The rap is probably undeserved: Mingma Tenji says the Nepalese company that provided Smith with Sherpas, Asian Trekking, did give the woman an undisclosed amount of cash and she seemed satisfied. The risks struck home in 1996, when six people died due to a traffic jam of climbers on the mountain's notorious summit ridge, a catastrophe that changed the way the world saw Everest (and made a millionaire out of Into Thin Air author/survivor Jon Krakauer). At night, he could be seen scowling over his tea mug, struggling to suppress his frustration and - presumably - wondering why he'd signed away his right to utter a discouraging word. If so, he must be the only one. But the matter of the missing photo hung in the air, and the "disputed" designation never disappeared from Smith's file. Initially, this narrative was fed by rumour and conjecture: copies of Hawley's notes filed in court show Rippel paid her a visit in March 2001 offering little more than the question of whether Smith could have reached the summit when he said he did, then returned to Camp Four by 10:30 a.m., where he rejoined Rippel. For Rippel, that realization would be crushing. "The plane burst into flames, killing everyone on board except the pilot, who was the only one able to escape from the fireball," he wrote. You need to pay attention to small signals that your body is giving you. PU: "4ec6cc58-ebe1-3338-ab56-66e0bb175bf8" But his Indiana Jones-style account of bribing army officials and smuggling himself past checkpoints was said to have prompted Jakarta to cancel all climbing permits on the mountain. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. At 83, Elizabeth Hawley is a journalist, an alpine historian, and a living legend to whom all climbers pay fealty on their way through Kathmandu. Partner content is not updated. return a[x]}function g(){function a(){if(!0===b)for(;0
