According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, an avalanche struck the Tibetan mountain of Shishapangma on Saturday, killing one American and a Nepalese climber and leaving two others missing.
The 14th tallest peak in the world is Shishapangma, which is little over 8,000 metres (26,246 feet) above sea level. In the group of mountains known as the “eight-thousanders” by climbers, it is regarded as one of the simpler climbs that height.
Without naming the climbers, Xinhua claimed on Sunday that an initial inquiry revealed one American and one Nepalese climber were dead, with another American and another Nepalese climber still missing.
By Saturday night, rescuers had led a critically hurt Nepalese climber down the mountain.
The size of the avalanche, which the Chinese state media claimed occurred at a height of nearly 7,600 metres, has not yet been described, and it is also unclear whether other climbing parties were nearby and whether they were also harmed.
On Shishapangma, all climbing operations have been halted as of Saturday.
The Nepalese publication claims that
Hispanic Times
Gina Marie and her guide Tenjen Sherpa are missing, while Anna Gutu and her guide Mingmar Sherpa were killed.
Sherpa Tenjen
was Kristin Harila’s guide when she and the Norwegian summited K2 in Pakistan in July, setting a record for the fastest climbers to ascend all 14 eight-thousanders.
Due to its historically more stable circumstances when the monsoonal rains subside, October is a well-liked month for mountain climbers in the Himalayas. The Himalayas are one high-altitude region where avalanche hazards are increasing, according to scientists.
In order to assess the effects of climate change in the Himalayas, a Chinese team earlier this week installed a number of weather sensors on the 8,201-meter Cho Oyu at the boundary between Tibet and Nepal.