A month after the catastrophic flood on the Bhote Kosi-Trisuli, Nepal has been battered by a late monsoon storm that caused a deadly avalanche on a mountaineering peak on Sunday, landslides hit settlements and floods destroyed homes across the country.
The massive avalanche hit the base camp of Himlung Himal (7,126m) in the Nar Phu area of Manang. Fourteen Nepali guides and support staff who were preparing for the arrival of foreign clients are missing.
There have been numerous fatalities across the country as landslides buried homes, swollen rivers swept away settlements along the Kali Gandaki, Tinau and other rivers as the storm moved from east to west. Four of the five highway arteries connecting Kathmandu to the rest of the country have been blocked by landslides.
Expeditions withdrew from Manaslu due to blizzard conditions and up to 3m of snowfall at base camp that buried tents. The route up the world’s eighth highest mountain was said to be too treacherous for the climbers to go up due to avalanche danger. There was still one expedition holding out at base camp of Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh-highest mountain.
There have been rescue attempts on Himlung, but the weather north of Manang valley is said to be still bad. There has been a rush on peaks like Himlung because of a new rule that climbers trying to get permits for Mt Everest must have climbed at least one peak above 7,000m in Nepal.
Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Pasang Sherpa, Ashish Gurung and Pemba Tsiring Sherpa arrived at Himlung base camp in a rescue helicopter, most of them are IFMGA-certified mountain guides. But although the weather started clearing late on Sunday, darkness was hampering rescue efforts at the base of the peak.
One of the expedition organisers is Himalayan Holidays Nepal and it had 22 staff setting up base camp for international climbers who were delayed by bad weather. The two kitchen staff were with another expedition company, Imagine Nepal Treks.
“The current conditions on Manaslu have reminded us once again that, in the mountains, nature always has the final word,” wrote Dawa Sherpa from Seven Summit Treks, announcing that the Manaslu 2026 climb is officially closed.
Unlike the disappointment with Manaslu, some climbers at Dhaulagiri base camp have not completely given up, and are waiting out the weather amidst heavy snowfall. The weather in central Nepal is expected to clear up from Monday.
“We will wait until September 29, then assess the situation based on the latest weather reports before deciding what to do next,” writes Lakpa Sherpa from 14 Peaks Expeditions
Kathmandu Valley got sunshine, blue skies and mountain views for the first time in a week. But heavy rainfall in the catchment of the Bagmati and its tributaries meant that riverside settlements were inundated.