i see something that shouldn't exist here. i see this monster wall of ice and i see it coming at us. i just yelled down! it was the most terrifying moment of my life. >> it was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. >> the ultimate mountaineer's challenge. >> a team conquering mount everest, the highest summit on earth. >> have a safe trek. >> you're at 20,000 feet. you're trying to breathe. >> they were prepared for towering dangers of everest. but no one that day was prepared for this. >> all of a sudden, the ground starts to shake. it's a whiteout. i thought, "this is it. i'm done."

>> we just hear the most awful noise. an incredible, thunderous roar. >> reporter: it must have seemed like the end of the world. >> unthinkable. >> like, this is a bad dream. everything's been completely destroyed. >> i didn't expect to survive. >> you're not in control, the mountain is in control. >> oh, dear, my lord. >> i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline." richard engel reports from everest -- "avalanche!" >> reporter: even amid the majestic himalayas, it dwarfs everything around it. >> it's almost indescribable. it's breathtaking. >> reporter: mount everest, the highest mountain on earth, is, for many climbers, the ultimate challenge. >> once you've had a taste of it, you just -- you can't stop until you've conquered it.

>> reporter: a famous climber once said, "you climb mount everest because it's there." but that climber, george mallory, died on everest in 1924. the mountain's history is long and deadly. >> you just gotta deal with nature. it always got the upper hand. you can't fight nature. if you fight it, you will die. >> reporter: and when disaster strikes here, it takes a while for the outside world to realize it. with the aftershocks still coming, people here understandably don't want to spend time indoors, let alone spend the night in their homes. >> in april 2015, we travelled to nepal to cover the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people, made millions homeless and devastated one of the world's poorest

nations. then, when we saw these pictures of the destruction at everest base camp caused by an avalanche after the earthquake, we headed up to find out what happened to the hundreds of people living there in tents. our story begins three weeks earlier, when a group of climbers landed here, at an airport many believe to be the most dangerous in the world. haley ercanbrack was one of them. >> it's a scary place to fly into. it's one little landing strip. and then when you land, it's gotta be perfect. >> reporter: haley had traveled from arizona, where she runs beauty salons. >> i've dedicated the last three years of my life to climbing mountains to fulfill this dream of summiting mount everest. >> reporter: she was with her father, randall, a successful cherry farmer with the beard he likes to think makes him look like a pirate. the two are very close, and have climbed together all over the world. it's their father-daughter bonding. >> he's given me many opportunities in my life to, you know, spread my wings and fly. he's been very supportive.

>> reporter: haley and her dad had joined an expedition led by garrett madison. he's a seattle based mountain guide, world class. he's summited everest six times. >> i was really excited to return to everest. i had a big team. 14 climbers. and going into it, the vibe was really good. >> reporter: so tell me about the group. >> i had climbers from six continents. all people i'd climbed with on in the past on other peaks, some on everest, some on peaks in antarctica, south america, europe. >> reporter: garrett's clients had paid as much as $70,000 each for the adventure, and had been training for years for this, their trip of a lifetime. >> i instantly got along with everyone. >> reporter: as the group trekked up to base camp at the foot of mount everest, haley was growing especially close to eve girawong, a 28-year-old physician's assistant from new jersey. she was the expedition's doctor.

>> gorgeous and friendly and helpful. and she was our caretaker, you know, she wanted to do everything for you and make sure you were feeling well. >> a little bit of arthritis. >> reporter: eve was trained in wilderness medicine, and she had a secret. >> they kind of kept that from us. >> reporter: but it wasn't a particularly well-kept secret. eve and garret madison, the team leader, were in love. >> it was quite obvious that they were together. i thought it was great. they sort of played it down. >> reporter: he was trying to keep his personal life and professional life a little -- a little discreet? >> exactly. >> i'm getting my ass kicked by the altitude, but it's all good. deep breaths and look at the view behind me. if i'm going to suck wind, this is where i'm going to do it. >> reporter: the expedition was being documented by filmmaker michael churton. nbc news licensed his footage. >> our joke was you're the lonely cameraman. so you're kind of isolated, you know, a lot.

