YourHub.com \\ Old Colorado City \\ Stories \\ Outdoor Recreation

THE LEGACY OF SIR EDMUND HILLARY - CHAPTER 2

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Dave Hughes on 1/13/2008

The Legacy of Hillary - Chapter 2 - Sherpas as Traders.

And the overwhelming impact - legacy - that Hillary's first climb has had on the Sherpa people is that, to make a living at other than potato farming and Yak herding at 12,000 feet, they have had to get into, one way or another, serving the needs of Trekkers and Climbers by portering for $5 a day, guiding, operating, and some owning, Lodges along the trek routes, or selling, such as at the Tibetan Marketplace in Namche, or from more modern Sherpa entrepreneurs, buying climbing and trekking gear and clothing carried in - on their Sherpa backs the last 7,000 feet of altitude and 20 miles of rocky trail - from suppliers in the US and Europe.

But COMMUNICATIONS is very scarce high in the Himalayas. Tsering Sherpa meant to provide that by the most advanced technology possible. To the thousands of Trekkers and not just the Climbers and their support parties, as he did with my technical help in 2003 for the 50th Anniversary of Hillary's original climb. He already had his Direct Satellite Internet system up and after he saw what I showed them would work at the worlds highest Cybercafe - wi-fi linked to satellite ground stations - he wanted more.

So why has it, especially over the past 10 years, become so important to Trekkers to 'get connected' while climbing in the Himalayas? To the point 'getting connected' at 15,000 feet on the trail can support complete businesses such as Tsering has launched?

Just like many Americans who go walking, camping, and hiking outdoors, many want to leave their cell phones behind and cut off all calls AND emails. But...

First of all its just a matter of public safety. Once you are committed to climbing from the last drop off point for weeks into the unforgiving high altitude, don't expect instant medical attention, from physical accidents (falls, tumbling rocks or ice, avalanches), sickness, to the most pernicious problem of all - altitude sickness - that can strike trekkers even if they were, on previous trips, physically fit and acclimated.

And almost the only 'cure' for that is to get down to lower altitude fast. Not easy especially when about all the rest of your trekking party can do is get their own bodies over the trail - uphill or down - much less try to assist another in distress. Yet 'technology' has now even permitted some very high lodges to put an hyperbolic up which can reduce the effective altitude from 17,000 feet to a fully tolerable 3,000 or less.

Even I had a problem around Namche when trekking to a school after catching - from Tsering - his brand of Sherpa cold (you know - 'foreign' germs) that got into my sinuses and robbed me of energy for several days. Not helped by my 75 year old age. Once on the trail at 15,000 feet I had to rest, my companions were worried, so a woman Japanese doctor was trekking with a group of Japanese. She was able to take my temperature but even more importantly had a little oxygen-measuring device that slips on your index finger. She read my oxygen level and said it was fine - I was not in danger. I just needed to take it easy and walk back to Namche. I did and recovered.

The second reason for the demand for 1st world telecommunications on a 3d world mountain, is 'cultural.' Many of the trekkers on the trail after they have gotten as far as Lukla - already up to a week or more 'out of touch' since leaving the US or Europe flying to Katmandu from the other side of the world, and then after getting to Lukla up at 9,000 feet on the slopes of Everest, have trekked 3 more days just to get to Namche. Out of touch of friends and family shaking their heads at their friend or relative 'Going to Mount Everest!' And worrying. MY family was GREATLY worried when their 75 year old father and grandfather decided to go alone and lollygag up the Himalayan trail to Mount Everest, showing up fine in email only after 9 days from the time I left Colorado Springs.

So I watched in Tsering's Namche Cybercafe which at least had 4 computers connected to the satellite base unit outside the building, while young men would write "Hi Mom. I'm fine. I am up near Mt Everest. My girl friend and I have decided to also visit the Taj Mahal in India after we get down from here. Send money!"

1st world people EXPECT instant communications.

And Tsering the Sherpa was determined to provide it, as a business.

