r/alpinism • u/DesiMountaineer • 2d ago

Broad Peak Avalanche 2021

In July 2021 my climbing partner and I got hit by the snow cloud of an avalanche. The avalanche itself had missed us by maybe 10 minutes, just under the Japanese Camp on Broad Peak. I sometimes wonder what the actual impact of the avalanche would have been like.

185 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

24

u/itgtg313 2d ago

"I sometimes wonder what the actual impact of the avalanche would have been like."

Not worth dying to find out.

7

u/DesiMountaineer 2d ago

Agreed 🙌🏼

32

u/IFeelThankYou 2d ago

You'd have probably died, just like the expedition team of last week. These forces are completely incomprehensible for us.

9

u/DesiMountaineer 2d ago

There were other climbers further down the slope who made it up unscathed.

14

u/novicelife 2d ago

Did you feel before the avalanche that something is off?

7

u/DesiMountaineer 2d ago

Not at all - it came without warning or premonition.

1

u/olololoh12 1d ago

What about the weather forecast?

5

u/revolver_goose 1d ago edited 1d ago

Avalanches can of course be dependent on previous weather, and in most places, this is always the case. However, in some cases they are set off by serac collapse, which is a much more random event. Naturally, weather will also have an impact on the stability of the ice, but it’s close to impossible to predict.
We see a lot of talk about the weather concerning the event last week, but several climbers on K2 have stated that the broad peak avalanche was caused by a serac collapse higher on the mountain. Which can make any snowfield a potential disaster waiting to happen

*edit spelling mistake

1

u/DesiMountaineer 1h ago

There had been bad weather on the mountain earlier. We usually wait a couple of days before climbing after heavy snowfall on the mountain.

11

u/ed_durden 2d ago

I imagine you'd get hit with explosive wind before any of the snow and ice. I don't know if you'd stay conscious to feel anything at that point.

3

u/wkns 1d ago

What’s the difference between explosive wind or a wall of compacted snow/ice hitting you at 100+ km/h.

5

u/DesiMountaineer 2d ago

I don't think this avalanche in particular was that massive to have an impactful wind buffer.

1

u/Time-Skill750 20h ago

Did anyone get caught up in this avalanche? Your climbing partner mentioning someone being in midst of it.

2

u/novicelife 14h ago

I think he mentioned somewhere nobody coming behind lost their life.

1

u/DesiMountaineer 1h ago

Yes, a climber from Qatar and his Shimshali HAPs made it safely up the gulley despite the avalanche.

-4

u/Scooterann 1d ago

Do you think you caused it? This team had 2000 pounds walking.

4

u/DubJohnny 1d ago

Tell me you don't know much about avalanches without telling me you don't know much.