How many Sherpas, guides and climbers are generally on an expedition?
Most guided climbs have eight to fifteen climbers with an equal number of support staff. Usually there is one or two western guides but not always. A disturbing trend in 2007 was for the large guiding companies to have twenty or more climbers on their expeditions with one having almost 50! This makes the team difficult to manage and the logistics very complicated in my opinion. I have been on climbs with large numbers before and feel the attention to detail and quality of service suffers. Q: What about the Sherpas, what role do they play? A: The Sherpas are incredible allies in climbing these big mountains. They fixed ropes, carry heavy loads and generally do the hard work. The cooks kept us fed at most of the camps. They melted snow and hauled ice to the stoves at BC, C2 and C4. The dug out tent platforms and set up tents as well as took them down and off the mountain. It was summit night, however, where they really shined. They basically took over and made sure we were properly equip
