FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
NEW DELHI — A year after a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest ended the climbing season, multiple avalanches caused by the earthquake on Saturday rumbled down a treacherous icefall and slammed into the mountaineering base camp, killing at least 17 climbers and injuring at least 37 others, Nepalese officials said.
Alex Gavan, a hiker at the base camp, described on Twitter a “huge earthquake then huge avalanche” that sent him “running for life from my tent.” Mr. Gavan warned that many of the wounded would die if they were not evacuated soon. Nima Namgyal Sherpa, a guide at the base camp, said the avalanche caused many injuries. Nepalese tourism officials feared hundreds of climbers may have died.
“Many camps have been destroyed by the shake and wind from the avalanche,” Mr. Sherpa, the base camp manager for Asian Trekking, wrote in a post on Facebook. “All the doctors here are doing our best to treat and save lives.”
Tempting death has always been part of the treacherous Everest experience, but these past two years have been particularly deadly. Last year, about 30 men were crossing a notorious area known by some local residents as the Golden Gate because of the shape of its ice formations when a huge chunk of ice cascaded down the mountain’s south side around 6:30 a.m. and engulfed them, killing 16.
That avalanche, and the outrage among the Sherpas over their pay and safety conditions, forced the cancellation of the climbing season, a key part of Nepal’s tourism industry, and Tulasi Prasad Gautam, director general of the Nepal Tourism Department, said that “climbing Mount Everest may be canceled this year as well.”
In last year’s accident, no foreign climbers were killed, partly because of the early hour. The climbers were Sherpas, members of an ethnic group known for their climbing acumen and who often use Sherpa as a surname. They are paid by foreign climbers to do the dangerous tasks of fixing ropes, carrying supplies and setting up camps.Continue reading the main story
Earthquake Causes Avalanche on Everest
The earthquake that occurred near Katmandu, Nepal, touched off an avalanche on Mount Everest, causing injuries and deaths during prime climbing season.
NEW DELHI — A year after a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest ended the climbing season, multiple avalanches caused by the earthquake on Saturday rumbled down a treacherous icefall and slammed into the mountaineering base camp, killing at least 17 climbers and injuring at least 37 others, Nepalese officials said.
Alex Gavan, a hiker at the base camp, described on Twitter a “huge earthquake then huge avalanche” that sent him “running for life from my tent.” Mr. Gavan warned that many of the wounded would die if they were not evacuated soon. Nima Namgyal Sherpa, a guide at the base camp, said the avalanche caused many injuries. Nepalese tourism officials feared hundreds of climbers may have died.
“Many camps have been destroyed by the shake and wind from the avalanche,” Mr. Sherpa, the base camp manager for Asian Trekking, wrote in a post on Facebook. “All the doctors here are doing our best to treat and save lives.”
Tempting death has always been part of the treacherous Everest experience, but these past two years have been particularly deadly. Last year, about 30 men were crossing a notorious area known by some local residents as the Golden Gate because of the shape of its ice formations when a huge chunk of ice cascaded down the mountain’s south side around 6:30 a.m. and engulfed them, killing 16.
That avalanche, and the outrage among the Sherpas over their pay and safety conditions, forced the cancellation of the climbing season, a key part of Nepal’s tourism industry, and Tulasi Prasad Gautam, director general of the Nepal Tourism Department, said that “climbing Mount Everest may be canceled this year as well.”
In last year’s accident, no foreign climbers were killed, partly because of the early hour. The climbers were Sherpas, members of an ethnic group known for their climbing acumen and who often use Sherpa as a surname. They are paid by foreign climbers to do the dangerous tasks of fixing ropes, carrying supplies and setting up camps.Continue reading the main story
Earthquake Causes Avalanche on Everest
The earthquake that occurred near Katmandu, Nepal, touched off an avalanche on Mount Everest, causing injuries and deaths during prime climbing season.
