Dan Fredinburg, a senior executive at Google, was among more than a dozen people confirmed killed by the avalanche that swept through Everest base camp in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake.
Tom Briggs, marketing director for Jagged Globe, a Sheffield-based climbing and adventure company, confirmed the news “with the greatest sorrow”. Two other climbers, Paul Greenan, from Dublin, and British-born Richard Brooks, from Sydney, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries including broken ribs, arm and pelvis.
“They saw the avalanche coming and were able to make a run for it but the camp was right in the middle of it,” said Briggs. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan’s family and friends.”
Fredinburg was head of privacy for Google X, the company’s highly secretive innovations lab, and a leading force in the Google Adventure team. A larger-than-life personality who called himself “an adventurer not a climber”, he had helped initiate the recent Google Street View project of the trek to Everest base camp and was involved in several Google projects on Everest, including taking a Street View camera to the summit.
His younger sister, Megan, posted a tribute to his Instagram page, which reported that he had suffered a major head injury. “We appreciate all of the love that has been sent our way thus far and … know his soul and his spirit will live on in so many of us,” she said.
Three other Jagged Globe teams currently in Nepal are as yet unaccounted for. One team had been climbing Mera Peak, also in the Everest region, and two trekking teams are on the Dhaulagiri circuit.