Thread by @constancekassor, A little thread/rant on the casual misuse of the word "sherpa": It's [...]

A little thread/rant on the casual misuse of the word "sherpa":

It's getting colder in the Midwest, which means I'm seeing ads for:

"oh so sherpa" jackets- @lululemon
"signature sherpa" pullovers- @LLBean
"cozy sherpa" sweaters- @OldNavy

Apparently, these refer to super soft clothing lined w/ faux-wool.
(spoiler: THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS)

You might be thinking, "Yeah, that's right! A sherpa is somebody who carries heavy stuff! Or who carries a lot of stuff! Or carries stuff for long distances!"

(Spoiler again: You're also wrong.)

Sherpa is the name of a Himalayan ethnic group that migrated from Kham in Eastern Tibet and settled in what is now Nepal/India/Tibet) about 500 years ago. The word "Sherpa" comes from "shyar pa" in the language of this group, which just means "easterner." http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/sherpa-facts/index.html

The Sherpa cheat sheet: 9 things you were embarrassed to ask

How Sherpas make it to the top of Mount Everest time and again, and whether or not they really like it.

http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/sherpa-facts/index.html

When British colonizers started trying to do dumb things like climb the highest peaks in the Himalayas, they discovered that Sherpas were better acclimated to the high altitudes, and so they began to depend on them for help. http://www.wupr.org/2015/02/09/exploiting-the-sherpas/

Exploiting the Sherpas

BY BILLIE MANDELBAUMEdmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mt. Everest when they ascended the mountain on May 29, 1953. A Nepali folk song, later writte

http://www.wupr.org/2015/02/09/exploiting-the-sherpas/

Many remember Edmund Hillary from New Zealand as the first person to summit Mt. Everest, but without the help and guidance of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, he probably would have died before he made it. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/everest/sir-edmund-hillary-tenzing-norgay-1953/

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay - 1953 Everest

National Geographic revisits the 1953 British summit to Everest when the first people stood atop the world's highest mountain.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/everest/sir-edmund-hillary-tenzing-norgay-1953/

Passang Lhamu Sherpa was the first Nepali woman to summit Everest in 1993. She'd previously made the trek supporting a French group. She could've reached the summit then, but was ordered down by a French man who said she was taking up too many resources. https://www.thelily.com/pasang-lhamu-sherpa-defied-societal-norms-to-climb-mount-everest-nepal-needed-a-hero/

Pasang Lhamu Sherpa defied societal norms to climb Mount Everest: Nepal ‘needed a hero’

The first Nepali woman to summit the world’s tallest mountain

https://www.thelily.com/pasang-lhamu-sherpa-defied-societal-norms-to-climb-mount-everest-nepal-needed-a-hero/

In recent decades, many Sherpas have made their living by working as guides or porters for foreign trekkers and mountaineers. It's a dangerous - and sometimes deadly occupation. http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/04/22/305954983/who-are-nepals-sherpas

Who Are Nepal's Sherpas?

Members of this Nepalese community are renowned for their climbing skills and remarkable endurance at high altitudes. They are paid well by local standards, but it's a job fraught with risk.

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/04/22/305954983/who-are-nepals-sherpas

On climbing expeditions, which can cost foreign trekkers tens of thousands of dollars, Sherpa guides and porters are not offered sufficient protection. Supplemental oxygen and medication for altitude sickness are restricted, because they are so expensive. https://www.outsideonline.com/1928326/disposable-man-western-history-sherpas-everest

The Disposable Man: A Western History of Sherpas on Everest

For more than a century, Western climbers have hired Nepal’s Sherpas to do the most dangerous work on Mount Everest. It’s a lucrative way of life in a poor region, but no service industry in the

https://www.outsideonline.com/1928326/disposable-man-western-history-sherpas-everest

Many Sherpas died in the 2015 earthquake that devastated parts of Nepal. Entire villages in regions that Sherpas have called home for generations have been obliterated. https://www.outsideonline.com/2016856/oral-history-langtang-valley-destroyed-nepal-earthquake

An Oral History of Langtang, the Valley Destroyed by the Nepal

When the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, the world watched as parts of Kathmandu were reduced to rubble. But just fifty miles north, in a valley called Langtang, the shaking unleashed

https://www.outsideonline.com/2016856/oral-history-langtang-valley-destroyed-nepal-earthquake

Those who survived say that the landscape is permanently altered, which will continue to affect climbing, and the livelihoods that they have created for themselves. https://apnews.com/article/a144cae6d3c041348cc9399efa873a73

After 2 disasters on Everest, Sherpas worry about future

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Just when Nepal's climbing industry was recovering from last year's deadly avalanche on Mount Everest, another avalanche triggered by last month's earthquake killed 19 people,...

https://apnews.com/article/a144cae6d3c041348cc9399efa873a73

Sherpas have come to rely on tourism -- particularly in the form of white folks showing up to "conquer" the mountains that they call home. The least that we could do is recognize them properly, and stop using their identity to sell ugly clothes.

P.S. This thread was homework for @Sacred_Writes, where I'm expected to be #smartinpublic about religion. This isn't really a post about religion, but my pod-mates for this unit, @suzzzanna and @AmbreLynae, told me that this would be ok!

P.P.S. After talking about this thread with @suzzzanna, apparently she started seeing ads for a sherpa coat for her dog

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