On May 9, two Sherpa climbers fell into a crevasse on Everest when the ladders they were crossing collapsed. The incident was captured on video by Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki’s film crew.
Ladders are used to cross the deep crevasses in the Khumbu Icefall. Because the Icefall is constantly moving, the ladders need to be adjusted daily. In this case, it appears the ladder was too close to the edge. When the second Sherpa moved towards it, the ladder slipped into the crevasse and pulled the two climbers with it.
This is an extremely rare occurrence on the world’s highest peak, and it’s lucky that no one was hurt. There’s a reason that climbers always clip into the safety lines—here it probably prevented a disaster.
Â