in your own words justify the title I keep my Tryst with Everest
Answers
Lakhpa, Dorjee, Tensing, Nawang, Tashi - you will soon get familiar with these common sherpa names. Often they simply mean the days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and so on. The guys are conveniently enough named by the day of the week when they were born!
Some people really glorify the Sherpas as pure, natural and mystical gods of the nature. Others view them as low-cast inhabitants of the third world. The truth is of course that the Sherpas are just like the rest of us; some are good, some are bad, and most are somewhere in between.
Sherpas are the inhabitants of the Khumbu-valley, the national park surrounding Everest. Living at altitude for generations, they have developed a genetic natural allowance for it. If you are well trained yourself, you might find in Kathmandu that the Sherpas do substantially fewer push-ups than you do. Don't get too excited. Once you go above 3000 meters/10000 ft most of them will easily outrun you. Their natural advantage is strongest up to 8000-meters/23000 ft, there after they too will face problems. Most sherpas will consequently require oxygen above camp 4 in order to perform at their best.