On May 21, 2025, Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, became the scene of a heartbreaking tragedy that moved the international community of climbers and unleashed intense debates on platforms like Facebook. At 6 in the morning, while the sun dyed the top of orange and roses, an ice cornice in the dangerous southeast edge collapsed, causing the death of two climbers – the British Daniel Paul Paterson and his Nepalí guide, Pas Tenji Sherpa – by the Kangshung face. The testimonies of the veteran Vinayak guide Jaya Malla and the American climber Mark Baumgartner, along with moving video images widely broadcast online, offer a vivid image of the disaster and its frantic consequences. This analysis deepens the events that led to collapse, the dangers of the crest of the Everest Summit, the role of overcrowding and climate change, and the ongoing efforts to recover the fallen, offering an exciting narrative that resonates among adventure enthusiasts and occasional readers equally.

The fatal moment: the collapse of a cornice at 8,500 meters

At 6:00 a.m. m. From May 21, 2025, the Nepalese guide Vinayak Jaya Malla, an experienced mountaineer certified by the IFMGA, reached the top of Everest for the fourth time, guiding a Peruvian client. The conditions were unusually warm, with temperatures that allowed mesh to take off your gloves to take photos, a luxury rare to 8,848 meters, according to Outsis. The crest of the summit, which extends on both sides of the border between Nepal and China, was covered with fresh snow from a recent storm, sculpted by the wind in fragile cornices that protruded from the Kangshung face, an almost vertical fall of 3,300 meters to the Tibet. While Malla and her client descended beyond the Hillary step, they found a jam of more than 100 climbers, both ascending and descending, tied to a single fixed rope, which caused a bottleneck, according to Explorersweb.

Climbers on the top of the top of Mount Everest.

Suddenly, a rumble broke calm. A snow cornice detached from the crest, precipitating Kangshung’s face with a sound that mesh described as “similar to an earthquake,” according to the Jaya Malla Vinayak website. The American climber Mark Baumgartner, a 49 -year -old technology entrepreneur who crowned his first top of the Himalayas, witnessed the horror: four climbers, tied to the fixed rope, slid 9 meters, but they were dragged backwards, while two others – paterson and Pas Tenji – continued to slide towards the abyss, unchanged from the safety rope, according to the safety rope. “Everything was silent,” Baumgartner recalled, “two people slid towards death.” The tragedy, captured in the mesh videos shared on Instagram and republished on Facebook, generated publications such as: “That is why Everest is so dangerous! Heartbreaking!”, Highlighting the harsh reality of the mountain.

The dangers of the Southeast Crest of Everest

The climbers try to advance in the same security line at 8,500 meters. (Photo: VINAYAK JAYA MALLA)

The southeast edge, the most popular route of Everest from Nepal, is known for its journey in Zigzag beyond the southern summit, at 8,600 meters. With a narrow of just one meter, the route is flanked by a fall to the western CWM on the one hand and the Kangshung face on the other, according to Wikipedia. The Hillary step, a 12 -meter rock wall partially altered by the 2015 Nepal earthquake, increases the challenge, with stepped rocks and changing snow conditions that hinder navigation, according to Outside. This spring, the strong snowfall created deep snow banks, which were flattened by string fixing equipment to form a misleading platform, according to Explorersweb. Malla pointed out the “soft snow and cornices” as immediate alert signs, a danger amplified by high temperatures, probably related to climate change, according to Billi Bierling, director of the Himalayan database.

The overpopulation exacerbated the risks. With a narrow weather window in mid -May, hundreds of climbers rushed to the top, which caused a traffic jam in the edge, according to Nepali Times. The climbers, tied to a single fixed rope, suffered delays when they get rid of to advance slower groups, a maneuver that mesh described as routine but risky, especially when the guides prioritize the speed over safety, according to Outsis. Publications on social networks like “Too many people at Everest: recipe for disaster!” They reflect the growing concern about the amount of permits, since Nepal issued 421 in 2024, according to News.AZ. The combination of unstable snow, overpopulation and high -risk navigation probably contributed to the tragedy, since Pas Tenji and Paterson possibly unleashed to avoid traffic at the fatal moment, according to the mesh story.

