Deadliest day ever on EverestThis photo shows a location just above base camp on the slopes of Mount

Deadliest day ever on EverestThis photo shows a location just above base camp on the slopes of Mount Everest called the Khumbu Icefall. This icefall is a location where the Khumbu glacier passes over a steep slope just like a waterfall, and it makes up part of  the most popular ascent path up Everest’s slopes. Both basecamp and this icefall sit at about 5500 meters elevation. Early in the morning on Friday, April 18th, disaster struck this location.Peak climbing season is approaching right now as winter turns to spring, so these slopes are crowded with visitors preparing for the ascent. Early in the morning on Friday, a group of Sherpa guides headed out to work on repairing ropes that will be used by climbers ascending the peak.Details aren’t certain, but part of the glacier broke away, striking the Sherpas directly. As of reports right now, at least 12 of them have died and 4 others are unaccounted for.The avalanche hit the most popular route up the slopes; if it hit only a week or two later it could have caused even more casualties as the area would be full of as many climbers as you see here.. Prior to today, the deadliest day on Everest in history was in 1996 when a storm struck, trapping and killing 8 people.-JBBImage credit: Wikimediahttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Nepal_-_Sagamartha_Trek_-_186_-_Khumbu_Icefall_%28plus_climbers%29_%28497684556%29.jpgRead more:http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/18/304345662/tragedy-atop-the-world-everest-avalanche-kills-at-least-12http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/18/mount-everest-avalanche-climbers-dead -- source link

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