On a Sunday morning in Nepal's Manang district, a wall of snow swept through the base camp of Himlung Himal, killing at least two people and swallowing a team of Nepalese workers who had gone ahead to prepare the mountain for others. They were, as they so often are, the invisible labor behind the adventure — the ones who fix the ropes so that others may climb. Their disappearance arrives amid a season of cascading catastrophe across Asia, where warming oceans and destabilized weather systems are extracting an ever-steeper toll from the people who live closest to the earth's extremes.
Two dead, 10 missing after avalanche hits Himalayan climbing camp
At least two confirmed dead with approximately 10 Nepalese climbers and support staff missing after avalanche struck base camp at Himlung Himal.
The advance team was there when the snow fell.
Mark
Why were these climbers at the base camp if foreign climbers hadn't arrived yet?
Mimi
They were the preparation team. In big expeditions, you send experienced local staff ahead to set up infrastructure—tents, supplies, fixed ropes on the route. It's essential work, but it means being exposed to the mountain before the main group arrives.
Luke
Do we know if the avalanche was foreseeable? The source says forecasts showed heavy snowfall, but that's not the same as forecasting an avalanche.
Mimi
Right. Heavy snow creates conditions where avalanches become more likely, but predicting the exact moment and location is nearly impossible. The team knew the risk was elevated.
Mark
How many people are we actually talking about?
Mimi
Two confirmed dead. At least ten missing, though one expedition leader reported eight from his team specifically. The exact total is still unclear because the search is ongoing.
Luke
And the rescue effort—how capable is it?
Mimi
They got experienced mountaineers from Kathmandu by helicopter, which is the right response. But weather kept them from reaching the site immediately. Monday's search would depend on whether conditions improved.
Mark
This seems to be part of a larger pattern of disasters in the region.
Mimi
Yes. A glacial collapse in August killed over 1,400 people. Climbers were evacuated from Mount Manaslu days before this. Six died on Broad Peak in Pakistan two months ago. The mountains are becoming more dangerous.
Luke
Is that because of climate change, or just normal mountain risk?
Mimi
The source mentions a "super El Niño" intensifying storms across the Pacific. That's a climate signal. But I'd be careful about claiming direct causation for any single avalanche. What's clear is that extreme weather events are clustering across Asia right now.
Mark
What happens to the climbing industry if this continues?
Mimi
Nepal depends on it economically. But if the mountains become too dangerous, fewer expeditions will go. That's a real threat to communities that rely on the work.
The Pulse
- A snow sheet struck base camp at 7,126 meters on Sunday morning, killing two and leaving at least ten Nepalese climbers and support staff buried or unaccounted for.
- The mountain turned against its own rescuers — thick snowfall and worsening weather grounded helicopters for hours, compressing the window for survival.
- Experienced mountaineers were airlifted from Kathmandu as soon as skies allowed, but darkness and conditions forced the search into a second day with the toll still uncertain.
- The missing were advance team members — the workers who set ropes and prepare routes for foreign climbers — making their absence both a human tragedy and a rupture in the industry that sustains remote Nepalese communities.
- This disaster is not isolated: Manaslu was evacuated days earlier, six climbers died on Broad Peak in August, and a glacial collapse across the border killed more than 1,400 people, pointing to a region under sustained and intensifying climate pressure.
On a Sunday morning in Nepal's Manang district, a wall of snow swept through the base camp of Himlung Himal, killing at least two people and swallowing a team of Nepalese workers who had gone ahead to prepare the mountain for others. They were, as they so often are, the invisible labor behind the adventure — the ones who fix the ropes so that others may climb. Their disappearance arrives amid a season of cascading catastrophe across Asia, where warming oceans and destabilized weather systems are extracting an ever-steeper toll from the people who live closest to the earth's extremes.
