Sherpa (2015)

[bunniefuu]

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, you know, international
mountain guides 100 years later.

1953, coronation year.

The world was turned by the news
that Everest had at last been conquered

by a British expedition
led by Coronel 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.

A lot of the Western world
do not know what a Sherpa is.

So, a Sherpa, you know,
you climb mountains.

And 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.

And you continue to be reborn,
and reborn, and reborn,

until the day you reach Nirvana.

So, your next life is determined
by your deeds of this life.

We Sherpa people have a great
respect for the mountain.

Over here, we climb mountains,
but it's a holy place.

There's a huge difference in,
you know,

the attitude, the feeling.

Western people approach it
as a physical challenge,

push your limit to see
how close you can get to death.

But there's 1,000-year-old stories
we have about the mountain, its history,

which these people
have no idea about.

And I think some people adapt, learn
and respect it. Some people don't.

If Phurba is one of the most successful
climbing Sherpas of his generation,

then his counterpart
amongst expedition leaders

is his boss, Russell Brice.

I've been running
commercial expeditions here since 1994.

I think I'm the one that's been on more
Everest expeditions than anyone else.

- It's all oxygen.
- All oxygen.

And 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.

and such a special person.
He's incredibly strong on the mountain.

Good idea. Hot water here.

Easy to come from the kitchen.

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. You know,

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.

The activity here
has changed utterly.

It has become an industry,

and that industry is people,
largely by Sherpas.

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 mild headaches,
but that's to be expected.

Okay, folks.

Let's roll on out of town.

In the old days, people did everything
on the mountain together.

And 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 success.

Now, we need to get everyone
on the summit.

So if you want to get 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 fulfill their dreams.

Phurba, good to see you.
You boys have 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 an achievement
of a dream.

Part of the reason why
you want to come and climbing

you want to experience
those things,

see if you can do it, see
if you can physically do it.

- It's a massive undertaking.
- The training is phenomenal.

And, you know,

it's not something you put together
in a couple weeks.

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

Ever since I was always have been
attracted for several reasons.

I love the buddhist side to it,
I love the...

I love the Nepalese people.

So, for me,
it's an enjoyable mountain the most,

because I think that's so cool

that you get to share
with these beautiful people.

Have you ever seen a man
so particular?

And so, for just
eight hectic weeks each year,

Everest base camp
becomes this thriving village.

And in recent years,
overcrowding on Everest

has been the source
of a lot of controversy.

It might just be the last place on Earth
you'd expect to find a traffic jam,

the top of the world, mount Everest.

These archive images shows how line-up
cause long and unnecessary delays.

More than 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.

Expedition company charge up
to 100,000 dollars

to clients that want
to make the ascent.

Climbing Everest has become
a bucket list ambition

and a multi-million-dollar
industry.

This is a, you know, big employer,
lots and lots of people.

There are more Sherpas
working on the mountain now

than there ever
have been in history.

But they only get
a small fraction of the pie.

The Sherpa guys turn up to 5,000 dollars
for a two-month expedition.

Ten times the average annual pay
in their isolated homeland.

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.

So, we're here to put up one
of the most ambitious television project

in the history of the media world.

So I hope you find down here

and we're gonna broadcasting
your own life.

There's a reason that Superman movies,
Batman movies and Spiderman,

all these superhero 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.

It's part of the deal now

is that they're all kinds
of strange notions

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

One, two, three.

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.

If you want to climb Everest
from the south,

you have to go through
the Khumbu icefall.

It's the route top Everest
most commercial operators prefer

partly 'cause of political uncertainties
on the northern side of the mountain

into that, which they'd rather avoid.

The Khumbu icefall
is like a waterfall of ice

coming out of the Western col.

There is nowhere else
in the world

that a mountaineer wouldo go
through an icefall like this.

But because it's the only access
on the south side to Everest,

then people would 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

have, you know, in terms of safety,
have been improved over the years.

