| CNN | - |
(CNN)
-- Two Sherpa guides were killed and seven others were missing Friday
after a high-altitude avalanche on Mt. Everest, officials said.
2 dead, 7 missing after avalanche on Mount Everest
updated 1:35 AM EDT, Fri April 18, 2014
Climbers and guides were preparing for the spring climbing season.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The deadliest year on Mt. Everest was 1996, when 15 people died
- More than 300 climbers have been given permission to tackle Everest this spring
- About 400 Sherpas will help them
- Climbers and guides had been preparing the route to the summit
A group of about 50
people, mostly Nepali Sherpas, were hit by the avalanche at more than
20,000 feet, according to Tilak Ram Pandey, with the mountaineering
department of the tourism ministry.
The avalanche took place just above base camp in the Khumbu Ice Fall.
The climbers were accounted for, Pandey said. "Rescue teams have gone ... to look for the missing."
Readying for climb
Between May 15 and 30 is usually the best window for reaching 29,028 foot peak.
Climbers and guides had
been setting the ropes for the route, acclimating to the climate, and
preparing the camps along the route, said Janow.
Climbers arrive in April to acclimate to the altitude before heading toward the summit of the world's highest mountain.
Ethnic Sherpas acts as guides for the mostly-foreign clients.
Busiest season
The spring climbing season is the busiest of the year.
Some 334 foreign
climbers have been given permission to climb Everest over the next
couple of months, with an estimated 400 Sherpas helping them,
mountaineering official Dipendra Poudel said.
Until the late 1970s,
only a handful of climbers reached the top each year. The number topped
100 for the first time in 1993. By 2004, it was more than 300. In 2012,
the number was more than 500.
The deadliest year on Everest was 1996, when 15 people died. Another 12 climbers were killed in 2006.
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