Himalayas

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US Climber, Sherpa Dead After Himalayan Avalanches

2 more are missing, including sherpa who recently set record

(Newser) - American mountaineer Anna Gutu and a Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa, were confirmed dead Sunday after avalanches struck the slopes of a Tibetan mountain, while two others remained missing, according to Chinese media reports. The avalanches struck Tibet's Mount Shishapangma on Saturday afternoon at about 25,000 feet and about...

Dozens of Trainee Mountaineers Dead or Missing in Avalanche

Avalanche hit group of 34 trainees, 7 instructors in Indian Himalayas

(Newser) - The Indian Air Force has joined search and rescue efforts in the Himalayas, where at least 10 people were killed in an avalanche Tuesday and dozens more are missing. Authorities say the avalanche hit a group of 34 trainee mountaineers and seven instructors on Mount Draupadi ka Danda II in...

8th-Highest Peak Claims Pioneering US Mountaineer

Body of Hilaree Nelson recovered from Nepal's Mount Manaslu, from which she fell on Monday

(Newser) - Update: The death of US ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson has been confirmed with the recovery of her body from the world's eighth-highest peak. The 49-year-old fell down the southern side of Nepal's 26,781-foot Mount Manaslu after leaving the summit on Monday. Her partner, Jim Morrison, who was...

He Died in 1984 Avalanche. His Body Was Just Found

Body of Indian soldier Chandrashekhar Harbola found in ruined shelter on Siachen Glacier

(Newser) - An Indian soldier who disappeared in an avalanche in the Himalayas almost 40 yers ago will finally be laid to rest. The body of Chandrashekhar Harbola was discovered Saturday on the Siachen Glacier along the India-Pakistan border, a disputed area the two countries have been fighting to control since 1984....

3 Bodies Found Buried on Peak Near Everest

They belong to French climbers missing on Kangtega since Oct. 26

(Newser) - Three French climbers appear to have died in an avalanche on a peak near Mount Everest last month. The bodies of Thomas Arfi, Gabriel Miloche, and Louis Pachoud were recovered from Kangtega mountain in Nepal's remote Solukhumbu district on Monday, a day after they were discovered under more than...

Everest's New Height Was Guarded Like 'a Military Secret'

Nepal, China come to agreement that world's highest mountain is 29,032 feet

(Newser) - If you're keeping tabs on how tall Mount Everest is, make sure to refresh the page you had open from the last time you checked. Due to tectonic pressure, weathering, and earthquakes (especially a major 2015 temblor), among other factors, the world's highest mountain is constantly experiencing a...

Most Killed in Deadly Himalayan Clash Fell to Their Deaths

India and China fought for hours in almost total darkness

(Newser) - "I would like to assure the nation that the sacrifice of our jawans [troops] will not be in vain," said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first public comments on Monday's deadly clash with China along the countries' disputed border. It was the first such confrontation...

India, China See First Deadly Clash in 45 Years
India, China See First
Deadly Clash in 45 Years
UPDATED

India, China See First Deadly Clash in 45 Years

At least 20 Indian soldiers killed on disputed border

(Newser) - At least 20 Indian soldiers, including a senior army officer, were killed in a confrontation with Chinese troops along their disputed border high in the Himalayas where thousands of soldiers on both sides have been facing off for over a month, the Indian army said Tuesday. The incident—in which...

Amid Lockdown, Residents Gasp at Unexpected Sight

People in India say they can see Himalayas for first time in decades

(Newser) - On a clear day you can see forever—or, suddenly, the Himalayas, if you're a resident of northern India. The world's biggest lockdown due to the coronavirus started in India at the end of March, and everyone staying home in the nation of 1.3 billion people seems...

Study to Solve 'Skeleton Lake' Mystery Only Adds to It

Site in Himalayas is home to hundreds of remains from different times, places

(Newser) - The official name is Roopkund Lake, but the inhospitable site in the Indian Himalayas is better known as "Skeleton Lake" for good reason. Scientists estimate the remains of "several hundred" people are scattered around its shores, explains a study in Nature Communications . New research aimed to resolve once...

