I went to document life
around Everest just a week after 16 Nepali Sherpa guides were killed there in an avalanche. In total more than 4,000 people have reached Everest’s summit, and about 250 people have died climbing it. But this was the deadliest single accident in the mountain’s history.

Porter Lakpa Sherpa, 42, is
silhouetted as he stands in front of Mount Kongde, approximately 11155 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu District, Nepal, April 27, 2014.

An airstrip is seen through
the cockpit of a Dornier aircraft as it approaches to land at Tenzing Hillary Airport, which has a reputation as the world's most dangerous airport in Lukla, approximately 9186 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu district April 25, 2014

An aircraft is reflected in
a mirror at a hotel as it takes off from Tenzing Hillary Airport, which has a reputation as the world's most dangerous airport in Lukla, approximately 9186 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu district April 25, 2014.

A novice monk walks past
the Kyamgon Tashi Chocling Monastery at Lukla, in Solukhumbu district April 25, 2014.

American climber Alex Goldfarb, who
had to cancel his planned climb of Mount Lhotse, reads a book in Solukhumbu District May 5, 2014.

A yak walks past a
clothing store in Namche, approximately 11155 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu District April 27, 2014.

Lights illuminate a street in
the evening in Namche, approximately 11286 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu District April 27, 2014. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Khunjung Sherpa, 90, who earned
0.09 USD a day when he worked as a porter, sits outside his house in Namche, Solukhumbu District April 27, 2014.

Here, 50-day-old Pasang Choti Sherpa
whose father, Lakpa Sherpa, died in the avalanche on April 18, lies on her mother's lap in Khumjung.

Porter and climber Tenzing Bhotay
Sherpa, 31, looks through the window of a lodge after arriving from Everest base camp, in Phunki Tenga in Solukhumbu District April 30, 2014.

A porter crosses a bridge
while on his way back from Namche, approximately 11155 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu District April 26, 2014.

Porter Lakpa Sherpa, 42, walks
along the tracks while on his way to Everest base camp in Solukhumbu District April 26, 2014.

Yaks head towards the Everest
base camp in Solukhumbu District April 28, 2014.

Mount Ama Dablam, which stands
approximately 22310 feet above sea level, is seen behind Khumjung Village in Solukhumbu District April 30, 2014.

Temba Sherpa, 45, who has
reached the summit of Everest seven times, climbs to clean the mani (prayer) stone in Khumjung, approximately 12139 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu District May 8, 2014.

Nang Tashi Sherpa, a 64-
year-old witchdoctor from Khumjung, sits inside his house.

A woman works in a
field in front of Mount Thamserku.

A boy stands next to
a white board inside a classroom at Khumjung High School, also knows as the Hillary School.

Dr. Sagar Panthin sits inside
the Kunde Hospital, founded in 1966 by Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in Khumjung, Solukhumbu District April 30, 2014.

A woman sits in the
window of her shop on the way to Namche.

Kedar Rai and his sons
carry goods to their shop in Solukhumbu District.

A statue of Sir Edmund
Hillary, one of the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the founder of Khumjung High School, is seen in the school grounds in Khumjung, approximately 12139 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu District May 8, 2014.

A boy drinks drops of
water dripping from a public tap.

Yak bells are seen outside
a shop in Namche.

Nima Doma Sherpa, 25, whose
husband Lakpa Sherpa, 26, died in the avalanche on April 18 2014, holds her daughter Pasang Choti Sherpa as she poses for a photograph with her father-in-law Tenzing Sherpa, 56, and mother-in-law Chamchi Phuti Sherpa, 55, inside their house in Khumjung in Solukhumbu District May 8, 2014.

A porter rests inside a
porterhouse in Tengboche, approximately 12467 feet above sea level, in Solukhumbu District May 1, 2014.

Shoes are left out to
dry after being washed, in Solukhumbu District April 26, 2014.

Water is boiled using solar
power in Khumjung, in Solukhumbu District April 30, 2014.

A construction worker shows his
torn gloves as he carves stones while building a hotel in Namche.

Trekking guide Birbal Thapa Magar
makes an emergency phone call to check on his clients' health, in Pheriche, approximately 4,300 meters above sea level, in Solukhumbu District May 3, 2014.

Trekkers have their oxygen level
checked at the Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal post in Pheriche, approximately 14107 feet above sea level, in Solukhumbu District May 3, 2014.

A Nepalese army personnel sits
inside a check post as he waits to check permits for trekkers passing by, in Solukhumbu District April 26, 2014.

A yak herder leads yaks
near Pheriche, approximately 14107 feet above sea level, in Solukhumbu District May 3, 2014.

Prayer flags flutter over the
Lobuche River on the way to Everest base camp near Pheriche, approximately 14107 feet above sea level, in Solukhumbu District May 3, 2014.

A trekker walks in front
of Mount Thamserku while on his way back from Everest base camp near Pheriche in Solukhumbu District May 3, 2014.

A porter carries mattresses back
from Everest base camp, approximately 17388 feet above sea level, in Solukhumbu District May 6, 2014.

Yaks walk past prayer flags
as they carry goods back from Everest base camp in Solukhumbu District May 5, 2014.

Everest base camp is seen
approximately 17388 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu District May 6, 2014.

Rubbish collectors pick up rubbish
at the near-empty camp.

Trekkers stand in Everest Base
camp, approximately 17388 feet above sea level, in Solukhumbu District May 6, 2014.

Phurba Tenzing Sherpa, 24, who
has reached the summit of Everest nine times, sits inside his tent at Everest Base camp, approximately 17388 feet above sea level in Solukhumbu District May 6, 2014.

A trekker stands in front
of Mount Everest, which is 29035 feet high, at Kala Patthar in Solukhumbu District May 7, 2014.

Light from a sunrise illuminates
Mount Pumori, which is approximately 23294 high, as trekkers look at the mountains from Kala Patthar in Solukhumbu District May 7, 2014.