CROWN HEIGHTS — Two local men missing on Mt. Everest since Nepal’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake Saturday have been located safe and sound, their families said Monday.
Hikers Daniel Cole, 39, and Mendy Losh, 38, were between camps on the mountain when the quake hit, leaving their Crown Heights families to fear the worst, said Cole’s brother-in-law Zalman Schreiber.
But the uninjured pair managed to get to base camp, reaching their loved ones via an Internet connection early Monday morning, he said.
“We all feel a great sense of relief,” Schreiber said.
Cole and Losh were aware “something had happened,” but did not realize the scope of devastation in Nepal, he said.
“I had to explain the extent of the situation and that they can’t just go back to Katmandu,” he said.
The two have not yet figured out a way to get off the mountain, but are working with Nepal’s branch of Chabad, the Orthodox Jewish organization headquartered in Crown Heights, to organize a rescue plan. The men have enough supplies to stay put for a few days, Schreiber noted.
Cole, a Toronto native and longtime Crown Heights resident, and Losh, a Los Angeles resident raised in Crown Heights, are both “avid climbers” and have taken hiking trips together for years, but had never tried to climb Mt. Everest before, Schreiber said.
Their families are thankful they’ve been found safe, but are “continuing to pray” for all other victims of the deadly earthquake, Schreiber said. The death toll rose to 3,800 on Monday, the New York Times reported.
