Being caught in an avalanche is not something anyone would like to experience, however being caught in an avalanche on the highest mountain in the world is beyond terrifying. On 25th April, 2015, Wanaka based Kiwi, and General Manager of Adventure Consultants, Suze Kelly, was in Camp 1 when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the mountain killing 9000 people in Nepal and causing a huge avalanche that ran straight through base camp. The avalanche claimed the lives of at least 22 people.
Suze takes up the story...
We had climbed up to Camp 1 from Basecamp for the first time on the expedition, arriving the day before. It wasn’t my first time going up into the Western Cwm as I’d been on Lhotse in 2013 but for most of our team it was their first time. We had decided not to go for an acclimatisation hike that morning from Camp 1 towards Camp 2 as everyone was pretty tired from the efforts getting to Camp 1 the day prior, so we were in our tents under low cloud.
I’m sure I felt the fault line ‘slip’, as the ground moved sideways over a metre in our tent with a huge glacial sized creaking sound, before all the real shaking started. Camp 1 is not the place you want to be when an earthquake happens as it is exposed to falling serac avalanche hazard from very high up on the mountain walls that loom above. When the shaking stopped Guy and I remarked ’that’s gotta be a big one’ and quickly started pulling on layers of clothes and boots. He made it out of tent in time to yell ’avalanche’ to everyone else as he could see an avalanche coming but the air blast wasn’t too bad, and we could soon all emerge from our tents.
During the shaking I had been able to speak on the radio to Anthea, our Base Camp Manager, where she had asked if we were OK and I said, ‘its rocking and rolling up here’. After about 10 minutes Anthea called again, and she said ‘Basecamp has been obliterated, I expect mass casualties’. We didn’t’ hear from her again that day as her radio stopped working and it took all of her effort to perform triage at Basecamp with our 20 staff based there.
Esta historia es de la edición April - May 2019 de Adventure Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April - May 2019 de Adventure Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Papua New Guinea
Four reasons to add Papua New Guinea to your bucket list
The benefits of being a Multi-Trick Pony
"A broad skill base and how you can draw from one platform to the next – women often pigeon hole themselves"
The RELUCTANT adventurer
An eighteen-year-old princess, who paints his (yes, his) nails and dyes his hair bleach blonde, embarking on an adventure trip with his family, sounds like a plot for a bad 80s movie.
The Meaning of Tramping
What does tramping mean to you?
Keala Kennelly owns Red Bull Magnitude
The North Shore season of 1957 is recognized in the surfing world as the start of an era. When Greg Noll, a young Mickey Munoz and company went out and rode Waimea for the first time, it was a glimpse of what could be in the world of big-wave surfing.
North West Circuit Stewart Island
I found myself in limbo during the winter of 2020, in between jobs in a strained covid economy. And so, I did what any outdoors person would do with a large amount of free time on their hands. It was time to pack up my belongings and hit the road. It was time to leave behind home comforts and go adventure-seeking.
Emilie's adventure to Angelus Hut
“I want to be the leader!” Miss Six announced, pushing past me in her determination to be in front. Momentarily off-balance with my heavy pack, I narrowly avoided twisting an ankle on the sharp rocks and silently swore while cracking a bright smile.
Nancy Jiang Breaking stereotypes
I recently watched a youtube movie entitled, “Her Way” (check it out on the Adventure Website) which introduced a woman who had an overwhelming passion for running. The preface at the bottom of the clip, read as follows:
Adversity at Altitude
The wind and snow is whipping at my face. I’ve readjusted the stiff frozen fleece buff around my neck and mouth, desperately trying to protect myself from the -20 degree bitter wind. Adrenaline is still pumping through my body but I know I’ll start to get cold soon.
Last Great Mountaineering Challenge
Ground-breaking mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja MBE has attained an incredible new world record by submitting K2 as part of a collaborative team in the depths of winter. Until now, it was a record that was believed to be impossible to accomplish and was famously known as the ‘last great mountaineering challenge’.
