A Sherpa and a foreign climber were in the Khumbu Icefall at about 5,700m when part of a serac collapsed. Falling chunks of ice injured the climbers.
Tashi Sherpa, Dawa Finjo Sherpa, and Sobit Gauchan from Seven Summit Treks tended the stricken pair until a helicopter evacuated them to a hospital in Kathmandu, The Himalayan Times reported.
Guide Tim Mosedale was on his way down to the village of Gorak shep and saw the helicopter rescue. “The skill and professionalism that the heli pilots exhibit in this remote high altitude environment are utterly spectacular,” he wrote. “There’s very little margin for error up here, and these guys are outstanding.”
Nepali guide Vinayak Yay Malla confirms that everyone may have to stay where they are, above or below the Icefall, for now. “The current condition of the Khumbu Icefall is unstable,” he said. “[Everyone should] avoid the section for the next days.”
Climbers are progressing on Everest despite an increasing number of COVID cases in Base Camp and Nepal’s worsening pandemic.
