What is a Sherpa?

Learn more about Sherpas



You may think that Sherpa refers to "your personal slave" or your backpack carrier, or some other helper word. NOT TRUE. Sherpas are an actual ethnic group with their own culture and traditions. Sherpas are members of the Himalayan people and most live high in the mountains between Nepal and Tibet, but in recent years some have actually moved away and live in United States and Europe.

Sherpas speak a kind of unique Tibeto-Burman language that is not understood by other people living in Tibet.

Sherpa literally means "people from the east" and they have been in the Himalayas since the 1500s, but have received most notice in the last century because of Mt. Everest expeditions employing these nice Buddhists people.

Sherpas know the mountains very well, can carry their own bodyweight and have adapted to the higher altitude. These things make them perfect guides to help climbers from all over the world who want to reach the top of the world without having to carry their own supplies and who don't know exactly where to go. Without Sherpas they would probably never make it.



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