{"id":26172,"date":"2017-04-25T12:43:54","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T18:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=26172"},"modified":"2017-04-25T16:18:47","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T22:18:47","slug":"everest-2017-climbing-remembering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/25\/everest-2017-climbing-remembering\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest 2017: Climbing and Remembering"},"content":{"rendered":"

We enter the last week of April in a somewhat somber mood. Teams on both sides are spread from base camps up to\u00a0the low and\u00a0mid high camps working on their acclimatization programs but fighting high winds. The season continues to be “normal”.<\/p>\n

Remembering<\/h3>\n

April brings two days where the Everest community\u00a0pauses to remember.<\/p>\n

\"Everest-2014-Avalanche\"<\/a>On April 18th<\/sup>, 2014<\/strong>, 16 sherpas were killed in the single most deadly incident in Everest\u2019s history up to\u00a0that time. The deaths came when a well-known ice serac hanging off the West Shoulder of Everest released at 6:30am just as droves of sherpas were carrying loads into the Western Cwm from Everest Base Camp.<\/p>\n

They were delayed after a ladder crossing a crevasse was just repaired, but they were waiting underneath the hazard. When ice released from the hanging serac it was large, fast and deadly, they never had a chance. 13 bodies were recovered, multiple sherpas were rescued but three remain buried in the deep crevasses of the Khumbu Icefall. You can read about\u00a0the tragedy and subsequent events that brought an early end to the 2014 season in my season wrap-up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two years today, April 25th<\/sup>, 2015<\/strong>, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Nepal taking 9,000 lives,\u00a0including 18 at Everest Base Camp. \u00a0Jim Davidson<\/a>\u00a0was at Camp 1 then. Today he made this\u00a0this post from Everest Base Camp where he has returned to attempt the summit again:<\/p>\n

Exactly two years ago today, at 11:56 am on April 25, 2015, a massive earthquake slammed into the Himalayas. At Everest basecamp 22 people lost their lives due to a rock avalanche that came from the high ridge on the left of this photo. Across Nepal nearly 9,000 people perished. To honor and remember those lost, today at11:56 am at basecamp I burned incense here on our stone chorten, tossed sacred rice towards the prayer flags, and said prayers in English and Nepali. Om mani padme hum.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At Camp 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was moving towards Camp 2 when the quake hit. I clearly remember being in a whiteout of low clouds when I heard an avalanche to my right off Nuptse, then seconds later another avalanche to my left off the West shoulder of Everest. Suddenly, I felt the ground drop a couple of inches and seconds later\u00a0another drop. Instantly I knew it was an earthquake and my thoughts went to the scale of the event.<\/p>\n

\"Our<\/a>
Our Base Camp after the earthquake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we reached Camp 2, the radio was alive with chatter. The first reports were that Base Camp\u00a0had been “devastated”. When we\u00a0heard that the quake had occurred near Kathmandu, 100 miles away, we knew it was a massive quake of apocalyptic scale. I gave my satellite phone to the Sherpas to try and\u00a0call their families but the networks were down throughout the Khumbu.<\/p>\n

I sat in our dining tent listening to the radio activity. Western Guides and Sherpas bravely entered the Icefall to inspect\u00a0the route.<\/p>\n

I knew it was dangerous when one said “Another aftershock, time to get out of here.” Efforts to inspect the damage from both ends of the Icefall were halted as the aftershocks became frequent and strong. 200 people, mostly Sherpas, were evacuated a couple days later from the Western Cwm.<\/p>\n

This is video I took while flying from the Cwm back to base camp. You see how deep the crevasses\u00a0are as well as the center of base camp destroyed.<\/p>\n