An oral history of Sherpa around Mt. Everest
Sherpa
The untold stories of mountaineering achievements and tragedies – an oral history of the Sherpas. Published by Octopus Publishing/ Hachette UK for the UK and the commonwealth countries/ territories.
SHERPA
Amid all the foreign adventures that throng to Nepal to scale the world’s highest peaks there exists a small community of mountain people at the foothills of Himalayas. Sherpa dives into their culture and tells of their exitance at the edge of life and death. It traces their story pre- and post- mountaineering revolution with previously unpublished stories from the most notable and incredible Sherpas of the last 50 years.
Most of the narrative around mountaineering and Mount Everest have been guided by the experiences and understanding of foreign climbers. This is largely because Sherpas themselves have little chance to tell their story. With exclusive interviews and first-hand accounts, Sherpa breaks this silence and brings the world the story of the Sherpas and their relations with its tallest peak.
Ankit Babu Adhikari and Pradeep Bashyal have travelled through major Sherpa hubs in Nepal and India to lead you into the homes and heads of generations of Sherpas. Built upon these narratives, Sherpa tells the story of how the mountaineering world has evolved and how Sherpas have inevitably become its key players, not just on Mount Everest, but throughout the globe. Through these stories, there is a strong sense of the changing cultural aspects of Sherpa communities, associated myths and religious beliefs, and other driving factors that lead to a life of mountaineering. All set against the breathtaking imagery of the Himalayan landscape.
Sherpa gives first-hand accounts of tragic disasters that have taken place on Mount Everest, as well as interrogating the ongoing impact of climate change. Alongside the climbing Sherpas, the book also tells the stories of their families, and particularly women Sherpas, who have different Everests to climb – dealing with fear, surviving tragedy, and making a living in the most extreme of landscapes.
Sherpa shares the thrilling experiences of life and death at the roof of the world and enables you to see the true people behind it all. The book is currently available in the UK and the commonwealth countries/ territories.
Publisher: Cassel, an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.
A Hachette UK Company (First published in Great Britain in July 2022)
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