Ngawang Topche is a very stubborn person and will risk his life for his job. Even though Ngawang is not huge part of the story he still teaches us the importance of Sherpa culture. When people start to notice that Ngawang is just sitting around they get suspicious and start to ask him questions. Ngawang then confesses that he had been feeling weak, groggy and short of breath. He was than order to go back to base camp but shockingly he didn't listen. "But there is an element of machismo in the Sherpa culture that makes makes men extremely reluctant to acknowledge physical infirmities." (112) Instead of going down Ngawang went up to Camp two. When he arrived his symptoms had gotten way worse, indicating that he had HAPE, High Altitude Pulmonary disorder. If Ngawang had listened and had just gone down he would have been able to save his life. "Those who do become sick and openly acknowledge it, moreover, will often be blacklisted from future employment on expedition." (113) Now this is why Ngawang stayed up, if he had gone down he would have probably lost his job, I guess for Ngawang it's worth more than his life. This example just goes to show how competitive jobs up in the Himalayas are, forcing someone into this mindset just to make a living.
great post Jonah. I really like how you delved into a Sherpa because I also thought they were very interesting. I like how you started your blog straight to the point so I knew exactly who you were talking about. I thought you used your quotes very well for this Sherpa only having a small part in this story. great post.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the Sherpas are stubborn per se, but are very mentally tough and work really hard. Without Sherpas, the climbers would have little to no chance of reaching the summit. The Sherpas know this and work extremely hard to look good so they can get hired by the next expedition. Yes, Ngawang indicated that he had HAPE, but he knew that if he left the expedition, he would look weak. And if expedition leaders thought he was weak, then he would never be hired again. The Sherpas also work extremely hard. Krakauer routinely expresses this by saying how appreciative he was for their work, "...it gave me a fresh perspective on how much the Sherpas ordinarily did for us, and how little we truly appreciated it," (157). They also persevere through physically enduring tasks, like carrying an 80 pound pack for little to no reason or, "towed Pittman on a short-rope for five or six hours above the South Col, substantially compounding his fatigue..." (177). The Death Zone, or the are above the South Col, is exactly that, an are where people commonly die due to altitude sickness. Lopsang Sherpa was not only already fatigued from carrying an 80 pound pack, but he also was dragging a person while in the Death Zone and without any supplemental oxygen. Not only did he carry on with his task, he didn't complain to anybody. This really is the perfect example of the Sherpan way, doing anything that can be done, no matter how tiring or potentially deadly, while also keeping all of your emotions to yourself.
ReplyDeleteThe Sherpa culture is interesting to be because it really is the base that holds up Everest expeditions. These men know the mountain like a home and respect it like a god. The way their culture sees Everest has set a president for the commercial climbers and all climbers alike. Everest could easily become home or a resort like place, obviously not in very high altitude but lower down the mountain. This would attract people all over the world and ruin on of the few cultures that have been lucky not to modernize greatly. Krakauer says that there is a type of respect that the climbers have for the Sherpa's, their beliefs and practices. Most of those who climb Everest are looking for or will end up having a deeper connection the the area and the meaning of what they see and a change to the Sherpa culture would totally ruin that. I think the high expense to gain excess to the mountain is helping hold back to much commercialism and I hope that Everest can stay the same rich, influential place it has been for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a great post because it flowed well and the evidence was compelling. They should not put down the Sherpa who died, because it was part of his culture not to acknowledge sickness. Some people take their culture to heart and you should exercise caution when judging another culture other than your own. If he was not part of that Sherpa culture, he may have told someone he was sick and lived, but he didn't. I am kind of neutral on this, because if I had the same cultural view, I would do the same. However, from my perspective and culture, I am accustomed to telling someone and asking for help.
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