KATMANDU, Nepal — Many Sherpas, the mountain people whose name has become synonymous with Mount Everest, are reconsidering their jobs as climbing guides after a deadly avalanche that offered a brutal reminder of the immense risks they face.
But because their entire culture has been changed by decades of working as guides and porters for wealthy foreigners, finding a new future will be difficult.
‘‘The mountains are a death trap,’’ said Norbu Tshering, a 50-year-old Sherpa and mountain guide who now lives mostly in Katmandu. ‘‘But we have no other work, and most of our people take up this profession, which has now become a tradition for all of us.’’
Friday’s avalanche was the deadliest disaster ever on Mount Everest. By Saturday evening, the bodies of 13 Sherpa guides had been taken from the mountain. Three more were missing.
A day after the disaster, many Sherpa guides spoke of their work in ways that reflect the complexities of poor people working in a deeply hazardous place. The work is dangerous, but the Sherpas, who were once among the poorest and most isolated people of Nepal, also now have schools, cellphones, and their own middle class.