Headstrap: Legends and Lore from the Climbing Sherpas of Darjeeling

by Nandini Purandare, Deepa Balsavar, Jeed Saddy (narrator)

This captivating chronicle delves into the untold story of a tribe of people who have played a significant role in mountain exploration and climbing in the Himalayas. Situated in northern India, Darjeeling was developed as a colonial retreat by the British in the early 1830s and soon became famous for its tea gardens, attracting locals from around the region, Nepal, and Tibet in search of work. When Darjeeling became the jumping-off point for early Himalayan expeditions, workers from the Sherpa and Bhutia communities soon established themselves as the preferred high-altitude porters, bringing fame, entwined with tales of valor, courage, and sacrifice, to the city. These are some of their stories.

Over the course of a decade, authors Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar conducted a series of interviews with Sherpas from Darjeeling, as well as their family members, descendants, friends, and contemporary climbers. Headstrap weaves a vivid tapestry of this particular Sherpa community, giving them the recognition in mountaineering literature that they deserve.

Audio CD

Published April 1, 2024

Reviews

[Gopal MS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating stories that would've been lost forever, preserved in this wonderful book.

[earthshattering · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for the history of Sherpas climbing in the Himalaya in Nepal and India. I didn't expect to learn so much about how the Sherpas immigrated from Tibet to the Solo Khumbu and Darjeeling, and how the ethnic groups of Sherpas and Tibetans are differentiated. There are also pieces of Sherpa culture and values tied in through the interviews. I had heard of Sherpa "Tigers", but I had no idea where it came from, and I was surprised to learn that it has a long history in mountaineering. I feel like I understand Himalayan climbing a lot better after reading this book. The saddest part was the chapter on the Sherpa deaths in the mountains, especially when a person is introduced in one chapter only to die in another. I can imagine it being impossible to cope with the amount of tragedy that comes with mountaineering, especially when it is a way to make a living for the Sherpa people. For westerners it is recreation, but for the Sherpas in the past, it was employment, and was and still is very dangerous. I think climbers in the Himalaya should read this book to gain an appreciation of Sherpa history in the mountains, and have some appreciation for the hardest working people in the Himalaya.