KATMANDU, Nepal — Climbers who had hoped to reach the summit of Mount Everest have instead begun the long journey home: a teenager with epilepsy who wanted to inspire others like himself; a banker who quit his job, sold his apartment and used up most of his savings to pay for the trip; a builder from California who was carrying the ashes of his younger brother.

They had arrived at the mountain’s base camp nervous and elated. But that was before last Friday’s avalanche, which killed 16 Sherpa guides on a perilous ice field.

In the week since, climbers said in interviews, the base camp became a caldron of emotion, as Sherpa leaders took a hard-line position in favor of canceling the season, against the wishes of the Nepalese government and segments of the multimillion-dollar industry.

Several climbers described an atmosphere that had become menacing, after a handful of Sherpa organizers threatened colleagues who planned to continue. Climbers have expressed passionate solidarity with their Sherpa guides, agreeing that they receive too small a share of the proceeds from mountaineering. But in interviews, several said that they had begun to feel unsafe as the standoff mounted.