Image: I took this photo moments after the avalanche began. The speed and ferocity of this avalanche was terrifying.
Image: I took this photo moments after the avalanche began. The speed and ferocity of this avalanche was terrifying. Credit: astro-ph.EP

Keith Cowing: There was a massive avalanche off of the west shoulder of Mt. Everest this morning. Within a very short period of time the entire lower Khumbu Icefall was enveloped in pulverized ice and snow. I will have a longer report and a video of the avalanche online in a few hours.

More photos and video …

Image: The cloud of pulverized ice spreads out quickly over the lower Khumbu Icefall as seen from Everest Base Camp.

Image: (closeup) The cloud of pulverized ice spreads out quickly over the lower Khumbu Icefall as seen from Everest Base Camp.

Video of the Avalanche

Namaste

Keith

Astrobiology

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp...