Newschoolers step off Everest

So these cocky European fucks are going to fight the people keeping their asses alive?

hahah this will be good

because newschoolers would never take on such a daunting task

More like most on NS aren't old enough/experienced enough to do something like this. Most people who climb Everest are serious climbers for a long time first. They do something like this when they either a.) get good enough to be sponsored, or b.) have worked long enough to get paid enough to save for it.

Interested to find out more about this. Sounds like some altitude induced idiocy.

wow you're really smart.


i like how the guy's name is Wool Stick, and how the journalist referred to the sherpa as "Mr Sherpa"

So the guy's name is "Wool Stick"?
Hahaha

Getting to base camp is on my to do list

Please someone tell me they know of this person

Eh, I beg to differ. Sure, Everest is a huge accomplishment and all, but almost all you need now is money and physical ability to do it. Sherpas set safety and haul all the gear, so someone with little mountaineering experience can summit as long as the altitude doesn't get to them. Also, the youngest person to summit Everest was 13 when he did it.

More like Everest is a fucking shit show of cardiologists, lawyers, and other people with a ton of money who climb up a fucking fixed line for two months. Pussy shit.

Yeah I guess that is true to some extent. Still interested to hear more about this. Whether it was summit fever, or just some inexperienced rich dudes getting into a fight in about the dumbest place you could possibly choose to do so.

The climbers involved were Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffin. I don't know much about Griffin except he's canadian but both Ueli and Simone are world class badasses. I have heard stories of Simone sometimes having a tendency to rub people the wrong way, but he has put in some serious time in the Himalayas and done some incredible things. Ueli...is just a straight up machine as well. It definitely is tricky to call it before the investigation but one thing is for sure...being at that altitude is a totally different ball game. completely different than what you could imagine until you have been there yourself. Tempers can flare and shit can go crazy super fast. One thing I was caught by was they were super high really early in the season already. Usually people don't really start going up that high until mid / early may.

Steck is a beast, I wonder what happened. In the comments of that article it says that at base camp the got attacked again, and Steck has gone home. One of my friends is attempting Everest at the moment, maybe he'll have the whole story.

Can we get a better source for this story please I'm interested but the daily fail might aswell be the onion.

http://www.adventure-journal.com/2013/04/violence-hits-mt-everest-as-sherpas-fight-with-ueli-steck-others/

This is the best one I could find.

Wonder whos in the wrong here? can't exactly take daily mail as unbiased.

"The high-profile duo of Simone Moro (Italy) and Ueli Steck (Switzerland) will try a new route from the south. Moro has climbed Everest several times, and has done three first winter ascents of three 8,000-meter peaks. Steck, best known for his speed climbs in the Alps and hard technical routes in the Himalaya, also has climbed Everest."

http://www.climbing.com/news/bold-new-routes-on-everest-planned-this-spring/

Read the release I linked, the Sherpas say the Euros knocked ice on them, but no-ones seen any Sherpas with injuries. The Euros think that the the Sherpas were just angry that they were climbing faster and unprotected, then there was some tension and disrespect and the whole thing blew up.

were the europeans unaided? and if not what did the sherpas with them think/do/say?

Spark notes, sherpas accused cocky European climbers without a guide of kicking ice and snow down the mountain at them. The Sherpas promptly "suggested" that they return to camp 2. After arrival in camp 2 a fight about disagreements occurred. Sherpas tried to kill cocky Europeans. Other groups intervene. No link to story, sorry. I read about it though

The Europeans (and one American, maybe?) are probably the best climbers in the world at the moment, one has summited 4 times, and I know Steck has been up with oxygen at least once as well. They were climbing without Sherpas, and clearly managed to get the group of Sherpas they encountered really pissed off.

This is the climber side of things, it's their press report, so obviously paints them in a positive light.

