Everest: Climbers Steck and Moro in fight with Sherpas

Police in Nepal are investigating an
alleged fight between two famous
European climbers and their Nepalese
mountain guides on Mount Everest.
Switzerland's Ueli Steck and Simone Moro
from Italy were at 7,470m (24,500ft)
when the brawl occurred.
The pair allegedly ignored orders to hold
their climb and triggered an icefall which
hit the Sherpas laying fixed ropes. The
climbers deny this.
Both sides have since reached a peace
deal, reports say.
Mr Steck told the BBC that their three-
man team - which included Briton
Jonathan Griffith - was nearing Camp
Three on Saturday, when the "conflict"
broke out.
He said they had been keeping a
respectful distance so as not to disturb
the work of the Sherpas laying ropes.
The climbers continued to Camp Three
but later descended to Camp Two to
"finish the discussion" and were met by
more than 100 angry Sherpas, who began
to beat them and throw rocks, Mr Steck
said.
He said the Sherpas threatened to kill the
climbers if they did not leave the camp.
One of the Sherpas threw a pocket knife
at Mr Moro but "luckily [it] just hit the
belt of his backpack", Mr Steck said,
adding that they escaped with no serious
injuries.
Mr Steck said the conflict was the
symptom of a long-term problem of
"cultures", but did not elaborate.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, the former
president of the Nepal Mountaineers
Association, told the BBC that climbing
leaders of various teams at base camp
helped broker a peace deal on Sunday.
Exact details are not very clear, but the
two sides clearly had a misunderstanding,
Mr Ang said.
'Damaged pride'
In a statement, Mr Moro said that
"getting hit by chunks of ice is a very
natural occurrence" on an ice face. "As it
stands, no Sherpa has come forward to
show any injury."
"The climbers believe that the lead
Sherpa felt that his pride had been
damaged as the climbers were moving
unroped and much faster," the statement
added.
When they returned to their tents, Mr
Moro said a mob of guides had grouped
together to attack them.
"[The guides] became instantly aggressive
and not only punched and kicked the
climbers, but threw many rocks as well,"
said Mr Moro.
More than 3,000 people have scaled
Mount Everest since it was first
conquered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing
Norgay in 1953.
Straddling Nepal and China, the world's
highest mountain has an altitude of
8,848m (29,029ft).