Mt. Everest Tragedy (18.04.2014)
Report by Namgya Sherpa
Friday the 2nd May 2014
Today is exactly two weeks since the Everest tragedy. Madison Mountaineering Everest Expedition 2014 set off from Kathmandu on April 4th 2014. There were six western clients, six Sherpa guides, and several camp staff. We trekked up to Everest Base Camp at a steady pace and allowing our bodies to acclimatize to the high altitude and of course dreaming of achieving an awesome goal.
A few of our camp crews were setting up our Base Camp before I and my cousin Dorji Khatri reached the base camp on April 8th 2014, a few days ahead of our clients who arrived at BC on April 13. The main reason for Dorji Khatri and myself to be there earlier was to complete setting up the Base Camp and getting everything ready for our clients arrival.
We worked few long days together to complete setting up BC, meanwhile our clients arrived at BC according to our schedule.
We had a long group discussion about the plans for our entire expedition, and decided that we would divide our clients into two teams, A & B, for the summit attempts. Team A (Garret Madison +Joby Ogen) was scheduled to start climbing on the 19th (to Camp I) & team B was scheduled to start climbing (to Camp I) on the 20th.
After making this decision we the Sherpa staff decided to do a load ferry trip to camp I on the Sixteenth April. So, I, my cousin Dorji Khatri, and my colleagues Jangbu Sherpa, Furwa Temba Sherpa, Furba Jangbu Sherpa assistant chef at Camp II, set off from BC early in the morning while two of our star Sherpa, Then Dorjee Sherpa & Kalden Sherpa were coming up from their home at Pangbuche. It was our first day of expedition, and it was my first step on Mt. Everest since my last Everest Expedition in 2012 with Dutch Everest Expedition.
We managed very well, dropped our gear and supplies at Camp one then returned to BC before noon. The next day, April 17th 2014, was scheduled for our blessing ceremony (Puja) at BC. Of course most Sherpas respect the mountain and wouldn’t start climbing Mt. Everest before the Puja had taken place. However, because of the tight schedule we had for the next few days, we were entitled to start climbing Mt. Everest to deliver essential supplies for our clients who were going to move up to Camp I on April 19. 2014.
Anyway our two star Sherpa colleagues had arrived at base camp early morning on the 17th, and Puja had been completed by noon that day. Right after Puja we loaded our bag packs with gear & supplies ready for the next day to head off to Camp II our advance base camp.
April 18. 2014, I woke up at 3:00 am, and got out of o my tiny tents. I saw a long line of head lamps flashing in the Khumbu Icefall already, so we dressed quickly with our necessary climbing gear, had a light breakfast and we Sherpa guides of Madison Mountaineering Everest Expedition set off from BC around 3:45 am for Camp II, each one of us with a VHF handheld radio. We left all together from BC but somehow we became spread out.
There were six of us, me, my colleagues Jangbu Sherpa, Furwa temba Sherpa, Then Dorjee Sherpa, Kalden Sherpa, my cousin Dorji Khatri, our camp two Chef Basu Pandit and his assistant Fura Jangbu Sherpa. I and my colleague Jangbu Sherpa were climbing mostly together in the Khumbu Icefall; we continued our climbing steadily through the icefall. Around 6: 45 am, we were reaching close to Football Field at Camp one. We had to cross the aluminum ladder over a deep crevasse where many climbers were gathered because of the delay of crossing the ladder one by one. This caused a long traffic jam. Everyone was queuing, but luck was with us and we crossed over the ladder and were climbing only 40 steps or so on ahead of everyone else who was still in the queue. We suddenly heard a huge sound of avalanche. We saw that an enormous chunk of ice was coming off the mountain above us. There was no chance for us to escape from it or even barely chances for us to think of our families either. We just stood wherever we were. The ice block tumbled down the mountain rapidly setting off an avalanche of ice which slammed into us, luckily only powerful mixture of dusty powder and thousands of small pieces of broken ice which kept blowing us for at least 8-10 minutes during which time we could see nothing. By the time avalanche was settled down, we looked at each other and looked back where our friends had been queuing on a rope literally a few minutes ago waiting to cross the ladder on the crevasse. The shape of the entire area was dramatically changed into flat terrain, everyone had disappeared, and there was no radio communication.
My colleague Jangbu Sherpa and I was so fortunate that the Mt. Everest God spared us. One of our climbing friends Dawa Tashi Sherpa was buried up to his chest and squeezed by ice avalanche but fortunately he was alive and waving to us for help, so our immediate priority was to save his life. We started to dig him out of avalanche as fast as we could, soon after we were dig him out of ice, we immediately started to lower him down to a flatter and safer place as quickly as possible where a Helicopter picked him up and flew him straight away back to Kathmandu for treatment. Meanwhile I and several other rescuers started to dig out all the rest of the casualties who were buried 8-10m underneath the ice avalanche exactly in the same place where we found Dawa Tashi. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity for us to utilize our avalanche rescue techniques or First Aid skills to save our colleagues lives as the powerful solid ice avalanche had slammed and killed the rest instantly within seconds. Everyone’s faces and heads were crushed and bodies were full of red blood. Entire area of the avalanche spot was colored by red blood.
Everyone in the whole area was in deepest sadness, shouting to each other, and crying kept washing our faces for the entire day. We kept digging and searching for the missing bodies as much as we can even while risking our lives in that area where another avalanche could repeat.
When the avalanche hit, we communicated with our Base Camp Manager who informed us that there were around a dozen climbers and guides racing from the base camp. But while the icefall is barely 500 meters higher than base camp, it can easily take a couple of hours to reach the popcorn field, even for the strongest climbers. We tried our best before the rest of the rescue team arrived and then some of us started to descend down to BC through the ice fall after such long hours of hard work and with deepest sadness.
However it wasn’t what we were expecting of the Everest expedition this season, hundreds of climbers high expectations and dreams were devastated by the enormous chunk of ice which fell off the mountain and claimed 16 local mountaineers’ lives forever. 18 April had been declared as Everest black day forever.

