1970 Mount Everest disaster


On 5 April 1970, during production of The Man Who Skied Down Everest, six Nepalese Sherpas died on Mount Everest. The deaths were caused by an ice-fall avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall. The icefall, which lies between Base Camp and Camp I, has been the site of numerous fatalities, including those in the 2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche. The Sherpas were assisting the Japanese Skiing Expedition, which included Yuichiro Miura, the first person to ski down Everest. Their names were Mima Norbu, Nima Dorje, Tshering Tarkey, Pasang, Kunga Norbu, and Kami Tshering. Another death occurred in the Japanese expedition four days later when Kyak Tsering was killed by ice falling from a serac.