Shelley Johannesen of the U.S. has died in an avalanche along Makalu’s normal route. The slide caught four people at around 7,000m as they were on their way down from the summit.
Johannesen, 53, had reached the summit of 8,485m Makalu at 10:30 am on May 9 with partner David Ashley, along with Tawa Sherpa and Phurba Sonam Sherpa. They stopped for the night at either Camp 3 or Camp 4. When they resumed their descent on Sunday morning, a wet slab avalanche struck them.
Area and direction of the avalanche, marked by eyewitness Phurba Sherpa. Photo: Phunuru Sherpa/14 Peaks Expeditions
“The avalanche struck below Camp 3 around a section fixed with 300–400m [of rope],” Phunuru Sherpa of 14 Peaks Expeditions reported.
This is Phurba Sonam Sherpa’s account of what happened next. He points out that no one was buried by the avalanche:
Shelly and Tawa fell approximately 400 meters and sustained fractures, leaving them unable to move. After securing all three climbers with an anchor using an ice axe, I went for help, leaving them as safely positioned as possible. I remained there waiting until sunset, hoping a rescue team would arrive. However, due to the severe weather conditions, no one initially dared to attempt the rescue. The rescue team [did not arrive at the location] till 3 am on the 11th.
Realizing that staying there through the night could cost all of them their lives, I decided to descend to C2. I asked Dave to come with [me], but he decided to stay with Shelly during this difficult time. I eventually descended alone through extremely difficult weather and reached C2 at around 9:40 pm to request urgent assistance.
The rescue team had already been dispatched earlier that afternoon from Advance Base Camp (5,700m). Once I reached C2, I explained the seriousness of the situation and warned that Tawa and Dave could lose their lives if rescuers did not respond immediately with extra oxygen and warm fluid. Two rescuers then decided to go up.
According to Tawa’s statement, the rescuers arrived at around 3 am, changed their oxygen, and provided them with warm drinks. By that time, Shelly was already in very bad condition, which we believe was due to hypothermia. Sadly, at around 4 am, she passed away.
Later, once they found Shelly had passed away, Tawa and Dave slowly decided to descend on their own. A second rescue team eventually found them walking toward C2 and helped them return safely to camp. They got airlifted from C2 yesterday afternoon.
If I had not managed to reach C2 through those dangerous weather conditions, only God knows what could have happened to Tawa and Dave.
The names of the injured climbers and the death of Shelley Johannesen were confirmed today by The Tourism Times. It was also reported that David Ashley and Tawa Sherpa were airlifted to a Kathmandu hospital for treatment. Ashley and Johannesen ran Dash Adventures in the U.S. and had outfitted the group.
David Ashley and Shelley Johannesen. Photo: Dash Adventures/Instagram
Several groups summited Makalu on May 8 and May 9. Some will next head to Everest and Lhotse, seizing the acquired acclimatization to launch a summit push directly.
This is the second death this season on 8,485m Makalu, after 38-year-old Czech climber David Roubinek died of altitude sickness while attempting Makalu II.
