Everest guide had brush with disaster in Nepal quake
RENO, Nev. — Moments before a magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Nepal on April 25, killing an estimated 7,000 people, the mood among Melissa Kaida's Everest Base Camp trekking group was one of upbeat anticipation.
Kaida, 33, of Incline Village, and Erik Forsythe, 46, of Crested Butte, Colo., both guides with Nevada-based Tusker Trail Adventures, had spent the previous 10 days leading a group of 14 clients from Phakding, elevation 8,702 feet, in the Khumbu region of Nepal to Gorak Shep, elevation 16,942.
They were a mere two hours' hike from Everest Base Camp, the next stop on their scheduled, 18-day trek. The plan was to top out at Kala Pattar, a peak with an elevation of 18,513 feet that would provide views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse before beginning the trek back down.
By the time they finished lunch on Day 11 there had only been some minor deviation from the schedule, just enough to delay them a few hours.
Advance team for 80 medical volunteers arrives in Nepal
Several inches of snow had fallen the previous evening, slowing the hiking, then there were some minor medical issues and a detour from the lodge to retrieve clean drinking water for lunch.
"Our group had kind of dispersed and half of us were in the lodge eating area, the other group had gone into their own personal bedrooms to start repacking for our trip to base camp," said Kaida, describing the last moments of relaxed normalcy before the quake struck.
Then the ground started to shake and everything changed.
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa Kaida, bottom row second from left, is seen in the days prior to the earthquake in Nepal. Kaida and her group were only a couple of hours away by foot from Everest base camp when the earthquake and subsequent avalanches struck the region. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
The mud-and-brick lodge, which had been a place of refuge seconds earlier, became a potential trap. Guests and guides hustled outside into the open-air courtyard.
"Everybody in the lodge ended up running out of the building by the time it had stopped," said Kaida. "We did a big head count and made sure everybody was there."
Any relief the group felt was short-lived, though. That's because the quake shook loose an avalanche of ice, rock and wind from Mt. Pumori, elevation 23,490 feet, killing at least 20 people and overwhelming Everest Base Camp, elevation 17,585.
Kaida's group saw the powder cloud from the slide and realized it was heading for Gorak Shep.
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa Kaida is seen hiking in Nepal. Kaida and her group were only a couple of hours away by foot from Everest base camp when the earthquake and subsequent avalanches struck the region. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
"The cloud was so high, it was probably hundreds of feet high. At that point everybody knew it was definitely going to hit us," Kaida said. "Everybody was running, like a mad rush to get back into the shelter."
The ensuing moments were a blur of "avalanche" screams and a rush to funnel through one small door leading back into the lodge.
101-year-old man rescued in Nepal
Kaida said a strong wind ahead of the powder cloud shook the building followed by a settling of fine snow that left a blanket of white over everything.
"I would say it was minutes between the earthquake happening and the powder cloud coming and then all of us basically hugging each other," she said.
Not much more time passed before Kaida and the rest of the group began to process what happened and how many people might have been injured or worse.
RENO, Nev. — Moments before a magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Nepal on April 25, killing an estimated 7,000 people, the mood among Melissa Kaida's Everest Base Camp trekking group was one of upbeat anticipation.
Kaida, 33, of Incline Village, and Erik Forsythe, 46, of Crested Butte, Colo., both guides with Nevada-based Tusker Trail Adventures, had spent the previous 10 days leading a group of 14 clients from Phakding, elevation 8,702 feet, in the Khumbu region of Nepal to Gorak Shep, elevation 16,942.
They were a mere two hours' hike from Everest Base Camp, the next stop on their scheduled, 18-day trek. The plan was to top out at Kala Pattar, a peak with an elevation of 18,513 feet that would provide views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse before beginning the trek back down.
By the time they finished lunch on Day 11 there had only been some minor deviation from the schedule, just enough to delay them a few hours.
Advance team for 80 medical volunteers arrives in Nepal
Several inches of snow had fallen the previous evening, slowing the hiking, then there were some minor medical issues and a detour from the lodge to retrieve clean drinking water for lunch.