>> reporter: you're the wedding photographer, you're not the bride or groom? >> that's right. >> reporter: churton is no stranger to the mountain. he was with another expedition in the spring in 2014 that was cancelled after 16 shurpa guides were tragically killed in the avalanche in the treacherous kumba ice fall. >> i came there to do something great, to be part of something great. and it didn't happen. and that may probably have, like, planted a seed, you know, to come back this year. >> reporter: michael, who was not an experienced climber, was only planning to hike as far as base camp. so was a young brazilian trekker named davi. >> the views are simple amazing. >> reporter: 69-year-old ron nissen hoped to become the oldest australian man to summit everest. >> i'm getting sick and tired of this camera, so i keep on saying nasty things knowing he won't ever be able to use them in the film. >> reporter: like most everest climbers, the team was accompanied by sherpas, local people famous for their ability to carry heavy loads of water, food, oxygen and other supplies

up the steep mountains. the truth is, without the sherpas, almost no one would be climbing everest. about halfway up to base camp, haley got her first view of the mountain. >> you can see the top of everest right here, which is absolutely incredible. the ultimate mountaineer's challenge, so you know, it's pretty cool. >> reporter: there was also another, much more somber, stop on the way up to base camp. >> we passed by the memorials to the fallen climbers on everest. >> reporter: more than 250 people have died trying to summit everest. garrett wanted to make sure his team always kept that in mind. >> whenever i stop there, i think about those climbers who were in the same situation we were, going to the mountain, and they didn't come back. and i always think, "this is important for us to stop, to think about how serious this climb is." >> reporter: it certainly wasn't lost on haley or her father. >> it's actually a little creepy to be here, i'm not gonna lie, looking at all these memorials.

and it definitely is in my mind that, holy crap, i'm doing this and you know, the dangers of it and it's crazy. >> it's a tough deal because you're trying to protect your lovely, beautiful daughter, and that's why i'm here. maybe i'm older, and maybe i'll see something or feel something she doesn't. you know, it's a scary thing. but she's brave and i'm brave, and so we'll be good, we'll make it. >> reporter: nine days in, they finally reached their first goal, base camp, at the foot of mount everest. at 17,598 feet above sea level, this is base camp. after the arduous trek up the valley, the madison group climbers settled into their tents. physically and mentally, their main focus was this, the khumbhu icefall, a frozen obstacle course they'd have to navigate their way through.

the icefall is the most dangerous part of the ascent up everest. what they had no way of knowing that this time, the real danger was lurking high above them on the peak of an adjacent mountain called pumori. blissfully unaware of the danger to come, the group began a week of training to prepare for the ascent to the summit. they never suspected that the mountains were preparing to unleash their wrath once again. what was next for them on that mountain? when we come back -- >> we set out about 2:00 a.m. >> up before dawn to start the journey up everest. >> a safe trek. >> danger would be quick to follow. >> i see this monster wall of ice, and i see it coming at us. phil! oh no... (under his breath) hey man!

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. >> they had settled in at mount everest base camp and begun the hard work of preparing to summit. >> i like going uphill. so it is good. >> going to find the sweet spot. >> they spent a week of last

minute training on the hauntingly beautiful ice bowl. >> my 9:30 marching out on to t the glacier. >> leaving base camp and traversing the ice fall would be the first step towards the summit. the climbers would ascend to camp one around 20,000 feet and on to camp three and camp four at 26,300 feet. the last push through the so-called dead zone would take them to the summit. 29,029 feet. with all that ahead of them, the climbers were training hard and resting hard at base camp. haley was having the time of her life. you like it like this? oh, thank you. >> base camp is sort of like your home base -- the safe haven. it was very warm. i felt safe there.

