Even as they work against time, Sherpa rescuers retrieved a 13th body from the snow and ice on Saturday. They cautiously searched through a dangerous Mount Everest pass, navigating the volatile snowfield equipped with extra ropes, clamps, and aluminum ladders. Aided by helicopters, the rescuers have yet to find three more missing colleagues before weather conditions deteriorated further.
At least thirteen Nepali guides died and five others were left in critical condition as a vast ice avalanche swept down the lower slopes of Mount Everest early on Friday morning. The disaster is seen as the worst to ever happen in the world’s highest peak. It was not merely typical snow avalanche but a result of a so-called ice release, the climbers said.
The ice slide hit an infamous passage known as the Khumbu Icefall, which is filled with deep clefts and piled with massive ice boulders that can break free anytime without warning. Mountaineers say that this area is one of the most perilous points on Mount Everest even if it is located relatively low on the mountain.
The sherpas who perished in the avalanche were transporting equipment between Base Camp and Camp 1, one of the four waypoints located below the mountain’s South face leading to the final climb to the summit. Sherpas usually make around 20 to 25 round trips bringing kit and supplies to advanced camps, exposing themselves to very high risk.
Following the disaster, mountaineers decided to temporarily suspend the expedition to the 29,029-foot peak for four days, while others declared that they are cancelling their ascents altogether, considering the danger that the sherpas have to face daily to earn a living on the mountain.
Tim Rippel of Peak Freaks Expeditions wrote in his blog: “Everyone is shaken here at Base Camp. Some climbers are packing up and calling it quits, they want nothing to do with this. Reality has set in.”
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