A Perilous Profession

Photograph by Aaron Huey

In April 2014, a devastating avalanche killed 16 expedition workers on Mount Everest, becoming the worst accident in the peak s hundred-year climbing history. For the Sherpas 13 of whom were victims of the avalanche the climbing profession brings both prosperity and peril. Here, Da Nuru Sherpa coils rope at Camp II on Ama Dablam, perched like a spectacular bird s nest at 19,600 feet.