Mount Everest Brawl Pits Climbers vs. Sherpas

Officials in Nepal investigate reports of fighting between foreign climbers and their guides.

Climbing Mount Everest is challenging enough, battling elements, battling terrains, but what about when the conflict turned from men versus nature to men versus men. Well, that’s apparently exactly what happened yesterday on the world’s highest mountain, more than 24,000 feet up, a fight broke out between a group of famous climbers and sherpas while approaching a base camp.

Simone Moro of Italy, Ueli Steck of Switzerland and Jonathan Griffith of Britain angered the sherpas by ignoring their orders not to touch ropes they were securing. The Trio continued to climb, then some ice fell, hitting the sherpas, prompting them to storm the climbers heads, punching and kicking them. Both sides accused the other of starting the fight, but have since apparently apologized to each other.