>> reporter: decent accommodations? >> absolutely. we watch movies every night. shh, don't tell the people at home about it. >> reporter: for some of the climbers, including haley's dad, there was even time for haircuts. >> probably should be a little longer than this, but he's old just kidding. >> thank you. >> but comfortable as base camp was, the rigorous training, foreign food and water and high altitude were taking a toll. haley got too sick to train one day. she jokingly blamed her dad. >> i got a little flu going on, achy, chills, sweats. i'm not happy about it. just fluish. >> she gave it to me, by the way. >> no, you gave it to me. stay away from me. you gave it to me i'm sure. >> the doctor's in. >> reporter: expedition doc eve had her hands full, so she set up shop.

>> so here, i've just got equipped with a lot of basic supplies, medications. i can do vitals and just check your temperature just give them a proper physical examination. >> reporter: ron, the older australian climber, got sick after drinking some improperly treated water. eve even acted as randall's dentist when he chipped a tooth. >> now i'm going to make the paste. >> i suddenly hit the hard nut. broke a little piece of my tooth off in the back on a molar. >> we're going to try and fill it in the best we can. it's kind of a durable filling i've got, um, it should last us these next seven weeks. >> gotta have a hug from the doctor. >> reporter: the sherpas had constructed a traditional altar. shortly before heading out for the summit, the whole team gathered to receive the blessing of two holy men. >> we just had two lamas come up and conduct the ceremony over the last three hours, asking the mountain for safe passage for all of our team.

>> reporter: you do this ceremony, then the climb begins? >> i felt everybody was competent, proficient, had reviewed their technical skills, were ready to go. >> reporter: with everest expeditions getting more and more popular and only one route up the mountain, garret wanted to avoid getting stuck in a traffic jam. >> we set out about 2:00 a.m. to try to beat some of the crowds. you wanna be able to move as quickly as you possibly can through the khumbu icefall. >> i feel like a million bucks. >> reporter: it was now time to climb mount everest. as they geared up in the predawn darkness of april 24th, the climbers who were heading out for the summit said good-bye to the team members who were staying back at base camp. ron, the australian, still sick with a stomach bug, davi, the brazilian trekker, michael, the filmaker. and eve, who hugged every climber as they left for the

summit. >> have a safe trek, and i'll see you soon. >> and i hugged her and said, you know, "we'll see you in a couple days." and as i was getting ready to go out, i went back and gave her another hug. >> the expedition headed off into the frigid darkness. >> reporter: the next day, the four team members who stayed at base camp were taking it easy in the group's communications tent. they were among hundreds of trekkers and climbers enjoying the day there. >> i was working on this article, basically, doing research. >> reporter: michael was online. davi, the young brazilian, was listening to some tunes while ron, the older australian, was reading. eve was playfully asking everyone to name the food they missed most. >> she really, like, just kinda kept talking about food. and we were all just, you know, like sitting around having a lovely morning. >> reporter: until -- >> the first sense is you feel a little bit of a shake. so i jump up, run and get my camera, start rolling. and it's starting to now really just pick up steam. and it's getting to a point, i've never felt anything like it, you know, as far as just the violence of the movement.

>> reporter: the earth was shaking. michael turned his camera toward everest. >> nothing's really happening up there. so i turn around to start filming eve and davi and -- >> and eve was pretty scared. i hugged her for a little bit to calm her down. >> and it's at that moment that out of my peripheral, you know, i just see this massive wall of ice, snow-- i see something that shouldn't exist there. i see this monster wall of ice and i see it coming at us and it's hard to judge how fast. >> i just dived -- straight for the ground. >> i hear-- eve go, "where should we go?" and i just yelled, "down." >> "get down!" >> coming up -- >> oh, dear lord. >> it was the most terrifying moment of my life. >> michael, ron -- >> i thought the whole base camp had been destroyed. >> eve -- >> couldn't see her anywhere. >> where was eve?

>> reporter: when the earth shook four minutes before noon on april 25th, large parts of nepal were destroyed. and for many high up at mount everest base camp, there was no

escape. the avalanche didn't actually come from the side of everest, but from another peak that loomed directly above base camp. the earthquake, magnitude 7.8, shook loose huge chunks of ice off the top of mount pumori, sending them hurtling down at steep sides. then, those enormous ice pieces crashed into the mountainside, sending a blast wave of debris that went right through base camp, blasting away everything in its path. this avalanche didn't bury tents and climbers in snow. it blew them away. >> so the blast hits, one solid hit. i mean, i never lost consciousness, but it was just a giant hit. >> i just dived straight for the ground. >> i hear eve go, "where should we go?" and i just yelled, "down." >> get down!

