Climber Praises apos;selfless apos; Sherpa Who Saved Him From Everest Avalanche
'He's a perfect example of the selfless Sherpa people': American climber praises heroic efforts of the guide who saved his life in Everest tragedy that claimed at least 13 livesJon Reiter of California was climbing up to Camp 1 Friday morning when the avalanche happenedHe says his first thought was to film the avalanche, but his Sherpa saved his life by pushing him to safety There are now 13 people confirmed dead and three missing, an official saysThis is the single deadliest accident on Mount Everest; the deadliest year was 1996 By [/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Ashley+Collman Ashley Collman]
Published: 20:35 GMT, 20 April 2014 | Updated: 12:31 GMT, 21 April 2014
[ ] [ ] [ ] </a> [/news/article-2608992/Hes-perfect-example-selfless-Sherpa-people-American-climber-praises-heroic-efforts-guide-Everest-tragedy-claimed-13-lives.html#comments 17
View
comments]
As the death toll in the single most deadly avalanche in Mt Everest history continues to grow, an American climber has written a touching tribute to the Sherpa who saved his life.
Jon Reiter of California is currently on his second attempt to summit the world's tallest mountain and was moving up to Camp 1 Friday morning when he heard a 'crack' sound and saw snow and ice come barreling down the mountain.
The 49-year-old says his first thought was to get his camera out and film the avalanche, but his quick-thinking Sherpa instead pushed him to safety behind some ice blocks.
Life-saver: Jon Reiter of California poses with his Sherpa guide Dawa the day after a deadly avalanche swept the mountain
Deadly force: The avalanche that killed at least thirteen sherpas is pictured as it barrels down Mount Everest
No hope of survival: Rescuers on Mount Everest found the body of a 13th Nepalese guide buried under snow as authorities ruled out hope of finding any more survivors from the deadliest accident ever on the world's highest peak
In a[ blog] post written Saturday, Reiter praises his Sherpa named Dawa, calling him an amazing man whom he has great respect for.
'He's a perfect example of the selfless Sherpa people that we entrust with out lives while on the mountain and who we quickly learn to call of friends [sic]'
In the post, he included a picture of Dawa just as the guide was leaving base camp Saturday.
'Dawa is the man who was by my side with the avalanche struck. He's the guy who spent all day yesterday digging his friends and neighbors out of the snow and sending their limp bodies hanging on a cable from the helicopter down to base camp.
'After a long 16 agonizing hours he showed up at my tent, before going to his own, to make sure I was ok,' Reiter wrote.
Aftermath: Reiter (right) poses with Marcus Brindle of Melbourne, Australia and Mingma Sherpa (center) on Easter Sunday - two days after the deadly avalanche
Should he stay or go? As of Saturday, Reiter seemed unsure whether he would continue with his attempt to summit Everest
Narrow escape: A Photo of fellow climbers taken by Jon Reiter at the Kumbu Icefall on Mt. Everest a few days before Friday's deadly avalanche
So far 13 bodies have been pulled from the mountain and an additional three people are still missing. All of the dead were Sherpas, native Himalyans who guide foreign climbers up the mountain.
Reiter says the tragedy has shaken the Sherpa community on the mountain and that most of them have decided to go home and be with their families for a few days.
'This scene is a lot for us western climbers to take in so I can't imagine what our Sherpa partners are really feeling and thinking as we all witness the worst disaster in Everest history happening in front of our eyes,' he wrote.
Reiter also addressed the theories that over-crowing or litter on the mountain caused the devastating avalanche in the area of Everest known as the 'popcorn field'.
Reiter maintains that the avalanche was an accident and an act of nature.
Mother of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, cries while she waits for his body at Sherpa Monastery in Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 19, 2014. Rescuers were searching through piles of snow and ice on the slopes of Mount Everest on Saturday for four Sherpa guides who were buried by an avalanche that killed 12 other Nepalese guides in the deadliest disaster on the world's highest peak. The Sherpa people are one of the main ethnic groups in Nepal's alpine region, and many make their living as climbing guides on Everest and other Himalayan peaks. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nepalese mountain rescue workers lifting an injured climber after an avalanche came down on Mt. Everest. Authorities called off the rescue operation for survivors after 13 Nepali climbing guides were killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, as bad weather closed in
Final resting place: Group of family members of the Nepalese mountaineer carry the body of Ang Kaji Sherpa, who died on Mt. Everest Avalanche upon its arrival at Sherpa Monastry in Kathmandu
The daughter of Mount Everest avalanche victim Ang Kazi Sherpa cries while consoled by a relative as the body is brought to the Sherpa Monastery
'There were only about 40 of us in the entire icefall and we were spread out,' he writes. 'There was no one waiting for others in order to move up and no congestion anywhere in the icefall. It appeared to be perfect climbing conditions right up until the moment the thunder struck.'
And while littering has been a problem on the mountain in the past, Reiter says it couldn't possibly have played a role in Friday's tragedy.
RELATED ARTICLES [# Previous] [# 1] [# 2] [# Next] [/news/article-2608478/Death-toll-climbs-worst-tragedy-Mount-Everest-avalanche-wipes-13-Nepalese-Sherpas.html The moment deadly avalanche swept down Everest and killed 13...] [/news/article-2609006/12-year-old-Boy-Scout-killed-troop-outing-felled-tree-rolls-him.html Tragedy as Boy Scout, 12, is killed on troop outing when a...] [/news/article-2608851/Massive-50-foot-sinkhole-springs-Florida-threatening-engulf-two-homes.html Massive 50-foot sinkhole springs up in Florida, threatening...]
Share this article
Share
'Excessive trash did not cause this to happen. There is absolutely no garbage that I saw anywhere in the icefall. Actually we should all be proud of how good this place really looks. This was a random act of nature.'
