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My guess is that they were training folks on the safety equipment and procedures that Western mountaineers use, so the Nepalese guides and outfitters don't have a culture clash in an emergency situation. The truth is, modern mountaineering equipment and procedure is really good, even if some aspects the traditional mountain knowledge and ways are timeless and extremely valuable too.

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Not everyone in Nepal is a guide. All the guys up there are tough as nails, but there isn't much education about safety or equipment. The most advanced tool in a porter's repertoire is a t-shaped walking stick.

Even the Sherpa are relatively recent migrants to the region (~400 years), and the Rai people have only moved into the highlands with the modern demand for labor. By and large they're coming from a tradition of subsistence farming.

As an example, a friend was traveling in the Khumbu last year and his party came across a deceased porter around 6000m. He had presumably been paid off after getting sick and sent down on his own. All they could do was build a cairn over his body.

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