Original subtitles

(Powerful wind blows)

(Prays in Nepali)

(Repeats prayer)

(Pants)

(Ice creaks)

(Over radio)

- Hello. - How are you?

I'm fine, Didi.

(Prays)

This is an astonishingly chance relationship.

Between Western climbers and the Sherpas.

When climbing began, the Sherpas had no conception

of what mountaineering might be,

and yet suddenly they were on this journey

from being people who just genetically

were really good at altitude

to becoming international mountain guides

100 years later.

NEWS REPORTER: 1953 - coronation year.

The world was stirred by the news that

Everest had at last been conquered.

By a British expedition led by Colonel John Hunt.

}Accompanied by the famous Sherpa Tenzing,

Edmund Hillary climbed the summit

of the world's highest mountain.

When Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest,

That is such an amazing moment.

It's one of the most beautiful moments in climbing history.

That's the moment when the word 'Sherpa'

Has the meaning of brand in the way that we understand it.

The world was captivated by Tenzing,

and he fixed in our minds the popular image of a Sherpa.

As this smiling, friendly, almost heroic figure.

JAMLING: A lot' of the Western world

do not know what a Sherpa is.

'Oh, Sherpa, ' you know - 'you climb mountains.'

That's the first instinct.

But they have no idea that.

We are actually an ethnic group of people.

We believe in reincarnation, life after death.

You continue to be reborn and reborn and reborn.

Until the day you reach nirvana.

So your next life is determined.

By your deeds in this life.

We Sherpa people have a great respect for the mountain.

JAMLING: Over here, we climb mountains,

but it's a holy place.

There's a huge difference in the attitude, the feeling.

Western people approach it as a physical challenge,

Push a limit to see how close you can get to death.

There's 1,000-year-old stories we have

about the mountains, its history,

which these people have no idea about.

Some people adapt and learn and respect it,

some people don't.

ED: If Phurba is one of the most successful

climbing Sherpas of his generation,

then his counterpart amongst expedition leaders.

Is his boss, Russell Brice.

RUSSELL: I've been running commercial expeditions here

since 1994.

I think I'm the person that's

been on more Everest expeditions

than anyone else in the world.

This is all oxygen.

I brought those two broken ones in Kathmandu.

How can I explain Phurba Tashi?

This year, he might climb Everest 22 times,

More than anyone else in the world.

He's such a special person.

He's incredibly strong on the mountain.

Good idea. Hot water here. Easy to come from the kitchen.

Hi, guys.

ED: The service-industry aspect of climbing Everest.

Has developed and developed.

So, what mountaineers in 1975, maybe, would have put up with.

The people who are coming now want something a bit more.

They want a very comfortable base camp.

Everything's good.

So much work for these guys to make all these platforms

and put tents up.

ED: The activity here has changed utterly.

It has become an industry,

And that industry is peopled largely by Sherpas.

(Sings)

And they may not still fully understand

what it is that compels us to climb mountains,

but they are fantastically good at.

Delivering the experience.

So far, so good, actually.

Everybody's looking and sounding quite healthy.

A couple of mild headaches, but that's to be expected.

Alright, folks, let's roll on out of town.

In the old days,

People did everything on the mountain together.

Today, the mountain has changed in that.

The operators take care of everything.

In the old days, if you got one person on the summit,

that was a success.

Now we need to get everyone on the summit.

If you want everyone on the summit,

You need much more creature comfort.

Certainly, the type of person that comes on an expedition

has changed considerably.

We bring people here to help them fulfil their dreams.

Good to see you. You boys done hard work.

It's been a goal as a climber.

I know, to a lot of climbers, it might be trivial,

but to me, being on top of Everest.

Is just the achievement of a dream.

Part of the reason why you want to climb,

you want to experience those things,

see if you can physically do it,

It's a massive undertaking.

The training is phenomenal.

It's not something you put together in a couple weeks,

It's months of planning and months of getting organised.

Everest has always been attractive

for several reasons for me.

I love the Buddhist side to it,

I love the whole... I love the Nepalese people.

For me, it's been a more enjoyable mountain than most,

because I think that's so cool,

That you get to share it with these beautiful people.

MAN1:I've never seen a man So protective...

MAN2:Are you watching this right now?

