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They helped outsiders find their way into the sanctuary and violate every limb of her body by standing on top of her, crowing in victory, and dirtying and polluting her bosom.

A Sherpa orphan writes this in a letter to Krakauer, described in the epilogue. Krakauer struggles to figure out what happened and why, and receives large quantities of angry letters accusing him of speculating and pointing the finger at the wrong people. An orphan Sherpa writes him, blaming the Sherpas who accompanied the expedition. Throughout the book, Krakauer describes the Sherpa's belief in Sagarmatha, goddess of the sky, deity responsible for the events that take place on Everest. In fact, some of the Sherpas believe that Ngawang died not from altitude sickness, but because of punishment. In this letter, the young Sherpa states his belief that Sherpas failed to protect Everest and actually participated in the exploitation of the mountain. In direct contrast to the previous quote about the Sherpas' embracing some of the modern changes, this Sherpa cites those precise changes as the cause of the disaster. The quote also demonstrates how many theories there are about what happened.

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