for mountain climbers in the Himalayas, what is the need for x Sherpas. They are carrying x packs and loads. What for?

Because most of the peaks are so remote and require so much gear and supplies (including heavy oxygen bottles) that it is difficult for the climbers themselves to haul it all, so they hire Sherpa porters to transport it.

Not all climbers do this. Some, like the famous Reinhold Messner, prefer to climb in a fast and lightweight manner and not use oxygen. He and his climbing partners typically carry their own gear and supplies and don't spend as much time climbing as the traditional "assault style" Himalayan expeditions which would erect multiple well-supplied camps and fixed ropes up large mountains, climbing them in progressive stages over days or even weeks. You have to be a top notch climber with a lot of experience, stamina and sheer courage to do the rapid kind of light weight climbing that Messner and others do. For one thing, climbing those elevations without supplemental oxygen has a negative effect on your body and brain -- you can't stay up at those heights for long without suffering damage so you have to be fast up and down.

Have you ever gone camping? No? Ok. Imagine coming home from the grocery store with a car loaded of your families food for a week and only being able to make one trip from the car to your house while dressed in full winter gear. That is why one buys the services of Sherpa. They also are more than just manual labor - they are 'street smart' when it comes to all things mountain.

the Sherpa are experienced trail guides. they help carry supplies between the base camps for the climbers. the most important supply that they carry are oxygen tanks. the air is very thin due to the altitude and the oxygen is necessary.

thanks

I did not know that Hillary used such tanks or the others who have

been photographed on top.........but I see other long rods and misc

carried by Sherpas.