ED: So, for just eight hectic weeks each year,

Everest Base Camp becomes this thriving village.

In recent years, overcrowding on Everest.

Has been the source of a lot of controversy.

BRIAN WILLIAMS: It might just be the last place on earth

you'd expect to find a traffic jam -

the top of the world, Mount Everest.

RICHARD MORECROFT: These images show how line-ups

cause long and unnecessary delays.

ALLEN PIZZEY: 4,000 climbers have been.

To the top of Everest. 600 people do it in a good year.

It has become a very necessary part of the Nepalese economy.

LEE PERRY: Expedition companies charge.

Up to $100,000 to clients wanting to make the ascent.

ALLEN PIZZEY: Climbing Everest has become.

A bucket-list ambition and a multimillion-dollar industry.

ED: This is a big employer -

lots and lots of people.

There are more Sherpas working on the mountain now

than there have been in history,

But they only get a small fraction of the pie.

ALLEN PIZZEY:: Sherpa guides earn up to $5,000

for a two-month expedition,

ten times the average annual pay.

In their isolated homeland.

ED: The whole Everest circus

just seems to get bigger and bigger,

and this season is no exception.

Russell Brice's team is just one of 38 expeditions

on the mountain this year.

All these people have to be looked after,

And all their equipment has to be moved up the mountain.

You have Google maps.

Photographing the route to the summit.

There's a Hollywood feature film.

There's even a guy in a wingsuit.

Trying to jump off the top and fly all the way down.

STEVEN: We're here to put on one of the most ambitious.

Television projects in the history of the media world.

He'll be flying down here, and we'll be broadcasting it live.

There's a reason that Superman movies and Batman movies.

And Spider-Man, all these superheroes, are so popular.

I can do what those guys can do.

It's kind of daft, but in the world of adventure,

People are always thinking of new, crazy things to do.

Part of the deal now is that

there are all kinds of strange notions.

Of what can be done on Everest simply to attract attention.

1, 2, 3!

ED: The way these commercial expeditions climb Everest

is to establish a series of higher and higher camps,

stocking them over a period of weeks

with everything required.

To give the clients the best chance of reaching the summit.

The Government doesn't permit equipment

to be flown up the mountain,

so everything that goes into building these camps

has to be carried...

...and it's the Sherpas that do that work,

Including going through what is its most dangerous section.

ED: If you want to climb Everest from the south,

You have to go through the Khumbu Icefall.

It's the route up Everest most commercial operators prefer,

partly because of political uncertainty

on the northern side of the mountain, in Tibet,

which they'd rather avoid.

RUSSELL: The Khumbu Icefall is like a waterfall of ice.

Coming out of the Western Cwm.

There's nowhere else in the world

that a mountaineer would go through an icefall like this,

but because it's the only access on the south side

to Everest, then people do.

Walk through this jumble of ice.

The problem with the icefall is that it's uncontrollable.

All the other aspects of the mountain that are dangerous,

in terms of safety, have been improved over the years,

But the icefall remains perilous.

ED: There are threats from every direction.

ED: Not only that,

there are big blocks of ice falling down,

Without warning, from above.

You're asking men to go to work.

In a very dangerous environment.

And it's becoming more so as the seracs -

these giant blocks of glacial ice -

Are affected by the forces of climate change.

They're dropping off more readily,

And people are going to get caught more often.

MAN: Oh, shit!

ED: So you know that this is a perilous moment,

Going through the icefall.

MAN: Oh, my God.

ED: And it's not just once or twice

the Sherpas have to go through it

it's up to 30 trips per season.

As compared to about two or three for most foreigners.

I'm totally shit-scared.

Every time I send the Sherpas up in the mountain,

it's like sending them off to war.

I don't know who's going to come home.

If there's an accident in the icefall,

Are we going to lose one, two, six people?

Because the potential is there.

And the question is,

What is the moral justification for that?

What reward is there for you to play.

What is essentially a game of Russian roulette?

In 2012, I determined the mountain to be dangerous.

(Ice creaks, voices over radio)

Every night, I'd listen to the Sherpas on the radio,

going through the icefall.

All the time,

they were running away from

small avalanches and blocks of ice falling down.

And things like that.

So I made a decision to cancel my expedition.

