Science and Exploration

Massive Avalanche Over The Lower Khumbu Icefall

By Keith Cowing
May 24, 2013
Filed under

Image: I took this photo moments after the avalanche began. The speed and ferocity of this avalanche was terrifying.

Keith Cowing: There was a massive avalanche off of the west shoulder of Mt. Everest this morning. Within a very short period of time the entire lower Khumbu Icefall was enveloped in pulverized ice and snow. I will have a longer report and a video of the avalanche online in a few hours.

More photos and video …

Image: I took this photo moments after the avalanche began. The speed and ferocity of this avalanche was terrifying.

Keith Cowing: There was a massive avalanche off of the west shoulder of Mt. Everest this morning. Within a very short period of time the entire lower Khumbu Icefall was enveloped in pulverized ice and snow. I will have a longer report and a video of the avalanche online in a few hours.

More photos and video …

Image: The cloud of pulverized ice spreads out quickly over the lower Khumbu Icefall as seen from Everest Base Camp.

Image: (closeup) The cloud of pulverized ice spreads out quickly over the lower Khumbu Icefall as seen from Everest Base Camp.

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.