The Sherpas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Belonging to an ethnic group

Sherpas (SHER-WA): the name means "people from the East. Around 1600, they migrated from eastern Tibet, due to war and unrest, to the Khumbu valley in eastern Nepal.

Answer: After the day of the week in which they were born

Each baby receives the name of the day of the week in which he/she was born, and is protected by that day's god. Nima is Sunday, Dawa is Monday, Mingma is Tuesday, Lhapka is Wednesday, Phurbu is Thursday, ,Pasang is Friday and Pemba is Saturday. After that other names can be added, such as Tenzing (pious), Norbu (wealthy), Ang (little) or Norgay (lucky). Plus, Sherpa names can be changed as they wish, by a high Lama, at any time in their lives. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa is not his original name - often the name Sherpa is added to prove their ethnic capabilities as good mountaineers. Without family names, it is impossible to figure out kinships.

Answer: For money

Sherpas don't have a clue about why foreigners want to climb mountains. They only do it because it pays better than any other job available, and they want to provide for their families. Previously they were only porters or they pulled rickshaws. None of them was a climber until the 1920's, when the British organized the first expeditions.
The Lamas were reluctant to give permission to climb, afraid to anger the spirits of the mountains.

To this day, if you ask a Sherpa why foreigners climb mountains, he just chuckles uncomprehendingly.

Answer: Sanskrit

Sherpa is a Tibetan dialect and it is not written, so the Sherpas learned Tibetan from the monks. When they moved to Nepal, they had to become fluent in the local official language, which is Nepali. Now many of them are also conversant in English, due to their job.

Answer: True

All of them are in the Himalayas or Karakoram chains, North of India.

Answer: Chomolungma

The name means "Goddess Mother of mountains". Its Nepali name is: Sagarmatha = Brow of the Sky.

Answer: After a British Surveyor General of India

Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India, proposed that the mountain be named after his predecessor, Sir George Everest. Up until then the mountain was known by several different local names.

But Sir George, a rather cantankerous type, opposed the idea. He also pronounced his name EEV-rist, instead of the way it is commonly pronounced today. But the name was nevertheless officially adopted by the Royal Geographic Society in 1865. Mount Everest elevation is 29,029 feet (8,848 meters).

Answer: The expedition leader of the Sherpas

Every climbing expedition has a sardar. He is a Sherpa and he is the foreman. The various tasks performed by the Sherpas are: carrying up to 50 lbs. packs on their back containing food, tents, oxygen cylinders and all kinds of gear; installing fixed ropes, carving steps in the ice for the climbers, establish camp, prepare meals and much more.

At the end of the expedition, the Sherpas get to keep their gear (boots, coat, sleeping bag). Financially, this is the best reward for them, because they can sell it for more than what they earned on the climb.

Answer: Two

The record is 21 ascents, reached by both Apa Sherpa in 2011 and by Phurba Tashi in 2013. The fastest record from base camp is 8 hours 10 minutes by Pem Dorjee. The longest stay: 21 hours by Babu Chiri Sherpa in 1999. The first ascent to the summit was accomplished by the New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. Tenzing was the first Sherpa ever to achieve renown.
A photo shows him on the summit holding a pickaxe with the flags of the UK, Nepal, India and the UN tied around it.
When asked who got to the top first, Hillary and Tenzing answered: "It doesn't matter, we did it together".

Answer: 16 Sherpas died

A terrible tragedy, 16 Sherpas died, 9 were injured. They were preparing the camps for the season, which, because of the weather, is usually between May 15 and 30. The accident occurred below the dangerous Khumbu icefall, a frozen waterfall with overhanging blocks of ice the size of buildings, which fell on the Sherpas. The tragedy shook the small Sherpa community to the core, and the climbing season was cancelled out of respect for the victims, with great financial loss for everybody, the Sherpas, the Nepali government, the organizers and the climbers, who pay an average of $75,000 for the climb to the summit.

The only person who reached the top in 2014 was a 40-year-old Chinese woman, who was taken by helicopter above the icefall, and climbed the rest of the way.

Some call it cheating, but it might become a popular way of doing it in the future.