich guys on that mountain...but its to much to sat sherpas dont belong there...they are also in their own country and you cannot denie them taking care of their livelyhood

[trunl]

untrue, many people are untrained, and that is where the majority of the deaths come from, untrained climbers who decide to try to climb Everest.

sherpa do belong there. i agree with that. but also, it is not our job to provide service for them. we should not go out of our way. that is the job they chose, and in winter, a lot of them most likely do go hungry, but that does not mean we should try to all the sudden start many winter expeditions.

[Ron]

ehhh you still dont get it m8

i did not say that all people are trianed ....if you read well i say the same as you only with nuances.

and the money they make in the season is enough for the whole year...just like guides in the us and europe..they only can make money during seasons.

[trunl]

but unlike in the U.S., they don't know how to budget money for a whole village for a year.

[Ron]

it  might be a 3rd world country but the people are not dumb.

[Greg]

Wow ... as a person that has not yet attained his first of Seven Summits ... in training to begin the Journey with Mt. Kili next fall ... I'm almost appalled by some of the attitudes I've read on this topic.  I agree that the "rich" should not be "pulled" up the mountain, but I'm in more agreement with Ron and the admin.  -- whoever said having a "support" staff is being "pulled" up the mountain??

By your rationale, the first documented climb of Everest ... By no less than Sir Edmund himself .... was not a valid climb because not only did he have a huge support team, but he actually achieved the summit "hand in hand" with a Sherpa.  If someone wants to go "Alpine" I say more power to you, but it in no way diminishes the achievement by having support along the way.  After all ... did you hike to the Mountain from your home town?  Haul all your gear on your back for thousands of miles ... or did an airplane, taxi, etc. help you to get there?  Did you climb with supplemental oxygen?  Some would call that not being a purist ... but I call it being smart and being a realist.

Bottomline - To each their own.  Someone that is obviously not in condition to attempt the high peaks shouldn't be "dragged" up because that isn't safe or prudent, but just because you have support along the jouney doesn't make it any less of an achievement.  Onward and upward.

[Ron]

hear hear....well said

[trunl]

why do you support 'greg.' he said the exact same thing as 'josef' on the first page only you did not agree with josef. and about 'just because they live in a 3rd world country does not mean their smart' statement, if we donated money for them to get an education, then that would not be true. however, unfortunately, less than 10% of the nepalese population are schooled. that is why over 95% of nepalese have a job that requires literacy.

[nike]

Probably they thought: "if it feels right, let's do it!"

untrue, many people are untrained, and that is where the majority of the deaths come from, untrained climbers who decide to try to climb Everest..