An avalanche swept across Mount Mizhirgi in Russia’s North Caucasus on Sunday around 5 p.m. local time, killing at least 11 climbers from a 33-person mountaineering group. Six others were missing and six more were injured as rescue teams pushed into the mountain’s steep terrain.
At least ten members of the group managed to descend without assistance, a detail that underscored how fast the wall of snow split the party apart. Emergency workers sent more than 50 people to the scene, but the operation was slowed by treacherous ground and the threat of another avalanche.
The scale of the disaster matched the mountain’s reputation. Mount Mizhirgi has two summits and is considered an ultra-high peak, one of just 12 in the Caucasus above 16,000 feet. That makes it a place where a single collapse of snow can turn a climbing day into a mass casualty response within minutes.
What caused the avalanche has not been identified, and the missing climbers remained unaccounted for as rescue work continued. With death toll, injuries and unanswered questions all still in play, the search now hinges on whether the same unstable slopes that trapped the group will allow crews to reach the rest of it.
