<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce6279c7e80680e096750jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Fresh snow blown off the tops of Kang Nachugo and Tsubugo in Rolwaling Himal is back-lit by the rising sun. Kathmandu photos by Kunda Dixit.</figcaption></figure>After a month in which the whole of Nepal was shrouded in choking smoke from unprecedented wildfires, the rains finally cleared the air and brought the mountains back into view from Pokhara, Kathmandu and other cities.The higher Himalayan regions witnessed rare April snowfall on Wednesday night. Humla, Jumla, Dolpo, Mustang, Manang and Langtang all got up to 40cm of snow in places. The rains in the lower valleys doused the wildfires, and washed the dust and ash from the air.With the haze gone, the sunshine will be unfiltered, bringing summer-like temperatures to Kathmandu as well as other areas of the mountains over the weekend. Meteorologists say there maybe afternoon cloud buildup in the higher valleys, with chances of a few isolated showers.These photographs were taken by Kunda Dixit from Patan in Kathmandu Valley on Friday, 23 April.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce62a9c7e80680e096751jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Gauri Shankar (Chomo Tseringma) from 100km away in Kathmandu at sunrise on Friday morning.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce62d9c7e80680e096752jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>The rays of a rising sun from behind Gauri Shankar (Chomo Tseringma) and the Rolwaling peaks. The shadow of Mt Everest falls on atmospheric dust from behind Kang Nachugo.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce6309c7e80680e096753jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>The Jugal Himal range with Xixapangma in China, Gang Chhenpo, Gurkapo Ri, Dorje Lakpa silhouetted against the dawn sky.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce6329c7e80680e096754jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1500"><figcaption>Kathmandu’s skyline is dwarfed by the looming presence of Phurbi Ghyachu, 40km away on the Nepal-China border.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce6349c7e80680e096755jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Gurkapo Ri, Dorje Lakpa and Gyalzen Peak are bathed in soft morning light above Kathmandu.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce6379c7e80680e096756jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>The morning sun catches the newly-built Dharara with Ganesh Himal on the northern horizon.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce63a9c7e80680e096757jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Machapuchre, Annapurna III, Annapurna IV and II, and Lamjung Himal are reflected on the surface of a hotel swimming pool in Pokhara. Photo: KRISHNA MANI BARAL</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121152/636ce63d9c7e80680e096758jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Photo: KRISHNA MANI BARAL</figcaption></figure>Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/langtang-copes-with-quake-and-covid/"> Langtang copes with quake and Covid</a>, Kunda Dixit

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Fire and ice

<figure><img width="791" height="708" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933749c7e80680e03df9djpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The imposing South Face of Gurja Himal in the Dhaulagiri Range rises narly 4km vertically from the valley below. Photo: JOY STEPHENS</figcaption></figure>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8JpH2-pjmI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disaster which struck the Korean expedition on 10 October</a> brought Gurja Himal (7,193m) and this inaccessible region of Nepal to world attention. A few weeks after the disaster, there is still much uncertainty about what caused the Base Camp at 3,500m to be blown away, killing five Korean and four Nepali climbers.  Gurja Himal is one of the westernmost peaks in the Dhaulagiri massif and has an imposing and unclimbed south face that rises almost 4,000m vertically from the valley below. The Korean expedition hoped to be the first to climb it, and it was led by veteran mountaineer Kim Chang-ho who is famous for being the first Korean to summit all 14 eight-thousanders without bottle oxygen. Disaster struck even before the expedition had started climbing the mountain, and since no one survived we really do not know what happened.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tragic start to Himalayan spring</a>Locals who helped retrieve the bodies said there was no ice or snow where the Base Camp was, and the bodies had been blown across the river to the opposite slope. Tall trees in the narrow valley had been snapped in half, and videos and photographs taken by the rescuers show scars from what look like an avalanche from the rock face above. <figure><img width="1057" height="506" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933779c7e80680e03df9ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Locals recalled that there had been a massive thunderstorm with hail-stones in the area, and there is speculation that the storm whipped up tornado-strength wind that was funneled up the valley. Others said the position of the bodies and remains of the tents are consistent with an air blast from an avalanche that roared down the face, and the reason no ice was found was that it had melted by the time rescuers got there.Villagers also have another explanation, and say they told the expedition to establish their Base Camp lower at 3,000m so to avoid angering the mountain’s guardian deity which they say does not tolerate people defecating nearby. Over the years, they report that several locals have died near the same spot.Sita Chhantyal, sister of the local guide who died in the disaster, said the expedition did everything to propitiate the deity, sacrificing a chicken and a goat. She added: “They made the mistake of locating the camp too close to the face. It made the god angry.Rescuers talk of the bodies flung off the mountain, yet in the camp site they found crates of eggs unbroken. “Not even one egg was cracked,” Chhantyal said.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-oxygen-of-mountaineering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The oxygen of mountaineering</a>, Ted Atkins

Gurja Himal tragedy

mainNavigation

footerNavigation

opinionSubnav

snow-capped-mountains

Fire and ice

Gurja Himal tragedy