Sherpas face uncertain future following Everest avalanche

Mount Everest is normally buzzing with activity this time of year, with hundreds of hopeful climbers gathering at base camp to attempt to summit the world's tallest peak during a narrow 10-day window in May before the monsoons arrive.
It is also the most lucrative season for Sherpas, the locals living in the high-altitude regions of the Himalaya who support climbing teams as porters, guides, rope-fixers, cooks and dish-washers.
But Everest is basically closed after a magnitude-7.8 quake triggered a massive avalanche that killed 19 at basecamp and more than 6,300 people throughout the country. China said Wednesday it was ending the climbing season early on the Tibet side, and most major mountaineering companies on the Nepal side canceled their climbs because of logistical challenges and safety concerns.

That leaves Sherpas, who can earn up to USD 5,000 to USD 7,000, plus bonuses and tips, during the three-month climbing season, wondering how they'll make up that lost revenue in a country where the per capita income is about USD 730 annually.
Cooks and other support personnel earn about half as much, but still well above the average pay in the country.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association, an umbrella body of mountaineering agencies and climbers in Nepal, said Sherpas are worried the season may be over. While many Sherpas sign contracts that will still have to be paid, they'll miss out on day rates and bonuses.

Steve Mock, director a climbing school for Nepali called the Khumbu Climbing Center, said the lower incomes also mean Sherpas now have less money to rebuild their homes.

"Insurance for that sort of thing is simply not available in Nepal so rebuilding costs come directly out of pocket," he said. "Many save up money from working on Everest for years in order to build a decent house that may well have been destroyed or at least damaged by the quake. So financially, this is simply devastating."
The financial burden could spread beyond just the Sherpas. Everest is a major economic driver for the country, which receives more than USD 3.5 million from Everest climbing permits annually, said Conrad Anker of Bozeman, Montana, who has climbed Everest three times.

Climbing permits run about USD 11,000 per person for climbing Everest from the Nepal side and USD 7,000 per person on the Tibet side, and hundreds are sold each year.
The climbing season runs from March to June.
A few teams are trying to find a way to salvage the season, and some Sherpas would welcome the work.