Records & People

Sherpas Carry a Gene From an Extinct Human Species That Lets Them Breathe Where Others Suffocate

The reason your Sherpa guide isn't gasping at 5,000 metres traces back tens of thousands of years to interbreeding with the Denisovans, an extinct…

By Laxman Rawal · Aug 15, 2026

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At Everest Base Camp, 5,364 metres up, trekkers who have trained for months stop mid-sentence to catch their breath. Their Sherpa guide, carrying the heavier pack, keeps talking. This isn't just acclimatisation or a lifetime spent at altitude. Geneticists…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What this means for trekkers

It's a scientific footnote to something Himalayan trekking has always known by observation: the Sherpa people who guide, cook and carry on treks to Everest, Gokyo and the high climbing peaks aren't just experienced — a real slice of that resilience is written…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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