Costa Mesa resident Bill Burke was returning from a tour of a Buddhist monastery at the base of Mount Everest when he was told about the single deadliest incident ever to strike the mountain.
“Virtually every sherpa has been affected directly or indirectly by this great tragedy,” Burke, 72, said in an audio blog post hours after Friday’s deadly avalanche.
Burke, who began his trek up the world’s tallest mountain last week, described the heartbreak of being at Chinese Base Camp on Friday, surrounded by local sherpa guides and other support staff who lost loved ones in the icy disaster.
At least 13 guides and other local support staff are confirmed dead, with three more still unaccounted for, according to news reports.
“It’s a sad reminder of the fact that sherpas do most of the work, incur most of the risk, suffer most of the losses when these tragedies unfold,” Burke said in his audio post Saturday. “Yet I’m constantly amazed at the resilience of the sherpa community.”
Although Burke was on the opposite side of the mountain from the avalanche, he recounted on his blog, EightSummits.com, how close he felt to the disaster.
Burke said a sherpa named Ang Mingma Sherpa who accompanied Burke on a trek in 2012 lost two of his family members, including a nephew, in the avalanche.
“He came up to me this morning with a smile on his face and asked how I was doing and if there was anything he could do for me,” Burke said in his audio post. “It just amazes me how wonderful these people are and how supportive and how peaceful and loving they are.”
Burke also reported that a sherpa who has become his close friend, Mingma Sherpa, lost his elderly father, a cook who was working on Everest’s south side. Mingma Sherpa took a leave of absence to deal with the tragedy, Burke said.
“Mingma has been my sherpa and friend for five years,” Burke wrote on his blog. “We call each other brothers.”
Burke, a retired attorney and avid thrill-seeker, is on his seventh trip to Mount Everest. In 2009, at 67, Burke became the oldest American on record to reach the summit of Everest.
Burke is forging ahead this week despite Friday’s avalanche. He is seeking to reach the peak of Everest from the north-side route this time, after climbing to the top from the south side in 2009. During his other trips, he said he was unable to reach the top because of various issues, including bad weather and illness.
Burke files regular blog updates on his travels using a satellite phone and a laptop. Each journey takes about six weeks.
“I will be worried until he gets home,” said Burke’s wife, Sharon Burke, 71, who has never accompanied her husband to Everest.
“You just don’t know how stubborn that man is. He’s just so determined, and no one can tell him, ‘We’d rather you not do this,’” she added. “You just have to pray he stays steady and the weather is good.”
Contact the writer: 714-796-7802 or smartindale@ocregister.com
