A half-buried camp on Makalu. Photo: Artem Tsentsevitsky
Over the weekend, a violent storm hit Nepal and Tibet. It caused serious disruptions on roads, and hundreds of tourists are still stranded on the Tibetan side of Everest. (They’re not climbing Everest, as some news stories seem to suggest, but are just blocked by a snowbound road.) However, some of those on other mountains were hard hit: A Korean man has died on Mera Peak, a 6,476m trekking mountain in Nepal.
Another missing
The Nepal National Mountain Guides Association (NNMGA) confirms that Tejung Park, 46, of South Korea has perished on Mera Peak. He was one of several climbers reported missing on this popular trekking peak over the weekend. A search party found his body today and rescued Park’s guide, Temba Sherpa. There are no details about the cause of death, but Gurla Mandata Trekking quoted the NNMGA as saying that at least one more climber remains missing.
Rescuers Riten Tashi Sherpa and Ashish Gurung retrieved the body of a Korean climber on Mera Peak today. Photo: NNMGA
Developed rapidly
The storm developed rapidly and hit on Saturday, affecting large areas of Nepal, including Kathmandu, where all domestic flights were cancelled. At the same time, a fierce snowstorm with high winds struck the mountains, dumping huge amounts of snow in the Khumbu Valley and closing roads.
The video below by Lucien Bocansaud of France shows conditions in Chukhung village:
Angela Benavides graduated university in journalism and specializes in high-altitude mountaineering and expedition news. She has been writing about climbing and mountaineering, adventure and outdoor sports for 20+ years.
Prior to that, Angela Benavides spent time at/worked at a number of local and international media. She is also experienced in outdoor-sport consultancy for sponsoring corporations, press manager and communication executive, and a published author.