Crews Recover Bodies of 7 Missing Climbers

Search continues for the 8th

(Newser) - A search team has recovered the bodies of seven of the eight climbers missing in the Indian Himalayas for a month. The bodies have not been identified, said a government official in northern India, who said returning them to the base camp will take two or three days, per ABC...

Old Spy Images Reveal Bad News for Himalayas

Scientists use them to calculate the melting of glaciers

(Newser) - Cold War era spy satellite images are showing scientists that glaciers on the Himalayas are now melting about twice as fast as they used to, the AP reports. The Asian mountain range, which includes Mount Everest, has been losing ice at a rate of about 1% a year since 2000,...

Plan to Get to Bodies by Helicopter Doesn't Work

Rescue team may need to climb to get to the 8 who vanished on Nanda Devi East

(Newser) - Indian officials have abandoned their initial plan to retrieve bodies believed to be members of a team of international climbers that went missing on a notoriously dangerous Himalayan mountain. All eight of the climbers who disappeared May 26 on Nanda Devi East are presumed dead, and the five bodies photographed...

Missing Climbers May Not Have Had Permission
Missing Climbers May Not
Have Had Permission
the rundown

Missing Climbers May Not Have Had Permission

8, including 2 Americans, are presumed dead on unnamed peak in India

(Newser) - The news about eight missing climbers in the Indian Himalayas took a grim turn Monday when Indian pilots spotted five bodies amid evidence of an avalanche. High winds and snow kept rescuers from getting to the spot to search for the other three, but one official said the odds of...

Bad News in Search for 8 Missing Climbers

Indian pilots spot 5 bodies, and chances of finding any survivors 'almost zero'

(Newser) - Pilots from India searching for eight missing climbers on a Himalayan peak spotted five bodies, but conditions remain too dangerous to retrieve them, reports the Guardian . Prior to that sighting, a government official had declared of the eight, "The chances of survival are almost zero now." The climbers...

7 More Climbers Disappear
7 More Climbers Disappear

7 More Climbers Disappear

This time, it isn't Mount Everest

(Newser) - With climbing deaths dogging Mount Everest, CNN reports that seven climbers and their liaison officer have gone missing near a notorious Himalayan peak. The team leader's Facebook posts suggest they were about to climb the difficult Nanda Devi East— the BBC says no one has climbed its 24,000-plus...

Indian Army Claims 'Photographic Evidence' of Yeti

Footprints reportedly spotted this month in Nepal

(Newser) - The Indian army claims it has "photographic evidence" of the mythical yeti. Members of the army's mountaineering expedition team snapped photos of what appear to be footprints near the base camp of Nepal's Mount Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world, on April 9. The decision...

30 Years After They Vanished on the Mountain, 'Closure'
30 Years After They
Vanished on the
Mountain, 'Closure'
in case you missed it

30 Years After They Vanished on the Mountain, 'Closure'

Steve Aisthorpe grateful that 2 friends who disappeared in Himalayas in 1988 have been found

(Newser) - The bodies of those who succumb to the Himalayan mountains likely stay on the slopes forever—it's often too difficult, dangerous, and costly to retrieve them. That fact didn't stop Steve Aisthorpe of Scotland from his recent mission on the Nepal-Tibet border: to get "closure" on the...

New Risk for Climbers in Nepal: Your Guide May Scam You

Companies push air rescues for minor reasons, then reap big profits

(Newser) - Since a deadly 2015 earthquake, Nepal's 2,600 trekking companies have had to lower their rates to attract a smaller pool of explorers eyeing Himalayan peaks. They've made up for the lost income with what a government report describes as a multimillion-dollar insurance scam involving tour operators, helicopter...

This Is the Highest Spot on Planet for Amazon Deliveries

Leh, India, is in the Himalayas, demonstrates the company's reach

(Newser) - A writer for the Atlantic tried delivering packages for Amazon for a single day in San Francisco and came to regret it . The same isn't true for Eshay Rangdol. The New York Times takes a fascinating look at the lengths—or, rather, heights—Amazon is going to in order...

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