Climbers from 8K Expeditions near the South Summit of Everest, with the summit ridge behind. Photo: 8K Expeditions
Crowds are inevitably creating chaos on Everest. Yesterday, four climbers nearly lost their lives when the snow they stood on near the summit gave way and dragged them into Tibet. They survived and were rescued, but a British climber and his sherpa were not so lucky.
The close call took place yesterday as climbers jammed the summit ridge. A section of the ice cornice over the Hillary Step fell away, dragging the climbers on it some meters down the Kangshung Face in Tibet. Luckily, the fixed rope held, and the four clipped-in climbers were pulled back to the ridge, the Everest Chronicle reported.
At the time, the incident was considered a close call without casualties. But later in the day, Lakpa Sherpa of 8K Expeditions said that two members of his summit team had gone missing in the same area.
“Mr. Daniel Paul Paterson (UK) and Mr. Pastenji Sherpa (Nepal) are missing,” Lakpa Sherpa wrote. “Eyewitnesses reported the incident took place between [the] summit ridge and South Summit, and some climbers were swept away on the Kangshung Face.”
Lost contact
The pair had summited as part of a big group before dawn. Somehow, they lost contact during descent.
Now the fear is that they might have fallen down the Kangshung Face. If confirmed, they will be Everest’s fourth and fifth fatalities this season.
A search crew has gone to look for Paterson, 40, and Pastenji, 23, Lakpa Sherpa said. We expect further reports since plenty of climbers were in the area besides the 8K summit group. Others in that group included Frank Loke of Norway (who originally had planned to go no-O2 but finally used the bottled gas), Kaspar Eevald of Estonia, Jakub Pateki of Poland, Pablo Buchbinder of Argentina, and nine Nepalese guides.
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.