That's an incredibly hard thing to do -

To cancel a commercial expedition.

There were people around who said,

"Russell has been a bit of a chump,

because his clients will be pissed off

because they went home

and other people got to the top.'

I think Russell Brice was really

putting into perspective the risks.

That people were making the Sherpas take.

Now Russell has four of those clients returning this year,

So that adds a lot of pressure for a successful expedition.

Tenzing Norgay was a man who was determined

to change his stars.

And when he reached the summit of Everest, he did that.

The British couldn't have done it

without someone like Tenzing.

He'd been to the mountain seven times by that point,

and they benefited from all those years of his experience,

but he wasn't acknowledged, he wasn't given due regard

for what he had achieved.

Coming down from that, almost immediately,

He finds himself in a political firestorm.

REPORTER: Who got to the top first?

To anybody who climbs mountains, to any mountaineer

and, I feel, to thousands of others,

The matter couldn't matter less.

NEWSREEL NARRATOR: When Tenzing Norgay was asked.

How he felt, his cheery answers had to be interpreted.

JOHN HUNT: He's very happy.

(Everyone laughs)

All this, and the George Medal too.

ED: So John Hunt became Sir John Hunt,

Hillary became Sir Ed Hillary.

And Tenzing got the George Medal.

Now, there is a superior award to that - the George Cross.

It's kind of like a second-level award.

It was just not right.

In the eyes of Sherpas, in the eyes of people in India,

in the eyes of most Asians, they felt somewhat slighted

that he did not get the same kind of recognition.

That his partners got on Everest.

JAMLING: My father said,

'I wish I had never climbed this mountain.'

He was immensely proud of what he'd achieved,

But I think he felt thwarted, in a way.

I think he felt that he hadn't realised himself.

In the way that he would have liked.

I think partly it's because he lacked a formal education.

DAWA: The 60-year-old reputation

of what it is to be a Sherpa is changing.

SUMIT: Now, you go to Base Camp,

and more than 80% of Sherpas

finish their high school.

If you go 20 years ago,

None of them have been to high school.

Because of their education, they know a lot more.

Than Western clients think they do.

DAWA: Now, with the Facebook generation,

Sherpas see how much credit Westerners are getting

for a climb on Everest,

And they know that they've done most of the grunt work.

Without the Sherpa,

The Westerner would never have gotten there.

They are dissatisfied with that,

And they want equal credit for what they have done.

What we've seen in recent years is a tendency.

Of aggression from younger Sherpas.

Last year, there was fighting on Everest.

I think we're all disappointed,

so sad about that.

CHARLIE ROSE: Dozens of people risk their lives every year

trying to climb Mount Everest.

This morning, some of them say they nearly died in a brawl.

ZOE COYLE: Man versus the mountain to man versus man.

JOHN DONVAN: Three climbers say they faced a human foe.

JON SNOW: Three European climbers fled for their lives.

JOHN SPARKS: Highest-altitude scrap in history.

UELI STECK: They just tried to kill us.

SETH DOANE: Sherpas tried to kill you?

This all unfolded near the summit,

at an altitude of roughly 22,000 feet.

ED: You have a European calling a Sherpa

a mother-fucker, which is, in Nepal,

particularly culturally insensitive.

GREG: I know what word you used.

I don't like that word either.

SETH DOANE: Sherpas,

Who usually help Westerners summit, turned against them.

I'm sorry... I'm sorry for all what I said.

All the words that came out from my mouth were wrong.

I'm sorry.

Yes.

MAN: Please, no violence!

MAN: He came to apologise.

I'm sorry for...

Yes, yes. I...

MAN: Please, no violence. Listen...

I'm very sorry.

Go inside, go inside.

RICHARD MORECROFT: It's not clear whether the fight

was something personal

or reflected a greater discontent.

MAN: Please help. No violence, please!

It's about Sherpas no longer feeling that

they have to be subservient

or deferent to Western climbers,

and not playing out that role

of the faithful servant anymore -

not being the nice, friendly,

smiley person in the background.

Just saying,

"Actually, you know what? We're as good as you.'

RUSSELL: I'm a little afraid.

Where it's going to lead in the future.

It's too hard.

The tension is too hard, the worry is too hard.

