In May 2000, Babu Chirri Sherpa died in a crevasse fall above camp 2 on the south side of Mt. Everest. His death was not only a tragic loss to his wife and six daughters, but also to the country of Nepal. Babu was a national hero for this tiny Himalayan nation. He had spent close to a day on the summit of Mt Everest, had set the speed record and had climbed the mountain more than any other person at the time. For Nepal, Babu was big time - they had a "Babu Day" set aside, he was featured in news and most importantly, he was a hero for a nation that welcomed a person to rally around. Both Nepal and the mountain community were affected by the loss of this talented and charismatic climber.

Babu Chirri Sherpa's death was a preventable accident. The Sherpa, for whom climbing is vocation not avocation, are thrust into the high mountains with out the training that Western climbers typically have before trying the big mountains of the Himalaya. The challenges of steep snow, active crevasses, loose rock, ropes and climbing equipment are in many ways a new reality for the Sherpa who work in the mountains.

The goal of the Sherpa Climbing School Project is to provide instruction once a year in the winter to a group of twenty mountain Sherpa. The classes will begin in February of 2004 and last two weeks. The classes will cover: rope & knot work, glacier travel, crevasse rescue, climbing technique (ascending, descending and traversing), camp hygiene, cold preparedness and basic first aid. The volunteer instructors for this class will be chosen from the ranks of North America's and Europe's finest alpinists. With background experience from Himalayan expeditions and first hand interaction with the Sherpa; the instructors will be well suited to increase the safety awareness. Several climbing equipment manufacturers will be providing equipment to get the program started.

The monies generated from this event will be used for:

• purchasing and translating instructional material
• providing room and board for the 20 participants in the village of Phortse for the two week period of the course
• paying a portion of air travel costs for the instructors
• printing a small informational flyer to be distributed to all expeditions
• training a select group of lead guides to train at Exum Mountain Guides, North America's most premiere climbing school.

Your interest and contributions are greatly appreciated.

Abstract

An ongoing instructional program aimed at improving climbing, wilderness and expedition skills for indigenous peoples who work for expeditions and trekking groups at altitude.

The Sherpa and Balti people are integral to the success of many climbing and trekking expeditions in the Himalaya. From the high reaches of Mt Everest to the arduous glacier travel on K2, the indigenous people do the majority of the work which allows the predominantly western climbers to reach the summits. The people that work in these dangerous environments have little or no climbing experience, something that is a prerequisite for most climbers before venturing into the Himalaya. The chance to work higher on the mountain is something that many of the Balti and Sherpa look forward to. The challenge is that thay are put in a situation requiring specific skills and equipment and are rarely given the proper training.

Content

• Glacier, snow and ice
  
• Localized weather
  
• Temperature related problems

Hazard Evaluation

• Slope stability
  
• Crevasses and Snow bridges
  
• Objective dangers

Rope systems

• Figure of Eight, Water knot, Overhand
  
• Prussik knots, Ti Blocks, Ascending loops
  
• Belay techniques
  
• Fixed line travel
  
• Crevasses travel system