14:59 | Everest, Apr. 25.
Peruvian mountain climber Victor Rimac was uninjured Saturday when a massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, where more than 1,000 have been reported dead so far.
“We are not out of touch with nature here at the base camp of Mt. Everest. Avalanches have destroyed a large portion of our camp. Hopefully I’m fine, like my friend Holmes Pantoja and the whole team,” he said.
He explained the avalanches killed several people and hurt many others when it swept the Everest; many of them were attempting to climb it.
Without knowing the state of his equipment, Victor Rimac expects to hear the latest news on the situation and, then, continue his ascent up the Mt. Everest.
“Communication is quite limited, so I have no idea about our equipment and stuff we left down for our journey. We are going to stay here until we get any news and wait for conditions to improve in order to decide whether to keep the original plan to climb the Everest and Lhotse,” he stated.
He has already climbed the Dhaulagiri massif (8167m) in Nepal last year without any artificial oxygen and in his first attempt. Victor has returned to Nepal as part of his second expedition to the Himalayas.
He plans to reach the summit of Lhotse (8516m) and Everest (8848m) this time. The adventure will last two months, and he will have to deal with temperatures reaching 40 degrees below zero and a 70 km/h wind while climbing rocks, snow, and ice at 8000 meters above sea level with limited oxygen.
(END) JAP/RMB
Published: 4/25/2015