At 11.56 am on Saturday 25 April 2015, a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal, killing more than 9000 people. In the following moments, the village of Langtang was obliterated when some 40 million tons of rock and ice from a glacial lake came crashing down from the mountain above. The avalanche buried the village without a trace, instantly crushing 175 villagers, 27 guides and porters and, it is estimated from uncancelled visa records, some 15–30 foreign trekkers. The ensuing gale flattened every tree for 5 km down the valley. Only the rock walls of the valley remained.