Everest From The North Side, A Warning!

I found this article over at MountEverest.net to be especially interesting. It details what climbing the world highest mountain from the Chinese side is like, and it doesn't sound pretty. It seems the Chinese are in the business of charging for permits, and leaving that side of the mountain alone, which has turned it into a lawless, and very dangerous, place. The article discusses a bar and mobile brothel which are set up in Base Camp, and has reports of climbers being robbed at the higher camps. Even worse, the Chinese have no helicopters available for rescue operations. If you're going to climb Everest, looks like you may want to do it from the South Face.