Nepal quake 'soul-shattering' for local trekkers

Friends Brad Kimbel, Ben Short and John Wolf delayed their spring adventure in the Himalayan Mountains a day as Short fell ill with a headache from the extremely thin air above 16,000 feet, which may have saved the Kentucky natives their lives.

The friends had planned to trek to the Mount Everest base camp on Saturday, the day a large avalanche triggered by Nepal's disastrous 7.8-magnitude earthquake hurtled down the mountain into a section of the camp. They instead survived the earthquake unharmed, lodging at a settlement called Lobuche.

The avalanche killed at least 18 and injured more than five dozen others at the base camp, according to the initial report obtained by The Associated Press from the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

The overall death toll from the massive earthquake had risen on Monday to more than 4,000, and officials expect it will continue rising as they assess mountain villages that have been inaccessible since Saturday's quake.

Short, who like Kimbel is a graduate of Bellarmine University, posted a lengthy Facebook update with two photos on Monday morning, saying they had safely reached the village of Namche Bazaar.

"This is all so surreal. We're just realizing how lucky we were to be in a place that incurred relatively little damage when the quake happened," Short wrote. "... How incredible, a force strong enough to make a mountain, THIS mountain, tremble. We survived an earthquake on Mount Everest. It's time to come home."

Short estimates it will take them about two days to reach Lukla, a town with an airport where they plan to wait for a westbound flight back to Kathmandu. The quake epicenter was reportedly about 90 miles northwest of Kathmandu in the remote district of Gorkha.

At the base camp Saturday, at least 30 tents were flattened in the sprawling village of climbers, guides and porters that forms each spring during Nepal's most popular climbing season, the AP reported.

"It couldn't have happened at a worse time. You've got the peak of the season with all the tourists," said Kimbel's father, Wayne Kimbel, of Clarksville, Ind.

Wayne Kimbel is among the Kentuckiana family and friends who initially waited with bated breath Saturday to hear news of his son and sons' friends — some fearing the worst. He was on a weekend getaway at Natural Bridge State Park when he heard the news about 6 a.m. Saturday.

They've since gotten updates about the trio through their personal Facebook pages and one maintained by Outfitter Nepal Treks and Expedition, an adventure company based in Kathmandu whose offices were among many buildings damaged.

Wayne Kimbel said his 28-year-old son and friends feel humbled to have nearly averted the avalanche, and at the same time grief-stricken for those who lost their lives.

"He said it was a soul-shattering experience," said Wayne Kimbel, whose son has been teaching recently in Seoul, South Korea.

Brad Kimbel had trekked to Kathmandu twice before. The weather was so bad during his last visit two years ago that he persuaded Short and Wolf, a Lexington native who now lives in Georgia, to go with him this year, his father said.

"The biggest thing that remains is catching a flight out," Wayne Kimbel said.

Short posted on Facebook that they plan to wait their turn. They initially tried to complete their journey to the base camp following the earthquake, but eventually heeded others' warnings to turn around.

"We were already so close, only a half day's walk (in bitter cold), we had to try. But on the way we passed many fellow trekkers and guides going the other direction. ... The scene sounded devastating, horrific even, and the last thing they needed were more tourists. We had made it within sight of base camp, but the right thing to do was turn around," Short wrote.

Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (812) 949-4026 or on Twitter @c_write. The Associated Press contributed to this story.