Guide shouted: Get out of your tents! Then we saw the avalanche coming
TERRIFIED British newlyweds last night described how they cheated death as an avalanche triggered by the Nepal earthquake hit their Everest camp.
As the quake reduced many of the country’s most famous landmarks to rubble, honeymooners Sam and Alexandra Chappatte found themselves having to cling to ice axes to avoid being swept away by deadly ice and snow.
The couple have now been caught up in Everest’s two most deadly disasters, after their first attempt at climbing the world’s highest peak was ended last year when an avalanche hit the Khumbu Icefall, killing 16 guides. They were forced to abandon their ascent but remortgaged their flat in Notting Hill, West London, to fund a second attempt.
The pair, who married earlier this month, described on their internet blog the terrifying moment the quake hit during their second bid to make it to the summit. They had left Base Camp and climbed across the Khumbu Icefall to make it to Camp 1 at 19,800ft (6,035m) when powerful tremors shook the ground.
The couple, both 28, wrote: ‘ The earthquake hit about 30 minutes after we had crossed the icefall and found our tents. The ground started shaking violently but before we could react Dan [Mazur, their climbing group leader] was shouting, “Get out of your f****** tents, grab your ice axes!”
‘We staggered out to see an avalanche coming straight at us. A blast of wind knocked us down but we were able to get up and run to shelter behind some tents and anchor ourselves with our axes.
‘We focused on keeping an air hole so we could breathe in the powder.’
The couple are part of a 11-strong group of climbers led by Dan Mazur, from Bristol, who tweeted ‘ please pray for everyone’ in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s quake in Nepal. Some 30 climbers are now stranded at Camp 1 as debris from the avalanche has blocked the Khumbu Icefall below them. The camp was also hit by a powerful aftershock yesterday, triggering three more avalanches.
Meanwhile chaos broke out in Kat h mandu as passengers attempted to fight their way into the international airport in a bid to leave the country.
The city was one of the worst affected areas and centuries of history were destroyed in minutes as the quake saw many of the country’s most famous landmarks destroyed. The Dharahara Tower was brought down and historic temples in Durbar Square collapsed.
Yesterday 24-year-old Briton Tara Bradshaw from Brighton – who was feared missing – managed to get in contact her family to let them know that she was safe. And the Chappattes also were able to let their loved ones know they were ‘okay’. But one of their worried relatives appealed for helicopter rescue for the group of around 100 climbers and sherpas trapped between two camps on Everest, where up to 18 people are thought to have perished on Saturday.
Sarah Chappatte wrote on the couple’s blog: ‘All reports confirm that the icefall is now impassable so there is no way to climb down.
‘ More aftershocks are being reported as I write. They have enough food and enough supplies for a few days and some of the climbers are beginning to suffer from altitude sickness. Now we need to get them out.’