Nepal is home to eight of the world’s fourteen 8,000‑metre peaks, drawing thousands of climbers and trekkers every year. But the same majestic mountains that lure adventurers also harbour one of the most unpredictable and lethal natural hazards on Earth: avalanches. According to the Himalayan Database, at least 1,093 people have died on Nepali peaks since 1950, and nearly a third of those fatalities were caused by avalanches. Below is a chronological account of the most devastating avalanche disasters in Nepal’s recorded history.
1922 – First Recorded Avalanche Deaths on Everest
On 7 June 1922, a British Everest expedition was struck by an avalanche on the North Col (Tibetan side). Seven Sherpa porters were killed. This is the earliest documented avalanche‑related fatality on Mount Everest, and it marked the beginning of a long and tragic relationship between Himalayan climbing and avalanche risk.
1970 – Multiple Avalanches in the Khumbu Icefall
In 1970, a series of avalanches in the Khumbu Icefall on Everest’s south side claimed the lives of seven Sherpas. The Icefall, a constantly shifting maze of crevasses and towering seracs between Base Camp and Camp 1, has always been the most hazardous section of the standard South Col route.
1972 – Korean Expedition Annihilated on Manaslu
On 10 April 1972, a Korean expedition attempting the northeast face of Manaslu (8,163 m), the world’s eighth‑highest peak, was hit by a massive avalanche. Fifteen climbers died – four Koreans, one Japanese, and ten Sherpa guides. It remains the worst disaster in Manaslu’s climbing history. Later that same year, another avalanche on the same mountain claimed additional lives.
1996 – Everest’s “Black May”
In May 1996, a violent storm swept across Everest, and eight climbers died within two days. The tragedy was immortalised in Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, becoming the most famous mountaineering disaster in popular culture. At the time, it held the record for the highest single‑season death toll on Everest.
2005 – Kanguru Peak: An Entire Team Lost
On 20 October 2005, an autumn blizzard hit Kanguru Peak (6,981 m). A team of seven French climbers and eleven Nepali guides was caught in an avalanche during the storm; all eighteen perished. It remains one of the single deadliest mountaineering accidents in Nepal’s history in terms of the total number of people killed in one incident.
2012 – New Tragedies on Manaslu and Annapurna
On 23 September 2012, an avalanche struck Manaslu at about 6,888 m, sweeping through tents where climbers were sleeping. At least nine people died, including four French nationals, with several others reported missing. The disaster came exactly forty years after the 1972 Manaslu tragedy.
Earlier that year, on 5 May, a large avalanche in the Annapurna massif triggered a glacial flood that swept down the Seti River, killing at least thirteen people in a separate incident far from the climbing routes.
2014 – Everest Icefall: The Sherpas’ Darkest Day
On the morning of 18 April 2014, at around 6:30 a.m., a massive avalanche thundered down the Khumbu Icefall. Sixteen Sherpa guides were buried under tons of ice and debris while ferrying equipment for commercial expeditions. At the time, it was the deadliest single accident ever recorded on Everest. The tragedy forced the cancellation of the entire 2014 climbing season and sparked a landmark protest by Sherpas demanding better working conditions and insurance coverage.
October 2014 – Annapurna Blizzard: Nepal’s Worst Trekking Disaster
In mid‑October 2014, the remnants of Cyclone Hudhud brought an unprecedented blizzard to the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri regions, dumping nearly 1.8 metres of snow in just twelve hours. The ensuing avalanches killed at least 43 people – including at least 21 trekkers and three local herders – while 175 were injured and 50 reported missing. This is widely considered Nepal’s deadliest trekking and mountaineering accident in history.
2015 – The Gorkha Earthquake Triggers Everest Avalanche
On 25 April 2015, a magnitude‑8.1 earthquake struck Nepal, shaking the entire Himalayan range. The tremors unleashed a colossal avalanche that swept through the Khumbu Icefall and obliterated Everest Base Camp, killing at least nineteen people. This surpassed the 2014 toll and became the deadliest avalanche event on Everest. Later that same year, sixteen additional Sherpas lost their lives in another avalanche on Everest.
2018 – Autumn Storms Claim Nine Lives
In October 2018, a fierce blizzard hit several Nepali climbing routes, killing nine mountaineers. It was the most lethal season on Nepali peaks since the 2015 Base Camp disaster.
2020 – Annapurna Circuit Avalanche
On 17 January 2020, an avalanche swept through the Annapurna Circuit trekking route. Four South Korean trekkers and three Nepali guides were reported missing; their bodies were recovered in May of that year.
2025 – Yalung Ri and Pambari Hill
In November 2025, a multiday blizzard triggered two separate avalanche incidents in the Nepali mountains, killing a total of nine people. On 4 November, an avalanche hit the base camp of Yalung Ri (5,630 m), killing seven climbers – including three Italians, two Nepalis, one German, and one French national. Just before that, two Italian mountaineers had died in a storm while attempting nearby Pambari Hill (6,887 m).
2026 – Nepal‑Tibet Border Glacier Collapse: The Largest Catastrophe
On 26 August 2026, a massive glacier collapse occurred along the Nepal‑Tibet border, sending a torrent of ice, rock, and mud into the Linde River. The resulting flash flood devastated villages and trekking routes on both sides of the frontier. As of 28 August, the confirmed death toll in Nepal alone had surpassed 550, with more than 2,400 people still missing. This is by far the worst disaster of its kind in Nepal since the 2015 earthquake – and its scale dwarfs all previous avalanche and flood events combined.
A Sobering Century
From the seven Sherpas lost on Everest’s North Col in 1922 to the thousands affected by the 2026 glacial outburst, Nepal’s avalanche history spans more than a hundred years. One stark lesson emerges: no high‑altitude region is immune to avalanche danger, and climate change – with its rapidly thawing glaciers and increasingly erratic weather – is making these events more frequent and more devastating. For anyone drawn to the beauty of the Himalayas, respect for nature and a humble acknowledgment of its power remain the first and most essential rules of survival.
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