Massive avalanche on Mount Pumori narrowly misses Everest base camp
Climbers have near escape as a massive avalanche occurs at Mount Pumori closely missing Everest Base Camp; recent incidents underscore growing risks in the high Himalayas.
Kunga Sherpa
A massive avalanche swept down the southwest slope of Mount Pumori on Sunday morning, narrowly missing the Everest Base Camp and stirring alarm among climbers and expedition teams stationed there.
“No one has been hurt, nor have any tents been damaged,” confirmed Kunga Sherpa, a mountain guide with Furtenbach Adventures, speaking to Everest Chronicle. In a video shared by Sherpa, the powerful cascade of snow and ice can be seen hurtling toward the base camp, coming perilously close to one of his company’s tents.
Mount Pumori, situated approximately 8 kilometers west of Mount Everest, shares its base camp with Everest itself, as well as with the adjacent peaks of Lhotse and Nuptse. The combined base camp sits at an altitude of 5,364 meters.
Fortunately, all climbers were back at camp from trekking and acclimatization activities when the avalanche occurred. “Avalanches are often sudden and unexpected,” said Abiral Rai, an IFMGA-certified guide with Climbing The Seven Summits who had a narrow escape in the 2014's deadly avalanche in Everest. “It shows how risky climbing mountains are, despite safety precautions increasing every year," he stressed.
Earlier this week, another incident occurred in the treacherous Khumbu Icefall at around 5,600 meters, when a Russian climber fell into a crevasse following an ice collapse. He was rescued by Furtenbach Adventures guides Pemba Gelu Sherpa, Lakpa Tenji Sherpa, and Ram Bahadur Magar, who managed to pull him out safely.
Mount Pumori remains a popular peak among mountaineers as a training ascent before tackling more formidable summits such as Everest. However, recent events have highlighted the inherent dangers of the high Himalayas.
Meanwhile, efforts to fix ropes to the summit of Everest are ongoing. A 12-member rope-fixing team led by 8K Expeditions departed base camp on Saturday after a previous attempt was halted by severe weather at 7,400 meters, according to Pemba Sherpa of the expedition team.
