Kathmandu, Nepal: A report from Nepal has confirmed that nine climbers were found dead in the tragic storm that hit the mountain range containing the 14 highest peaks in the world. Officials reported that nine individuals had set up their base camp that was destroyed by the storm. This has been the worst accident in Nepal for over two years. The area around Kathmandu especially in the north-west has been a frequented spot for tourists and trekkers and therefore a great source of generating substantial amount of money for the country. Amongst those found dead, Kim Chang-Ho was a record-breaking climber.
Kim Chang-Ho was the first man to have reached the summits of the world without using supplement oxygen. A tragic death for the climber and his team along with the local guides that were climbing the 23, 600 ft high mountain peak. The deceased were found at an altitude of 3500 meters facing the south side of Mount Dhaulagiri. The Nepali expedition organizer along with his team said that it was impossible to locate the victims because of the avalanche. Their bodies were buried after the storm and nothing like a phone tracker had been on them to help locate them.
Weather reports described the event as a heavy snowstorm followed by a landslide that hit the team as it was scaling the mountain from Gurja Village where they had begun their expedition on 7th October. Locals had reported seeing them stay in the village and leave the next morning for their expedition.
The storm that had caused an avalanche to wreak havoc on the Mount Gurja peak cleared off on Sunday evening when locals reported the incident involving 5 South Koreans and 4 guides. Police officials had called the rescue team that faced a difficult time conducting the search operation. The difficulty being the distance of the bodies from the base camp making it difficult to triangulate the location. Reports show that the bodies were found almost 500m away. The locals helped with the rescue operation and details of the deceased were identified and reported.
Inspired by Alexander the Great’s exploits, Kim Chang-Ho began his journey as a climber. He made the record for climbing some of the highest unclimbed summits in the Karakoram mountain range like Batura I and Batura II in Nepal. The climber got the Pioloets d’or Asia award in 2012 for his expeditions that became a huge source of reputation and led to further adventures. Around 2013, he became known for being the only Korean to have climbed 14 of the world’s mountain summits that were above 8000 meters and all of that without the use of any supplementary oxygen.
Descriptions and claims from the expedition manager and locals indicate that had it not been for the storm, this could have been another successful expedition. Including Kim, 4 team members, 4 guides and one trekker that joined the expedition to be with experienced trekkers died a tragic death in the mountain range of Kathmandu, Nepal.
