 Mount Everest's North face from Tibet | |
| Date | 25 April 2015 |
|---|---|
| Location | Base Camp, Mount Everest |
| Cause | Avalanche |
| Deaths | 24 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 61 |
In the afternoon of 25 April 2015, a MW 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal and surrounding countries. Tremors from the quake triggered an avalanche from Pumori into Base Camp on Mount Everest. At least twenty-two people were killed, surpassing the toll of an avalanche that occurred in 2014 as the deadliest disaster on the mountain. [1]
Mount Everest is approximately 220 kilometres (140 mi) east of the epicentre, and between 700 and 1,000 people were on or near the mountain when the earthquake struck, [3] [4] including 359 climbers at Base Camp, many of whom had returned after the aborted 2014 season. [5] The earthquake triggered several large avalanches on and around the mountain. One avalanche, originating on the nearby peak of Pumori, swept into Base Camp and blew many tents across the Khumbu Glacier towards the lower Icefall. [6] [3] [7] [8] [9] An Indian Army mountaineering team recovered the bodies of 19 mountaineers from the South Base Camp and rescued at least 61 stranded climbers from the mountain. [10] [11] [12]
At least 61 people were injured, with dozens initially reported missing, and many more stranded at camps at higher elevations, having lost secure descent routes. [3] [13]
Helicopters reached Mount Everest on the morning of 26 April to commence rescue operations, [14] managing to transport 22 of the badly injured to Pheriche village, before the operation was halted by bad weather. [15] Pheriche is an important stopover for climbers, and has a rudimentary hospital staffed by volunteer doctors from the Himalayan Rescue Association.
Later that day, a helicopter reportedly evacuated several climbers from Camp I, the first camp above Base Camp, with some 100 mountaineers still unable to safely descend from Camps I and II. [16] Expedition leaders decided to try to evacuate climbers from Camp I by repairing the route through the Khumbu Icefall. On 26 April, a helicopter dropped additional technical gear at Camp I, and a team of Sherpas and foreign guides attempted to re-establish the route from the top back down to Base Camp. Simultaneously, another team dispatched from Base Camp tried to re-establish the route from the bottom up. But this attempt was unsuccessful as a subsequent avalanche took out most of the ladders and reportedly killed three Sherpas at Khumbu Icefall, pushing the death toll on the mountain to at least 24. [17] Further climbers were rescued via helicopter on 27 April. [18] Climbers at Base Camp posted on Twitter in the days after the disaster, writing of "great desolation" and "high uncertainty" among those who were left, and stating that the area looked as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb; one mountaineer, commenting on Facebook, said that people stuck higher up on the mountain were "getting desperate". [19] On 27 April, 60 people were rescued from Camp I and 170 were rescued from Camp II. [20] Seventeen bodies were found on 25 April, and one was found on 27 April. On 26 April, one of the 61 badly injured died at KMC hospital. [20]
A Nepal Mountaineering Association report on 28 April listed 19 deaths, of which 10 were identified as Nepalese Sherpas and five were foreign climbers. Four were not identified by name. [21] The five climbers were listed as two Americans, one Chinese, one Australian and one Japanese. [22] On 27 April, National Geographic reported 24 deaths. [17]
Google executive Dan Fredinburg, who was climbing Everest with three company employees while mapping the area for a future Google Earth-type project, [23] and three other Americans, were confirmed dead. [24]
Although the ladders at the Khumbu Icefall were damaged by the avalanches, a handful of mountaineers, undeterred by the disaster, immediately sought permission to continue with their attempt on the mountain [25] and the Nepalese government gave them permission to do so four days after the earthquake on 29 April 2015. [26] "The ladders will be repaired in the next two to three days and climbing will continue, there is no reason for anyone to quit their expedition," said Tulsi Gautam, chief of the Nepal Department of Tourism. "There is no scientific reason to expect another quake... and we feel the ground is stable enough for climbing despite aftershocks." [26]
The closure of routes over the icefall for the remainder of the season was later announced, the second consecutive year that the mountain has been closed due to avalanches. [27] After the second earthquake on 12 May 2015, Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators' Association of Nepal, said there were no climbers or Nepali sherpa guides remaining at Everest Base Camp. [28] As a result, no one climbed Mount Everest in the spring of 2015, the first time in 41 years that this has happened. [5]
In August one climbing permit was issued, to Japanese mountaineer Nobukazu Kuriki. He turned around 700 m below the summit in October (in the autumn post-monsoon season). He had tried four times previously, losing all his fingers to frostbite. [29] He died three years later on his eighth summit attempt. [30] [31]
| Name | Nationality | Location of death | Cause of death | Date of death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Fredinburg [32] |  United States | Base Camp | Avalanche | 25 April 2015 |
| Marisa Eve Girawong [33] | United States | |||
| Tom Taplin [34] | United States | |||
| Pemba Sherpa [21] |  Nepal | |||
| Dawa Tsering Sherpa [2] | Nepal | |||
| Maila (Milan) Rai [21] | Nepal | |||
| Chhimi Dawa Sherpa [21] | Nepal | |||
| Pema Yishi (Hissi) Sherpa [21] | Nepal | |||
| Pasang Temba Sherpa [21] | Nepal | |||
| Krishna Kumar Rai [21] | Nepal | |||
| Tenzing (Tengien) Bhote [21] | Nepal | |||
| Renu Fotedar [35] |  Australia  India | |||
| Lhakpa Chhiring Sherpa [21] | Nepal | |||
| Vinh Truong [36] | United States  Vietnam | |||
| Shiva Kumar Shrestha [21] | Nepal | |||
| Jangbu Sherpa [37] | Nepal | Kathmandu | Succumbed to injuries that occurred during the avalanche on 25 April | 1 May 2015 |
Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.