I'm getting too old for that.

Good morning, Dai.

TIM: Good morning, Mount Everest!

Hot towel.

Your tea.

Wow.

Roughin' it on Mount Everest -

Hot towels and tea in the morning. (Laughs)

Ah! (Thanks in Nepali)

You're welcome.

MAN: Could I have a tea with no sugar, please?

(Men chant)

(Men chant)

(Rumbling)

ED: The reason Everest fakes eight weeks to climb

is that the body needs to slowly acclimatise

to the altitude.

RUSSELL: We do acclimatisation on Lobuche Peak

to stay out of the icefall,

To reduce the risk for our clients.

ED: When Russell Brice starts getting his clients

to camp on top of a nearby peak

rather than going through the icefall to acclimatise,

that makes sense.

The fewer trips anyone has to make.

Through the icefall, the better.

Meanwhile,

the Sherpas are still

stocking the camps on Everest,

making dozens of trips up and down,

carrying all the oxygen, the tents, the food, so on

so that the mountain is ready to be climbed

when the clients return.

RUSSELL: And so this year, my clients will go through

the icefall twice,

but I daresay

most of the Sherpas will

go through 20 to 30 times.

I'm not sure the clients actually ever see that.

That is a nice day for a climb.

I think a lot of people, even on our trips,

don't really understand,

all this work is going on every night,

Loads of equipment going up to support them on the mountain.

(Laughter)

Now we have (o start the real job of why we're here -

going up through the mountain.

Safety is very, very important.

If you go through the icefall without crampons,

if you go through the icefall without clipping on,

I'm going to sack you. You're going to go home.

ED: It must seem crazy,

going through the Khumbu Icefall in the dark,

but it's actually much safer,

Because it's more stable in the cold of night.

Once the sun hits, it becomes increasingly dangerous.

RUSSELL: You have remember that

you have a big responsibility.

Not only for your own safety but for your family.

Even if it's a full moon, you must have your headlamp.

The transceivers must be turned on here,

and you must use the transceiver.

Every day that you go through the icefall.

We know, if a serac falls on top of you,

you're not going to survive, but if you have a transceiver,

It means to find you will take much less time.

That puts the people doing the rescue at much less risk.

(Men pray)

Check, check.

(Pants)

(Rumbling)

There's at least five out here

that are out of the danger zone,

and there's another four or five I can see

that are still in the depths of the icefall.

MAN OVER RADIO: Update from icefall - 13 or 14 missing.

Not sure what team they're from.

Phil, are all your boys OK?

Phil, I can't hear you, but are all your boys OK?

Just say yes or no.

Thumbs up. OK, thanks.

MAN: Russ, where's that...

RUSSELL: AC and AAI.

They were Dawa Sherpa, so AC Sherpa and AAI Sherpa.

MAN: Shit, no.

I'm not aware of numbers, but it's significant amounts.

It's in the teens.

Take that, keep that with you.

OK.

Definitely bring the long line from Kathmandu.

Cheers. Ciao. Bye.

MAN OVER RADIO: Can confirm three dead,

One severely injured, needs to be helicoptered.

Steel shovels.

Anything you can start bringing up from Base Camp.

We want that sked.

- The oxygen. - If people are stable,

We'll bring them down if we can't fly them out.

Sure.

Shit for the beginning of the season.

- Fucking A. Fuck! - Yeah.

- Morning, Dai. - Morning. Namaste, Dai.

Lakpa goes up, gets some oxygen.

Will you go second load?

One of my guys is very serious,

so I prefer to bring him down fast,

As soon as possible, because he's alive now.

Yeah, we try. My doctor here, waiting.

That's OK. But we need sked, we need all that.

We need the oxygen up there first flight.

What we're trying to do is, you and I on the first load.

I'll try and secure the helipad.

WOMAN: You do site stuff, I'll do medical stuff.

Guys, if you're going to make me in charge, please listen.

OK. I understand.

You're mountain guides, I'm a mountain guide.

We've all got friends missing and dead.

We know that, OK?

We can't get everything up on the first load.

We want to send a doctor.

And one Nepali guide. Doctor and one Nepali guide, OK?

WOMAN OVER RADIO: Who are these people?

RUSSELL: The Nepalese mountain guides.

