Readign Response Week 12 – The Everest Life

Bryant Lymburn

In this weeks reading of Sherry Ortner’s work, Life and Death of Mount Everest, she approaches the context of mountaineering from a very different angle compared to many texts written by people more directly involved in the climbing community. This is for one due to her profession of being an anthropologist. In this way she is able to enter with a clean slated mind and no preconceived notions or expectations. Her work shows an unbiased summarization that allows for greater accuracy and truth than some other texts discussing many of the same topics. In this work, Ortner focuses on the culture and people that surround Mount Everest. She tries to focus on four main ideas throughout the text, Sahibs, Sherpa, religion, and gender roles.

To me this text is not so much concerned with the entertainment factor associated with many mountaineering stories and is attempting to explain the mentalities, structure, and network of the Everest culture. In doing so I believe she has been successful in doing so, while being unbiased. However it is irritating to me that there is no real point or opinion in which she is trying to support she is relatively observing and reporting her findings. This is acceptable for the type of work for which Ortner is attempting to produce, but it is a terrible bore when one is attempting to read such work for pleasure.

Upon reading the text, there is a great deal of emphasis placed upon the relationships between sahib and sherpa. Through out the text it is said and feels as if the relationships between the two were and are very amiable and cooperative. Ortner, I believe, is correct in saying this as a generality, but she has limited herself by not discussing further into the conflicts that have arisen between the two groups in the past. This may be due to the fact that more modern era mentalities have created the sherpa as equals to those of which they are climbing with, but that is uncertain. It was also intriguing to here her discussion on women involvement in the sherpa career path. It was unknown that women were a part of the shepra lifestyle prior to reading this work. And she points out in such a male dominated sport/ career that many have a difficult time establishing a foothold.

Now to attack the title more directly and relate it to the context of this book is not fully a direct connection. Yes life and death are something that someone will face when climbing mountains of such height, but is it the same for everyone? Much of the text related to this is focused through the view of the sherpa standpoint. Ultimately the focus on death and the reactions in which they exhibit to it. To the sherpa, Ortner makes it clear that they exhibit very little in the way of morning the lose of life. She believes this is due to the Buddhist religious practice which dictates that when it is their time that is it. However I believe there is greater depth to this in the climbing community as a whole and accepting death when one enters the mountains. Maybe religion can help this transition, but one must sign mental contract accepting these dangers and the atrocities which they may witness.