Only Pasang Nuri Sherpa remains missing. The bodies of the other 15 Nepalese avalanche victims from the 7,126-meter-high Himlung Himal have since been recovered from the snow masses, which were up to five meters deep. On 27 September, a massive avalanche buried the base camp – located at an altitude of about 4,800 meters at the foot of the mountain in western Nepal – under its weight.
An initial eight-member search team from the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA), led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, discovered and dug out a total of four bodies during the first two days after the accident.
Since yesterday, a second NNMGA team led by Pasang Kaji Sherpa has been working at the site of the accident. According to the association, the eleven searchers recovered three avalanche victims yesterday and eight more today.
Buried in their tents
The Nepalese website The Tourism Times reports that all victims recovered so far were apparently caught by surprise by the avalanche while in their tents at base camp. The search team also discovered Pasang Nuri Sherpa’s tent but did not find the missing climber inside.
Why the expedition personnel did not seek safety at lower elevations, despite the numerous warnings of extreme precipitation on all of Nepal’s high mountains, should be investigated.
Did the expedition operators responsible perhaps underestimate the danger? In some previous years, the base camp at the foot of this technically relatively easy seven-thousander in the border region with Tibet had remained snow-free during the fall season.
Fundraising campaign for the bereaved
Two of the avalanche victims were mountain guides; the others were support staff who, while indispensable to expeditions, usually remain unnamed in reports: cooks, kitchen helpers, and the staff who set up the tents at base camp. These are people who, financially speaking, tend to be at the bottom of the expedition hierarchy.
These 16 Nepalese lost their lives on Himlung Himal: Birkha Dhoj Tamang, Jagat Tamang, Dorje Tamang, Kalam Budha, Lak Kumar Gurung, Suraj Rai, Pasang Nuri Sherpa, Prem Tamang, Santa Bir Tamang, Urkha Dhoj Bohora, Kirte Tamang, Ash Bahadur Gurung, Chebi Bhote, Pasang Bhote, Ghan Shyam Rai, and Birendra Gurung.
The aid organization Juniper Fund has launched an online fundraising campaign (click the link) for the families of the avalanche victims on Himlung Himal.
Update 2 October: According to the NNMGA, the second phase of the recovery operation has been completed. As a result, Pasang Nuri Sherpa, who has not yet been found, remains missing. “Further efforts may be possible when conditions allow,” the NNMGA informed.
