Everest avalanche a reminder of risks Sherpas face

The rescuers moved quickly, justminutes after the first block of ice tore loose from Mount Everest and started anavalanche that roared down the mountain, ripping through teams of guides haulinggear.But they couldn't get there quickly enough. No one can move that fast. Not evenpeople who have spent their lives in Everest's shadow, and who have spent yearsworking on the world's highest peak, AP reported.By Saturday evening, the bodies of 13 Sherpa guides had been taken from themountain. Three more were missing, though few held out hope that they were stillalive, 36 hours after Friday's avalanche. Four survivors had been flown to hospitalsin Katmandu, Nepal's capital, where they were in stable condition.For the Sherpas, the once-obscure mountain people whose name has becomesynonymous with Everest, and whose entire culture has been changed by decades ofworking as guides and porters for wealthy foreigners, it was a brutal reminder ofthe risks they face.Many gathered Saturday at the Boudha Monastery in Katmandu, where prayers weresaid for the dead.