Almost every year, Mt. Everest claims the lives of several climbers, both Western and Sherpa alike. There are many threats that loom on this mountain, but the most deadly of all is the threat of being buried by an avalanche. Last year, a Sherpa of one of the our team members was killed in exactly such an accident. We just learned that the season’s first casualty is that of our good friend and fellow climber Laszlo Varkony was killed in an avalanche yesterday. Laszlo Varkony was with us on the 2008 expedition and we enjoyed his company immensely; we are both shocked and saddened by his tragic loss. Another climber, our friend David Klein, was also hit by the same avalanche, but luckily he survived. This event has led us to re-evaluate our ambitions to reach the summit, particularly since we were witnessed -at close proximity- a major break-up of the top portion of the Khumbu ice fall on a recent acclimatization climb.

A massive avalanche hits the Khumbu ice fall. A similar catastrophe hit our friend Laszlo Varkony on the North Side of Everest.