"At about 8am on 27th April 2013 Simone Moro (IT), Ueli Steck (CH), and Jonathan Griffith (UK) left Camp 2 to reach a tent at around 7200m (lower Camp 3) on the Lhotse Face of Mount Everest. A team of high altitude sherpas were ‘fixing’ the Lhotse face and the climbers were asked to not touch the fixed ropes they were establishing. As such the trio climbed about 50m away and to the side of the Sherpa team to avoid disturbing them in their work. It should be noted that all three climbers have extensive climbing experience all over the world and were very aware of the work being carried out by the Sherpas and the respect given to them for it.

When the three climbers reached the height of their already established tent, they traversed across the snow and were forced to step over the lines of the Sherpas to reach their tent about 20 meters to the side. The climbers chose to step across the lines at a belay stance where 4 other sherpas were attached to the ice face whilst their lead climber continued to fix the line above. Stepping over the lines does not interfere in any way with the work being carried out. The climbers were soloing and not using ropes so there was no rope tangling either. In addition by passing beneath the lead climber no ice or snow could be knocked down on him.

Jonathan Griffith was in the lead at this point and after crossing the rope and traversing another 15 meters on a snow ramp Ueli Steck followed. At the point where Ueli Steck stepped over the rope the lead climber noticed the climbers below and began shouting and banging the ice with his axe erratically. Still shouting down at the climbers, he fixed his rope and abseiled down to the belay stance. As Ueli was soloing and therefore not attached to a rope it was natural that he should hold his hands up to take the impact of the force arriving on him from the lead climber abseiling right on to him. This prompted the lead climber to accuse Ueli Steck of ‘touching him’. In between hitting the ice with all his force and screaming at Ueli Steck ‘why you touch me’ he said that they had kicked ice down on them and injured a Sherpa. Seeing as the trio were climbing a completely independent line and entirely on snow this is highly unlikely.

Ueli Steck tried to help calm the situation by offering to help fix the lines up to Camp 3 but this only made matters worse. Simone Moro then joined the team and the lead climber turned on him wielding his ice axe in his direction. Simone swore at the lead climber as is the natural reaction when faced with this aggression. No amount of talking would calm the lead Sherpa down and as a final act of defiance he ordered his whole team of 17 Sherpas off the Lhotse Face and back to Camp 2. There was no reason to descend off the mountain because of the three climbers. They had not touched or interfered with the Sherpa’s work. To help smooth things over Ueli Steck fixed a further 260m of rope to Camp 3.

By the time the climbers descended back to Camp 2 some 100 Sherpas had grouped together and attacked the three climbers. They became instantly aggressive and not only punched and kicked the climbers, but threw many rocks as well. A small group of Westerners acted as a buffer between the out of control mob and the climbers, and they owe their lives to these brave and selfless people. Nevertheless all three climbers were attacked as well as many of the Westerners who were trying to calm the situation down. The climbers were told that by that night one of them would be dead and the other two they would see to later. After about 50 minutes the crowd had calmed down and the climbers, who had been pushed away and told to hide, had regrouped and were told that if they weren’t gone in one hour that they would all be killed.

The climbers packed the bare essentials and made a circuitous route back down to the base of Mount Everest in heavily crevassed terrain with no rope on, feeling that given the current situation this was the safest place to be.

The Sherpas said that the reason they attacked the climbers was because they had knocked ice down on a Sherpa below. As it stands no Sherpa has come forward to show any injury. Furthermore on an ice face getting hit by chunks of ice is a very natural occurrence. The climbers believe that the lead Sherpa was tired and cold and felt that his pride had been damaged as the three climbers were moving unroped and much faster to the side of him. Whatever the reason may be, there is no reason to instigate vigilante rule and to try and kill three visiting climbers.

The Nepalese authorities have taken the matter very seriously as have commercial teams on the mountain. At the moment the 3 ring leaders have been taken off the mountain and the Police, Ministry of Tourism and the head of the Sherpa Association are investigating.

The three climbers would like to extend a huge thank you to all those who saved their lives at Camp 2 and to those who are now taking over the investigation.”

That should read 'without' oxygen. Sorry for the trip post!