ANDY BARDON/ NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
on Mt Everest clearly showed that Nepali high altitude workers bear a disproportionate share of risk in Himalayan climbing. The notorious
Khumbu Icefall is a dangerous jumble of seracs and crevasses and prone to avalanches coming off both the Nuptse face and the West Shoulder.
There are protective gear that can sometimes help climbers survive avalanches, but as far as we know most Icefall high altitude workers do not carry any of these potentially life-saving pieces of equipment. Here are some of them:
1. A simple, useful collapsible shovel made of high-strength plastic to dig through avalanche debris.
2. Avalanche Rescue Beacon: Also known as transceivers these can help quickly locate companions buried during an avalanche. In developed countries, these are standard issue for ski patrollers involved in avalanche work. Skilled practitioners can find buried people in about 5 minutes after they first pick up the signal. The best proved rescue equipment is a transceiver for promptly finding the general area of the victim, a probe to confirm and pinpoint the spot and a shovel to dig the debris.
3. Avalanche airbags: The avalanche airbag systems (ABS) may help prevent trauma and burial by the avalanche debris. Like motor vehicle airbags, they are stowed in the outside pocket of the backpacks and are commercially available. The Germans among others have documented proof of their protection against avalanche injuries.
4. The AvaLung: This is a light breathing device also attached to a backpack which prolongs survival during avalanche burial by diverting expired air away from inspired air. The air we breathe in is 21 per cent oxygen and what we breathe out is only 16 per cent oxygen and 5 per cent carbon dioxide. By not mixing inspired and expired air, the victim does not readily asphyxiate (die from lack of oxygen) and remains alive for longer for rescue. Asphyxiation followed by trauma and hypothermia are the main causes of death in avalanche victims.
There may be many other ways to deal with avalanche problems, but if we can implement the use of at least some of these new gadgets, it may prove to be life-saving. The cost should not be a factor as it would be a very small proportion of the money expeditions spend and it would be money well-spent.
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