i feel bad for the sherpas, especially their families, and i wish them the best in their cause. it's good to see them taking a stand. it's been a long time coming.
i have looked a little and haven't found it, many of the climbing sherpas are related (cousins, siblings, uncle/nephew/niece, etc.), were any of the recently deceased related? were any of the recently deceased related to other climbing sherpas that have died in the past; in other words, have immediate families suffered multiple tragedies including this recent one?
myself and many of my former coworkers knew a famous climbing sherpa, babu chiri sherpa. he was a great guy on a personal level and very accomplished. he set several everest records, co-owned a guiding company, built a school in his home village, was a western-based gear company sponsored athlete, and lived a quasi first-world lifestyle.... he was a pioneer for climbing sherpa's in many regards. he's dead; fell in a crevasse in camp 2 after a day of climbing, hauling, and guiding. he was 35 years old. he left 6 children and a wife behind.
the style of having porters haul gear up the big climbs for clients is also used in the states on guided trips. a classic example is the guided sierra high route ski from east to west. i'm not sure if all guiding companies do it, but many hire "porters" to haul most group gear from the trailhead to the pass (~6k vert) ahead of time to reduce the wear on the clients' first day.