But the icefall remains,
you know, perilous.

There are threats
from every direction.

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.

So you know that
this is a perilous moment,

going through the icefall.

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 sh*t scared every time
I send the Sherpas up in the mountain.

It's like sending them off
to w*r.

I don't know
who's gonna come home.

If there's an accident
in the icefall,

are we gonna lose one,
are we gonna lose two?

Are we gonna lose six people?

Because the potential is there.

And the question is...

what is the moral
justification for that?

You know, 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.

Every night I listen to the Sherpas
on the radio going through the icefall.

And all the time they're running away
from small avalanches.

Lots of ice falling down,
things like that.

So I made the 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 is a bit of a chump here

because his clients will be pissed off

because they went home
and other people got to the top.

I thing Russell Brice was really full
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 successfull 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
with someone like Tenzing.

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

and they benefited it 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.

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.

When Tenzing Norgay
was asked how he felt,

his chilly answers
had to be interpreted.

He's very happy.

All this, and the George Medal too.

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.

So it's kind of like
a second-level award.

It was just not right.

So in the eyes of Sherpas,

in the eyes of people in India,

in the eyes of most Asians,
they felt somewhat slighted

that he would not get
the same kind of recognition

that his partners got on Everest.

My father said:
"I wish I never climbed this mountain."

He was immensely proud
of what he had achieved,

but I think he felt
thwarted in a way.

I think he felt
that he hadn't realized himself

in the way
that he would have liked.

I think partly it's because,
you know,

he lacked a formal education.

The 60-year-old reputation of what it is
to be a Sherpa is changing.

Now, you go to base camp

and more than 80% of Sherpas
finish their high school.

And 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.

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 want
equal credit for what they have done.

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

a tendency of aggression

from younger Sherpas.

So, last year,
there was fighting on Everest

and I think we were
all disappointed.

So sad about that.

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.

Man versus the mountain
to man versus man.

Three top European climbers
had to flee for their lives.

The highest altitude
scrap in history.

- They just tried to k*ll us.
- The Sherpas have tried to k*ll you?

It's all unfolded near the summit

at an altitude
of roughly 22,000 feet.

You have a European
calling a Sherpa a m*therf*cker,

which is, in Nepal particularly,
culturally insensitive.

Yeah, I copy that.
I know what word is.

I don't like that word either.

Sherpas, usually help Westerners
summit, turn against them.

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

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

I am sorry.

Yes.

Please. Please, no violence.

- No.
- He came to apologize.

I'm sorry for this.

- Please, no violence. Listen.
- He's very sorry.

Inside, inside.

It's not clear whether the fight
was something personal

or reflected
a greater discontent.

Please, 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 kind of nice, friendly,
smiley person in the background.

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

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.

And I'm getting too old for that.

- Good morning.
- Good morning, Mount Everest.

Hot towel.

Tea?

Roughin' it on Mount Everest.

Hot towels
and tea in the morning.

Can I have a tea
with no sugar, please?

The reason Everest
takes eight weeks to climb

is that the body needs to slowly
acclimatize to the altitude.

We do our acclimatization
on Lobuche Peak

to stay out of the icefall,

to reduce the risk for our clients.

And so when, you know,
Russell Brice starts

getting his clients
to camp on top of, you know,

a nearby peak rather than going
through the icefall to acclimatize,

you know, 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.

This year, my clients
will go through the icefall twice,

but I daresay most of the Sherpas
will go through maybe 20 to 30 times.

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

That was 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.

But now we have to start
the real job of why we're here.

And that's 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 gonna sack you.
You're gonna go home.

It must seen crazy going through
the Khumbu icefall in the dark,

but it's actually much safer, because
it's more stable in the colded night.

Once the sun hits,
it becomes increasingly dangerous.

You have to 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.

And so that puts the people
doing the rescue

at much less risk.

There 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.