>> reporter: michael churton threw himself behind a stone wash station. the camera's still rolling, but you've dropped it? >> yeah. i've got my hands over my head, i'm -- i'm all the way down. when i do see the initial, you know, wall of ice coming at me, it was the most terrifying moment of my life. >> reporter: ron nissen dove into the nearby dining tent. >> all i could do is lie on the ground and think, "god, you know, i'm gonna leave my wife back in australia. and was gonna end up with her with a message saying that i was dead." >> reporter: davi ducked behind the puja altar. >> i sat down and stayed down. >> the snow blast or a rock -- or a bolder or maybe a piece of debris basically hit me and hit my head into the wall. >> reporter: and that's what happened to your eye? >> yeah. >> reporter: the blast pushed your face into the rock you were hiding behind? >> right. and then there's a minute to

90 seconds of just kind of just this tunnel of just ice kind of coming by, of snow, a wind sound. i didn't really expect to survive. >> reporter: you thought it was game over? >> yeah. i felt like i was gonna die. i thought i would be blown away. the power that was coming off that mountain was just scaring me. >> reporter: like a blast wave? >> right. >> reporter: michael's camera, buried in the snow beside him, continued to roll. >> oh, dear lord. >> mike, are you okay? >> yeah, how're you? and then it stops, and then it's silence. >> somebody? >> blood just starts kind of hitting the snow a little bit. and i'm like, "wow, like, that's a lot of blood." >> reporter: coming from your nose? >> it was nose and face. i didn't really know what was -- what was going on. ron, who had been about five

feet away from me, i see him about 25 feet over there. and he just yells over to me, "mate, find some warm clothes right now." >> reporter: as the snow melted off the lens of michael's camera, things started to come into focus. >> see if you can find a tent and find warm clothes. i was at least 30 feet away from the other people that i'd been with. michael and davi, our team doctor was nowhere to be seen. i was concerned about the three of us, because i thought the whole of everest base camp had been destroyed. that's what it looked like from where we were. we were in survival mode, the three of us, we looked briefly around for eve. couldn't see her anywhere. >> reporter: and the blows michael had taken to his head were getting to him. >> i definitely had been hit pretty good. i can't even stand. i'm wobbly. so two sherpa come over, take me into a tent, then i'm starting to vomit 'cause i had a concussion.

>> reporter: there were many dead and scores of seriously injured people at base camp. the central medical tent had been blown away. what was once a tent city now looked like a war zone. stunned survivors wandered around, as sherpas fanned out across what remained of base camp looking for the missing, including the madison group's beloved doctor eve. and they wondered, had the avalanche swallowed their friends climbing high above? coming up, at last news about eve. what did eve look like when you finally saw her? and the rest of the team up on the mountain. >> just hear an incredible thunderous roar. >> what had happened to them? >> i thought, this is it, i'm done. trying to turn you into someone new... ...one hair color wants to help you keep on being you.

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>> reporter: the day before the earthquake, haley and her father, team leader garrett, and the rest of the climbers were making good progress through the khumbu icefall. >> every step counts in the icefall. >> reporter: is it exhausting, you're carrying all this gear? >> i probably had about 30 pounds, 40 pounds on my back. heavy boots, heavy gear. you're trying to breathe. >> reporter: haley, up front with the fast climbers, quickly made it up to camp 1. fit as she was, she was now feeling the altitude at 20,000 feet. >> i was wiped. it's extremely hot. i was extremely dehydrated. i was happy to see camp one. >> reporter: you collapse in exhaustion. >> pretty much. my body's, like, "i hate you right now." >> reporter: haley's 59-year-old father, randall, was having a much harder time. >> dad, maybe an hour, hour and

