Just over a week after an avalanche flattened Himlung Base Camp in Nepal and killed 16 people, commercial expeditions are returning to the 7,126m peak. More than 30 foreign climbers, guides and support staff were reported to be heading towards the mountain, with operators also working to repair the trail between Koto and base camp after snowfall and landslides damaged it.
The avalanche struck at around 3am on 27 September, burying 14 local staff members and two Sherpa guides. Recovery was slow and grim: about four metres of fresh snow covered parts of the camp, forcing the first team, led by mountaineer Mingma G of Imagine Nepal, to halt. Two of his own staff were among the dead. A larger team later returned at the request of families, digging tunnels through the snow to recover 11 more bodies. Fifteen of the 16 victims have now been recovered; one person is still missing.
Nepal's Department of Tourism says 34 foreign climbers — 28 men and six women — have applied for permits to climb Himlung this season, which was being promoted as a good stepping stone for climbers building experience on a 7,000m peak. That has grown more relevant as Nepal considers tightening Everest requirements.
The speed of the reopening has raised uncomfortable questions. Mingma G said workers had been urged to leave before the bad weather but stayed, yet Nepal-based publication Everest Today questioned whether enough was done to protect local staff given severe forecasts, calling for an independent investigation and asking whether commercial pressures shaped safety decisions.
The disaster echoes earlier ones: the 2014 Khumbu Icefall serac collapse that killed 16 Nepali workers on Everest and cancelled that climbing season, and the 2015 earthquake-triggered avalanche at Everest Base Camp that killed 19.
For travellers, this is a reminder of who actually carries the risk on high-altitude expeditions — the local workers who fix ropes, carry loads and run base camps so paying clients can summit. Anyone considering a Himalayan climbing trip should ask operators hard questions about weather protocols, insurance and how support staff are treated before signing up.
