Jun 6, 2014

In April, an avalanche killed 16 Nepali Sherpa guides who were fixing ropes and ferrying supplies for their foreign clients to climb the 29,035-foot peak. The accident – the deadliest in the history of Mount Everest – triggered a dispute between sherpa guides who wanted a climbing ban in honor of their colleagues and the Nepali government that refused to close the mountain. The sherpas staged a boycott, forcing hundreds of foreign climbers to call off their bids to climb Everest.

: Trekkers stand in Everest Base camp, approximately 5,300 meters above sea level, in the Solukhumbu District on May 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A yak herder leads yaks near Pheriche, approximately 4,300 meters above sea level, in the Solukhumbu District on May 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A Nepalese army personnel sits inside a check post as he waits to check permits for trekkers passing by, in the Solukhumbu District on April 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Yaks head towards the Everest base camp in the Solukhumbu District on April 28, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Everest base camp is seen approximately 5,300 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on May 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Yaks walk past prayer flags as they carry goods back from Everest base camp in Solukhumbu District on May 5, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A trekker walks in front of Mount Thamserku while on his way back from Everest base camp near Pheriche in the Solukhumbu District on May 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Prayer flags flutter over the Lobuche River on the way to Everest base camp near Pheriche, approximately 4,300 meters above sea level, in the Solukhumbu District on May 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Trekkers walk in front of Mount Thamserku while on their way back from Everest base camp at Pheriche, approximately 4,300 meters above sea level, in the Solukhumbu District on May 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A porter carries mattresses back from Everest base camp, approximately 5,300 meters above sea level, in the Solukhumbu District on May 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Garbage collectors collect rubbish at the deserted Everest base camp, approximately 5,300 meters above sea level, in Solukhumbu District on May 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Phurba Tenzing Sherpa, 24, who has reached the summit of Everest nine times, sits inside his tent at Everest Base camp, approximately 5,300 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on May 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Trekking guide Birbal Thapa Magar makes an emergency phone call to check on his clients’ health, in Pheriche, approximately 4,300 meters above sea level, in the Solukhumbu District on May 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A trekker stands in front of Mount Everest, which is 8,850 meters high, at Kala Patthar in Solukhumbu District on May 7, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Light from a sunrise illuminates Mount Pumori, which is approximately 7,100 meters high, as trekkers look at the mountains from Kala Patthar in the Solukhumbu District on May 7, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: An airstrip is seen through the cockpit of a Dornier aircraft as it approaches to land at Tenzing Hillary Airport, which has a reputation as the world’s most dangerous airport in Lukla, approximately 2800 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu district. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: An aircraft is reflected in a mirror at a hotel as it takes off from Tenzing Hillary Airport, which has a reputation as the world’s most dangerous airport in Lukla, approximately 2,800 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu district. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Lights illuminate a street in the evening in Namche, approximately 3,440 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: American climber Alex Goldfarb, who had to cancel his planned climb of Mount Lhotse, reads a book in the Solukhumbu District. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A woman sits in the window of her shop on the way to Namche in the Solukhumbu District. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A construction worker is seen through a split tree trunk while building a hotel in Namche, approximately 3,400 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A construction worker shows his torn gloves as he carves stones while building a hotel in Namche, approximately 3,400 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Yak bells are seen outside a shop in Namche, approximately 3,400 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A novice monk walks past the Kyamgon Tashi Chocling Monastery at Lukla, approximately 2,800 meters above sea level in Solukhumbu district April 25, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Khunjung Sherpa, 90, who earned $0.09 a day when he worked as a porter, sits outside his house in Namche, Solukhumbu District April 27, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Porter and climber Tenzing Bhotay Sherpa, 31, looks through the window of a lodge after arriving from Everest base camp, in Phunki Tenga in Solukhumbu District on April 30, 2014. According to Tenzing he crossed the Khumbu Icefall just five minutes before the April 18 avalanche struck. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Kedar Rai (right), 42, and his sons carry goods to their shop in the Solukhumbu District on April 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A porter crosses a bridge while on his way back from Namche, approximately 3.400 meters above sea level in Solukhumbu District April 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Mount Ama Dablam, which stands approximately 6,800 meters above sea level, is seen behind Khumjung Village in the Solukhumbu District on April 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Porter Lakpa Sherpa, 42, walks along the tracks while on his way to Everest base camp in the Solukhumbu District on April 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Porter Lakpa Sherpa, 42, is silhouetted as he stands in front of Mount Kongde, approximately 3,400 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on April 27, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Temba Sherpa, 45, who has reached the summit of Everest seven times, climbs to clean the mani (prayer) stone in Khumjung, approximately 3700 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on May 8, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A boy plays near a white board inside a classroom at Khumjung High School, which was founded in 1961 by Sir Edmund Hillary, the first climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in Khumjung, approximately 3,700 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on April 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A statue of Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the founder of Khumjung High School, is seen in the school grounds in Khumjung, approximately 3,700 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on May 8, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Dr. Sagar Panthin sits inside the Kunde Hospital, founded in 1966 by Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in Khumjung, Solukhumbu District on April 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A boy drinks drops of water dripping from a public tap in the Solukhumbu District April 30, 2014. More than 4,000 climbers have reached the summit of Everest, the world’s highest peak, since it was first scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: 50-day-old Pasang Choti Sherpa, whose father, Lakpa Sherpa, died in the avalanche on April 18 2014, lies on her mother’s lap in Khumjung, approximately 3,700 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on May 8, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Nima Doma Sherpa, 25, whose husband Lakpa Sherpa, 26, died in the avalanche on April 18 2014, holds her daughter Pasang Choti Sherpa as she poses for a photograph with her father-in-law Tenzing Sherpa, 56, (center) and mother-in-law Chamchi Phuti Sherpa, 55, (right) inside their house in Khumjung approximately 3,700 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on May 8, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A woman works on a field in front of Mount Thamserku in Khumjung, approximately 3,700 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on April 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Nang Tashi Sherpa, 64, a witch doctor, sits inside his house in Khumjung, Solukhumbu District on April 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A porter rests inside a porterhouse in Tengboche, approximately 3,800 meters above sea level, in Solukhumbu District on May 1, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Water is boiled using solar power in Khumjung, approximately 3,700 meters above sea level in Solukhumbu District on April 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Mount Everest, which is 8,850 meters high, is seen through the window of a monastery in Tengboche, Solukhumbu District on May 2, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: A yak walks past a clothing store in Namche, approximately 3,400 meters above sea level in the Solukhumbu District on April 27, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Trekkers have their oxygen level checked at the Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal post in Pheriche, approximately 4,300 meters above sea level, in the Solukhumbu District on May 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

: Shoes are left out to dry after being washed, in the Solukhumbu District on April 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

Mount Everest and the aftermath of a deadly avalanche

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