I don’t think it’s entirely a matter of callous indifference on the part of the media, we’ve seen the same pattern before with major earthquakes. There’s always a lag between when it happens and we get reporting because initially all communication in and out of the area gets disrupted. Especially in this day of the video being king, there are no pictures initially.
That will change. I expect coverage to pick up today and tomorrow on all aspects of the quake.
According to this Guardian article, no casualties at Camps 1 and 2 higher up on the mountain, but the route through the ice field has been destroyed. Focus now is on trying to get casualties from Base Camp to safety. How much food would the climbers at the two upper camps have?
I wonder if the Nepal Government will place a stop on climbing Everest…if aftershocks continue, it may well be too dangerous. of course, Nepal gets a lot of revenue from Everest climbing, so who knows.
The climbing has got to be over for the year. I imagine everyone there now just wants to get away from the area as fast as possible. Conditions are too dangerous even for the most reckless.
There were people all over the mountain with groups from several countries. I wonder how long it will take to account for everyone?
Of the last 40 years, 1977 was the only one without a documented death on Everest.
The route through the Kumbu Icefalls was obliterated by the avalanches, so no climbing can happen until a route is re-established. I suspect that won’t happen any time soon.
Doesn’t it have to happen to allow the climbers at camps 1 and 2 to get down?
Yes, a route will need to be established, but it doesn’t have to be big enough to handle the loads going up the mountain. With a sense of urgency they may establish a quick and dirty route to evacuate everyone up high. Not sure what they have planned, but with the chaos and disaster all around I suspect that there won’t be enough resources or will to continue with any expeditions.
The route up the Kumbu Icefalls is typically along a well-engineered route of fixed ropes and ladders set up at the beginning of the season in order to accommodate large numbers of climbers of varying skill. And even heavily nerfed, it’s still the most dangerous part. Nobody is going to approach that with only an improvised emergency route.
One should think that if the options are “approach with an improvised emergency route” or “wait to starve/freeze to death”, the choice would be clear.
Especially with frequent aftershocks rearranging everything. Perhaps all climbers can be coptered down?
man…you really have to want to summit Annapurna-40% death rate? Scary!:eek:
Taking them down by helicopter is probably a lot more dangerous. And resources that could do that are probably more valuable elsewhere in Nepal right now.
There are other routes down that don’t go through the Icefalls that may be possible for emergency evac. The danger in the icefalls can be partially mitigated by choosing the time of day when things are more stable. Unfortunately, the earthquakes don’t follow a schedule.
Sorry, I meant “approach upwards for a totally optional summit attempt”, not “approach downward for a life saving rescue.”
A video of the avalanch from base camp.
Many uses of ‘the F-word.’
(doublepost)
Looks like they are talking about helicopter evacs after all.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dozens-stuck-everest-20-000-194355941.html
Although someone has landed a helicopter on the summit of Everest the environment is marginal for such aircraft. The highest successful helicopter rescue was from Camp 3 on Everest. So helicopter evacuations from the mountain are possible, but are not done lightly. The weather conditions have to be correct, you need a skilled pilot, there are issues with how much weight the helicopter can manage, and it’s high enough that the pilots are at risk of complications due to thin air.
If those on the mountain are safe for right now, with sufficient food and fuel, it’s better to wait a few days and do a careful, thought evacuation than put anyone at further risk by acting with haste.
They have limited food and fuel from what I read because it’s still early in the climbing season and the upper camps are still in the process of being supplied. They can’t hunker down for any significant amount of time. They won’t be in shape to get to Camp 1 which gives the best chance for a helicopter rescue. Hunkering down in the tents at 21,000 without supplies can be difficult even for short periods.
