Tragedy

We are all saddened by the tragedy at Mt Everest this week.  More than a dozen Sherpas lost their lives when an ice avalanche occurred on the West shoulder of Everest just below Camp 1 and at the top of the Khumbu ice fall (at 19,038 feet).  Here are two photos I took of the area from my tent at Mt Everest Base Camp, two years ago.

Western Face of Mt Everest

Khumbu Ice Fall

I can recall hearing and seeing an avalanche each day in the Ice falls (at around 1pm when the sun was strongest, which effected the settling ice). It sounded like a combination of the loudest thunder imaginable and trains colliding.  The first time I heard and saw it, as a NYer who witnessed the fall of the Twin Towers, I started running away.  Thankfully, at Base Camp we were out of harms way.  Team leaders used binoculars to make sure that no one was on the mountain at the time. As the sun came up each morning and I awkwardly emerged from my tent, I’d see the Sherpas known as “Ice Doctors” heading into the Khumbu ice fall to check and reset the ropes for the climbers.

The Sherpas who climb and support climbers  – not all Sherpas are climbers, as explained in my film – http://thesherpapath.com/film/ watch here  are an incredible community of individuals. Those who lost their lives will leave behind families that relied on their income.  The American Alpine Club has established a fund to help the Sherpa families. Designate “Sherpa Support Fund” and please help: https://americanalpineclub.org/donate/account