WOMAN OVER RADIO: No. Priority is Dean Staples

and Melissa Arnot.

DEAN OVER RADIO: We've ascertained that

Russell is in charge of the helipad down here,

Which means Melissa and I will be going first.

MAN OVER RADIO: First victim already packaged, ready to go.

MAN: Patient condition?

MAN: He's fully conscious, responsive.

I'm confused about how many casualties there are now.

We don't have a casualty count.

We're working on live bodies at the moment.

All Sherpas not needed, now leave and come to Base Camp.

It's starting to get hot.

Jason's going to go in, try and land at upper site.

Pull that Sherpa off, bring him down to helipad.

Switch to long line, go in to your location.

WOMAN: Jason is landed at middle site. Over.

MAN: There's a Sherpa with a head injury

and internal bleeding.

They'll keep him there, package him for a long line.

Michael has just requested as much rope as possible.

There's a live patient with a, query, femoral fracture,

pulse, left foot.

Kami from IMG. Over.

Blood on the right ear, right arm bruising,

upper left chest pain, descending with Eric.

I need to confirm,

Do we have any more injured people to pick up or not?

This is the last patient, this is the last patient,

Then we switch to non-traumatic body recovery.

Flying down, and we're going to put an ECG on them

to check for rhythm. Over.

Verify, we are absolutely in body recovery?

- Yes. - Roger.

Let's get this guy.

This is by far the worst tragedy that's ever happened

on Everest.

13 people have died this morning,

And there may be more still that we don't know about.

There hasn't been a year in history.

Where 13 people have died on Everest, let alone in one day.

Break, break. Michael has done an examination on all bodies.

No signs of life.

I daresay...

...this is the day that we just all dreaded.

REPORTER: How are you feeling?

Shattered.

Every village will be affected.

A lot of our guys will have friends they know...

There's people from all over the Khumbu.

Young guys, at least one of them, I know, just had a baby.

Just...

CHARLIE ROSE: Now to the worst disaster ever seen

on Mount Everest.

CLARISSA WARD: The avalanche hit

at about 6:30 this morning, local time.

CHARLIE ROSE: The greatest one-day toll recorded

on the world's tallest mountain.

CLARISSA WARD: Snow crashed over the western shoulder...

RICHARD MORECROFT: Death toll is expected to rise to 16.

LEE PERRY: Questions are being asked

about the future of this year's climbing season.

And whether attempts will be made next month.

RICHARD MORECROFT: This tragedy adds to the death toll

on Everest, already estimated at 250.

ALLEN PIZZEY: A four-day halt to climbing has been declared.

While the search for the missing Sherpas goes on.

(Men chant)

ED: And you see the grief that's going back decades-

these grieving Sherpa families,

This constant narrative of loss being expressed again.

ERICA HILL: This morning, the search has been suspended.

For three other people still missing on Mount Everest.

Crews did manage to recover a 13th body overnight.

Two days ago, 16 people died,

Including about half of our team.

This morning, I think the Sherpas are

taking matters into their own hands.

They're holding a big meeting at Base Camp.

We've just been told that the Sherpas are quite angry,

and we should get bags ready.

Just in case we have to make a swift exit.

We don't know if the Sherpas are perhaps going to target us

as a focus for their anger - Westerners coming here.

And causing such a circus at times.

I don't know if there's still any lingering tension.

From last year, and the fights that broke out.

We're hoping the same thing doesn't happen this year.

We're concerned about filming here right now.

16 people dying at the same time,

It's a huge, huge shock.

When it started to sink in,

The anger got distinctly pointed at the government.

They feel that the government has always been benefiting

off the labour of the Sherpas,

The lives of the Sherpas, and never put anything back.

ED: Nepal's tourism industry is worth $360 million a year,

so when the government offers the families around $400,

which isn't even enough to cover their funeral expenses,

Grief turns to anger very quickly.

(Everyone cheers)

The government, once it figured out that

it could sell Everest as many times as it liked every year,

rather than once, it's basically just sat there,

occasionally twiddled around the edges

when there were some bad headlines,

But basically not really done anything since.

They've left it to Western operators.

And just taken their cut every year.

And it's a big cut. Like, a third of the money

that stays in Nepal from this business

goes to the government.

