Smart idea U.S. Forest Service? It took a huge avalanche to put a stop to it. They did not have to wait for a huge quake to hit lucky for them.

Big mountains and active volcanos (esp. those that have huge faults running through them) and earthquakes don't exactly go well together I'd say.

& recommend.

Frozen (many unidentified) bodies scattered about, knapsacks, tents, oxygen masks, all sorts of litter... How sad it is we can't simply revere this breathtaking mountain instead of turning it into an enormous garbage heap. Some, however, have braved the elements to begin removal of what has been left behind.

TIME: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed Mount Everest for the first time 60 years ago today. Climbing is more common now — and the mountain has become a trash heap

http://science.time.com/2013/05/29/60-years-after-man-first-climbed-everest-the-mountain-is-a-mess/

POO Glacier at camp one (I think) that is slowly sliding down the mountain...Along with all the other crap you mentioned. Now add who knows how many more bodies to the total already up there...SAD on many levels.

(the link) mentioned excrement as but one of the myriad items befouling the area.

Yes, very sad.

Stop treating the mountain like it's a Disneyland-Waste Management Inc. hybrid.

As your wonderful signature line states-- one of my favorites.

"Man" is like the proverbial bull in a china shop.

Not many humans have ever survived against ferocious nature.

It's on the south side of Mt. Shasta, off California Route 89.

Directions to Mt. Shasta Ski Park

It was to be at the summit of the mountain near a sacred spring. Those plans are now gone as the avalanche that occurred was in 1996 I believe it was closed the area off once and for all. Today you can only get as far as about 4,500 ft. up on that side of the mountain.

Thank god for the power of mother nature in this case!

camps? That article is surely sketchy for an ap report, IMO.

I comment on this aspect of the earthquake, not meaning to take away anything from the epicenter of this quake and the more widely spread and unfathomable human disaster...

Helicopters cannot go above base camp. Too little air to hold them up.

'Numerous climbers remained stranded Sunday on routes above base camp, but teams in contact by satellite telephones said no one was believed to be in danger or running short of supplies.'

So, maybe they'll be able to struggle down on their own. Up and over the blocked Khumbu icefall.

a rope bridge to bring the climbers to safety. The dual ropes allow climbers to come down over treacherous terrain -- albeit one at a time. It is a long process and could take as much as half a day per climber.

Long time ago when I was climbing in Uttarakhand, we had to do something similar on Chaukhamba glacier's icefall to bring injured climbers down.

I hope they all come back without a scratch.

although he obviously wasn't buried. Was that a combination of shock and thin air? Anyone know?

Pretty horrifying video as I'm watching safe in my home with the fire burning.

"Thin air" is a bit of a misnomer. Denver has "thin air." Everest is almost to the point of "atmospherically challenged." And it's cold. very cold. I imagine being smacked by an ocean of snow traveling faster than the speed of sound doesn't make things any warmer. And, yes, there's the panic factor.

it's a terrifying video

I am very concerned about those climbers still stranded up there. Dear God I hope they get out! And yet there's a part of me that goes directly to "maybe this is Mother Nature telling people they really don't belong here"?

I've seen reports of so many tourists and climbers and visitors and thrill-seekers up there at times that they leave an eyesore of "civilization" behind. Litter all over the place, junk and discards and plastic and crap and trash cluttering the grounds. Tourism literally creates crowds during climbing season. It overcrowds those slopes and people start taking their safety for granted. Especially the relative novices. There was one photo I remember where there was a ridiculously long line of climbers snaking up the mountain. There was literally a CROWD on that mountain. I couldn't believe how many people were up there.

On edit - HAH - I just saw Post 6. THAT was one of the photos I saw. The mountain is nothing but a garbage dump.

WTF, people?????

bucket list, but who are not really climbers, being trapped above will be disastrous. Many of the prepared rope routes have been obliterated or damaged. They are now way out of their league.

I suspect, they'll work out a way down.

I was getting in shape and saving money and vacation time for an Everest adventure. There has been talk through the years that good commercial guides could get someone to the top if they were in really good shape since Everest isn't necessarily a "technical" climb according to most real climbers. Who wouldn't want to stand on the top of the world, even if it's just for a few minutes?

Scenarios like this are what my wife used to talk me out of my folly.

good weather, good climbing friends, get to the top and get down in great shape.

These people had an earthquake and an avalanche, maybe more than the one we know of. The weather also looked bad that day, kind of a "greyout."