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WHY DOES THE SHERPA CLIMB EVEREST? BECAUSE IT’S A JOB

THAME, Nepal - The dining room of Apa Sherpa's hotel, the Everest Summiteer Lodge, is a testament to his Himalayan triumphs.

There is a photocopy of the page declaring him the record holder for successful ascents of Mount Everest, something he has done an astonishing 14 times. There are pictures of him with dignitaries like Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the Supreme Court and Sir Edmund Hillary, who with the Nepalese climber Tenzing Norgay, first scaled Everest in 1953.

But there is also an air of disappointment. His seven-bedroom lodge is rarely full. Though well off by the standards of this poor country, he remains a virtual pauper compared with the wealthy American clients he guides to the summit. For all the magnitude of his achievement, his fame is hardly that of Sir Edmund.

"In other countries, someone who had climbed the highest mountain 14 times, he would have received much more praise and acclaim," he said, standing here in his home village, a cluster of 45 stone houses perched on a picturesque plateau surrounded by breathtaking 20,000-foot mountains.

Though scaling Everest has become a lucrative adventure sport, Apa and other Sherpas, many of whom use their ethnic group as a last name, say they are not getting their fair share of it. Since commercial expeditions began in the early 1990's, wealthy clients have lined up to pay up to $65,000 to companies that organize expeditions.

Sherpas can earn $2,000 to $3,000 in the two-month climbing season, securing ladders and ropes and carrying clients' loads. Elite Sherpa climbers like Apa do far more than that, carefully shepherding to the summit Westerners who often have scant mountaineering experience and whose lives may rest in the Sherpas' hands.

Apa and other Sherpa climbers, though unfailingly polite and loyal, are gradually demanding a greater share of the profits and becoming more vocal about getting the recognition they say they deserve.

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