Front Room Gallery in Hudson, New York, is presenting "On Everest," a powerful photography exhibition by Sasha Bezzubov that runs through November 9th. The exhibition features a compelling series of portraits and landscapes documenting the often overlooked lives of porters in Nepal's Everest region, captured during multiple trekking expeditions between 2016 and 2024.
Bezzubov's photographic series reveals the harsh realities faced by the men and women who serve as the backbone of Nepal's tourism industry. These porters, who are hired to carry provisions across the unforgiving and treacherous terrain of the Everest region, remain largely invisible despite their omnipresent role in supporting the mountain tourism economy. The photographer's work exposes how these essential workers receive minimal recognition or fair compensation for their dangerous and physically demanding labor.
This latest project continues Bezzubov's long-standing exploration of tourism's impact on developing countries, a theme he first began investigating in 1997 with "The Gringo Project." When Bezzubov started trekking in Nepal, one of his first observations centered on these porters, who are often collectively referred to as Sherpas by Western visitors. While well-known to international trekkers and mountaineers, these workers carry the essential equipment and supplies needed for expeditions and serve as the logistical foundation for high-altitude adventures.
The exhibition sheds light on the grueling working conditions these porters endure daily. They transport everything from cases of beer to plywood panels needed for the lodges that accommodate trekkers throughout the region. Their loads typically range from 59 to 136 kilograms (130 to 300 pounds), and since they are paid by weight, they are incentivized to carry as much as physically possible to maximize their earnings.
Despite their crucial role, these workers face significant economic hardships that force them to make difficult choices about basic necessities. They must pay for their own food and accommodation along the routes, and to save what little money they earn, they often skimp on meals and share single beds with two or three other porters. As altitude increases, prices rise dramatically, making even the most basic lodging increasingly expensive and often unaffordable.
The physical demands of the work extend far beyond the heavy loads they carry on their backs. These porters frequently suffer from respiratory infections, altitude sickness, and hypothermia due to exposure to extreme weather conditions and high altitudes. Unlike expedition porters who work directly with climbing teams, commercial porters typically have no opportunity for career advancement to become cooks, guides, or expedition leaders, leaving them trapped in this physically punishing work with little hope for professional growth.
The exhibition also highlights the lack of adequate health and work insurance coverage for these commercial porters, further emphasizing their vulnerable position within the tourism industry. While this work theoretically offers a chance for social mobility in a region with limited economic opportunities, the reality often falls short of providing sustainable livelihoods for these essential workers.
"Sasha Bezzubov: On Everest" is on display from October 11 through November 9, 2025, at Front Room Gallery, located at 205 Warren Street in Hudson, New York. The gallery's website provides additional information about the exhibition and the artist's broader body of work documenting global tourism's complex social and economic impacts.