a half later, comes into camp 1. he's not feeling so good. he had already had some stuff going on in his chest. cold and flu before we set out. and he is getting worse at this point. >> reporter: what does he sound like, what does he look like? >> he looks terrible. he's coughing up blood. i told him, "please. you're not going to heal if you move higher. you need to stay at camp 1." i was very adamant about him not joining us to camp 2. he did not listen to anything i had to say. >> reporter: randall, sick as he was, insisted on climbing higher. almost immediately, he fell behind. haley lost sight of him as she raced ahead, her dream of summiting everest getting closer by the minute. >> i am full of energy. and i like to move. i was behind garrett and with some other of the guy climbers. >> reporter: the climbers were about three quarters of the way

up to camp 2 when suddenly -- >> we just hear the most awful noise any of us have ever heard. an incredible, thunderous roar, louder than anything we've ever heard. >> reporter: the earthquake had struck. >> all of a sudden, the ground starts to shake like, the glacier is literally gonna crack. then, all of a sudden, i hear avalanche on both sides coming down everest, coming down nuptse. it's a whiteout. i can't see anything in front of me. you know, garrett's yelling, "everyone get down. and at that moment, i thought, "this is it." "i'm done." i get the avalanche beacon out. and i turn it on. >> reporter: so somebody could find you if you -- >> to find me. >> reporter: --get buried. >> right. >> reporter: you thought you were going to be buried alive? >> yep. that's what went through my mind at that moment, that, "this is it. bye." >> we didn't know where it was coming from. i told all the climbers with me

to put their bandana or buff over their face to protect their airways. and during that time, the glacier we were on was bouncing up and down. >> reporter: when the earth stopped rolling, garrett assessed the damage. none of the climbers around him seemed to have been injured. what do you do? >> we kept moving. a few members of our group who were a little behind us, half an hour, 45 minutes. we thought, "boy, we were really lucky, something big just happened. we survived, let's get up to camp 2." >> reporter: you felt safer if you were at camp? >> well, in camp, we've got our tents, our food, fuel. >> reporter: and, importantly, a powerful radio to find out what happened down below. >> with the little handheld walkie talkies, we can't really talk to base camp, just amongst each other while we're climbing. >> so you don't know what's happening down at base camp? >> right. but then my lead sherpa, who was up at camp 2 called me on the radio and said, "garrett, there's been a massive avalanche in base camp, and it would be good if you got up here soon." >> reporter: the sherpa raced down to meet garrett. >> he had come down without a pack and said "die," which means older brother.

"let me take your backpack and we'll climb together to camp 2." >> reporter: did that make you worried? >> it did. i became more concerned at this point. >> reporter: down below, base camp manager bhola paudel had gathered the madison group's survivors. >> mike was badly hurted. bola was calling us to go to gorek shep. >> reporter: he wanted them to evacuate on foot. >> he said that they would look for eve. so we -- we went down to gorek shep. >> reporter: they hated the idea of leaving base camp without eve, but knew they had to go. so, accompanied by sherpa guides, michael and the other survivors began to trek to safety. >> then i started to -- you know, started -- started the march, you know -- towards it with one sherpa in front, ron behind me, davi behind him. >> reporter: you were now the walking wounded? >> yeah. so i kinda kept going. i mean, i was spitting some blood, you know, like, blowing my nose, blood was coming. you know, i was really thirsty. we -- i didn't have any water, so i'd eat like a little snow on

the way. all i can do is put one foot in front of the other. >> reporter: two hours later, they reached a village where michael would finally get medical attention. bhola had stayed up at base camp, desperate to find eve. >> i'm looking for my clients. and somebody tell me, "one lady here is very sick." >> another group sherpa said, "there's a lady, she's very sick." >> reporter: the lady was eve, and she had a serious head injury. >> so what did eve look like when you finally saw her? >> she just laid down and bleeding. and we put her in a sleeping bag. >> eve's injury was severe, but she was now receiving medical attention, wrapped in a warm sleeping bag, and breathing oxygen through a mask. >> reporter: did you think she was going to live? >> she's, i think, live. >> reporter: bhola made a call to the expedition's lead sherpa -- purba -- who was at camp 2. it was purba who translated the news for garrett. the team's base camp facilities,

