article_snippet.sent: The devastating earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday set off avalanches that left large numbers of climbers dead, missing, injured or trapped on Mount Everest.
article_snippet.sent: And aftershocks, including a strong one Sunday, are continuing to send snow and rocks thundering down the mountainside, complicating rescue efforts.
article_snippet.sent: But avalanches didn't appear to be on the same scale as those that came roaring down on base camp Saturday.
article_snippet.sent: When the huge, lengthy quake struck Saturday, the scores of climbers who had gathered there to prepare for or recover from ascents of the peak had nowhere to run.
article_snippet.sent: -- they were large, they were massive avalanches," said Jon Reiter, an American mountaineer at the base camp.
article_snippet.sent: People were trying to outrun the avalanche
article_snippet.sent: So many people were hit from behind, blown off the mountain, blown into rocks, hit by debris, tents were flying off.
article_snippet.sent: Pederson said Pederson took shelter behind a large pile of stones.
article_snippet.sent: A huge cloud of snow dust billowed hundreds of feet into the sky.
article_snippet.sent: We all ducked for cover until A huge cloud of snow dust passed and then started dealing with the aftermath," Reiter said.
article_snippet.sent: Snow that continued to fall made it hard for at least 17 people to see, hampering at least 17 people efforts.
article_snippet.sent: But the frequent aftershocks were making that task more difficult.
article_snippet.sent: The earthquake struck just over a year after an avalanche on Everest killed 16 Sherpas, the deadliest single disaster on the mountain up to that point.
article_snippet.sent: Reiter was also there last year when an avalanche on Everest came crashing down the icefall.