# 27 confirmed dead, up to 70 missing in Nepal



## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

27 dead, 70 missing in Nepal blizzard, avalanches

Huge snowstorm and multiple avalanches along the Annapurna Circuit. That's a bucket list trip of mine. I hope they find a lot of survivors.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Nepal is just having a horrible season.


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## midnightcaper (Mar 23, 2013)

Wow that's horrible.


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## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

Not to be insensitive but I'm actually curious. I know storms can be hard to predict and such in that kind of terrain, but with the size of this blizzard it doesn't seem like it could have come out of nowhere. Why were there so many people in such dangerous locations? Is it one of those, well this is a once in a lifetime thing and I think we can ride it out here so lets batten down the hatches and see what happens? It just seems a bit confusing to me that there could be so many groups in such high risk locations with a massive storm baring down on them.


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## BoardWalk (Mar 22, 2011)

lab49232 said:


> Not to be insensitive but I'm actually curious. I know storms can be hard to predict and such in that kind of terrain, but with the size of this blizzard it doesn't seem like it could have come out of nowhere. Why were there so many people in such dangerous locations? Is it one of those, well this is a once in a lifetime thing and I think we can ride it out here so lets batten down the hatches and see what happens? It just seems a bit confusing to me that there could be so many groups in such high risk locations with a massive storm baring down on them.


I'm not a Nepal expert but from what I understand the bad ass storms there can come out of nowhere.


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## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

linvillegorge said:


> 27 dead, 70 missing in Nepal blizzard, avalanches
> 
> Huge snowstorm and multiple avalanches along the Annapurna Circuit. That's a bucket list trip of mine. I hope they find a lot of survivors.


What a tragedy, Annapurna is absolutely amazing. I did some trekking in Nepal. It's a beautiful country.


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## Noreaster (Oct 7, 2012)

I trekked in Himalayas twice and while never on Annapurna, the general idea of trekking is the same and it goes like this: once you're on the trail you go from village to village or sometimes teashops set up along the way, where you can rest and acclimate for a couple of days. These stops can be within one or several day walking distance from each other, so when you're between shelters and a bad blizzard comes even if you know the forecast you have no choice but to make camp right on the trail and hope for the best. Keep in mind that in that part of the world forecasts aren't usually made for more than 48 hours in advance and even then with not any certainty. 

Because the number of dead and lost is so huge it looks like people were unprepared for the severity of the storm, more than likely it got much worse than predicted and fast too. They were still walking, which they wouldn't do if they believed the storm would be as bad as it was.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Friends of mine are up there currently, a couple I work with. Fortunately they are both survival experts, mountaineering experts and ultra runners. The guy just did nolans 14 last month and they wanted to run whatever ridge route is in Nepal as a couple. He finally got back with us last night letting everyone know they survived and got back to safety. The route they were on takes them days from the headrest civilization, the storms blocked satellite reception for phones and his spot tracker. 

When your in that kind of environment your really at the mercy of nature, luck and experience 

Unfortunately alot of people that shouldn't be out there are, this couple was not with sherpas and just hunkered down for the bulk of the storm riding it out. They were well prepared for anything and lived because of it.

This storm came in harder, more moist and colder than anyone predicted.


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## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

Two girls I met in a hut while splitting are there atm but I just saw fb post saying they are fine


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