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Sherpas — Superhumans from Everest
They are immune to lack of oxygen and feel at home in the Himalayas. Nevertheless, they remain in the shadow of the climbers from the West. What is the secret of the Sherpas’ strength?
Edmund Hillary, a tall and bony gentleman from New Zealand, who in 1953 was the first person to stand on top of Mount Everest, almost died during his historic expedition to the highest mountain in the world. He was rescued by Sherpa Tenzig Norgay, a man shorter by a head but strong as a turtle from the Himalayan foothills. As the New Zealander was seconds away from falling into a crevasse, Norgay drove his axe into the icy wall, blocking the rope to which Hillary was attached. Soon the climber was sure: it was with the inconspicuous Sherpa that he wanted to form a mountain team.
The year was 1953, and no man had yet seen the world from the top of Mount Everest. A few tried. He had already climbed Chomolungma — as the mountain was called in the nearest vicinity — six times: Sherpa Tenzig Norgay. He had an advantage over the others: above 5000 m, where the human body suffers torment, he felt like walking. No wonder he became part of a group of 400 people who tried to climb the mountain this spring. And it was he…