I had learned doing my research homework on not only mountaineering in the Himalayas, Hillary's feat, but also the Sherpa culture and history in Nepal - that Sherpa were good 'traders.' Natural businesspersons. So no surprise Tsering who lived in a no-tech native cultural village, after seeing the Internet in the United States, saw the potential in bringing that to Namche, even though there was not a single other Sherpa there who had any technical background, or set of telecommunications skills. He was a chip off the old block - his old grandfather, Gysalten who lives still in Namche.

Gysalten was just a strong backed Sherpa native from Namche when he joined the 300 Sherpas who were recruited to support the Col Hunt expedition of which Hillary was a part in 1953 to attempt, again, Everest.

But he was not only a strong 'porter' carrying heavy loads, but also showed some native leadership ability, so became one of the supervisors and organizers of the other Sherpas. And so, when the expedition was over, he was well paid for his services.

So guess what he did? He then WALKED from Namche down through Nepal all the way across INDIA to CALCUTTA, bought 'stuff' he thought would be attractive, then WALKED all the way back across India and Nepal with a one-man load (Sherpas can be seen carrying at least 100 pounds on their small frames) not just to Namche, but ALSO walked also up the Solu Khumbu corridor and over those 20,000 foot Himalayan passes into TIBET, where he SOLD the goods to the Tibetans.

And as luck would have it they paid him in silver currency, which, by the time he WALKED back to Namche, had risen hugely in value after there was a world Silver price explosion (when Hunt tried to corner the Silver market). All that happened in the mid 50s.

So Sherpa 'trader' Gysalten, became the richest man in Namche! And passed on his 'trader' genes to grandson Tsering!

Who wanted to cash in on Internet communications high up, and use wireless as well as Satellite Internet to do so!

I liked that entrepreneurial spirit! Same thing that revitalized the small businesses of Old Colorado City. I like small business. And I KNOW that with personal computers, wireless, and the Internet, there will be explosions of successful small businesses all over the world!

So Tsering asked me if I could help him use wireless to connect up computers in the many Lodges where trekkers hang out, to the satellite base location. Permitting many more to use the slender 22,000 mile high link than can crowd into his small place with only a hand full of computers.

Whew! I said to myself. There is LOTS more to wireless on the slopes of Everest than just a couple radios! Bigger batteries, solar panels, below zero freezing, severe weather at time, lines of sight, need for radio relays, traffic shaping, static IP addresses, European power standards, usable bandwidth. And Yaks kicking over the power cables to solar panels.
Woah. I cannot even expect my two technically savy (though not wireless expert) sons to do this. I better do it myself, I decided.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I am old. 2004 I was 75 years old. BUT I knew since we live here at 6,000 feet on the westside I would not have trouble acclimating my lungs up to 15,000 feet. But if I trekked up there to Namche (one does NOT fly in) over three days from the furthest drop off point at Lukla, with its dinky airport (whose landing strip for propeller planes is 15 degrees upslope!) I would have to get my Koran War legs in shape. Barr Trail on Pikes Peak was the obvious answer for it is only 10 minutes from my house.

So I committed to traveling there myself, carrying about $5,000 worth of unlicensed digital radios (yeah the technology Hedy Lamar had invented 60 years before) packed into one $25 foot-locker sized case from Walmart, and a suitcase with my clothing stuff.

When I landed in Katmandu, my 'cultural education' up front and personal with Sherpas started.

You can see a gallery of photos starting with my preparations by climbing the Barr Trail on Pikes Peak, that relates the technical as well as physical and cultural venture in 2004.

http://gallery.linkingeverest.com/main.php?g2_itemId=6157

So the second great Legacy left behind by Hillary was giving the Sherpa people a boost into the modern age with its technology and economics. Is that altogether a good thing? You judge.

Chapter 3 - Sherpa Life and Culture on Everest

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

CONTRIBUTOR INFO

Dave Hughes

Colorado Springs , CO

Dave Hughes has posted 98 stories and 91 comments since joining on 3/1/2007. Dave Hughes 's average story rating is 4.91.

view profile » view other postings from Dave Hughes »