3 5 25 a sherpa guide (social studies)

Apa in the blue and black jacket, a Sherpa guide, has climbed Mount Everest 17 times!... Nepal, Home of the SherpasThe Sherpa people live in Nepal, a small country with many high mountai

by Geoffrey C Saign

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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02190-4

ISBN-10: 0-547-02190-9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 RRD 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08

Mount Everest

The wind is so cold on Mount

Everest your toes and fingers can freeze The air is so thin that you’ll find it hard

to breathe And if you’re not careful,

avalanches can bury you! Meet the

people who live in this harsh place

Apa (in the blue and black jacket), a Sherpa guide, has climbed Mount Everest 17 times!

Nepal, Home of the Sherpas

The Sherpa people live in Nepal,

a small country with many high

mountains Mount Everest is the highest mountain in Nepal and in the world

Many Sherpas live in villages near

the mountains This is one reason

Sherpas are great climbers They live in the hills at a high altitude and are used

to the thin mountain air

A Sherpa village lies near the mountains in Nepal.

The Sherpa Community

Many Sherpas are farmers They use strong animals called yaks to help them on the farm Yaks look like big, hairy cows

Children go to school, but they also help on the farm Many children have

to walk a long distance to go to school

Yaks carry heavy loads for farmers and climbers.

Sherpa Guides

Many Sherpas are guides in the

mountains Climbers from other places hire Sherpa guides to help them climb

Mount Everest

The climbers hike to base camp,

which is far up the mountain Yaks and guides carry the equipment Climbers

rest in tents at base camp for a few

weeks to get used to the thin air

Each part of the climb must be approached

with care.

The groups climb one section of the mountain at a time At each camp they sleep in tents Near the top, climbers use oxygen tanks to help them breathe Some climbers have to halt their

climb if they get sick or hurt

Mount Everest can be a very dangerous climb.

Famous Sherpas

Many Sherpas have climbed the high slopes of Mount Everest The most

famous Sherpa is Tensing Norgay He

reached the top of the mountain with

Sir Edmund Hillary

Babu Sherpa also set a record on

Mount Everest He slept in a tent on top

of the mountain He stayed on the top for almost a whole day This is hard to

do because it is bitterly cold at the top, and the air is thin

Tensing Norgay was

part of the first pair of

climbers to reach the

top of Mount Everest.

Sherpa Records

Some Sherpas are fast climbers

One guide climbed from base camp to the top in less than nine hours Most climbers take a week to climb to the top Lhakpa Sherpa climbed to the top of the mountain four times She was the first woman to do this Her younger sister, Ming Kipa, was the youngest

person ever to climb Mount Everest

Lhakpa Sherpa and her sister, Ming, both set climbing records

on Mount Everest.

The Sherpa Community

More and more people want to climb Mount Everest They need guides, food, and a place to sleep This increases the number of jobs for Sherpas

Some Sherpa climbers work to help children in their villages For example, some Sherpas helped to pay for new

schools in their villages

Many Sherpa guides give money to their

community.

Sherpas and the Mountains

Sherpas respect the mountains and want to take care of them In the past, climbers left garbage on the slopes

Now Sherpas are cleaning it up

Sherpas are strong climbers and

gentle people They hope people keep climbing their mountains If they do, you can bet a Sherpa guide will be there

to help them succeed

Sherpas will keep helping climbers reach the top of the mountain.

TARGET VOCABULARY Word Builder

What words or phrases do you know that

have the same meaning as succeed? Copy

this word web and add more words.

Text to Self Sherpas succeed at mountain

climbing What have you succeeded at?

Write about a time you succeeded at

something Use words from the web in your writing

Write About It

succeed

excel at triumph

TARGET STRATEGY Question Ask questions before you read, while you read, and after you read.

This piece of equipment is used in mountain climbing and in SCUBA diving.

altitude

approached

avalanches

equipment

halt

increases section slopes succeed tanks

TARGET VOCABULARY

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02190-4 ISBN-10: 0-547-02190-9

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: N

DRA: 34

Social Studies

Strategy:

Question

Word Count: 610

3.5.25 Build Vocabulary