Avalanche in Peru Kills Three | One Survives 24-Hours in 65′ Deep Crevasse

An avalanche came down on four famous Estonian mountaineers in Peru’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.  

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

Annemai’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.

This Estonian group of mountaineers included Tarmo Riga, Estonia’s best mountain climber with over 20 years of climbing the world’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.

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.