The sequelae: paralysis and heroic action

The collapse left the climbers on the crest in shock, frozen in the “zone of death” above 8000 meters, where the lack of oxygen and extreme cold limit survival, according to Wikipedia. Baumgartner described a surreal scene: four climbers were rescued, but Paterson and Pas Tenji had probably disappeared by Kangshung’s face, according to The Guardian. Mesh, recognizing the uselessness of an immediate rescue in the area of ​​death, said: “They were definitely dead”, a harsh reality given the slope of 3330 meters, according to Outsis. The group remained paralyzed for more than 20 minutes, with oxygen diminishing, while fear seized the crest, according to Explorersweb.

A photograph shows Sherpa Pas Tenji standing at the jam moments before the collapse of the cornice. (Photo: VINAYAK JAYA MALLA)

Mesh acted decisively, opening a new path around the collapsed section to resume movement. According to its website, Mesh believes that it avoided more deaths due to lack of oxygen. His videos, which show escalators stranded on both sides of the fall zone, became viral, and Facebook users commented: “Guides like mesh are heroes, saving lives in chaos!” Meanwhile, Baumgartner, shocked, concentrated on descending to the base camp, saying: “I just wanted to get off the mountain,” according to Outsis. The incident highlighted the relentless nature of the death zone, where the rescue is often impossible, according to CBS News.

Recovery efforts and broader implications

The loss of Pas Tenji Sherpa, a 23 -year -old guide that reached the top without oxygen, and Daniel Paul Paterson, a 40 -year -old British climber, deeply affected the climbing community. The strength and white cap of Pas Tenji were vivid in the mesh memory, while Paterson’s partner, Beck Woodhead, launched a Gofundme campaign to finance a recovery mission, raising 118,000 sterling pounds until May 26, according to Sky News. However, the search for the Kangshung face, by Tibet, requires complex coordination with Chinese authorities, a process complicated by diplomatic obstacles, according to Associated Press. Publications on Facebook as “bringing them home: such a tragic loss” reflects the emotional burden of continuous effort.

The tragedy has revived the debate on overpopulation in Everest and climate change. Experts such as Bierling suggest that the increase in temperatures destabilized the cornice, an increasingly common phenomenon as the thaw exposes bodies and garbage, according to CBS News. Nepal’s cleaning campaigns, which recovered five bodies in 2024, highlights the growing hazards of the mountain, according to Himalayan Trekking. The requests for a strict permissions regulation, reflected in publications such as “Nepal needs to limit the number of climbers to save lives!”, They are counteracted by economic arguments, since Everest generates millions for Nepal, according to Nepali Times. The mesh suggestion to install bidirectional fixed strings and flexible climbing windows could mitigate the risks, but a systemic change is still difficult to achieve, according to Nepali Times.

Moments after the collapse, two groups of climbers are found on both sides of the fall zone. (Photo: VINAYAK JAYA MALLA)

Why captivates the public?

May 21 tragedy resonates on social networks because it combines a raw human drama, shocking images and crucial questions about adventure and responsibility. The mesh videos, which show the crowded crest and chaos after collapse, have been shared thousands of times, with subtitles such as “this is the reality of Everest: beautiful but mortal.” Personal stories – Pas Tenji’s talent, Paterson’s adventurous spirit – humanize the loss, while the debate about overpopulation and climate change generates comments such as: “Everest is a circus now, it’s time to rethink it!” The heroism of guides as a mesh, in contrast to the relentless nature of the mountain, makes this story a captivating for the Facebook public, which mixes astonishment, pain and called the reform.

The collapse of the cornice of Mount Everest on May 21, 2025, which claimed the life of Daniel Paul Paterson and Pas Tenji Sherpa, is a crude reminder of the lethal beauty of the mountain. The rapid reaction of Vinayak Jaya Malla avoided a major tragedy, but the loss, amplified by viral videos and testimonies, has left an indelible mark. While recovery efforts face logistics and diplomatic challenges, the incident feeds debates about overpopulation, climate change and ethics of Everest’s marketing. With the mourning and Facebook climbing community full of reactions, the question looms about Everest: How can it be more secure? Share your opinion: should Nepal limit permits? And what role does climate change play in these disasters?