Wonderful film about people at the bottom of the food chain standing up for their rights against the foreign companies and their own government who are using them. This is the story you never see in stupid Hollywood movies like "Everest".
Climbing Everest has become a huge industry where rich foreigners pay climbing expedition companies like Russell Brice's Himalayan Experience large amounts of money (up to a 100000 USD) to fulfill their "dream" to climb and reach the top of the mountain. The local Sherpas who are climbing experts are hired to take all the biggest risks and lay the path for the foreigners but are only paid a small fraction (5000 USD per climb) of what the company earns. The Nepalese government also takes a big cut (about one third) with out providing any benefits or insurances for the Sherpas or their families.
Russel Brice personifies everything that is wrong with this industry. In front of the camera he lies several times to his clients (the foreign climbers), about the Sherpas being threatened to have their legs broken by some of their own people if they continue climbing. He is basically trying to vilify some of the Sherpas and turn them against each other, instead of taking any responsibility when all they are doing is demanding fair treatment and payment. Russell also tells his clients that the Sherpas and their families will have nothing to eat if they don't climb which we later in the film see is simply not true. They have other sources of income and their families don't even want them to climb. I can only hope this guy goes out of business soon!!!
Climbing Everest has become a huge industry where rich foreigners pay climbing expedition companies like Russell Brice's Himalayan Experience large amounts of money (up to a 100000 USD) to fulfill their "dream" to climb and reach the top of the mountain. The local Sherpas who are climbing experts are hired to take all the biggest risks and lay the path for the foreigners but are only paid a small fraction (5000 USD per climb) of what the company earns. The Nepalese government also takes a big cut (about one third) with out providing any benefits or insurances for the Sherpas or their families.
Russel Brice personifies everything that is wrong with this industry. In front of the camera he lies several times to his clients (the foreign climbers), about the Sherpas being threatened to have their legs broken by some of their own people if they continue climbing. He is basically trying to vilify some of the Sherpas and turn them against each other, instead of taking any responsibility when all they are doing is demanding fair treatment and payment. Russell also tells his clients that the Sherpas and their families will have nothing to eat if they don't climb which we later in the film see is simply not true. They have other sources of income and their families don't even want them to climb. I can only hope this guy goes out of business soon!!!