Khumjung, Nepal: Phurba Tashi Sherpa, the most accomplished high-altitude climber in history, holds a bucket and crowbar as he claws through the rubble of his home seven months after Nepal's earthquake shattered the country. Despite years of guiding wealthy foreign clients up Mount Everest, something he has done 21 times - a joint record - the 44-year-old has been left penniless. Phurba Tashi's predicament is shared by many Sherpas, whose homes, lodges and restaurants were destroyed in the April disaster and who complain of a slow response from the government despite billions of dollars of Western aid. Some retired guides must return to the peaks to earn money. Others are pulling their...
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