From The New York Times:
Many pilgrims to Mount Kailash, a sacred, snowcapped peak in the Himalayan region, only complete the trek once in their lifetime. When Amita Amin, 67, left her home in New York for Kailash this month, shepherding a small group of other local Hindu pilgrims, she was marking her seventh journey to the mountain — and her second trip this year.
“She believed in God so much,” said Aditi Patel, Ms. Amin’s daughter-in-law. “She just wanted to be close to his abode, as much as possible.”
Ms. Amin’s group was at the border on Wednesday morning, according to Dipak Lamicchane, who runs Trekking Planner Nepal, the tour company Ms. Amin uses on her trips. A flash flood triggered by glacial runoff ripped through the region about an hour after their last communication, he said from his home in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hindus believe Mount Kailash is the home of Shiva, the god of destruction, transformation and meditation, and his wife, Parvati. The mountain is also an impressive topographical feature, a natural pyramid that slices 21,778 feet into blue Tibetan skies.