Huge earthquake in Nepal

So sad.

NPR reported this morning that around 1000 dead are already confirmed in Kathmandu, even at this early stage. Was surprised to learn that that City is #1 on the UNs "most threatened by earthquake" list. They said that in the event of a close by 8 there would be an estimated 100k casualties. Yikes!

I slept two nights at Everest Base Camp over Easter weekend. There are deaths in basecamp from avalanche and possible glacier collapse.

I have a girlfriend that is there right now, she's a flying nurse (owns her own plane and flies to emergencies) but she's there now on vacation. I'm anxiously awaiting communication from her.

"And all those teams on Everest again……"

They'll get the most press coverage, but my heart goes out even more to the countless remote, unnamed villages which have probably been wiped out by avalanches or rockslides, and will never even be mentioned.

So much damage to the world heritage sites, too. It's such a terrible thing that has happened. I visited Nepal in 1999.

Long before I visited I had the impression that Kathmandu was some sort of overgrown mountain village.
I did not expect to see this :

and now parts look like this :

Piper, I did the Everest base camp trek in 1999 too!

Kathmandu and the entire Khumbu region will always have a special place in my heart – it was a wonderful adventure. Durbar square, gone. It seems like the entire historic district took a hit.

I just loved wandering around Thamel – I bought my first "Noth Farce" fleece there – I so wish I still had that….or at least a picture of the logo!

Anyway, I'm just so sad about this….

My friend Kathleen was scheduled to be at Everest base camp this week….I'm praying with her extensive traveling and nursing experience she's alive and well and assisting those who need it but the pictures of the avalanche damage is scary. She is older, in her seventies and has never hesitated to travel far and wide to help others in disasters, one of her last big assists was Haiti, she was there for months and months nursing the injured and sick. She has been in Nepal for six weeks at a remote medical clinic, then two weeks in Tibet, Lahasa and Everest base camp.
She's an adventurous and brave woman I've always looked up to.

This makes me very sad. My partner and I first became acquainted on a trek in the Annapurna Sanctuary in 1987. I worry about the many people we know in Nepal, from the fellow who led our trek who has since retired to Kathmandu, to the Tamang, Rai, and Sherpa staff we became friendly with on the trek, and their families (not to mention all the inhabitants there we do not know). Still waiting to hear from the trek leader…

https://www.outsideonline.com/1972636/everest-earthquake

"They'll get the most press coverage, but my heart goes out even more to the countless remote, unnamed villages which have probably been wiped out by avalanches or rockslides, and will never even be mentioned."

Tom, exactly what I was thinking. I give people on this site a pass on the issue because of the connection to "backpacking". This critique does not include the situation where a love one is there – that of course is a totally different story. I hope you hear from her soon.

However the comments here and the press coverage which seem to ALWAYS manage to mention the ~20 people who died on Everest in parallel with the many thousands who died in Kathmandu are a perfect case in point of the accusation made that the western media considers things that happen to rich white western people far more important. I know many sherpas are likely to have been among the dead, but the implication in these stories is that it is 'important" because it involve mountain climbers. They often say (did Jennifer say something like this a while back about here experience in the news industry) that one American is worth 100 Europeans, is worth 100,000 third-worlders in terms of likely press coverage of an event. Here is a perfect quantitative example of the emphasis.