Image by Handout

By Anne Cohen April 26, 2015

Two friends from Crown Heights who traveled to Nepal on a hiking trip have not been heard from since the devastating earthquake which rocked the country on Saturday,

Danny Cole, a father of four, and Mendy Losh, now a California-resident, were reportedly traveling with a Nepalese sherpa guide, and hoping to climb part of Mount Everest.

The last communication from the two men dates back to Friday, when they texted their friend — and habitual traveling partner — Zevi Steinhauser that “the trip is going well. We just finished our first strenuous hike. We’re still on schedule.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

On Saturday, two hours before the disaster that claimed over 2,500 lives, Mendy wrote an email: “Doing well. Had my first strenuous hike this morning. Danny is dealing with some altitude sickness. The views are amazing. We are going to go higher now and starting to deal with colder weather which is not that fun.”

On Sunday, a representative from the tour company contacted Cole’s wife to inform her that they were still searching for the group in the aftermath of avalanches triggered by the quake. “She’s delirious in a way. She’s not talking to anybody,” Steinheiser told the Daily News.

“The families are really worried at this point,” Steinhauser told COLlive. “We don’t know how they are doing, especially since there are still many avalanches occurring due to the quake and many aftershocks. We don’t know if they have enough supplies to keep them until rescuers can get to them,” adding: We are waiting for word from them and are all praying for their safe return.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount