Mt. Everest Brawl: What Caused The Fight Between 3 Europeans And A 'Mob' Of Sherpas?

Three European mountaineers and a crew of Sherpa guides became involved in an altercation at 24,000 feet, near the summit of the world's highest mountain on Saturday. The Europeans -- Jonathan Griffith, a British photographer; Ueli Steck, from Switzerland; and Simone Moro, from Italy -- said that a group of Sherpas of an unspecified number pelted them with stones and rocks and threatened them with an ice axe.

The Telegraph confirmed with Nepalese government spokesmen and Sherpa leaders on Sunday night that there had in fact been a fight, and one Sherpa blamed Italian climber Moro's "poor English" and one of the Sherpas for a "misunderstanding" resulting in a brawl.

An anonymous American eyewitness told AFP that the three Europeans had been asked to wait on the mountain while the group of Sherpas went up the slope to rig some ropes, but the Europeans ignored the request and headed up. Some ice dislodged by the European climbers allegedly tumbled down the slope and hit the Sherpas, infuriating them. Later that day, a group alleged to be made up of 100 Sherpas approached the Europeans' encampment and pelted their tents with stones until the men came outside. An argument ensued and punches were thrown.

The climbers disputed in a statement on Simone Moro's website that any ice had fallen as a consequence of his group's climbing and wrote that the Sherpas became instantly aggressive and not only punched and kicked the climbers, but threw many rocks as well." Another group of Western climbers were said to have come between the two groups and allowed the three Europeans to descend to the next base camp.

The Sherpas were not part of the same climbing team as the three Europeans, who were attempting to climb the 29,029-foot mountain by a new "undisclosed" route without supplementary oxygen.

In a statement on Simone Moro's website, the climbers said they believed the attack was related to a "far more deep rooted and long-term problem"; that many Nepali guides feel mistreated by Westerners who come to climb Everest.

This afternoon, a meeting between the Europeans and Sherpas took place in which both parties were said to have apologized to each other, according to an official at Nepal's tourism ministry.

Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries. Officials feared the incident's effect on Everest-related tourism and were quick to point out that the incident was the only one of its kind in recent memory.