A SHERPA STORY LIFE ON THE EVEREST BASE CAMP TRAIL

I was surprised to learn from Keji that they had electricity over twenty years ago (much of this solar), mobile phones became popular ten years ago and the internet came to Namche Bazaar, the main administrative centre at the same time as everywhere else in Nepal. Virtually every item you could think of between Lukla and base camp has been carried up on the back of a human porter or a yak. "Even Namche was different. Now the buildings are nice, only a few years before they had rock roofs. We also had to start building doors which were higher." This took me back to my first memory of Kathmandu Airport where a sign reads: 'Nepal – world's tallest mountains, world's shortest people." "Do you have a favourite country for tourists? Who are the most friendly and kind" I ask him. "I don't have a favourite. Everyone is good. They all bring money to us" he says sheepishly. Anticipating an interesting answer, I was surprised and disappointed by the brevity of his response. Accordingly, I changed tack. "And the worst?" I ask him. With a brief pause he continues: "everyone is the same...no...actually the Chinese are the worst. 75, no 85, no 100% of Nepalis hate the Chinese. They don't listen. China already has a place of their own, why do they come here?" he says to chuckles from the audience of three. I assume he is referring to the Chinese occupation of Tibet, with which Nepal shares Mount Everest and a common border. The Sherpa people came from the Tibetan plateau several hundred years ago whilst Buddhist monasteries and prayer wheels dot the landscape of the region.  "Why fight our culture. We have our culture, they have their culture." Any other differences between tourists and Nepalis? "Education is the problem. Westerners are very well educated which gives them so many advantages. It is difficult to access good education in Nepal, especially if you do not have money. Westerners love nature. I like this. They are very positive all the time" he says smiling. "Also, they like the recycling, which keeps the trail good." Indeed, the almost complete absence of plastic, bottles or litter along the length of the trail was a source of great pleasure to me. Despite recent political instability surrounding elections, Nepal has recovered over the past few years from recent turmoil including the infamous Royal Massacre. On the 1st of June 2001, heir to the throne Prince Dipendra murdered nine people before turning the gun on himself. In the chaos that ensued, Maoists rebels up scaled their insurgency in the hope of overthrowing the monarchy and replacing it with a people's democracy. In 2004, a siege began in the Kathmandu Valley which prompted a retaliatory crackdown by the King.  Clashes erupted between Maoists and Royalists. I wondered how these events affected the lives of the sharps and the tourism industry. "To be honest, it was a disruption, but not as much as you would expect. For about 2-3 months there was great uncertainty. Tourist numbers fell. This was bad for the taxi drivers and the hotels. For about five years nobody knew what was going to happen, which severely hurt the poorest people, the local farmers. But things got better. The government didn't help though and the Maoists just took the money and put it into their own pockets when they came to government", he said. "What about the Sherpa people like yourself and Kanchu?" We have our farms as well, what we were doing before the tourists, so yes it was difficult but tourism gradually built back up." Today, over 30,000 people attempt the Everest Base Camp trek each year. "What does Nepal need to become more prosperous?" I ask Keji. "The young people are the future. We need to get the politics right first. Even the Maoists are fighting with each other now. The government is corrupt. To climb the Everest summit can be $50,000 including permits. Much of this they take for themselves in Kathmandu but give nothing to us. The government needs to do more, there are some good schemes, such as helping farmers with loans to buy yaks and things, but they are not interested in us really." Fascinated by the processions of yaks up and down the trail I wonder how much one of these beasts costs. "Hmm...about 60,000 rupees" is the answer I get, the equivalent of around $650. This got me thinking about the economic circumstances of the Sherpa people. My group of two paid $20 per day to a travel agency for the services of our guide.  "I get half this amount", Keji says. It is good money, although we do not work all the year. For about 2-3 months in the cold season we stay back and care for our farms. There is also some winter trekking, but this is hard." With each trek lasting between two and three weeks at a time the pressure on their families must be significant. Typically, the Sherpas are stoic. "We do what we must, and we can get away from our wives" he chuckles, and then translates into Nepali for Kanchu before they both crack up. "The wife is like the bank. We earn the money; we give it to the bank to look after the family while we are away." Keji himself has three children, 21, 13 and 7, the oldest of whom works as a guide for tourists in Kathmandu. I ask him what dreams he has for them. "I would like them to be a good guide, or trekking officer, or maybe one of the pilots between Kathmandu and Lukla. If the young ones do well at school maybe they could become a teacher to bring more money to the family."