Everest guides abandon climbing season

Nepalese guides on Mount Everest said Tuesday they had decided to abandon this year's climbing season, to honour 16 colleagues killed in an avalanche last week. The decision throws the plans of hundreds of foreign mountaineers into chaos, with many of them waiting in base camp after paying tens of thousands of dollars to scale the world's highest peak. The sherpas perform essential tasks on the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) mountain, carrying equipment and food as well as repairing ladders and fixing ropes to reduce risks for their clients. "We had a long meeting this afternoon and we decided to stop our climbing this year to honour our fallen brothers. All sherpas are united in this," local guide Tulsi Gurung said, according to AFP.