"Our group had kind of dispersed and half of us were in the lodge eating area, the other group had gone into their own personal bedrooms to start repacking for our trip to base camp," said Kaida, describing the last moments of relaxed normalcy before the quake struck.
Then the ground started to shake and everything changed.
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa Kaida, bottom row second from left, is seen in the days prior to the earthquake in Nepal. Kaida and her group were only a couple of hours away by foot from Everest base camp when the earthquake and subsequent avalanches struck the region. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
The mud-and-brick lodge, which had been a place of refuge seconds earlier, became a potential trap. Guests and guides hustled outside into the open-air courtyard.
"Everybody in the lodge ended up running out of the building by the time it had stopped," said Kaida. "We did a big head count and made sure everybody was there."
Any relief the group felt was short-lived, though. That's because the quake shook loose an avalanche of ice, rock and wind from Mt. Pumori, elevation 23,490 feet, killing at least 20 people and overwhelming Everest Base Camp, elevation 17,585.
Kaida's group saw the powder cloud from the slide and realized it was heading for Gorak Shep.
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa Kaida is seen hiking in Nepal. Kaida and her group were only a couple of hours away by foot from Everest base camp when the earthquake and subsequent avalanches struck the region. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
"The cloud was so high, it was probably hundreds of feet high. At that point everybody knew it was definitely going to hit us," Kaida said. "Everybody was running, like a mad rush to get back into the shelter."
The ensuing moments were a blur of "avalanche" screams and a rush to funnel through one small door leading back into the lodge.
101-year-old man rescued in Nepal
Kaida said a strong wind ahead of the powder cloud shook the building followed by a settling of fine snow that left a blanket of white over everything.
"I would say it was minutes between the earthquake happening and the powder cloud coming and then all of us basically hugging each other," she said.
Not much more time passed before Kaida and the rest of the group began to process what happened and how many people might have been injured or worse.
Everest guide had brush with disaster in Nepal quake
RENO, Nev. — Moments before a magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Nepal on April 25, killing an estimated 7,000 people, the mood among Melissa Kaida's Everest Base Camp trekking group was one of upbeat anticipation.
Kaida, 33, of Incline Village, and Erik Forsythe, 46, of Crested Butte, Colo., both guides with Nevada-based Tusker Trail Adventures, had spent the previous 10 days leading a group of 14 clients from Phakding, elevation 8,702 feet, in the Khumbu region of Nepal to Gorak Shep, elevation 16,942.
They were a mere two hours' hike from Everest Base Camp, the next stop on their scheduled, 18-day trek. The plan was to top out at Kala Pattar, a peak with an elevation of 18,513 feet that would provide views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse before beginning the trek back down.
By the time they finished lunch on Day 11 there had only been some minor deviation from the schedule, just enough to delay them a few hours.
Advance team for 80 medical volunteers arrives in Nepal
Several inches of snow had fallen the previous evening, slowing the hiking, then there were some minor medical issues and a detour from the lodge to retrieve clean drinking water for lunch.
"Our group had kind of dispersed and half of us were in the lodge eating area, the other group had gone into their own personal bedrooms to start repacking for our trip to base camp," said Kaida, describing the last moments of relaxed normalcy before the quake struck.
Then the ground started to shake and everything changed.
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa Kaida, bottom row second from left, is seen in the days prior to the earthquake in Nepal. Kaida and her group were only a couple of hours away by foot from Everest base camp when the earthquake and subsequent avalanches struck the region. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
The mud-and-brick lodge, which had been a place of refuge seconds earlier, became a potential trap. Guests and guides hustled outside into the open-air courtyard.
"Everybody in the lodge ended up running out of the building by the time it had stopped," said Kaida. "We did a big head count and made sure everybody was there."
Any relief the group felt was short-lived, though. That's because the quake shook loose an avalanche of ice, rock and wind from Mt. Pumori, elevation 23,490 feet, killing at least 20 people and overwhelming Everest Base Camp, elevation 17,585.
