Gurja Himal

Sad news from the 7193-meter-high Gurja Himal in western Nepal: Nine members of a Korean expedition died there according to the Nepalese operator “Trekking Camp Nepal”. A violent snow storm followed by a landslide completely devastated the base camp of the expedition at 3,500 meters. A helicopter crew saw seven bodies, two more climbers were missing. According to the operator, five Koreans and four Nepalese died.

Korean top climber among the dead

R.I.P.

Among the victims was Kim Chang-ho, it said. The 49-year-old climber had been the first South Korean to scale all 14 eight-thousanders without bottled oxygen in 2013, in the record time of seven years, ten months and six days.

The Koreans had planned to climb a new route on the seven-thousander. Gurja Himal, located about 20 kilometers west of the eight-thousander Dhaulagiri I, was scaled for the first time in 1969 by a Japanese expedition via the Northwest Face and the West Ridge: On 1 November, Tomokuni Saeki and Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa had reached the highest point. The chronicle “Himalayan Database” recorded a total of only 30 ascents of the mountain.

Dorjee Lama Sherpa

A landslide in the trekking area around the eight-thousander Manaslu has killed three Nepalese and a Spanish tourist yesterday, the authorities said. Six other members of the trekking group were seriously injured in the accident in Gorkha District. Among the dead is Dorjee Lama Sherpa, a well-known mountaineer in Nepal. The 35-year-old was the President of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA).

Eight times on Everest

Dorjee Lama was born and raised in the village of Bhakanje in Solukhumbu which lies around 30 kilometers as the crow flies southwest of Lhukla, the gateway to the Everest region. Aged 13, he started his career in the tourism business as a porter. Later the Sherpa worked as a trekking guide, then as a mountain guide. Dorjee Lama climbed Mount Everest eight times from the Nepalese south side as well as from the Tibetan north side. In addition he reached the 8188-meter-high summit of Cho Oyu several times. A successful ascent on the eight-thousander Makalu was also noticed in his mountain tour book.

R.I.P.

Dorjee Lama was considered an extremely experienced mountain guide. The Sherpa had a certificate of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) and trained compatriots as mountain guides in Nepal. “I’m extremely passionate about environmental protection of the fragile Himalayan Mountains and resource conservation”, he once wrote about himself. Dorjee Lama Sherpa leaves behind his wife and three children. He will be missed.

The town of Beni on Kali Gandaki

That was close. On Sunday, a landslide (look at the video below) thundered down to the valley of Kali Gandaki and dammed the river, about 50 kilometers northwest of the Nepalese city of Pokhara. More than 20 houses were destroyed. A big flood wave threatened. Many people in the valley – as in Beni, a town of 20,000 inhabitants nine kilometers downriver – spent the night outside their homes. The largest hydropower plant in Nepal, about 40 kilometers south, was run down.

All flood gates were opened. When the waters finally flooded over the natural dam, the wave was lower than feared before.  According to the authorities, no one was hurt.

The devastating earthquake on 25 April, the second quake on 12 May and the numerous aftershocks have triggered many debris, mud, ice and snow avalanches. But the real „season“ for landslides is still to come, when monsoon will start in late May, early June and the rainfall will be increasing rapidly. 

90 percent destroyed houses in Dolakha

No good prospects for the people in the mountain regions of Nepal that were most affected by the quakes and aftershocks. Meanwhile, rescue teams were able to reach the area in Dolakha District where the epicentre of the 12 May quake was located. More than 90 percent of all houses there collapsed, they say. Bigu Gompa, one of the largest Buddhist nunneries in the country was almost completely destroyed. The good news: The 57 nuns survived and are doing well. Locals of 18 villages in Dolakha have demanded that the local authorities immediately should resettle them as they were living under a constant threat of landslides.

Education to resume

The school lessons in Nepal, which were suspended after the earthquake, should be resumed in temporary learning centers next Sunday. According to the Ministry of Education a total of 16,475 classrooms in 6,902 public schools were destroyed by the 25 April earthquake and its aftershocks. In addition, about 20,000 classrooms have suffered major or minor damage. “The relief phase is not over”, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) exactly one month after the 7,8 earthquake. “We are in a race against time to assist people before the monsoon.”