Climbers declared a four-day halt to efforts to scale the 8,848-metre (29,029-ft) summit and, while some decided to abandon their mission, others said they would go ahead after talking to their guides.
Highest peak on Earth: A group of more than a dozen sherpas had gone up on the mountain early Friday morning to fix some ropes that would be used by trekkers later in the day, but one survivor recalled feeling that the route was unstable
[ ]
Relatives of a Mount Everest avalanche victim grieve as bodies arrive at the Sherpa Monastery in Kathmandu
Relative await news: Seven climbers were rescued, including two airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment. The avalanche hit at a site known as the Khumbu icefall at more than 5,000 m altitude, as the climbers were ascending from the base camp to camp one
As of Saturday, Reiter seemed unsure of whether he would continue his summit attempt on Everest - fulfilling his goal of climbing the tallest mountain on every continent.
'Early this morning I read a comment written about me where the author said, "I hope he finds what he's looking for up there." I appreciated that notion because it got me to thinking about what am I looking for, and I think I have found it whether I see the summit of Everest or not,' Reiter wrote.
But Reiter may not have a choice in the matter. His wife Susan Reiter told MailOnline Sunday that the Sherpas are threatening to take down the ladders and ropes up to the summit if the Nepalese government doesn't reward the family's victims benefits.
The Sherpas have set a deadline for Tuesday, so that's when Reiter will know if he can attempt a summit or not.
If he doesn't make it this year, Mrs Reiter says he's likely to go back and try in 2015.
'I think he will. I mean, he says he won't but that's what he said last year when he had to turn around,' she told MailOnline.
JUST TRYING TO HELP OTHERS: THE SHERPAS WHO DIED WHEN THEY WENT UP EARLY TO FIX LOOSE ROPES
When the Nepalese government released this list, only 12 were dead and four were missing. The latest reports have the number of fatalities up to 13 but they have not disclosed who is the new fatality.
Name of expedition
NBC Everest Expedition
Adventurist Everest Expedition
AAI Everest Expeditions
AC Everest Expeditions
Jagged Globe Everest Exped.
Himalayan Ecstasy Lhotse
Everest Chinese Dream
Name of Trekking Company
tour shangrila Nepal Pvt. Ltd.
Himalayan Guides Nepal Treks
tour shangrila Nepal Pvt. Ltd.
Himalayan Guides Nepal Treks
Summit Nepal Trekking
Himalayan Ecstasy Treks
Seven Summit Treks Pvt. Ltd.
Names of sherpas
Mingma Nuru Sherpa- dead
Derji Sherpa- dead
Dorjee Khatri- dead
Then Dorjee Sherpa- dead
Phur Temba Sherpa- dead
Ang Tshiri Sherpa- dead
Nima Sherpa- dead
Tenzng Chottar- missing
Phurba Ongyal Sherpa- dead
Lakpa Tenjing Sherpa- dead
Chhring Ongchu Sherpa- dead
Pasang Karma Sherpa- dead
Asman Tamang- dead
Ankaji Sherpa- missing
Pem Tenji Sherpa- missing
AAsh Bahadur Gurung- missing
Survivor: Dawa Tashi Sherpa, pictured, is one of several guides who were rescued from the mountain
Waiting to help: Staffers at Grandy Hospital in Katmandu were ready on the helipad Friday but communication isn't clear between who hired which guide groups who were on the mountain in the avalanche
The Sherpa people are one of the main ethnic groups in Nepal's alpine region, and many make their living as climbing guides on Everest and other Himalayan peaks
Although relatively low on the mountain, climbers say the icefall is one of the most dangerous places on Mount Everest. There are, however, no safer paths along the famous South Col route scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Around 100 climbers and guides had already passed beyond the Khumbu Icefall to prepare their attempts on the summit. They are safe, but a new path will have to be made to make it possible to continue the expeditions.
The area is considered particularly dangerous due to its steep slope and deep crevasses that cut through the snow and ice covering the pass year round.
Sherpas often make 20-25 round trips to carry kit and supplies to advanced camps, exposing them to greater risk. The most endangered are the so-called Icefall Doctors - a team that maintains and fixes the route.
Authorities ruled out hope of finding any more survivors from the deadliest accident ever on the world's highest peak
'It's always the most dangerous part of the mountain to climb, because the ice is constantly moving, there are so many crevasses and seracs where you need to use ladders and ropes to get through the very technical terrain,' Californian climber Adrian Ballinger, of Alpenglow Expeditions, told Reuters.
It was first major avalanche of this year's climbing season on Everest, which has been scaled by more than 4,000 climbers.
The Sherpa people are one of the main ethnic groups in Nepal's alpine region, and many make their living as climbing guides on Everest and other Himalayan peaks.
More than 4,000 climbers have summited Everest since 1953, when it was first conquered by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Hundreds have died trying.
The worst recorded disaster on Everest had been a fierce blizzard on May 11, tour Lệ Giang giá rẻ 1996, that caused the deaths of eight climbers, including famed mountaineer Rob Hall, and was later memorialized in a book, 'Into Thin Air,' by Jon Krakauer. Six Nepalese guides were killed in an avalanche in 1970.
Earlier this year, Nepal announced several steps to better manage the heavy flow of climbers and speed up rescue operations. The steps included the dispatch of officials and security personnel to the base camp at (5,300 meters) 17,380 feet, where they will stay throughout the spring climbing season, which ends in May.
data-track-module="am-external-links^external-links">
Read more:
[ Jon Reiter on Everest]
DM.later('bundle', function()
DM.has('external-source-links', 'externalLinkTracker');
);