Earthquake on Everest

On Saturday, the small country of Nepal, situated on the southern crest of the Himalayas, home to Mount Everest, quickly went from peaceful to chaotic. A7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the center of the country, devastating the capital of Kathmandu, wreaking havoc along the mountain countryside, and creating hellish condition for the climbers on Mount Everest. Conditions in the capital went from bad to worse, creating images that parallel the San Fransisco or the Japanese earthquakes. As for the climbers on the mountain, many are either missing or pronounced dead. Avalanches and rock falls welcomed the climbers after they'd survived the initial earthquake. As the aftershocks continue, the death toll climbs higher and higher.

Mount Everest, sitting at over 29,000 feet above sea level, is notorious for its year long blizzard conditions, lack of oxygen, and steepness of slope that accounts for the fear of climbing it. The majority of the climb to the summit rests in a valley surrounded by impossibly steep façades. These mountainous walls have lose rock and years' worth of snow waiting for something to push them down into the valley. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake can get the job done. I can only imagine how horrifying it must have been for those climbers both on the route and in the camps. Trying to outrun an avalanche gets you nowhere, literally. Not only that but to be trapped at the final camp without ropes below and enough oxygen to properly function, the suffering that the missing and injured climbers are going through at this moment is, without a doubt, terrifying.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/26/asia/nepal-earthquake/index.html