It is unlikely any climbers were attempting to climb Mount Everest when a 7.3-magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal Tuesday morning, the head of one of the country's main climbing groups told NBC News. "To my knowledge, there are no trekkers or climbers near or at Everest. Certainly not anyone affiliated with our organization," said Iswari Paudel, the managing director of Himalayan Guides Nepal, which provides logistical services to foreign tour operators. Mountaineers trying to scale the world's tallest peak largely called off the climbing season after the April 25 earthquake devastated the small mountain nation.
