Spring in Nepal this year has been especially rainy. There were storms in Pokhara almost every day when I was there a month ago. Sadly, this was a sign of a tragic event to come.
Article from the Guardian:
An avalanche on Mount Everest early on Friday has killed at least 13 local climbers and left several others injured in what is likely to prove one of the most lethal accidents in recent history on the world’s highest peak.
An official from the mountaineering division at the Nepalese tourism ministry said 13 bodies had so far been recovered and ferried to base camp, while a further three injured climbers were being taken to Kathmandu. As many as seven climbers are still thought to be missing.
Tourism ministry spokesman Mohan Krishna Sapkota said the climbers were all Nepalese and were preparing the route to the summit ahead of the summer climbing season which kicks off later this month.
“The sherpa guides were carrying up equipment and other necessities for climbers, when the disaster happened,” Sapkota said.
The article goes on to say that:
The accident will once again raise fears that the mountain is too crowded. Nepalese authorities have introduced a series of measures to reduce the number of climbers on the peak.
Last year more than 500 climbers reached the summit of Everest. On 19 May around 150 climbed the last 915m to the peak within hours of each other, causing lengthy delays as mountaineers queued to descend or ascend harder sections.
But this particular incident has nothing to do with crowding but a failure to predict the avalanche.
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