Update from icefall: 13 or 14 missing.
Not sure what team they're from.

Phil, are all your boys okay?

Phil, I can't hear you, but are
all your boys okay? Just say yes or no.

Thumbs up. Okay. Thanks.

Get all the ropes you can find.
Russ, where's that...

A.C. and A.A.I.

Dawa Sherpa, A.C. Sherpa,
and A.A.I. Sherpa.

sh*t, no.

I'm not aware of numbers,

but it's significant amounts.

It's in the tens.

- Keep that with you.
- Okay.

Definitely bring the long line
from Kathmandu.

Cheers. Cia-ciao. Bye.

There's three dead, one severely
injured, needs to be helicoptered.

Put these steel shovels,
get them all together.

We want that sked.

The oxygen.

We're gonna want to be bringin' em down
from the scene if we can't fly them out.

For the beginning of the season,
f*cking A.

- Yeah.
- f*ck.

The collect that goes up
gets some oxygen

and you go second load.

One of my guys is very serious.

So I think we're to bring him down fast,
as soon as possible.

Because he's alive now.

Yeah, yeah. We'll try.

My doctor here waiting.

But we need sked.
We need all that.

We need the oxygen
up there first flight.

I think what we're trying to do
is you and I in the first load.

I'll try and secure the helipad.

- Yep.
- Get it crackin'.

You do flight stuff,
I'll just do medical stuff.

And you go down. Exactly.

If you're gonna make me
in charge...

- Yeah, yeah.
- ...please listen.

Okay. I understand
you're mountain guides.

I'm a mountain guide.

We've all got friends
missing and dead.

We know that, okay?

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

We want to send a doctor.

- Doctor, and one Nepali guide.
- They're requesting a doctor.

Doctor and one Nepali guide,
okay?

Who are these people?

Priority is being stabled
and Melissa on it.

I think we've explained that Russell's
in charge of the helipad down here,

which means Melissa and I
will be going first.

Her victim is already packaged,
ready to go.

Patient condition.

He's fully conscious, responsive.

But we're confused about how many
casualties there are now. Over.

We don't have a casualty count now.
We're working on live bodies now.

All Sherpas not needed,
now leave and come to base camp.

It's starting to get hot.

Jason's gonna go in,
try and land in upper site,

pull that Sherpa off,
bring him down to helipad.

Being switched to long line
going to your location.

Dead-bag chasing
has landed at middle side. Over.

There's a Sherpa with a head injury
and internal bleeding.

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

Yeah, Michael just requested
as much rope as possible.

There's a live patient with a query,
several fracture.

Pulse looks good
call me from IMG. Over.

Water in 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.

And then we can switch to non-traumatic
body recovery flying down

and we're gonna put an ECG
on them to check for rhythm. Over.

I verify. You're absolutely
in embodered recovery.

- Yes.
- Roger.

Let's get this going.

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.

Michael has done an examination
on all bodies. No signs of life.

I daresay...

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

How are you feelin'?

Shattered.

Every village will be affected.

A lot of our guys
will have friends they know.

There's people
from all over the Khumbu.

We've been...
Young guys, young guys...

This one of them I know...

Just her baby, just...

Now to the worst disaster
ever seen on Mount Everest.

The avalanche hitted at about
6:30 this morning local time

at one of the busiest times
of day on the mountain.

...one-day toll reported
on the world's tallest mountain.

The wall of snow crashed
on the Western shoulder...

The death toll
is expected to rise to 16.

Questions're been asked about the future
of this year's climbing season

and whether attempts
will be made next month.

This tragedy adds
to the death toll on Everest,

which is already estimated at 250.

A four-day halt to climbing
has been declared

while the search
for the missing Sherpas goes on.

You see the grief,

and, you know,
that's going back decades.

You know, these grieving
Sherpa families...

this constant narrative of loss
being expressed again.

This morning the search has been
suspended for three other people

who are still missing
from 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 gonna
target us as a focus for their anger.