he told him, had been wiped out. and eve, the woman he was in love with, was badly injured. so when you tell garret that eve is very sick, what does he tell you? >> he told me, "where is eve right now? who is taking care?" i told him that russell's doctor is there, they are taking care of eve. >> reporter: so a doctor from another group is taking care of her. and was he nervous? was he upset? >> yeah, he's like upset. >> reporter: garrett had enormous responsibilities keeping him focused. some of his climbers were just starting to arrive at camp 2. he gathered them together. he called a meeting. >> garret comes in and he's like, "got some really bad news. that was an earthquake today and base camp has been completely destroyed and eve is critically injured." so all these emotions are going through my head. but in my mind, i'm like, "she's okay. she'll be fine, she'll be fine."

you know? i went over to garret. i hugged him. i'm sorry to hear about eve. everything's gonna be okay. >> reporter: and haley had other worries. her father hadn't made it up to camp 2. he was missing on the mountain. >> i'm like, "something's wrong. something's not right." i'm kind of looking at my watch, "where is he?" coming up, desperation at 21,000 feet. >> we need to get him off the mountain now. he will die here. >> and at base camp, a dire moment for eve. >> hurt her head badly. >> badly. >> that's when i heard the worst news of my life. i know blowdrying fries my hair, but i'm never gonna stop.

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stunningly youthful. award-winning skin. never settle for anything less. the regenerist collection. from the world's #1. olay, your best beautiful >> reporter: the climbers at everest camp 2 were now beginning to understand the scale of the devastation across nepal in the wake of the 7.8 earthquake and its powerful aftershocks. and they were hearing more details about the avalanche that had obliterated most of their base camp, pummeling their friends with rock, ice and snow, injuring three of them, including eve, their beloved camp doctor. but at 21,000 feet, the climbers had their own concerns. randall ercanbrack, who was suffering from altitude sickness when he left camp 1, had not

made it to camp 2. his daughter haley had been worried sick waiting for him, when suddenly he came into view. >> i actually get up and i go outside of the dining tent, and i see him at afar. and he's coming towards me, barely walking, sort of stumbling. i get to him. and he's completely confused, delirious. and he sort of sets his pack down and kind of collapses there. he can't breathe. he's not again making much sense. so, at that point we know that he's suffering from hape, which is high altitude pulmonary edema. >> reporter: and it's often fatal. haley jumped into action. >> we get him on oxygen. they start pumping him full of a bunch a drugs. i'm freaking out. i'm kind of, like, almost mad in a way. like, "why didn't you listen to me?" i knew this was dangerous. >> reporter: the bottled oxygen

was keeping randall alive, for now. the only real treatment for hape is getting to a lower altitude. >> we need to get him off this mountain now. he will die here. >> reporter: and then, from base camp, expedition manager bhola paudel called in the worst news imaginable about their injured doctor, eve girawong. down below, you load eve into a sleeping bag. she's hurt her head badly. >> badly. >> reporter: what happened when you moved her? >> on the way, she die. >> reporter: she died while you were carrying her? >> yeah. >> purba, my lead climbing sherpa, hands me the radio and says -- and that's when i heard the worst news of my life. "garret, eve's dead." and i couldn't believe it. i said, "can you please repeat that?" and again, he said, "garret, eve's dead." >> reporter: devastated, garrett again called the team together. >> he tells us that, first of all, there's no route off of here.

we're running low on food, gas, supplies. and he tells us that eve didn't make it. >> reporter: just like that? >> yep. i broke down. i completely just -- there everyone is sitting there -- i just went into tears, knowing this is his girlfriend, this is the love of his life. >> reporter: garrett had just lost eve, but he had to focus on the survival of his team. the avalanche had made their planned route impassable. there was no way out. >> so our plan now, at camp 2, is to hang tight. the khumbu icefall route that we climbed up three days ago is now in ruins and needs to be repaired before we can descend. so essentially, we're trapped in camp 2 with a limited supply of food, fuel and other resources.

