Avalanche in Peru Kills Three | One Survives 24-Hours in 65โ€ฒ Deep Crevasse

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19,800-foot Tocllaraju in Peru's Cordillera Blanca.
19,800-foot Tocllaraju in Peruโ€™s Cordillera Blanca.

An avalanche came down on four famous Estonian mountaineers in Peruโ€™s Cordillera Blanca last Sunday.  The avalanche threw the four mountaineers into a 65-foot deep crevasse.  One of the Estonians has been rescued from the crevasse.  The other three climbers are still missing and assumed to have perished.

The avalanche occurred at 19,400-feet (only 300-feet from the summit) on Tocllaraju peak in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru this past Sunday.  

19,800-foot Tocllaraju in Peru's Cordillera Blanca.
19,800-foot Tocllaraju in Peruโ€™s Cordillera Blanca.

The lone survivor, Annemai Martson, was miraculously not covered by snow.  The other three mountaineers were buried under snow and have not been located.

Annemaiโ€™s survival is a miracle.  She survived over a day trapped in a crevasse at 19,400-feet.  It took rescuers 18-hours to get her down the mountain to safety.

19,800-foot Tocllaraju in Peru's Cordillera Blanca.
19,800-foot Tocllaraju in Peruโ€™s Cordillera Blanca.

This Estonian group of mountaineers included Tarmo Riga, Estoniaโ€™s best mountain climber with over 20 years of climbing the worldโ€™s highest peaks.  The climbers in this group ranged in age from 36 to 45-years-old.

Estonia is a European nation of 1.3 million people that has no mountains.

19,800-foot Tocllaraju in Peru's Cordillera Blanca.
19,800-foot Tocllaraju in Peruโ€™s Cordillera Blanca.

Peru takes climber and skier lives every year.  We lost famed skier Arne Backstrom there in 2010 on Nevada Pisco.  In 2012, two US climbers perished in a fall there on Palcaraju.

Climbing/skiing season is May until September each year.


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