The Sherpas, they're still taking the risks.

They've always taken the risks,

they're still taking the risks.

They quite reasonably think that's outrageous.

We worked really hard this morning

to send a letter to the Ministry.

Asking for better conditions for these guys.

I would have thought that might pre-empt.

This type of meeting this afternoon.

(Everyone cheers)

Of course we're upset about people dying,

But this is irrational, you know? It's totally irrational.

I daresay they look at the Arab summer

and things like that,

And think that they can do the same sorts of things.

It's hot-headed young guys who really don't have very much

experience on this mountain, in any case.

They're angry. Yes, they are.

Their grandparents and their fathers

have worked hard in the Himalayas.

All the hard work has been done by the Sherpas,

And this is not fair.

It is not fair.

(Men chant)

TENDI: Every morning, we wake up.

And we realise that this is not a dream.

I'm sorry, I don't really know what to say.

We had a day... We've all been expecting an accident

and we had a very bad day,

The day that we never, ever wanted.

I am afraid every single day.

The boys go through the icefall.

I fear every day.

But, guys, we also have to progress.

We have to progress for the future,

Otherwise you have no income for your families.

(Clapping and cheering)

ED: This is unprecedented, that the Sherpas could

contemplate giving up a season's earnings

in order to make their point.

One of the biggest requests

from the workers in this Base Camp.

Is to not continue in climbing this year.

We know that's a great big ask,

but it's somewhat small compared to the 16 lives

we've lost in this mountain.

This is not workable for us.

We've still got our Sherpas to come to talk to.

To see if we want to carry on climbing or not.

We can't have this happening.

Every time there's an accident, every season.

It's getting out of control.

We're being forced off this mountain by renegade Sherpas.

We only became a democratic country in the '90s.

People feel like they have more freedom of speech.

Whenever they speak something that is a bit more bold,

it takes the Western people.

Who are at the Base Camp by surprise.

They're saying what they think.

They're not rebels, they're just mountain guides.

RUSSELL: I'm asking for a helicopter

to go to the Ministry.

The government has not taken much notice in the past,

SO now's the time.

I think we're confident that

we "re going to recover this situation,

But only if we act right now.

MARK PHILLIPS: Good morning. Well, it began as a tragedy

and has now turned into an avalanche of resentment.

That threatens the entire Everest industry.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Sherpa guides on Mount Everest

are staging a boycott that.

Threatens to shut down next month's climbing season.

MARK PHILLIPS: The issue is why the Sherpa guides,

who assume a disproportionately large

part of the risk, get a disproportionately small

part of the take.

I'd like to know a little bit about what's going on.

Simon hears from the European papers that the season's over.

I hear from the American media that

there's a potential strike,

And there's still negotiating going on.

We don't know anything, huh?

We can see it, and yet we don't know a fucking thing.

He's paid for a helicopter to come

and take him so we can go talk to the people

that can make decisions.

He's working on it.

Until those discussions are over,

there's nothing but speculation,

Which is exactly what we're doing.

Sorry, guys.

If I had more information, I'd give it to you.

I'm going.

There's an inherent risk in mountaineering.

There's an inherent risk in Everest.

There's an inherent risk in the Khumbu.

I know that. I'm willing to assume that risk.

Some of the clients are getting a little restless,

but we're in the right place at the right time,

And we're still going forwards in our plan.

If the word is yes, your crew will go with you.

We're still going forward.

LEE PERRY: The future of the Everest climbing season

is hanging in the balance.

ZOE COYLE: Nepalese government officials are flying in

to try and ease tensions at Base Camp.

ED: There was a lot of expectation.

Surrounding the ministerial visit.

The Sherpas hoped they would show leadership

and cancel the season.

The clients hoped the government would agree.

To Sherpa demands so the season could continue.

MAN: Sit down, please!

ED: So in failing to act decisively

or take any kind of official position,

the government have really left the Sherpas.

Between a rock and a hard place.

But just coming to Base Camp, they don't make money.

They make money on the mountain, carrying loads up.

The higher they go, the more they carry,

the more they're paid.

Just coming to Base Camp, they make nothing.

For the last 61 years, we've waited.

Something had to happen, and then we had to raise our voice

after such a huge loss.

