Simone Moro seems like an immensely interesting dude, but also incredibly arrogant. I definitely find the sherpa’s version of events more credible than Moro’s version. Ueli Steck seems really arrogant, too.
So, first they go monkeying around on the ice above the sherpas’ line-fixing crew, causing the highest altitude brawl in history, and then Moro pilots the highest altitude helicopter rescue in history, on the same mountain, in the same climbing season.
Pretty amazing.
I’m not up on every piece of Everest history but I’ve got 4 impressions:
These guys are kind of unbelievable. They’re climbing around at 20,000 feet without any lines and thinking that the Sherpas are just jealous that they can climb so much faster than them. Meanwhile, the Sherpas are hunkered down on a cliff laying out lines so that the tourists can climb the next morning, and these assholes are dropping ice on their heads.
And then the guy starts calling them motherfuckers for complaining about it.
“hardly anyone knows the name of Tenzing Norgay.” Back in school his name was always given along with Sir Edmund Hillary. I think I first read it as Tensing Norkay, but, of course, it’s not a name from a language with English letters.
I do.
I’m not so quick to jump to conclusions. Misunderstandings happen and it isn’t necessarily anyone’s fault. If I were mediating this conflict, I’d be drawing each person out, wanting to understand his view of what happened. I’d want to help each person involved understand the point of view of the others.
It’s very rare for anyone to knowingly be an asshole for its own sake. Usually people have what they consider good reasons for their actions, which others misinterpret or misunderstand. There are occasionally sociopaths and narcissists who either have no interest or cannot understand the needs of others. But that’s rare. Misunderstandings are incredibly common.