The eight-thousander season started this week with the first summit successes, but also a tragic news: On Monday, an avalanche on Annapurna in Nepal swept away two Sherpas, and it is now certain: Ngima Tashi and Rima Rinje are dead.
At an altitude of more than 5.600 meters, an avalanche occurred on Monday afternoon above Camp 2 on the Annapurna Two Sherpas were swept away and have been missing ever since. Ngima Tashi and Rima Rinje were on their way to the summit of the 8.091-meter-high Annapurna and were carrying oxygen for an expedition team.
Chhang Dawa Sherpa of the tour operator Seven Summit Treks calls it "a terrible accident." A helicopter search operation began that same day. The route between Camp 2 and Camp 3 was also severely damaged by the avalanche, but no one was injured.
I don't give up hope. We will do our best to find and rescue our men.
Chhang Dawa Sherpa the day after the accident
Search stopped for Recco signals from crevasse
After days of failure, the search for the two Sherpas was called off on Thursday. A video by Chhang Dawa Sherpa shows a Recco search device picking up signals from a crevasse in the snow.
Based on the last location of the two Sherpas, the search team strongly believes that Tashi and Rinje were swept into the crevasse, which had become significantly wider due to the avalanche. A rescue could not be carried out due to the conditions at altitude.
Surviving for so long under such massive amounts of snow and ice is impossible. The search would endanger further lives.
Seven Summit Treks
Start of the Annapurna season overshadowed by avalanche disaster
Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world and one of the most famous peaks in the world and the destination of many mountaineering professionalsJust this week, the 2025 season started there with the first summit success of a Nepalese mountaineering team.
At the same time, Annapurna is considered one of the most dangerous due to the high risk of avalanches. eight-thousander, and is therefore the least climbed. The Nepalese expedition leader Mingma G. described it to explorersweb.com as the “most beautiful and difficult 8.000-meter peak” and drew attention to the particularly difficult conditions on Annapurna this season.
I have never seen Annapurna in such bad condition as this year.
Expedition leader Mingma G.
According to media reports, several teams were climbing near the summit of Annapurna on the day of the avalanche. The section between Camp 2 and Camp 3 at approximately 5.600 meters, which was hit by the avalanche, is considered the riskiest part of the route. To date, 75 people have died on Annapurna, almost half in avalanche accidents.
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Credits cover photo: Seven Summit Treks