The Sherpa villages in Khumbu- the area in Nepal surrounding Mount Everest- are mostly subsistence farmers surviving on potatoes and yak. Though tourism from the climbing industry has helped many Sherpa gain some measure of wealth, it has come at a great price, as Sherpa die helping unprepared tourists attempt to climb the tallest mountain on earth. As the temperature rises, the area only becomes more dangerous as snow becomes less predictable. The ice avalanche in 2014 killed 16 sherpa working on the mountain, and the following year avalanches triggered by an earthquake killed at least 22. "I won't go back," said Sonam Lama Sherpa, who was a well-known porter on the mountain before quitting in 2015, "if I go back I will die, and I love life."