On Sunday morning, a sheet of snow came down on the base camp at Himlung Himal, a 7,126-meter peak on Nepal's border with Tibet. Two people were killed. At least ten others — all Nepalese nationals — remain missing, buried somewhere beneath the avalanche's path in the Manang district of the Himalayas.
The missing were not recreational climbers. They were the advance team: the workers dispatched ahead of foreign expeditions to set up camp, fix ropes, and make the mountain passable for those who would follow. Heavy snowfall had already blanketed the region in the days before the avalanche, and forecasts had warned of more. Still, the work required their presence, and so they were there when the snow fell.
Rescue efforts ran immediately into the mountain's resistance. Poor weather kept helicopters grounded for hours. A team of seasoned mountaineers was eventually flown in from Kathmandu, but by Sunday evening the search had spilled into Monday. Bibhuti Chand Thakur, director of Himalaya Holidays Trekking, confirmed that at least eight of his expedition staff were among the missing.
The disaster fits a grim pattern. Days earlier, climbers had abandoned Mount Manaslu as avalanche risk surged. In August, six people died on Broad Peak in Pakistan. Across the border in Tibet, a glacial collapse killed more than 1,400 people and left over 6,000 still unaccounted for. Floods struck Bangkok. Landslides followed a typhoon through Tokyo. Scientists link the intensifying storms to a super El Niño warming the Pacific. Across Asia's mountains and valleys, it is the people who live and work closest to the land who are absorbing the cost.
A sheet of snow descended on the base camp at Himlung Himal on Sunday morning, and two people are now confirmed dead. Rescuers are still searching for at least ten others—all Nepalese nationals who had been sent ahead to prepare the mountain for foreign climbers. The avalanche struck at 7,126 meters, on a peak that straddles Nepal's border with Tibet, in the Manang district of the Himalayas.
The group that was buried had a specific job: they were the advance team, the ones who set up camp, managed the route, and fixed ropes for the climbers who would follow. Heavy snowfall in recent days had blanketed the region, and forecasts had warned of more to come. But the work had to be done, and so they were there when the snow fell.
Rescue efforts began immediately, but the mountain itself became an obstacle. Thick snow and deteriorating weather kept helicopters grounded for hours. A team of experienced mountaineers was flown from Kathmandu as soon as conditions allowed, but by Sunday evening it was clear the search would have to continue into Monday. Bibhuti Chand Thakur, who runs Himalaya Holidays Trekking, reported that at least eight members of his expedition team were among the missing. The exact total remained uncertain.
This disaster arrives in a season of cascading weather catastrophes across Asia. Just days earlier, climbers had been forced to abandon Mount Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest peak, as avalanche risk climbed. Less than two months before the Himlung avalanche, six climbers died on Broad Peak in Pakistan—among them Nirmal Purja, a renowned British-Nepalese mountaineer. And across the Nepal-Tibet border, recovery efforts continue from an August glacial collapse that killed more than 1,400 people and left over 6,000 still missing. That disaster sent a torrent of water and debris down the Trishuli River valley, erasing entire settlements.
Nepal's mountain regions have been hammered by persistent rain and snow, turning what should be a stable season into something treacherous. The country's climbing industry—economically vital to remote communities—depends on these mountains being navigable. But navigability requires people willing to go first, to fix the ropes and prepare the way. Those people were on the mountain when the snow came.
The broader pattern is unmistakable. In Uttar Pradesh, across the border in India, extreme weather has killed more than fifty people in recent days. Bangkok declared a flood emergency after heavy rain since Thursday forced residents to higher floors or out of their homes entirely. A typhoon that struck Tokyo triggered landslides that killed four more. Scientists point to a "super El Niño"—an expanse of warmer ocean water—as a driver of the intensifying storms sweeping the Pacific. The mountains and valleys of Asia are absorbing the force of these systems, and the people who live and work there are paying the cost.
Notable Quotes
At least eight members of his expedition team had been reported missing— Bibhuti Chand Thakur, Himalaya Holidays Trekking
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