The families of two American Jews began breathing again early Monday after Danny Cole and Mendy Losh “phoned home” from a small village thousands of feet high on Mount Everest to say they’re still safe.
The two men began their trek up the mountain last week, using a company called “Himalayan Glacier” for their Sherpa guide, Gadul. Cole called his wife from Lower Base Camp just before the start of the Sabbath on Friday afternoon, local time, says Zalmen Schreiber, a family member who spoke exclusively with JewishPress.com. But neither the family nor the tour company had made contact with anyone in the group since Friday.
Cole,39, from Brooklyn, and Losh, 38, a California resident, are both seasoned trekkers. But neither expected the mountain to come crashing down on their heads over the Sabbath.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake set off a massive avalanche all across Nepal, including the vast mountain range known as the Himalayas – and Mount Everest, where the two Chabad men were. An aftershock of 6.7 on the Richter scale followed just hours later. . “They were on the lower trail,” Schreiber explained. “Those who were on the higher bases when the earthquake hit were killed and injured.”
Physically both were fine, and “they have nourishment and water. But they are exhausted from the trek. They wandered around for days trying to locate a satellite phone, looking for electricity or internet connection. They finally reached us with wifi,” he said.
The death toll has risen to more than 4,000 so far in the wake of the two earthquakes. Among the dead are four U.S. citizens, according to the State Department, including a Google executive and a film maker. Thousands more are injured and there are countless missing.
Initially, there was “tremendous fear,” Schreiber said. “They were at base camp, which is a resting point about 20,000 feet up the mountain. They are waiting to be rescued by helicopter when weather permits.” Weather so far does not permit, however; winds are high and there have been more than 100 aftershocks. Meteorologists are forecasting snow for Tuesday.
“Because of bad weather, there’s been no way to get to them till now,” Schreiber said. “They’re going to try to send in a helicopter as soon as the weather clears. Another option is to guide them through to another city, a hike of two or three days away,” he said.
The pair were at the small village of Gokyo, headed towards Thaknak. With only two routes to choose from – one involving a day-long hike and the other, a more scenic three-day trek – the two men were forced to decide which path might provide a better chance for connecting with others, reaching an internet signal or finding a satellite phone.
“Nepal was cut off from the world,” Schreiber explained.
The Kathmandu Chabad House, meanwhile, has been the coordination center for search and rescue teams arriving from Israel such as the IDF, ZAKA and other groups. All are working together with volunteers coordinated by Chabad emissaries Rabbi Chezki Lifshitz and his wife Chani. Also on site are officials from Israel’s foreign ministry.
But communications are “blurred” at times due to damage from the earthquakes and the bad weather, Schreiber notes.
Cole and Losh were wandering from village to village, looking for a connection until they finally reached the small village of Gorakshep.
That’s where they finally were able to call their families early Monday to let them know they were safe.
Schreiber says the families are grateful to the numerous people and organizations who worked so hard to help locate the two men.