>> reporter: as the frigid himalayan night fell, the team concentrated on keeping randall alive. haley huddled in a tent with her father and a fearful vigil began. >> it was a rough, rough night. i laid next to him all night. and i could not sleep. i listened to him breathe every breath. >> reporter: he's asleep? or he's half asleep? >> he's asleep, because he's on oxygen. and when your body's getting oxygen like that, you're warm. you're able to breathe better. >> reporter: the oxygen they had with them wasn't going to last long. randall's only hope was to be airlifted out. but bad weather down below meant that no helicopters were flying. even if haley and the team could nurse him through the night, it was uncertain what the morning would bring. coming up, a daring pilot and a break in the clouds.

>> the guides said, "we've got a helicopter." >> then danger barrels down the mountain again.

madison group climbers were stranded at everest camp 2. with limited supplies, a deathly ill teammate, and no way down. haley managed to nurse her father through the night, but he was running out of oxygen and time. then that morning, a miracle. >> the guide ran to me and said, "we've got a helicopter. we need to get your dad out of here." we are waiting for the helicopter to come. life flight dad out. he's not doing well. he's on oxygen. we have to get him out of here. >> they emphasized the landing zone. >> the sherpas and garrett were

leveling out a piece of snow basically where the helicopter could land. >> reporter: they marked the landing zone with a large "h" written in the store with orange tang. finally, a chopper came in to view. at the controls, a swiss pilot named reto reusch. he was the only pilot brave enough to fly up the mountain. >> i tax my time and made an approach and another one. and eventually i saw that yellow "h," and thought, okay, that's where they want me to land. >> i get as close as i can to the helicopter. and i hug him good-bye. we both started crying. >> reporter: haley had no idea where her father was headed or if he would get medical treatment in time. but as he flew off, she knew

there was no way reto's lone helicopter could evacuate the rest of the team. the healthy climbers would have to hike out. >> we can't get down to camp 1. there's no route. and there was an aftershock, a 6.6. and the ice blocks are moving again. very dangerous. we need to get to base camp to see what's happened, what we can do. >> reporter: and to get off the mountain. >> and to get off the mountain. >> reporter: so they attempted to find a way down, worried about what they would find below. >> we had to work our way around the crevasses, but we made it back to camp 1. >> reporter: luckily, by now, the weather was starting to clear up, and other helicopters could join reto in the rescue effort. effort. >> it evacuated us two by two, two at a time, all the way down to base camp. >> reporter: what they saw as they retuned to their devastated base camp appalled them. the power of the avalanche that had left 19 people dead and more than 60 injured was evident everywhere. >> there just wasn't much left at all, it was like a bomb had gone off. >> i get off the helicopter. base camp is completely unrecognizable.

i'm not even sure which direction our camp even was at this point. >> reporter: suddenly, in the middle of the debris, haley saw her father. >> i see him, he sees me. i'm kind of thinking, "what are you -- what are you doing here, you know? you're supposed to be in the hospital." i was like, "i'm happy to see you, but why are you here right now?" >> reporter: must have been a great relief to you to see haley. she's gotten down. she's not stranded up at camp 2. >> an unbelievable relief. and i was so happy that -- i was exhausted and took the oxygen mask off for a minute and hugged her. and then i needed oxygen again, so i laid down. >> reporter: randall was too sick to be of much help, so haley got to work. >> i saw eve's tent completely collapsed. i didn't really care about my things.

i sort of went over there and just started to collect her things. i felt like if that were me, i know that she would do that for me. >> reporter: haley stuck close to her father as the team made its way down. >> the walk to gorak shep was unbelievably difficult with oxygen even. i just had no lungs. >> reporter: the climbers eventually made their way to kathmandu, where they met for a bittersweet reunion. >> we're going to finish it. >> absolutely. >> reporter: and garrett left kathmandu to say a final good-bye to eve. he flew to bangkok, where her parents live, for her funeral services.

