Sherpas?

I have never been mountaineering anywhere more challenging than Big Bear, California, so I have no experience with this - were the sherpas "counted" as climbers, for the sake of the documentary? I know two died and were part of the 11 casualties. It was mentioned that sherpas were supposed to proceed the first team (assigned to be the Koreans) to the summit, fixing ropes - so do the actual "climbers" do any of that work themselves? It just seems really dehumanizing (in a Rudyard Kipling, "White Man's Burden" way) to only count the ascent of non-indigenous, presumably wealthy climbers, and not the "employees" that enable them to get up there (by going up there first). It was also very concerning to me that the two sherpas who were interviewed felt they had no choice but to form a search party (didn't one of them end up dying?).

They're coming to get you, Barbara!