Sherpa, a documentary by Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom

18 March 2016

To many people Everest is a mountain to be climbed “because it is there”. Nepal is the country one must travel to in which to do so. Finally, the Sherpas, whom everyone has heard of, are there to carry climbers’ gear up and down the slopes. It is the misconceptions surrounding these people that Jennifer Peedom aims to counter in her latest documentary, Sherpa, trailer.

Indeed Sherpa is not some sort of mountain climbers lingo for baggage carrier, it is a name for an ethnic group of people, who refer to the mountain, they consider to be a deity, as Chomolungma. The Sherpas involvement with the foreign climbers is the source of much contention within their community however, something Phurba Tashi Sherpa can attest to.

Phurba is a veteran who has scaled the mountain more than twenty times. He recognises the necessity of the Sherpas’ work, and importance of the overseas climbers to the local economy. His wife, Karma Doma Sherpa, is more than mindful of the dangers associated with his work though, and hopes he will find another job, especially as her brother died on the mountain.

Sherpas work in what is regarded as the world’s most dangerous service industry, and Peedom’s spectacular documentary brings the risks of the job to the fore. They are exploited, and often shown little regard, by those intent only on reaching the top. Sherpa not only shows us unseen aspects of climbing Everest, but also accords the Sherpas with the respect they deserve.

Originally published Friday 18 March 2016, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.