Sherpa : The Memoir of Ang Tharkay

Adventurous stories told from a non-Western perspective by one of the most accomplished early Himalayan climbers—now in English for the first time.

The autobiography of Ang Tharkay, who was born in 1908 and became one of the most renowned Sherpas during early Himalayan exploration, has long been a collector's item in the original French-language edition but has never been available in English until now. Few such Sherpa accounts have been written, and fewer still from these early expeditions. Sherpa expands our understanding of how Sherpas were treated and viewed by their Western employers by providing essential historical context from someone who lived it.

Opening with a brief account of Tharkay's childhood and background, the book then immerses readers in expeditions on Everest, Nanga Parbat, and, of course, Annapurna. Tharkay describes his experiences traveling with Eric Shipton and H.W. Tilman and as the sirdar—head Sherpa—on Maurice Herzog's 1950 ascent of Annapurna. He reveals some of the politics within the Sherpa support teams: petty arguments and shared struggles that went unnoticed or at least unrecorded by those who hired them.

Tharkay's admiration of his employers is leavened with his recognition of their shortcomings, but his affection for the climbers who employed him, and theirs for him, radiates throughout the story.