Do Sherpas get paid?

How much does a Sherpa earn for getting you up the everest? While a Western guide can make about $50,000 per season, Sherpas only earn about $2,000 to $5,000 per season, with bonuses if they reach the summit. That's far more than the $48 average monthly salary in Nepal, but the job is also tremendously dangerous.



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A personal climbing Sherpa will cost anywhere upwards of $5,000, while a Sherpa for loading and unloading starts at $3,000, and a Sherpa providing cooking services starts at $2,000. Keep in mind climbers are expected to cover bonuses and tip Sherpas generously, too.

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Since 1922, when the first attempt to climb Everest was made, 193 climbers and 125 Sherpas have died on both sides of the mountain.

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Climbing Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, is an awe-inspiring and demanding challenge that requires meticulous preparation and extensive training. Attempting such a feat without prior mountaineering experience is dangerous and highly discouraged.

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David Goettler summited Everest last year without Sherpa support. He carried his own gear up and down the mountain. He freely admitted that he had used the ropes at some points and he also took advantage of an empty tent platform along the way. Otherwise, he relied on his own abilities and decisions.

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Of all deaths from 1950 to 2019 in non-Sherpa climbers during a summit bid on Mount Everest, about 35% were caused by falls, with other leading causes being exhaustion (22%), altitude illness (18%) and exposure (13%). In Sherpa deaths over the same time period, 44% were attributable to avalanches.

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A dozen climbers died in 2023, and five people remain missing. With 17 people lost, killed, or presumed dead on the world's highest peak, 2023 is the second-deadliest climbing season on record, just behind 2018, when 18 climbers died in an earthquake.

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The 2015 earthquake took nineteen to twenty-one lives at Everest Base Camp, but some were not climbing; thus, 2023 is the deadliest for Everest climbers. The season began tragically on April 12, when three Sherpas lost their lives near the top of the Khumbu Icefall.

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