They're ready to face the consequences now.

They would rather leave than die.

ED:/ think many expedition leaders have found themselves

in an incredibly difficult position,

balancing the interests of clients and the Sherpas.

In a situation like this was never going to be easy.

I feel still positive

we're going to be allowed to go up the mountain.

And continue the journey, and hopefully it's successful.

Life goes on.

Just try to remember the guys for what they were

and carry a positive message.

I knew the risks.

From a personal point of view, I was prepared to take that,

but to ask the Sherpa boys to go through it.

Time and time again, it's a difficult one.

It's hard just to...

...hot to...

...think about what happened to all those families.

Those boys...

...they're doing it for us.

Put so much work into this and effort...

...then you start to justify it.

For us, it's deja vu, isn't it, Jeff?

Yeah. We've been through this, you know? This was 2012.

Actually, what Russell feared would happen in 2012

is exactly what happened this year.

To have to come back here a second time

only to get cancelled again and never given the shot,

Yeah, that would be probably devastating to me, I think.

Yeah.

NORAH O'DONNELL: As we reported earlier this week,

Sherpas are leading a boycott after that deadly avalanche.

RONNIE MUHL: It's starting to make climbing.

For those who want to continue very difficult.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Most of the climbers.

Will forfeit the money they paid for the journey.

That can top $75,000.

I flew back again here this morning

to find that I'm probably the last team

to decide whether we're going to be continuing

on the mountain or not.

Yes, we had one avalanche.

Unfortunately, it killed a lot of people,

But that's not a reason to stop the expedition.

Today, a delegation, they came to the Base Camp

to try and calm things down,

But I'm afraid it just escalated things.

It didn't help.

We know that there's only a group of four or five guys

that are... that are...

...um, causing this problem,

but then they excite 300-odd guys,

And when you have mob rule, what can we do?

Effectively,

what these militant Sherpas are saying is,

If our Sherpas go through the icefall, they'll beat them up.

Then we all know about the fighting on Everest last year.

We would hope that there will be some form of punishment

to these guys, or we need to get rid of them.

Out of this system, so it doesn't happen again.

Do you know who employs them, Russ, these four or five?

I know who employs some of them, yeah.

There's no way you can talk to their owners and...

If this was one of your Sherpas,

You could have him removed from the mountain.

- Well, I would, yes. - So...

But... Yes.

But, ah...

...I don't know how to do that.

These people are totally irrational. They don't care.

Next week or next month, they'll be at home

with nothing to eat.

We have one last chance -

Are our Sherpas still prepared to go up the mountain?

As far as I know, our Sherpas want to climb,

but they fear for their life.

Phurba will be here early tomorrow.

We have to discuss everything with him.

So, sorry, guys. That's it.

- Namaste, Phurba dai. - Namaste, Ringi dai.

How is it, bro?

How are you doing?

Sorry to bring you in quick.

ED: Sherpas are not people who

express their emotions very willingly,

So it's sometimes hard to read them.

RUSSELL: Lots of attention on you now.(Laughs)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's OK. Just relax. Let's have a cup of tea first.

Namaste.

So how's everyone at home?

- Upset? - A bit upset.

Yeah.

RUSSELL: Understandably.

And wives, how do wives feel?

Don't want you coming, or how do they say?

They're happy we are back, but they still are...

Afraid?

Afraid we're going back again.

I'm sure.

We're all afraid.

We're all afraid, Phurba, SO...

What to do?

Want to go north side?

Huh?

There's risk every time, doesn't matter where we go.

- So, um... - (Coughs)

I understand how you feel.

You want to climb,

But you also have respect for people and everything.

Although, I checked with all the...

...Buddhist and Hindu... you know.

If we respect them, we can carry on doing our work.

But what we feel here is danger for you

from other Sherpa.

Did you hear anything about that?

- No, I didn't. - You didn't hear that?

So for me, I feel afraid for you.

We feel danger for you guys if you carry on climbing,

Maybe later, some violence to you.

How you feel about that?

'Cause this is not normal Sherpa.

How do you guys feel?

Maybe you're angry with me.

If you're angry, you have to tell me, you know?

I think pressure coming from outside,

and I'm afraid for you.

So I think we have to stop the expedition. You agree?

Mm-hm.

