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Post a comment | Return to Weblog Subject: Avalanche! Posted by Rob on 07 May 2005 03:28 GMT+1 08:13 NST At 5:20 am, we were having tea and breakfast getting ready to go up the icefall to Camp 2. We heard the noise of a large avalanche, but that is nothing unusual. Large avalanches come off the Lho Lo pass just west of Everest pretty often. 8:20 am and we are half way up the icefall. Two people are descending and tell us a large avalanche has totally wiped out Camp 1. This sounds surprising since Camp 1 has tents from many groups and covers a large area. I notify base camp by radio. A short time later, they cal back: it is true! I stay with one of our slower members to be sure he gets up the icefall ok, while the doctor with us takes the radio and shoots up to Camp 1. When I arrive about 11 am, the site is a real mess. A serac had broken off high on the west shoulder of Everest and really wiped out most of the camps. Where our tent used to be is now a pile of ice blocks. Glad we don't stay there any more! One person had hurt their back by being blown about and was being taken down by sled. A couple of others had heard it coming and ran from their tents, but still got slight injuries from the ice blocks. What was left of some of the tents was a real mess - bit and pieces. There was nothing more to do so we carried on up to Camp2, arriving in a snowstorm. Yes, it is a big mountain! Rob