“The mountain suddenly changed and felt as if the whole mountain had fallen on us.”

57 year old Italian mountaineer Tarcisio Bellò burst into tears recalling the helplessness of watching one of his Pakistani colleagues as he swept away by an avalanche at an altitude of around 5,300 meters (17,390 feet) on June 17th.

The Seatle Times reports Bellò was one of five climbers that narrowly survived the expedition on a peak in the Ishkoman Valley where the group was caught in an avalanche. Pakistani Mohammad Imtiaz was killed in the slide and the rest of the group sustained injuries and required rescue from an army helicopter.

This is truly a heart wrenching account of a tragic accident but it’s important to understand the inherent risks we subject ourselves to everytime we enter the mountains. Our deepest sympathies are with Mohammad Imtiaz’s family and friends.

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