A Sacramento climber attempting to become the oldest American to summit Mount Everest has posted a message on his blog, reassuring family and friends that he is OK after a deadly avalanche swept down a climbing route on the peak.
The Associated Press reported that the avalanche on Mount Everest early Friday killed at least 12 Nepalese guides and left four missing in the deadliest disaster on the world’s highest mountain.
Jim Geiger, 68, of Sacramento arrived at Everest base camp earlier this month and had been acclimating himself to the thin air.
His Everest climbing blog contained the following post:
“This morning at 6:00 a.m. local time a big serac (ice chunk) came down in the icefall killing 15 or 16 Sherpa and seriously wounding several others. We initially heard 5 or 6, but in talking with the guys that were up there and made in back down safely the count will be a lot higher, making it the worst disaster in Everest history.”
The AP reported that the Sherpa guides had gone early in the morning to fix ropes for other climbers when the avalanche hit them at about 6:30 a.m., Nepal Tourism Ministry official Krishna Lamsal said from the base camp where he is monitoring rescue efforts.
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