On a few occasions in the past we’ve linked to stories about the famous Sherpas of the Himalayas, those hearty, hale and, well, helpful souls who basically make it possible for Western climbers to summit tall mountains. Without the Sherpas, it’s doubtful that we’d see nearly as many Gortex-clad city slickers summiting mountains like K2 and Everest.
The Sherpas are, without a doubt, the unsung heroes of mountaineering.
And if anyone out there can be trusted to put together a fine homage to the Himalayan Sherpas, it would be National Geographic. And so it goes. This wonderfully done multimedia feature provides text by the writer T.R. Reid as well as gobs of excellent photos, maps and even some downloadable audio for your listening pleasure. The photos are particularly good, but trust me, if you are interested in what the Sherpas are all about you can spend a few educational and entertaining minutes perusing this feature.