1970 Mount Everest disaster

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1970 Mount Everest disaster
KhumbuIcefall.jpg
The Khumbu Icefall in 2005
Date5 April 1970 (1970-04-05)
Location Khumbu Icefall, Mount Everest
Coordinates 27°59′32″N86°52′38″E / 27.99222°N 86.87722°E / 27.99222; 86.87722
Cause Avalanche
Deaths6

The 1970 Mt. Everest disaster is the term for the avalanche death of six Nepalese Sherpa porters on 5 April 1970, who were killed on the Khumbu Icefall of Mount Everest while assisting the Japanese Everest Skiing Expedition 1970 climbing expedition. [1] Four days later Sherpa Kyak Tsering, a porter on a different Japanese Mt. Everest expedition, [a] was killed by ice falling from a serac. [2] Later, Yūichirō Miura, the focus of the film expedition, became the first person to attempt to successfully ski down Everest. [2]

Contents

The icefall, which lies between Base Camp and Camp I, has been the site of numerous fatalities, including those in the 2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche. [3] The six 1970 victims were Mima Norbu, Nima Dorje, Tshering Tarkey, Pasang, Kunga Norbu, and Kami Tshering. [4]

See also

Notes

  1. The "Japanese Mount Everest Expedition", focused solely on ascending the summit of Everest, the other being "The Japanese Everest Skiing Expedition 1970", as depicted in the film The Man Who Skied Down Everest. [2]

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References

  1. Unsworth, Walt (2000). Everest: The Mountaineering History. Seattle, WA: Walk Unsworth. p. 398. ISBN   1-898573-40-9.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Japanese Mount Everest Expedition, 1969-1970".
  3. Associated Press (18 April 2014). "Mount Everest avalanche sweeps away Nepalese guides". The Guardian (London).
  4. "Everest Fatalities". adventurestats.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)