The Sherpas are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal and Tibetan Autonomous Region. The term sherpa or sherwa derives from the Tibetan-language words ཤར shar ('east') and པ pa ('people'), which refer to their geographical origin in eastern Tibet.
Pumori is a mountain on the Nepal-China border in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. Pumori lies just eight kilometres west of Mount Everest. Pumori, meaning "the Mountain Daughter" in Sherpa language, was named by George Mallory. "Pumo" means young girl or daughter and "Ri" means mountain in Sherpa language. Climbers sometimes refer to Pumori as "Everest's Daughter". Mallory also called it Clare Peak, after his daughter.
The Khumbu Icefall is located at the head of the Khumbu Glacier and the foot of the Western Cwm, which lies at an elevation of 5,486 metres (17,999 ft) on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest, not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is considered one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest's summit.
A serac is a block or column of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers, since they may topple with little warning. Even when stabilized by persistent cold weather, they can be an impediment to glacier travel.
Apa, nicknamed "Super Sherpa", is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer who, until 2017, jointly with Phurba Tashi held the record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest more times than any other climber. As part of The Eco Everest Expedition 2011, Apa made his 21st Mount Everest summit in May 2011 then retired after a promise to his wife to stop climbing after 21 ascents. He first summited Everest in 1990 and his last time to the summit was in 2011.
There are two base camps on Mount Everest, on opposite sides of the mountains: South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of 5,364 metres (17,598 ft), while North Base Camp is in Tibet at 5,150 metres (16,900 ft).
Phurba Tashi Sherpa Mendewa is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer known for his numerous ascents of major Himalayan peaks. These include 21 ascents of Mount Everest, five on Cho Oyu, two on Manaslu, and one each on Shishapangma and Lhotse.
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. Four days later Sherpa Kyak Tsering, a porter on a different Japanese Mt. Everest expedition, was killed by ice falling from a serac. Later, Yūichirō Miura, the focus of the film expedition, became the first person to attempt to successfully ski down Everest.
On 18 April 2014, seracs on the western spur of Mount Everest failed, resulting in an ice avalanche that killed sixteen climbing Sherpas in the Khumbu Icefall. This was the same icefall where the 1970 Mount Everest disaster had taken place. Thirteen bodies were recovered within two days, while the remaining three were never recovered due to the great danger in attempting such an expedition. Many Sherpas were angered by what they saw as the Nepalese government's meager offer of compensation to victims' families, and threatened a protest or strike. On 22 April, the Sherpas announced they would not work on Everest for the remainder of 2014 as a mark of respect for the victims.
Asian Trekking is a Nepal-based adventure company, specializing in mountaineering expeditions and trekking in the Himalayas. Started in December 1981 by UIAA Honorary Member Ang Tshering Sherpa, it is Nepal's oldest mountaineering and trekking company still in operation. In 2008, Tshering's son Dawa Steven Sherpa, an environmentalist and mountaineer, took over the leadership of the company and continues to serve as the managing director to this day.
Kuntal Joisher is an Indian mountaineer based in Mumbai. On 15 May 2018, he stood on top of Mt. Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8516 meters. During the course of the expedition, Joisher only consumed strictly vegan food, and used only vegan gear including a one-piece synthetic suit made completely from animal-free material, as well as mittens and gloves constructed devoid of down or leather.
Alex Staniforth is an English adventurer, speaker, author, and charity ambassador. He has made two attempts to climb Mount Everest and completed numerous endurance challenges. His debut book 'Icefall' was published in March 2016 and is an autobiographical account of his attempts to climb Everest. In July 2017, Staniforth became the fastest person to climb all 100 UK county tops in 72 days.
The Mount Everest climbing season of 2017 began in spring with the first climbers reaching the top on May 11, from the north side. The first team on the south side reached the top on May 15. By early June, reports from Nepal indicated that 445 people had made it to the summit from the Nepali side. Reports indicate 160–200 summits on the north side, with 600–660 summiters overall for early 2017. This year had a roughly 50% success rate on that side for visiting climbers, which was down from other years. By 2018, the figure for the number of summiters of Everest was refined to 648. This includes 449 which summited via Nepal and 120 from Chinese Tibet.
The Mount Everest climbing season of 2013 included 658 summits and 8 deaths. Due to avalanches in 2014 and 2015, this was the last big summiting year until 2016.
Mount Everest in 2018 is about events in the year about the highest Earth mountain, Mount Everest, a popular mountaineering tourism and science destination in the 2010s. In 2018, 807 climbers summited Mount Everest, which is a popular mountaineering goal. This year is noted for an especially long weather window of 11 days straight of calm, which reduced crowding at the high base camps. With over 800 reaching the top, it was the highest amount ever to reach the top in recorded history, besting the previous year by over 150 summitings.
2015 Nepal earthquakes | |
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