The Sherpa of New York
July 27, 2018 10:30 AM   Subscribe

Atop a dark Himalayan ridge, a short, silhouetted climber gazes at the icy jags of Mount Thamserku. That climber is Serap. One of the world's best climbers now sells climbing gear to people who seldom know who he is.
posted by MovableBookLady (15 comments total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
Apropos... well not nothing, but almost: While working in Yellowstone National Park we'd get all sorts into the restaurants. Families, college kids, internationals on vacation from all parts of the world, bikers, and hikers of distances long and short. Some of the rarer hikers were folks doing the PCT, I only saw a few of them but one of them was an older gentleman who was exceptionally soft spoken but seemed like the type that could keep up with a group with a pack on his back. And his companion who I learned, halfway thru the meal, who was a hiking companion and a literal, not figurative, Sherpa. He even signed the check in similar fashion, whereupon I learned that Sherpa wasn't as much a designation as a surname among those peoples. That had never occured to me.

Cool individuals, both of them, and I was happy to have a connection beyond watching mid 90s reality shows about paid tourists climbing Everest and books like The Ascent of Everest by Hunt.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:17 AM on July 27, 2018 [2 favorites]


That climber is Serap

There's a name crying out to be part of a palidrome. (which I'm utterly incapable of creating so I leave it for someone else. Someone possibly named Bob, or Hannah.)
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:32 AM on July 27, 2018


Excellent read. I wish him and his family a safe and prosperous future in the United States.
posted by infini at 11:38 AM on July 27, 2018 [3 favorites]


I used to work down the block from Tents and Trails and have purchased random camping supplies there before. Its a really old school kind of New York shop, with entirely too much merchandise and not nearly enough space to store/display it. Its the kind of place that makes you appreciate and rely on the expertise of the staff, who its quite clear actually know what they are talking about, because you couldnt possibly be sure of what they have on some shelf somewhere, but they certainly know and can get it for you.

i also google image searched the Khumbu Icefall and i am just out of words to describe folks who feel inclined to scale things like that. the aluminum ladders lashed end-to-end over holes and crevasses so deep they minght never find you (of the 16 people who died in the icefall slide in 2014 mentioned in the story only 13 bodies have been recovered). Amazing, but a big no thanks for me.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:13 PM on July 27, 2018 [2 favorites]


I was reading through this and thinking “please make sure he has time to go to Mount Washington” (of which I know very little), and sure enough, he has at least gone to Mount Washington since he's been in the US, and now I'm happier.
posted by ambrosen at 12:23 PM on July 27, 2018 [1 favorite]


Somehow reading this article has led to an afternoon reading about K2 climbing disasters. Remind me to never climb or indeed look at a mountain.
posted by selfnoise at 12:34 PM on July 27, 2018 [5 favorites]


the aluminum ladders lashed end-to-end over holes and crevasses so deep they minght never find you (of the 16 people who died in the icefall slide in 2014 mentioned in the story only 13 bodies have been recovered). Amazing, but a big no thanks for me.

Good news, with climate change, those bodies might just slide down the mountain when the ice keeps melting, like ancient bodies in prior years.

Interesting article, but so much sadness throughout - Sherpa people have become synonymous with "mountain guides/ helpers," but means "people of the east." Sherpas who want to climb for their own renown and to celebrate their country don't get funding, but are treated as disposable helpers to the wealthy foreign climbers. Climate change is making the already dangerous work of preparing the ascents and guiding climbers even more precarious, and pushing more climbers into a shorter climbing season. People looking to the US as the land of opportunity, only to sell camping gear and drive a cab or for a "ride sharing" company.

Still, I'm glad to see that Serap and his family seem to have more potential and safety in New York City than in Nepal.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:24 PM on July 27, 2018 [4 favorites]


"I'm glad to see that Serap and his family seem to have more potential and safety in New York City than in Nepal."

