As an observer from the periphery I find your scenario very unlikely. I freely admit I do not know directly how Sherpas for the commercial teams are paid but am fairly sure they are paid on a fixed basis not a daily basis, so the quicker the job is done, the better. I cant seen an incentive to draw it out myself.

Secondly, the guys who fix the ropes to summit are I believe picked on merit and status by the big commercial teams and is considered a prestigious position by the guys in the rope fixing team and by their fellow sherpas. The bigger commercial teams generally have very long standing relationships with their lead sherpas, a symbiotic relationship that neither side would want to threaten by subterfuge. Yeah it happens a lot with porters in the Khumbu and bloody hell in Pakistan with HAP's but lead climbing Sherpas are from what I have seen are generally in a different league.

I dont know. I'm biased and apparently I was 'part of the problem' Everyone is examining this incident to be much more meaningful and indicative of a crisis in 'climbing' than me but it just seems a very small incident escalated out of control by the age old ingredients of pride and impulse turning into an almost deadly feedback loop.

Each year for the last year everyone frets about the commercialism on Everest. This year for the last 20 years. Come June everyone moves on. Nepal government wont mess with their cash cow. Namche Bazaar and the rest of the villages continue to expand. A crash everyone now and then at Lukla does not seem to deter too many people. Nothing concrete is ever proposed about the Everest 'problem' The problem seemingly defined as crowds of Wall st bankers having the audacity to spend money to be 'dragged' up everest by indentured and enslaved sherpas for a bullet point on their resume.

I absolutely loved my time on Everest in 2008 and 2010. I am not a real climber, fuck I hate that word real but that does not diminish to me the absolute beauty and menace of standing before Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse from Pumori ABC, walking the cwm or seeing Pumori poke its head above the clouds from the Lhotse face in the setting sun. I am not showing off, I just absolutely loved it. To this day, I try to get back to Nepal every year and planning to have a crack on Cholatse in November with Ngima 'chicken legs' Sherpa, someone who I completely respect and admire. Other climbing sherpas I do not admire and will not share the reasons why. I too gag at some of the romanticism and 'noble savage' treatment of Sherpas. I have seen Westerners (defined as non-nepalis) treat sherpas appallingly and on the flip-side I have seen fucking amazing altruism and philanthropy.

Anyways, enough ramble. Just venting some of my thoughts.