The Accident in Nepal

[Charlie Wittmack]

Friends,

Many of you have emailed me about the accident on Everest last week and asked for my opinion.  While my opinion may be unpopular to many of you, I'm concerned about what is taking place this year on Everest and thought I should take a moment to comment.

In 2006, Bikal and I lost two Sherpas on an expedition that we coordinated for a group of experienced American climbers.  The two Sherpas were lost in about the same location as the accident this year, when a portion of the icefall collapsed.  They were working to dig out the ropes after a storm, on what should have been a "no climb" day.  The Sherpas chose to climb on a "no climb" day because of a sense of pride that exists in the Sherpa community - they wanted to be the people to "open the route" after the storm. 

After the accident, Bikal and I, and the rest of our expedition team, established a trust that would provide for the families of the two men who died, in perpetuity.  Since 2004 we have made regular payments to the families, paid for tuition and other assistance for the children, and built a tea house for one of the widows so that she would have a regular source of income.

We felt it was our duty to do this, just as we would have looked after any other member of our team who came into harm during our expedition.  Just as we would look after any member of our team on any climb, anywhere in the world.  This is a responsibility that all true climbers recognize, and is frequently referred to as the "brotherhood of the rope."

The accident on Everest this year is a terrible tragedy, and it is the responsibility of the teams involved.  I feel strongly that it is not appropriate for people outside of the climbing community (or even outside the teams involved in the accident) to get involved in the support effort.  To provide additional financial support to these teams is an improper use of limited resources, in a country that has significant demands for limited resources.

As you know, Nepal is a very poor country, with many people living without even basic needs.  The government has limited opportunity to raise revenue to provide for the public good.  Women are roughly 100 times more likely to die during childbirth than in the US, and there is almost no treatment for the many illnesses that plague the country.  In the next year nearly 20,000 people in Nepal will die from the Flu, while another 8,000 die from diarrheal diseases.  Most children go without even basic nutrition and health care, including life-saving inoculations.  Where medical care is available, it is unaffordable for most people.  The typical family in Nepal makes a few hundred dollars each year, and is currently facing an economy with extreme inflation.  

The Sherpa community is faced with a very different picture.  Recent reports show that family income in the Everest region is roughly 1,000 times that of other areas of Nepal.  The Nepalis who have the opportunity to climb Everest are truly the top 1% of Nepal.  Most of them pay no taxes and operate almost completely independently of the government.  They travel to the US or UK during the off-season in order to work (with sponsorship from Western climbing partners) and frequently immigrate permanently after their climbing careers are over.  Climbing Everest is truly the "Wall Street" of Nepal, where the local people have the opportunity to rise up above the crushing poverty of Nepal to attain a level of wealth that most of Nepal cannot even fathom.

Of course there is risk with taking the job - just as a Wall Street banker has a higher risk of a heart attack.  And just as the Wall Street banker has free will to choose his job, so does the Sherpa.  Those who choose not to take the risk (and reward) of working on the mountain have the opportunity to open a tea house, lodge, or restaurant in the valley.  Land ownership in the region is limited to the Sherpa people, and they have flourished.  In April alone, more than 8,000 trekkers will journey to Everest Base Camp while buying up $3 cokes and $7 bowls of rice.

Whenever one community can elevate their lives as a result of tourism, that's good - and what's happened to the people in the Everest region over the last 20 or 30 years is great.  As Americans we should take great pride in spreading our wealth to places like the Everest region, where the local people now have the benefit of electricity, education, and health care.  What we must do next is remember that our responsibility is much greater.  It doesn't end in that little sliver of civilization, but in the villages that most westerners never see and frankly can't imagine.

About ten years ago the World became obsessed with garbage on Everest.  Together our civilization poured millions and millions of dollars into a cleaning effort on the mountain - an effort designed to benefit a minuscule population of global elites, who previously couldn't be troubled to simply pick up after themselves.  As the cash poured in, the mountain was cleaned up, while thousands of women quietly died during childbirth, and hundreds of thousands of others faced the pain and agony of terminal illnesses that we can easily treat.

The expeditions who employed the Sherpas who were lost last week during the terrible accident on Everest have a duty and a responsibility to provide for the widows and children of those men.  Our hearts should be filled with compassion for this terrible loss.  And as we reflect on that terrible loss, we should turn our compassion to the many, many people who are so easily overlooked.

If you would like to support the people of Nepal, I would encourage you to go there.  Meet the people, experience the culture, and by all means, spend money.  Help the local people rise up out of poverty through the dignity of work.  Then make a philanthropic commitment to the people you didn't meet in the many villages that badly need your help.  One simple suggestion is to support an organization like Save The Children, who has many excellent programs in the country.

Americans are blessed with extraordinary wealth, and extraordinary compassion.  These two assets allow us to make a significant advancement for the underserved if we can focus our energy in the right spot.

Fondly,

Charlie

[Kathy Williams]

Dear Charlie,

 

Thank you for your wonderfully thoughtful letter regarding the Sherpas and the tragedy of the deaths of the guides on Mt. Everest.  Those of us who had the special opportunity travel in that part of Nepal and to get to know the Sherpa culture as well as to see other parts of Nepal personally can well understand what you are saying.  It should not be an either/or approach for the Nepalese government to provide support for the Sherpas and their families or meeting basic needs for the rest of the Nepalese people.

 

I know that you advocate that it be the responsibility of the teams involved in this loss, but maybe it should be spread wider, since sometimes it may be more “luck” as to which groups lose a member.  Could it be the requirement of all climbing parties to pay extra to a special trust for the Sherpa guides who are lost or severely injured in this line of work as well for their families?  This seems more fair than just expecting it from the specific expeditions that were involved with this tragic loss at this time unless you feel that it was due to something that was decided by these expeditions and therefore there is some implied negligence.

 

We really appreciate all of your guidance and leadership with A&B C as well your additional service for the betterment of all in our world.

 

Kathryn Williams

Director of Community Relations, S.V.P.

HomeStreet Bank

206-389-7705

Visit us at http://www.homestreet.com

 

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[Charlie Wittmack]

I agree that it's always better for communities to work together to overcome tragedy.  When we created the Sherpa Memorial Trust in 2006, we hoped that it would be embraced and supported by other expeditions as a life insurance program for the men and women who are working on the mountain.  The Trust was managed by an Everest Vet / lawyer in Denver and had the unilateral support of the US-based climbers.

The concept caught on for about two seasons, but was eventually taken over by the Sherpas themselves.  Today there is a mandatory fee imposed against western climbers for life insurance for each Sherpa teammate.  The program is actually managed and run by the Sherpas themselves.  I think this system is fine, particularly if it's what the Sherpas want, but many of the stories appearing this week are indicating that the Sherpas believe the benefits that they established are not adequate.  In addition to changing the insurance program (which I think should be done), they are also suggesting that they should be given the permit fees that are charged for climbing the mountain.  Unfortunately that's a key source of revenue for the government, which goes to pay for schools, hospitals and roads in the rest of the country.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/kailash2012/FE7F6DA88342014C8FF39EFD0736EC1A0F8CA8BE%40HBSEAEXCP03.csb.com.