Facing the mountain's anger

 July 30, mid-day. 

An avalanche struck the Broad Peack, the twelfth highest summit of the world, located in Pakistan. 

In its rage, the avalanche took a group of 10 climbers led by a famous mountaineer, Nims Dai, know for having climbed 14 times the summits over 8 000m. 

I heard the news only today and followed closely the updates of the news, sometimes with sadness, sometimes with a light of hope. 

Today, July 31, the night has fallen over the Himalayan chain and with it the terrible news no one wanted to hear: out of 10 climbers, 9 bodies were spotted including Nims Dai. The research for the last one, the Pakistani guide, is still ongoing. 

The group included; 6 Nepalese, 1 Pakistani, 1 American, 1 Omanese (the first Arabic woman to climb one of the highest summits in the world) and 1 Chinese. 

No one saw the avalanche coming. No one saw the mountain's anger, ready to strike. It makes reflect on how small we are in front of it and how much we must respect the mountain, almost ask it to be allowed to climb to its top. I do believe that mountains are alive, that nature is an entity we must respect and aknowledge as superior to us. 

To go to the mountains, the first thing to learn is humility. 

Despite this tragedy, I'm not afraid to go to the Everest Base Camp, to keep going with my project. 

I'm not going to climb and have my selfie at the top of the Everest. I'm not a climber and I know it. Those who have a true passion for the mountain but have a kind of willing to conquer it is something that I don't really understand but I respect it. We all are different and have different goals in our lives. Mine is to try to calm the Everest by cleaning it so Sagarmatha will keep accepting the climbers.

Today, my thoughts are with the families and friends of those taken away by the Broad Peak. I also think of the bravery of the rescue team who restlessly works on bringing the bodies down so their families can have them back.

May they rest in peace and don't forget...never underestimate the power of the mountain.

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