Sherpa film criticism: Has it prevented me from climbing Everest?

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Will the need of the Sherpas change with the publication of Jennifer Peedoms BAFTA-nominated and exciting new Sherpa film?

Let us clarify one thing: I have neither the skills nor the money to climb Everest. I have spoken several times about my many years of ambition to climb the seven peaks, but I am not so naive that I can't see that it could remain a distant dream forever.

Of course, that doesn't stop me from dreaming and I assume that the attraction of being at the top of the world will never really let up. However, after seeing the BAFTA-nominated documentary Sherpa, I am considering whether foreigners should be on the mountain at all.

Sherpa traces Everest history from a rarely seen perspective and subtly asks the question: Is the persistent foreign obsession from Everest bad for Nepal, Khumbu and the Sherpas?

It is clear that most foreigners could not climb Everest without the help of Sherpas: it is their country, their mountain and their expertise. A Sherpa crosses the Khumbu ice break up to 30 times during an expedition-the most dangerous part of the mountain. A customer can only cross them twice.

Unfortunately, so much of the history of the Sherpas in large productions such as the survival thriller Everest from 2015 is lost.

This should change with the publication of Sherpa.

The visually captivating film offers an honest insight into the life of the Sherpas: the challenges that you face and your changing attitude towards foreigners. The most fascinating aspect is the changing image of the Sherpa from the always smiling, submissive buddy, which became famous by Tenzing Norgay, towards the younger, connected generation of Sherpas, under which there is an undercovering of resentment.

This growing dissatisfaction spoke in 2013 when a brawl broke out between foreign mountaineers and annoyed Sherpas on the mountain.

The tense exchange is a harbinger of other unrest. By chance, director Jennifer Peedom and her team made their film on the (then) darkest day of Everest, April 18, 2014, when 16 Sherpas died in an avalanche above the Khumbu Eisbruch.

The resulting tension breaks out when the foreign customers in the film expect that the underpaid Sherpas will continue to climb so many of their colleagues, friends and relatives after the death.

Alt = “Sherpa film criticism-Zug der Sherpas” Sherpas train in the Khumbu ice rupture, the most dangerous part of the mountain

What I noticed was the attitude of some customers. Once a prospective climber asks who cannot understand why the Sherpas do not want to cross the fatal ice break, his expedition leader: "Can't you speak to your owners?"

Later in the film he goes so far to compare the striking Sherpas with terrorists.

The question that arises to me is: We essentially force Sherpas to risk your life?

On the one hand, it is clear that the tourism industry causes Sherpas to risk their life on a mountain that they believe that they should be treated with awe. On the other hand, the demand for a closure of the mountain is unbearably paternalistic. It implies that the Sherpas cannot think for themselves that they are just mindless mules who follow thoughtlessly commands.

Alt = “Sherpa film criticism-base camp” would Sherpas be not at Everest in view of the choice?

The Sherpas in Peedom's film want better wages and safer working conditions in order not to cut them away. The answer then lies with the Nepalese government and the Sherpas itself. The most powerful tool in the hands of the Sherpas is to take on industrial action, and it is encouraging how to take control of the mountain.

I can't deny it: I still want to be at the top of the world, but I can only do that with the permission of the Sherpas. It is your country, your mountain and your expertise. If I ever have the skills or money to climb Everest, the Sherpas will decide whether to do it.

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Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster is the true story of a 24-hour period on Everest, which started with a storm and ended with the highest death rate in a season in the history of the summit.

Pictures: Sherpafilm.com
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