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Sherpas on Everest
part 2 |
back to part 1
Are the Sherpas and other highland peoples physiologically
different from the rest of us?
Dr. Cynthia Beall of Case Western Reserve University and
Physical Anthropology Advisor to the MacGillivray Freeman
Films Everest IMAX/IWERKS film, postulates that there may be a
genetic factor involved in Sherpa strength at altitude: "The
Everest climbers must not only exert great physical effort to
climb the mountain, but do so while under tremendous hypoxic
stress. This stress is not something that can be mitigated in
the way, for instance, that we would put on extra clothes when
we are cold. We must adapt physiologically. How the Sherpas do
this more effectively than others has been a puzzle to
anthropologists and physiologists, and we don't really have
the answer. There is evidence of a gene that allows their
blood to carry more oxygen, but there are other factors that
affect this, as well."
Sherpas have played quiet but critical roles in Everest
achievements. From the beginning of their involvement with
high altitude mountaineering, Sherpas have paid a
disproportionately high price in life and limb. In 1922 seven
Sherpa porters were buried under an avalanche on Everest's
North Col. In the first seventy years of Everest activity, 43
Sherpas were killed, more than a third of the total deaths in
that period. Even this year, on the south side of Everest, two
of the three evacuations from the mountain thus far—due
to serious injury—were Sherpas.
Because of their contribution to route fixing and ferrying
supplies, they find themselves exposed to the extreme risks of
high mountain climbing more frequently than their
employers.
On our way up to Base Camp, we passed by a sacred site in the
Khumbu valley, a testament to the Sherpas that have lost their
lives on the surrounding peaks. Dozens of memorial chortens,
each commemorating a death on the nearby mountains, line a
ridge that looks out on a 360° view of snow-covered peaks.
Although history has recorded their deeds as mere footnotes to
greatness, it is the Sherpa contribution and effort that has
been the backbone of most expeditions on Everest.
Click here to hear David Breashears talk about what the
Sherpas mean to him
(RealAudio).
Liesl Clark, NOVA Online's producer and writer, joined the
expedition up to Base Camp. Audrey Salkeld of Clevedon,
England is one of the world's premier Everest historians and
photo researchers. Her photo editing credits include
Everest: The Ultimate Book of the Ultimate Mountain
and
Everest: The Best Writing and Pictures from Seventy Years
of Human Endeavour.
Photos: (1-3) Liesl Clark.
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