A brawl erupts on Mount Everest.
Many climbers have endured dire risks attempting to conquer the forbidding peaks of Mount Everest, but it's usually risks of the natural variety. Three climbers from Europe encountered a different challenge: a mob of 100 angry, stone-throwing Sherpas at 24,750 feet.
The reports of the incident are somewhat confused, but it appears the three climbers (who were all experienced), were asked to wait as their Sherpas rigged some ropes. They ignored the Sherpas and climbed ahead, kicking ice down on top of them. This lead to an angry confrontation at base camp where 100 Sherpas attacked the climbers, in some cases lobbing rocks at them. The climbers were rescued by other nearby mountaineers.
Nepalese officials are still trying to sort out what happened, but one of the climbers, Jonathan Griffith, attributed the Sherpa's rage to "a far more deep rooted and long term problem, which is the way that Nepalis feel treated by Westerners on the mountain."
(AP Photo)