You agree to stop the expedition, everyone?

- Yes. - Yeah.

So I have to tell the member like that?

Mm-hm.

Um, I don't want,

but also, if just us,

How can I afford all the rope?

Because I have to buy from expedition operators.

For me, I can't afford just us.

You know, before,

It was always friendly, smiley Sherpa, always helping.

These guys have spoiled your reputation.

OK. What to do now?

I have to go and tell members we're finished.

You know, my prayers are with you. Sad.

So glad to see you here.

So, as I told you last night,

It's unlikely that we would continue.

The Sherpas feel under too much threat.

They've already been told if they go through icefall,

they'll break their legs, SO...

This is the word that comes to them,

that these other guys up here will break their legs.

If they go through the icefall.

Yes, they want to climb.

Out of respect, they don't want to climb

and out of fear, they don't want to climb -

Not fear of the mountain, fear of the people.

So there you go, guys. What can I say?

I don't know what to do

and Phurba doesn't know what to do,

And we're pissed off.

We're angry that these people are ruining our business,

you know? Their business.

What can we do?

I don't know how to apologise to you.

I don't know how to do that,

Especially the people that have come twice.

OK. So now, how to get out of here.

Essentially, we were just given news that

the Sherpas' legs would be broken if they were to help us

get up this mountain.

How can you possibly argue with that one?

Being held captive by terrorists,

is how I look at it.

When people demand change.

And threaten it by violence, that's a terrorist.

We in the States, we know what that is after 9/11.

We've got a group here that's terrorising Base Camp.

How do you anticipate that, you know?

How do you mentally prepare yourself to get up here,

then be turned away because a group of terrorists.

Are demanding that Westerners leave Base Camp?

It's... it's hard.

Do I have it in me for a third time.

To try and come back and do Everest?

I've got to go talk with my family, I think,

Before I make any final decisions.

But I certainly would like to get to the top

of the highest mountain in the world

and be able to provide that legacy to my family

as something they...

You got me!

MAN: Oh, we'll be back.

We'll be back, hopefully, next year.

One way or another,

I'll take the top of that mountain at some point.

It's just a slight set-back.

I'm going to feel better when I go home

knowing that we didn't climb up that mountain

after the big tragedy. It's better to show my respect

for the Sherpa community by leaving.

SUMIT:! Think the expedition organisers,

they knew in their heart what their Sherpa wants,

But they couldn't tell that clearly to their clients.

It's just excuses they are using.

To throw the blame on somebody else, yeah.

If this didn't change anything,

Then nothing ever will.

Then Nepal will just be like a wild, wild West.

For the Western operators to do whatever they want.

This thing has happened, which is a sad thing,

but hopefully, this will bring something positive

into the mountain.

RUSSELL: It must have some effect.

On the Everest industry, the accident this year.

I think it's made me more determined

to try and change the rules.

SO we can continue with Everest as usual,

But in a safer way.

I've been a mountain guide all my life.

We have to deal with death a lot, then try and move on.

Hopefully, we will have a team to go.

To climb Mount Everest again next year.

ED: The game has shifted.

It would be easy, in the chaos of this last week,

To lose sight of what has happened here.

The Sherpas have, effectively, cancelled the season.

They had a choice, and in the end,

they've chosen respect for themselves.

And the mountain ahead of money.

Cancelling the season will be a welcome breathing space.

So maybe, it will be calmer.

It would be nice for Everest to be calm for a bit,

Rather than this, kind of, madness.

My father said that you don't conquer these mountains,

you just crawl up,

as a child, crawling into your mother's lap,

Which is the same approach I think people should take.

Then there will be less accidents.

He was the first Asian to become famous,

known around the world, and he became a great metaphor

for young and old alike

to show that you can make it on your own -

Hard work is what it takes.

He became a real symbol of hope.

For millions around the world.

ED: Tenzing gave the name 'Sherpa' a currency.

Which will never be exhausted.

So it may only be now that.

They're really beginning to take advantage of it.

They've got control of climbing the mountain,

and it's come full circle, in a way.

JAMLING: My father said he climbed.

So that we wouldn't have to.

He wanted to give us the best education.

SO we can continue our lives in some other careers

rather than climbing,

Because climbing was dangerous.