Successful ascent of Mont Blanc (4810m) in France.

I, Namgya Sherpa, returned to the Kathmandu after a successful ascent of Mont Blanc (4810m) in France.
I climbed via the Refuge du Gouter route with Tim Breitmeyer, his daughter Georgina, and Thierry, a French mountaineering guide, on the 16th July, 2009.
We left Tim’s chalet at Meribel at 5.15am, drove to Chamonix, took the chair lift, and then a 15 minute mountain train ride to the start of the climb.
Our plan was to spend the night of the 16th in the Gouter refuge at 3700m, and to depart for the summit at about 3am on the 17th. Unfortunately, although Thursday was a perfect day, the weather forecast was deteriorating for Friday, and the decision was made to attempt the summit in one day.
Tim and Georgina made a gallant effort and reached 4400m by 5pm, but the summit was going to be just out of reach for them. They waited in a safety shelter while I climbed quickly to reach the summit at 6.00pm. Another French guide who summited at the same time with his clients kindly took my photo. The views, in a cloudless blue sky, were magnificent. I returned quickly to the safety shelter and began the descent to the Gouter refuge with my friends.
During the night the conditions became really atrocious but as the storm was now expected to last for 24hours we decided we had to make our descent if possible. After one false start because of high winds, sleet, thunder and lightning we set off again after breakfast at 8.00am.
Conditions on the rock between the Gouter and the Tete Rousse refuges were dreadful, but we persevered. Lightning was striking the fixed wires and causing electric shocks to one’s hands. Thierry told us that last year a climber was killed in a fall when his hands were thrown off the wire by a lightning strike.
We continued down the edge of a couloir, and shortly before traversing this couloir with the aid of a fixed wire there was a huge rock fall very close alongside us. We dived for cover and fortunately were all safe. Sadly we learned a little later that three Lithuanian climbers had died in similar circumstances 30 minutes beforehand.
We eventually completed this very, very frightening descent off the mountain at about 12 noon.
Mont Blanc may be not much more than half the height of Mount Everest, but this was a lesson to me that the smaller mountains of Europe can be equally as dangerous as the Himalayas with which I am much more familiar.
I am extremely grateful to my friends Judith Fairey for very crucial financial support for this expedition and my friend Tim Brietmeyer and family for giving me the opportunity to attempt, and complete, this climb.

I was fortunate to stand on the top of the world on 23rd May 2003, became the first person to climb Everest from entire Mechi Zone east Nepal. 

I managed to stand on top of the world without supplementary oxygen on 16th May 2004. 

Everest Expedition with Kobler & Partner in 2005. 

Kobler & Partner Everest Expedition 2006. 

I worked for DCXP Everest Expedition 2007 as sidrar, it was my first time with DCXP for big mountain. Due to large volume of DCXP clients on Everest this time, I had big responsible. I managed to make two summit. First one on 23rd May 2007 and 5th June for the second time.  

I was working for Arun Trek, along with Lakpa Randu Sherp, Kusang Tenzing Sherpa. 

Involved with Kobler & Partner Everest Expedition. 

Worked for DCXP Everest Expedition 2010. 

Worked for Kobler & Partner Everest Expedition 2011.

Grand Himalaya Treks & Expedition Everest Expedition 2018, worked along with Todd R. Passey, Seth edward Timpano (international mountain guides plus Ngima Chhiring Lama and Pemba Nuru Sherpa and myself) 5 of us were for lucky Lillian.  

Grand Himalaya Everest Expedition 2019, I had large team to handle on Everest this season. Big responsible. I managed to summit 3 times, first summit on 16th May with Mike Mulrooney and Sheetal. Second summit on 21-May with 65 Degree North Everest Expedition and the final summit was with Todd R. Passey, Seth Edward Timpano and Tony on 23rd May.   

Worked for Arun Trek on Mt. Cho Oyu in 2004, 

Grand Himalaya Treks & Expedition Manaslu Expedition 2018. I was handling necessary logistics, but unexpected health issue of one of our staff member, I had to be replaced and made summit within 6 days from Kathmandu-Kathmandu. It was tough but managed to get to the top of Manaslu on 29th September 2018. 

I was not the first Nepali to be at the Geographic South Pole but was the first Sherpa community to be at the Geographic South Pole for sure. Huge Thank you ALE for the this golden an opportunity.  

Kumari Bank Banner on top of the world the year when I managed to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen in 2004.