{"id":9616,"date":"2012-04-27T08:05:48","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T14:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=9616"},"modified":"2016-05-27T13:40:16","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T19:40:16","slug":"everest-2012-avalanches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/27\/everest-2012-avalanches\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest 2012: Avalanches"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As we approach the end of April, <\/a> drugstore<\/a> teams are right on schedule with their acclimatization programs. The next “big thing” is a night at Camp 3. Thus far, sick<\/a> the season is going well, <\/a> right on a normal year schedule – whatever that means!<\/p>\n

The Himex team, including the British Walking with the Wounded, are now starting to climb Everest proper after their extended acclimatization on Lobuche Peak. They are heading to Camp 2 for a few nights. Greg Paul<\/a> posts of how Russell Brice prepared them for their first trip up:<\/p>\n

“…Then Russell became quite solemn and described the the conditions in the Icefall. It has always been a dangerous place and we all signed up knowing that was the case. \u00a0Russell reiterated that reality and emphasized our personal responsibility in accepting that risk. He emphasized his efforts to provide for our safety but added that there is things that are out of his control . \u00a0We left the meeting knowing the Icefall is of concern to all expedition leaders this year more than usual.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Instability<\/h4>\n

I received a couple of messages telling me about the recent avalanches. First was an avalanche off Nuptse and into the Western Cwm near Camp 1. A few years ago a huge avalanches calved off Everest’s West shoulder hitting Camp 1 and tossing several tents around, including the occupants. So C1 was moved closer toward Nuptse. Now it sounds like Nuptse is angry. No injures were reported. Update 2,<\/strong> one Sherpa cook was swept into a crevasse but was rescued and taken back to Kathmandu with back injuries.<\/p>\n

Another incident was near the top of the Icefall where another incident occurred onto the route itself. No injuries are reported but the route had to be rebuilt creating a delay for some teams. As bad as all this sounds, it is actually not uncommon thus the appropriate warning to all the climbers to maintain a swift pace through these areas.<\/p>\n

Kenton Cool has posted on YouTube a somewhat dramatic video of his experience in the Icefall. There are some beautiful shots in this video they made “on-site”<\/p>\n