he wants to eventually leave a more tangible remembrance to the woman he loved in the shadow of a place that meant so much to her. >> i'm planning to build a memorial for eve below lobuche, where the memorials to fallen climbers are. >> reporter: you want to go there and build it with your own hands. >> i think that's something eve deserves. >> reporter: haley and randall are now home. she's back training on camelback mountain in arizona. he's recovered from his altitude illness and is getting back into shape in utah. are you gonna try and climb everest? >> absolutely. i'm not finishing it like this. she might not take me, but i'm coming. i'm coming. >> i'm coming back, too. but we may rethink coming together. it's just -- it's a dangerous thing and -- >> reporter: people say that too many people climb everest. it's too dangerous. >> i believe that the danger will always be there.

and i'm just thankful there was a brave helicopter pilot that came and got me. >> reporter: we paid that brave pilot a visit at home in the swiss alps. >> flying in the mountains, you know, is not flying by the numbers, it's basically flying by the seat of your pants. >> reporter: it turns out that randall was just one of dozens of injured people reto reusch rescued after the avalanche. for much of that critical morning, he was the only pilot able to fly medevac missions. and other helicopters couldn't come to help out? >> no. no, the weather was just -- the weather was too bad. >> reporter: most of the injured reto rescued were at base camp. >> as soon as we landed there, you know, they opened the door and got the first severely injured people in there. and i told them, "well, i'll try to go back." >> reporter: he did. in the end, he made around 40 flights and rescued more than 70 injured people.

it makes you very uncomfortable if i called you a hero. >> yeah. >> reporter: is this just a swiss cultural phenomenon? or are you just the most -- >> i think so. >> reporter: -- modest pilot in the world? >> no. oh, no, no, no, no. i'm just an ordinary guy here, you know. >> reporter: across nepal, the hard work of rebuilding destroyed villages, temples and monasteries is now underway. many of the climbers were deeply moved by the suffering they witnessed and are now doing what they can, donating money to help the devastated communities. in arizona, haley is doing her part. >> this is really about a disaster, a whole country, people have lost their lives, thousands have lost their homes, their family, their friends. i feel like i would like to use this experience to bring and raise awareness to nepal and the tragedy that has happened here to all these people.

>> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i' us. this sunday, the new front-runner in iowa. ben carson surges ahead of the pack, shocking the pundits and getting under donald trump's skin. >> i'm presbyterian. i mean, seventh day adventist, i don't know about. >> my sit-down with ben carson, who isn't holding back. >> if people can come up with a reasonable explanation of why they would like to kill a baby, i'll listen. plus, did republicans fumble their moment at that benghazi hearing. >> i don't know what y'all were doing thursday. i had a rough thursday. [ laughter ] >> we'll talk to the leading figures on that committee, republican trey gowdy and democrat elijah cummings. and clinton'sig week. the democratic debate won, joe biden, out, the benghazi hearing

over. the ten days that may have vaulted hillary clinton to the democratic nomination. >> it's been quite a week, hasn't it? and joining me for insight and analysis this sunday morning are cnbc's john harwood, pulitzer prize winning historian doris kearns goodwin, the "washington post's" jennifer rubin, and steven henderson of the "detroit free press." welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." good sunday morning. we've just come through perhaps the most significant ten days in the 2016 campaign to date. on the democratic side, hillary clinton reestablished herself as the clear front-runner, she won last week's democratic debate, two of her lesser opponent, jim web and lincoln chafee, dropped out of the race. joe biden decided he had no path to victory. on top of that, clinton was almost universally seen as having survived and some even thought she might have thrive at

that house benghazi hearing. on the republican side, the candidates that are struggling are feeling the pressure. here's jeb bush unplugged yesterday. >> i got a lot of really cool things that i can do other than sit around being miserable listening to people demonize me and me feeling compelled to demonize them. that is a joke. elect trump if you want that. >> wow. a lot to dig into there, which we will later in the show. now, not one but two polls show ben carson leading donald trump and all the rest of the republicans in iowa. guess what? we are now just 99 days away from that snowy monday in iowa where we'll find out who wins those caucuses. and carson's under-the-radar rise has bewilder it had smarty pants crowd in iowa. i caught up with carson in iowa and asked him to respond to these comments from donald trump. >> we have a breaking story. do