Nepal Background: SB Sharma

SB Sharma

(thomas;2010-Jun-11)

SB Sharma: Lodge Owner

Like Lhakpa Tenzing Mr Sharma is a lodge owner in the Khumbu region. And funnily enough, we also met him in Jorsale, in the very same lodge where Lhakpa Tenzing and we stayed. But there all similarities end: Sharma is a small, portly Hindu of 55 years from the lowland Terai (he comes from Biratnagar, a big city in the far east of Nepal). He is also a much more hard-nosed businessman than the easygoing Lhakpa: Sharma's lodge, called Gokyo Resort in the eponymous valley, is a big and rather efficient operation. Sharma doesn't particularly like the high mountains: that's why he decamps for the winter to Biratnagar where it's much warmer. In fact, when we met him, he was just returning to his lodge for the profitable spring season: cold or not, his lodge is the goose that lays golden eggs. It stays open all year round, but he is only there during the two main seasons: in spring from beginning of March to end of May and again in autumn, from October to December.

Gokyo Resort Lodge Sharma started the lodge business in 1991, almost by accident: the Ballooning over Everest expedition had just achieved its goal with Andy Elson, Leo Dickinson and crew flying two hot air balloons over Everest. Their “base camp” for planning and preparing the whole thing had been a sturdy set of purpose-built houses in Gokyo and Sharma, who had been working for them, realised that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. He snapped up the houses on the cheap (relatively speaking) when the expedition left and enlarged and converted them into a big lodge. These days, nothing of the original buildings remains and even more houses have been added. Sharma won't say how much he paid originally but he says that today the Gokyo Resort is at least 20 times as valuable as it was back in 1991 when he took over. But he doesn't think of selling: it's a family business and his son will take over the business when he retires in a few years' time.

The Gokyo Resort is by far the biggest and most luxurious lodge in Gokyo (which at 4700m is definitely a cold place). We've never stayed there as it's too expensive for our budget but after meeting Sharma in Jorsale, he invited us for a tea if we'd ever come to Gokyo. When we visited he showed us around: it's indeed a professional, complex operation. Sharma operates with eight staff who take care of 38 rooms, a 20-bed dorm, two kitchens and dining rooms as well as a book and souvenir shop. The lodge sports solar electricity and even offers reliable if pricey internet access (especially the latter is a technical marvel at this altitude).

Planning and getting supplies is the biggest problem for Sharma: in a single spring season the lodge goes through more than 7000kg of rice, vegetables, sugar, kerosene and a zillion other things. And every single kilogram has to be carried in. Most vegetables come from around Lukla or Namche and aren't too expensive; however, stuff like rice and sugar is first delivered via plane to Lukla and then portered to Namche and on to Gokyo, at a cost of 70 rupees for the airfreight, 25 for the porterage to Namche and another 35 to Gokyo. This way, Sharma ends up paying 160 rupees for a kilogram of rice that in Kathmandu costs just 30 rupees (in early 2010, one pound sterling equalled a bit more than 100 rupees). Further, all lodges in Sagarmatha National Park have to cook with either kerosene or gas: this is even more expensive as it has to be carried up all the way from Jiri in big 20l jerrycans or unwieldy red containers. Just for freight and porterage, Sharma has to budget more than half a million rupees per season (a schoolteacher's wages in Nepal are in the region of 6000 to 10000 rupees).

On the other hand, the lodge receives about 3000 to 6000 guests in one season which bring in a good few million rupees: the business does make money. Actually loads of it though understandably Sharma would not show us his detailed balance sheet. His main gripe remains the cold: he says that lowland Hindus are just not made for the mountains although even he admits freely that the landscapes up here are amazing. We had a feeling that even after his retirement he'll return to the mountains every now and then.

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SB Sharma

SB Sharma: Lodge Owner