Viva! Snowstorm above Annapurna

Nepal has 2 tourist peaks in its season, where you find ideal conditions for trekking in the mountains. The first one starts in April and lasts till the end of May, the second one starts on October and ends in the end of November. In those time spans, the weather is nicest. But you still have to be prepared for unforeseen surprises. In the middle of October 2014, in the middle of the tourist season’s peak, where was, out of nowhere, a worsening of weather conditions, which took over the region around the middle Nepal Himalayas. Such worsening conditions, although the autumn weather was quite stable that year, is nothing special. But this time, as it hit full-force on the region of the mountain range Annapurna, it was additionally stimulated by the remains of the Hudhud cyclone, which wreaked havoc above the Indian plains. Because of the strong rainfall, even the tourist city of Pokhara, which lies 800m above sea level, suffered broken powerlines thanks to the landslides. On the coast of the Pokhara Lake it even took 4 lives with it.


5400 m high Thorong La Pass, where most of the people in autumn 2014 died.
But it was a lot worse for the higher lying regions of the Himalayas. On the well-known trekking road around Annapurna, the heavy snowfall trapped countless hikers. In 24 hours snow accumulated, as deep at 2 meters, and this on 500m above sea level. Better and worse prepared and equipped hikers were, all of a sudden, trapped in perilous situations. Mainly because the snow blizzard, and also because of the wrong decisions some of the guides and hikers on the broad region of Annapurna made, more than 40 people died. About one third of those were foreign tourists, and the other ones their hired carriers, local inhabitants. Everybody that was seized by the heavy blizzard on the upper roads was trying to get to lover grounds to save themselves. The better organized and equipped ones also made it. For many days they made their way through deep snow and fought their way down, all while sustaining heavy frostbite. Some of them were saved from death thanks to the intervention of the Nepal helicopter rescue team.


Even in the deep inners of the valley we still found some remains of landslides.
14 days after the tragedy, I visited this area. The sunny mountainsides around 5400m of the high lying mountain pass Thorong La were already dry. The shady parts of the mountains were still covered in 1 meter deep snow and some parts even more. The tremendous landslides filled the river-bed of Thorong Khola and Marsiandi and covered them with very broad snowy bridges. Witnesses told me how the atmosphere calmed down in an eerie way, just before the catastrophe stroke. The all-time present wind suddenly sufficed. Birds and other animals, which sensed what is coming, fled and brought themselves to safety. As night fell, the inhabitants of the Gundang settlement, 4000m above sea level, saw the first snowflakes falling and started to go to sleep. And as they woke the next morning, the snow accumulated and was already chest-high.


Normal dry and easy roads become quite hard to pass after snow falls.
Every accident leaves a deep impression on me, because the Himalayan region is so dear to me. And even more, since the accident had so many dimensions to it. The cause of this sudden change is yet unknown and only hard to pinpoint. But I believe that good organized groups and other hikers, who would have had sufficient equipment and would not have taken the hike lightly, in normal conditions, it would not be such a hard hike to undertake and the victims would be far less. I hope that their tragedy will serve as a good warning for everyone wishing to visit this magical Himalayan region, so that they responsibly prepare themselves for the road and foresee everything, which might take place - even such extreme weather-changing conditions. And of course, that the trekking organizers see these risks in the future and what dangers they pose for the hired carriers and their hikers.


Everyday pastures around the Tilicho Lake were covered in more than 1 and half meters of snow.