Paul Pottinger’s Adventures from the Top of the World
Category Archives: Earthquake
Numb
Everest 2015 • April 28
This day was like a strange dream. There was nothing for us to do except to prepare for the journey out the following day, which took very little time. The surge in demand for porters and yaks heading down valley simply could not be filled; one of our duffels would need to come down later—potentially … Continue reading Numb
Helivac
Everest 2015 • April 27
I slept poorly that night, thinking about the next morning’s move to C1. How would conditions be on the glacier? Would we find the crevasses impassable? Would the weather hold and allow us to fly to EBC? It was bitterly cold when we woke up. Hasty last minute packing, a very quick breakfast, and we … Continue reading Helivac
Aftershock
Everest 2015 • April 26
The day after the quake was filled with uncertainty. Information from EBC and C1 came our way via radio, and we listened intently. It was still impossible to grasp what had happened below, but clearly things were bad. Injured climbers in EBC who had survived the night needed helivac to Pheriche or Kathmandu, and lots … Continue reading Aftershock
The Quake
Everest 2015 • April 25
I was awakened in the middle of the night by the thunder of a huge avalanche. These are common on Everest, happening every night, but this one sounded bigger than usual. Although it was bitterly cold, and I was still half asleep, I decided to open the rear tent flap and take a look. To … Continue reading The Quake
Doing fine in EBC
Everest 2015 • April 28
Hi Everyone, Just got a flicker of net access, and wanted to assure you that I am fine, as are all of my teammates. I was at Camp 2 (21,300 feet) when the quake struck, and we were just fine up there. It was a kind of torture being so high up, thus unable to … Continue reading Doing fine in EBC