Mountain etiquette: how to treat your guide

There’s a moment in Sherpa, the BAFTA-nominated documentary about Everest’s famous guides, where a western tourist asks “can you not talk to their owners?” in reference to the striking Sherpas. It may have been an innocuous plea made in a moment of frustration but in the harsh truth of film, the question exposes an unsettling attitude to the guides that risk their lives to lead others to the summit. The question frames the relationship as owner and possession. It reduces the guide to a position of servitude when, in reality, they are in a position of leadership. On the mountain, it is a guide’s responsibility to constantly balance risk with reward, to push as hard as possible without crossing the edge. Theirs is quite possibly the most important job in mountaineering and deserves a commensurate level of respect. The post Mountain etiquette: how to treat your guide appeared first on Atlas & Boots.