Kaida's group saw the powder cloud from the slide and realized it was heading for Gorak Shep.
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa Kaida is seen hiking in Nepal. Kaida and her group were only a couple of hours away by foot from Everest base camp when the earthquake and subsequent avalanches struck the region. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
"The cloud was so high, it was probably hundreds of feet high. At that point everybody knew it was definitely going to hit us," Kaida said. "Everybody was running, like a mad rush to get back into the shelter."
The ensuing moments were a blur of "avalanche" screams and a rush to funnel through one small door leading back into the lodge.
101-year-old man rescued in Nepal
Kaida said a strong wind ahead of the powder cloud shook the building followed by a settling of fine snow that left a blanket of white over everything.
"I would say it was minutes between the earthquake happening and the powder cloud coming and then all of us basically hugging each other," she said.
Not much more time passed before Kaida and the rest of the group began to process what happened and how many people might have been injured or worse.
RENO, Nev. — Moments before a magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Nepal on April 25, killing an estimated 7,000 people, the mood among Melissa Kaida's Everest Base Camp trekking group was one of upbeat anticipation.
Kaida, 33, of Incline Village, and Erik Forsythe, 46, of Crested Butte, Colo., both guides with Nevada-based Tusker Trail Adventures, had spent the previous 10 days leading a group of 14 clients from Phakding, elevation 8,702 feet, in the Khumbu region of Nepal to Gorak Shep, elevation 16,942.
They were a mere two hours' hike from Everest Base Camp, the next stop on their scheduled, 18-day trek. The plan was to top out at Kala Pattar, a peak with an elevation of 18,513 feet that would provide views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse before beginning the trek back down.
By the time they finished lunch on Day 11 there had only been some minor deviation from the schedule, just enough to delay them a few hours.
Advance team for 80 medical volunteers arrives in Nepal
Several inches of snow had fallen the previous evening, slowing the hiking, then there were some minor medical issues and a detour from the lodge to retrieve clean drinking water for lunch.
"Our group had kind of dispersed and half of us were in the lodge eating area, the other group had gone into their own personal bedrooms to start repacking for our trip to base camp," said Kaida, describing the last moments of relaxed normalcy before the quake struck.
Then the ground started to shake and everything changed.
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa Kaida, bottom row second from left, is seen in the days prior to the earthquake in Nepal. Kaida and her group were only a couple of hours away by foot from Everest base camp when the earthquake and subsequent avalanches struck the region. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
The mud-and-brick lodge, which had been a place of refuge seconds earlier, became a potential trap. Guests and guides hustled outside into the open-air courtyard.
"Everybody in the lodge ended up running out of the building by the time it had stopped," said Kaida. "We did a big head count and made sure everybody was there."
Any relief the group felt was short-lived, though. That's because the quake shook loose an avalanche of ice, rock and wind from Mt. Pumori, elevation 23,490 feet, killing at least 20 people and overwhelming Everest Base Camp, elevation 17,585.
Kaida's group saw the powder cloud from the slide and realized it was heading for Gorak Shep.
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa
The Tusker Trail Adventures group guided by Melissa Kaida is seen hiking in Nepal. Kaida and her group were only a couple of hours away by foot from Everest base camp when the earthquake and subsequent avalanches struck the region. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
"The cloud was so high, it was probably hundreds of feet high. At that point everybody knew it was definitely going to hit us," Kaida said. "Everybody was running, like a mad rush to get back into the shelter."
The ensuing moments were a blur of "avalanche" screams and a rush to funnel through one small door leading back into the lodge.
101-year-old man rescued in Nepal
Kaida said a strong wind ahead of the powder cloud shook the building followed by a settling of fine snow that left a blanket of white over everything.
"I would say it was minutes between the earthquake happening and the powder cloud coming and then all of us basically hugging each other," she said.
Not much more time passed before Kaida and the rest of the group began to process what happened and how many people might have been injured or worse.
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