Westerners coming here, and causing
such a kind of circus at times.

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

from last year
and the fights that broke out.

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

but 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 labor of the Sherpas,
the lives of the Sherpas,

and never put anything back.

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.

The government,
you know, 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 was
some bad headlines,

but basically
not really done anything since.

They've left it to Western,
you know, operators

and just taken their cut every year,
and it's a big cut.

It's like 1/3 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 preempt

this type of meeting
this afternoon.

Of course
we're upset about people dying,

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

I daresay they'd look
at the Arab Summer,

and things like that, and think that
they can do the same sort of things.

It's hotheaded 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,

which is not fair.

It is not fair.

Every morning we wake up

and we realize
that this is not a dream.

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

We had a day...

We've been all expecting
an accident.

And we had a bad day,
the day that we never, ever wanted.

I'm 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.

This is unprecedented

that the Sherpas could contemplate
giving up a season's earning

in order to make their point.

One of the biggest request
from the workers in this base camp

is to not continuing climbing this year.

We know this is a great big ask

but it's somewhat small
compared to the 16 lives

we lost in these mountains.

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've been forced off this mountain
by renegade Sherpas.

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

so people feel like they have
more freedom of speech.

So whenever they speak something
that is a bit more bold,

it obviously takes the Western people
who are the base camp by surprise.

They're saying what they think.

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

I'm asking for a helicopter

to go to the ministry.

The government has not taken
much notice in the past,

so I think now's the time.

I think we're confident
that we're gonna recover the situation,

but only if we act right now.

Good morning.
Well, it began as a tragedy

and has now turned into
an avalanche of resentment

that threatens
the entire Everest industry.

Sherpa guys on Mount Everest
are staging a boycott

that threatens to shut down
next month's climbing season.

The issue
is why the Sherpa climbing guys,

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, you know?

We hear from...
Simon hears from the european papers

that the season's over.
I hear from american media

that there's a potential strike

and there's still negotiating
going on, but...

- We don't know anything, huh?
- Nothing.

We can see it

and yet we don't know
a f*cking 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

and until those discussions
are over

there's nothing but speculation,
which is exactly what we're doing.

Sorry, guys. I mean, if I had more
information, I would 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.

I think some of the clients
are getting a little restless,

but I think we're in the right place
at the right time

and we're still going forward
on our plan.

So if the word is
"Yes, your crew will go with you,"

we're still going forward.

The future
of the Everest climbing season

is hanging in the balance
this morning.

Government officials are flying into
trying to ease tensions at base camp.

There was a lot of expectations
surrounding the ministerial visit.

The Sherpas hoped they would show
some leadership and cancel the season.

The clients hoped the government
would agree to the Sherpa demands,

so the season could continue.

So, in failing to act decisively

or take any kind
of official position,

the government have 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 there.

The higher they go, the more they carry,
the more they're paid.

Just coming to base camp,
they make nothing.

But for the last 61 years,
we've waited.

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

and to such a huge loss.

They're ready
to face the consequences.

They'd rather leave than die.

I think many expedition
leaders 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.

What happened
was really a tragic day, a black day.

I feel still positive

if we're gonna be allowed
to go up the mountain, you know,

and continue the journey
and hopefully it's successful

and, you know, life goes on,

and 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...

not to think about what happened
to all those families,

those boys.

They're doing it for us.

But I put so much work into this
and effort.

Then you start to justify it.

- This is a deja-vu, isn't it, Jeff?
- Yes.

We've been to this, you know?

This was 2012.

Actually what Russell feared
would happened 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 is...

yeah, that'll be...

that'll be devastating at me, I think.

As we reported earlier this week,

Sherpas are leading a boycott
after that deadly avalanche.

Starting to make climbing
for those

who might want to continue
very, very challenging and difficult.

Most of the climbers were forfeiting
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 k*lled a lot of people,

but that's no 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 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.