That was basically the opposite of my reading. This story is a tragedy to me. This incredibly skilled, driven, ambitious person who is willing to enthusiastically risk safety for his passion (which he spent a lifetime learning)... but who is pushed out of that life (and home of generations) completely in order to provide a 'better' life for his family. This guy can achieve incredible feats, and is now working in retail. That's the death of potential. And whether his family is able to reach their 'potential,' well with the current state of inequality and racism in this country does not make me feel particularly hopeful for that. Of course I hope it all works out, but god, this was a heartbreaking read, and in a more just world, the people he had guided would have found a way to sponsor him themselves, not for him to be working at the cluttered, stuffy, decrepit Tents and Trails store (as charming as that place is). Really glad I read this.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 1:52 PM on July 27, 2018 [5 favorites]


Great article. I have to link to my favorite post about Everest. Haunting but excellent.
posted by gryphonlover at 2:36 PM on July 27, 2018


This guy can achieve incredible feats, and is now working in retail.

Though, the advice Serap got, that mountaineering sponsorship is very difficult to get even for western climbers, is true.

Outdoor stores all over the world are stuffed with talented climbers, working retail, saving for the one or two trips a year that they can afford. In fact, in Australia, it functions almost as an unofficial sponsorship system. A friend of mine manages a climbing store and makes a point to support up-and-coming climbers by giving them shifts.

Several examples off the top of my head, Lee Cossey worked in a local climbing store for years, Mike Law (arguably the most rawly talented pure rock climber Australia ever produced) worked at and eventually managed the Sydney Mountain Designs store for several years. Many climbers also work in high-rise window cleaning as they of course have a good head for heights (e.g. Andrea Hah). A friend of mine who is a national level competitive boulderer works at MacPac.
posted by other barry at 10:06 PM on July 28, 2018 [3 favorites]


Though (sorry to carry on here) I can hardly say Serap has unfulfilled potential. He's had an amazing career (K2 twice!? An Everest traverse? Huge, huge achievements). And hanging up the boots to spend time with your family, is also a huge achievement. A couple of notable local climbers here have had much more depressing epilogues.

From personal experience, I lost the drive and gained the fear as I got older . Many climbers feel the same I think. I had a few damn close calls myself, and it was never the same. When you're young you joke "What's the worst that could happen?" rhetorically to your belayer. When you're older, you have a long, detailed, expensive, and grisly answer to that question.
posted by other barry at 10:25 PM on July 28, 2018 [4 favorites]


You don't even have to make a mistake - if an avalanche happens to come, or that thing like where the ice buttress on K2 collapsed a few years ago, game over. I don't think I could handle that, even if I had the physical skill and endurance needed.
posted by thelonius at 11:30 PM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]


serac is the word I'm looking for
posted by thelonius at 11:36 PM on July 28, 2018


That was basically the opposite of my reading. This story is a tragedy to me. This incredibly skilled, driven, ambitious person who is willing to enthusiastically risk safety for his passion (which he spent a lifetime learning)... but who is pushed out of that life (and home of generations) completely in order to provide a 'better' life for his family.

I actually think this is a very uncharitable reading that sorta strips him of his agency. He made the choice to move to the US and stop climbing (it's so hard to immigrate here, that took serious effort over a long period of time, something he had to want.) because of some close calls and age and family. That's a responsible decision, made pretty selflessly, and after a long and storied career. He made the call to quit, he wasn't pushed by anyone, no one forced him to stop.

The other way that climbers get on the blue is when they die an inevitable and brutal death, I'm personally super glad I probably won't be seeing one for him.
posted by neonrev at 7:15 PM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]


Also, there is nothing inherently demeaning or wrong or 'less than' about working in retail, especially speciality retail. He's able to provide expert advice on a fairly dangerous subject to people who don't have a literal lifetime of experience, and possibly saving some lives along the way.

This guy can achieve incredible feats, and is now working in retail. That's the death of potential.

Is just a really gross attitude to have, as though everyone stocking shelves at Target is living a life of worthless servitude, forever, and have no future. Did you see the part where he says he likes his job? Some people like jobs you might not. Who's to say this is where his story ends? Maybe once his kids are grown he heads out again to climb some american peaks, or has time to work as a guide again, or gets the chance to teach classes? Dude climbed K2 more than once and moved across an ocean to find a job and provide a better education for his kids and seems to be doing so. That's the fulfillment of potential.
posted by neonrev at 7:27 PM on July 31, 2018 [2 favorites]


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