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2025 Archive Index - All Editions

In This Edition:

GoPro revealed climbers' final movements before avalanche

Chilling GoPro footage captured the final movements of a group of climbers killed by an avalanche in the Indian Himalayas. The group, made up of four Brits, two Americans, an Australian and their Indian liaison officer, went missing while attempting to scale a previously unclimbed peak without permission in May 2019. It wasn't until a month later that Indian authorities managed to recover seven bodies, leading them to discover the GoPro footage captured at 19,000 feet by one of the climbers. The bodies were recovered near the Nanda Devi East, with footage leading authorities to believe the group had been struck by an avalanche. Authorities confirmed the group did not have permission to climb the unnamed peak, and insisted if they had asked, they 'would not have given permission'. Sharing the footage on X, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) wrote: "Last visuals of the mountaineers’ team near the summit on unnamed peak. ITBP search team of mountaineers found the memory video device at 19K ft while they were searching the area where bodies were spotted."
More ... (LAD bible)

Avalanche Survival on New Zealand’s Glacier Knob

A stark reminder of the backcountry's power went down in New Zealand on Friday, July 18th, when a party of six ski tourers were caught in a significant avalanche on Glacier Knob, near Mount Ruapehu. The slide, which occurred in the Tongariro region, left four of the skiers partially buried, with one account detailing a skier being located only by their hand protruding from the snow.

The group was ascending on skins when the slab broke loose. In a testament to the group's preparedness and quick thinking, they were able to perform a rapid and effective rescue. The report confirms that the airway of the most deeply buried skier was cleared within a critical two-minute window, and all four were fully excavated within ten minutes. This swift action undoubtedly prevented a more tragic outcome.
More ... (Teton Gravity Research)

K2 Avalanche Kills Pakistani Porter

Climber and porter Iftikhar Hussain, from Skardu, Pakistan, was killed in a devastating avalanche on K2. The slide released about 500 meters above base camp and struck a four-member team from Mountain Professionals as they descended from Camp 1 toward Base camp early Friday afternoon, July 18. The avalanche swept up Hussain, Nepali climbers Dawa Finjo Sherpa and Dawa Geljen Sherpa, and Pakistani porter Niaz Ali, also from Skardu. All four were part of the Boulder, Colorado-based guiding service’s expedition team. A ground rescue team dispatched from Base Camp shortly after the slide, but there was nothing rescuers could do to save Hussain. The other three climbers were able to descend to safety under their own power.
More ... (Teton Gravity Research)