You know who employs them, russ?
These four or five?

I know who employs
some of them, yeah.

And there's no way
you can talk to their owners

I mean, if this
was one of your Sherpas,

you could have them removed
from the mountain.

Well, I would. Yes.

So...

But, yes...

But 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

as our Sherpas are 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.

Sherpas are not people who express
their emotions very willingly.

So it's sometimes hard
to read them.

Lots of attention on you now.

It's okay. Just relax.
Let's have a cup of tea first, huh?

So, how's everyone at home?

Upset?

- A bit upset.
- Yeah.

I know. Just...

understandably,
you know.

And wives.
How do wives feel?

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

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

...afraid, too,
that we're going back again.

Yeah. I'm sure.

- We're all afraid.
- Yeah.

We're all afraid, Phurba.

So...

what to do?

Want to go north side?

- Still very risky.
- Huh?

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

So...

I understand how you feel.

You want to climb,

but you also have respect
for the people and everything.

Although, I checked with
all the Buddhists and Hindu.

You know, if we respect,

then 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.
- Didn't hear that?

So, for me,
I feel afraid for you.

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

but 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.

And if you're angry,
then you have to tell me, but...

You know.

I think pressure
coming from outside...

and I'm afraid for you.

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

- You agree to stop expedition?
- Yeah.

- Everyone?
- Yes.

So I have to tell
the members like that?

I don't want, but also, if just us,

how can I afford all the rope?

Because I have to buy
from expedition operators.

So, for me, I can't afford just us.

Before it was always friendly,
smiling Sherpa, always helping.

These guys have spoiled
your reputation.

Okay.

What to do now?

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

You know, my prayers are with you.

Sad.

Glad you're okay.

So, as I told you last night,

it's unlikely that we would continue

and 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?
And 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 apologize to you.

I don't know how to do that.

Especially the people
that've come twice.

Okay.

So, now how to get out of here?

Essentially,
we were just given the 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 c*ptive by t*rrorists,
is how I look at it.

I mean,
when people demand change

and threaten it by violence,
that's a t*rror1st, you know?

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

We've got a group here
that's terrorizing base camp.

How do you anticipate that,
you know?

How do you mentally prepare yourself
to get up here and then be turned away

because a group of t*rrorists
are demanding

that Westerners leave base camp?

You know, it's hard.

Do I have for the third time

to try to come back and do Everest?

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

I make any final decision.

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...

Now you got me.

We'll be back hopefully next year.

One way or another, I'll tack
the top of that mountain at some point.

So just a slight setback.

I'm gonna feel better
when I go home knowing

knowing that we didn't climb up
that mountain

after the big tragedy.

It's just better to show my respect
for the Sherpa community by leaving.

I think the expedition organizers

they knew in their heart
what their Sherpa wants,

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

It's just the 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 the 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.

It must have some effect
on the Everest industry

the accident this year.

I think this 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
and then try and move on.

Hopefully, we will have a team to go
to climb Mount Everest again next year.

The game shifted.

It would be easy
in the chaos of this last week

to lose sight
of what has happened here.

The Sherpas have effectively
canceled the season.

They had a choice, and in the end,

they've chosen respect
for themselves and the mountain

ahead of money.

Canceling the season will be
a welcomed breathing space.

So maybe it will be calmer.

It will 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
to your mother's lap,

which is the same approach
I think people should take.

And then there'd be less accidents.

He was the first asian to become famous,
known around the world,

and he became a great metaphor
for young men

all alike to show
that you can make it on your own

and hard work is what it takes.

And so he became a real symbol of hope
for millions around the world.

Tenzing gave the name "Sherpa"
a currency

which will never be exhausted.

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.

My father said he climbed,
so that we wouldn't have to.

He wanted to give us
the best education.

So we could continue our lives in some
other careers rather than climbing.

Because climbing was dangerous.