Everest 2008: Extortion and Death Threats–Guy Cotter’s Claim Unfounded? Or Founded? Part II

On May 4th, The Adventurist featured a post concerning mountain guide Guy Cotter. The post, titled ‘Everest 2008: Extortion and Death Threats–Slowly the Truth Starts to Emerge From Nepal,’ specifically discussed a couple of comments that Guy Cotter, who guides for New Zealand’s Adventure Consultants company, had stated to New Zealand’s Press.

These comments suggested that climbers in Nepal’s South Everest base camp were being forced to pay, feed, and pay for fuel associated with Nepal’s liaison officers. If climbers failed to do so, they were being threatened with expedition bans for this season’s Everest climb. Guy Cotter also went on record saying that liaison officers were threatening to shoot climbers if they failed to obey certain restrictions–

Jump Ahead Five Days

A recently published article on a New Zealand news site–Stuff.co.nz–recently had the opportunity to talk with Guy Cotter once more. This time around, he had quite a different story to tell.

“Mike told me that contrary to what I had reported on Monday to the media, where I’d suggested that money was being extorted from the teams by the military, that this wasn’t actually the case.”

“He went on to say that the military were being fair and reasonable and doing their best in a difficult situation and there was not the feeling that they were being treated as potential terrorists as we’d been led to believe.”

Seems a bit odd to me, as well. ‘Mike’, who Guy Cotter refers to, is Mike Roberts–currently at Everest base camp with the Adventure Consultants team.

Usually when reports of this nature come out in the press, it is for one reason only-to make up for something said that somebody didn’t like. In this case, Guy Cotter said and more than likely, Nepal didn’t like.

Two weeks ago, Nepal’s Home Ministry went on record stating that orders had been given to Nepal’s liaison officers that deadly force could be used if protests broke out on the south side of Everest leading up to China’s northern Olympic Torch summit. This was quickly refuted in the Press by Nepal’s Home Ministry, even though I have shown all of you the Proof, that indeed this was spoken and not baseless lies and rumors that they later suggested.

Concerning this latest piece of Press about Guy Cotter, it would lead one to believe, knowing what we know about the situation on Mt. Everest currently, that Guy Cotter spoke the truth to begin with. That would lead us further to believe that Adventure Tours has met some direct criticism on Mt. Everest after these comments were made. Were they threatened with being banned? Who knows. What is known is that things are definitely getting crazier by the day.

This turn of face by a leading guide on Everest suggests much more to the keen reader than is let on in the article, and none of us may know exactly what is going on until everyone heads home towards the end of May. Communications will not be censored, threats that have been made will come to light, and everything we wish we knew now, we will know. Just remember, most things that are being reported in the press barely scratch the surface of a truly strange year on Mt. Everest.