Working in the Khumbu.
Returning to these mountains again and again, I cannot help but be impressed by the workers that make these remote areas accessible. Hiking the same trails as you, but carrying heavy loads despite the thin air and unforgiving environment, they transport food, building materials, supplies and anything else that needs to be shipped into the distant valleys in a place where there are no roads.
In the rich world we are almost never confronted with the army of global workers that make our pampered lives possible. In the Khumbu we share the path with them.
Despite the common usage of Sherpa to describe the people that work as porters in the Nepalese Himalaya, most of the itinerant workers will have a different ethnic heritage. They are are often farmers from the lower hills hoping to earn some hard currency during the tourist and climbing seasons and will walk for many days to reach the honeypot areas.
Father and son working together.
Using a head strap called a tumpline to carry tourists luggage and expedition equipment, these porters make their way along a rocky trail.
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Sherpa woman collecting yak fodder.
Sherpa woman wearing a traditional dongtil apron carrying animal fodder high in the Thame valley after a snowfall.
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Porter delivering load using basket and tumpline.
Ex-soldier using a traditional woven bamboo basket called a doko to carry goods along a trail in the Imja Khola valley.
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Sherpa woman multitasking.
Sherpa woman talking on a mobile phone as she drives heavily laden dzos along a trail beneath the iconic summit of Ama Dablam.
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Porter crossing snowy glacier at 17,000ft.
High above the Khumbu valley, this porter carries a heavy load across the glacier that sits on top of the Cho La pass between Dzongla and Thagnak.
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Team of porters climbing Amphu Labsta pass.
Clad in distinctive red trousers, a team of porters ferry expedition equipment out of the remote Honku Valley over the 19,000ft Amphu Lapcha pass.
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Sliver of sunlight.
Climbing from the deep shadows surrounding the rocky shores of Angladumba Tsho, this porter has reached a narrow shaft of sunlight on the way over the Renjo La at 17,500ft.
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Delivery service, one step at a time.
With a t-shaped walking stick called a tokma, which can be used to rest the basket on without removing it, this porter carries supplies to the tea houses at Chukkung.
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Working on the roof of the world.
The iconic summit pyramid of Mt. Everest and the sawtooth ridge of Nuptse towering over a porter on a rocky trail.
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Taking a break.
Resting their doko baskets on their tokma sticks, these porters can slide the tumpline head strap down to catch their breath on the steep path to Namche Bazaar.
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