British man dies on Mount Everest as death toll of climbers in Himalayas reaches 20
Adam Forrest
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Everest climbers forced to clamber over corpses as mountain mired in 'chaos' on anniversary of first successful ascent
Sixty-six years to the day since Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary became the first people to scale Mount Everest, numerous climbers have spoken out about the lethal impact of overcrowding and underpreparedness on the summit of the world’s tallest mountain.Since Nepal opened its side of the mountain to commercial climbing a half-century ago, the allure of Everest has grown, and so too have the crowds and the deaths, to the extent that this year climbers have spoken of “walking over bodies” to reach the peak.On May 22 a climber took a photograph showing an enormous queue of climbers standing crampon-to-crampon, clipped on to the safety line to reach the summit.Other climbers spoke of stepping round dead climbers who were still attached to the safety rope on the final ascent.One British man who died minutes after reaching the summit on Saturday had spoken of his concern about overcrowding on the peak.Elia Saikaly, a Canadian film-maker who was filming four Arab women on the mountain on Thursday, wrote on Instagram: “I cannot believe what I saw up there. Death. Carnage. Chaos. Lineups. Dead bodies on the route and in tents at camp 4. “People who I tried to turn back who ended up dying. People being dragged down. Walking over bodies. Everything you read in the sensational headlines all played out on our summit night.”This year around 600 people are believed to have summited the mountain, and the number of deaths, which included 11 in just nine days, is the highest since 2015, when severe avalanches caused several deaths.Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries and relies on the climbing industry to bring in $300m (£237m) a year.The climbing season on the mountain is only a few weeks long, and the weather dictates when the summit is scalable and also contributes to overcrowding.This season saw a record number of 381 climbing permits issued to foreign climbers by the Nepalese government. This is only nine more than the number issued in 2018, and each costs $11,000 (£8,700).No experience requirements are made by the Nepalese government for the issuing of permits, and the government has denied its permit process has contributed to the numbers of deaths."There were more people on Everest than there should be," the Kul Bahadur Gurung, the general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, an umbrella group of all expedition operators in Nepal. He told the Associated Press: "We lack the rules and regulations that say how many people can actually go up and when." Most of those who died are believed to have suffered from altitude sickness, which is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can cause headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath and mental confusion. Once only accessible to well-heeled elite mountaineers, Nepal's booming climbing market has driven down the cost of an expedition, opening Everest up to hobbyists and adventure-seekers.Nepal requires climbers to have a doctors' note deeming them physically fit, but not to prove their stamina at such extreme heights. Because of the altitude, climbers have just hours to reach the top before they are at risk of a pulmonary edema, when the lungs fill with liquid. From Camp Four at 8,000 metres (26,240 feet) to the 8,850-metre (29,035-foot) peak, the final push on Everest is known as the "death zone." The conditions are so exhausting at such times that when a person dies, no one can afford to expend energy on carrying the body down from the mountain. "Every minute counts there," said Eric Murphy, a mountain guide from Bellingham, Washington, who climbed Everest for a third time on May 23. He said what should have taken 12 hours took 17 hours because of struggling climbers who were clearly exhausted but had no one to guide or help them. Just a handful of inexperienced climbers, he said, is "enough to have a profound effect". The deaths this year on Nepal's side of the mountain included Don Cash, a sales executive from Utah, and Christopher Kulish, an attorney from Colorado, who both died on their way down from the peak. Kulish, 62, had just reached the top with a small group after crowds of climbers congested the peak last week, according to his brother, Mark Kulish. He described his brother as an attorney who was an "inveterate climber of peaks in Colorado, the West and the world over." Just before he died, Kulish made it into the so-called "Seven Summit Club" of mountaineers who have reached the highest peaks on every continent, his brother said. Mr Cash, 55, collapsed at the summit and was given CPR and massages by his two Sherpa guides. He got up only to fall again in the same way at Hillary Step, the first cliff face down from the summit. His body was left near there. Irish professor Seamus Lawless, aged 39 and from County Wicklow, fell during his descent from the peak having achieved a lifetime ambition of reaching the summit. The search for Mr Lawless, presumed dead, has been called off.Another Irish man, Kevin Hynes, 56, died in his tent at 7,000m after turning back before reaching the summit. The father of two was part of a group from UK-based climbing company 360 Expeditions.An Austrian climber and two Indian climbers are also reported to have died in the past week. Earlier this year climbers reported growing numbers of bodies emerging from melting glaciers on Everest.In addition to the physical impracticality of climbers removing bodies from the mountain, it is also dangerous and very expensive, so the vast majority of those who have died while trying to reach the summit remain on the mountain.More than 300 people are thought to have died on Everest over the last 50 years and around two-thirds of the corpses are currently believed to be buried beneath ice and snow.Additional reporting by AP
A British climber has died on the slopes Mount Everest in Nepal after reaching the summit of the world’s highest mountain, according to reports.
Robin Haynes Fisher, 44, died in the so-called “death zone” known for low levels of oxygen on his attempted descent from the summit on Saturday morning, a Nepalese tourism department official told Reuters.
Murari Sharma, managing director of the Everest Parivar Treks company that helped arrange the logistics of Mr Fisher’s journey, said: “He died because of weakness after a long ascent and difficult descent.”
The Foreign Office is looking into reports that a British climber had died, but has not yet been formally informed of any incident.
The British citizen is the tenth fatality on Mount Everest in the current climbing season, according to The Himalayan Times. The death is also the 20th across the Himalayan mountain range during the climbing season, which ends later this month.
Hiking officials have attributed most of the recent deaths to weakness, exhaustion and delays on the crowded route to the 29,000 feet summit. So-called “traffic jams” of climbers have formed near the summit after around 380 permits to climb were issued by the Nepalese authorities.
Fellow guides changed Mr Fisher’s oxygen bottle and offered him water, but could not save him said the Everest Parivar Treks. “He was descending with his sherpa guides from the summit when he suddenly fainted,” said a company spokesperson.
It follows the death of an Irish climber in the early hours of Friday. Kevin Hynes, 56, died in his tent at 7,000 metres after turning back before reaching the summit. The father-of-two was part of a group from UK-based climbing company 360 Expeditions.
A US climber also died on his way down from Mount Everest on Friday, mountaineering officials said. Don Cash, 55, became ill at the summit and was treated by his two guides, said Pasang Tenje Sherpa, head of the Pioneer Adventure company.
“When he was on the top he just fell. The two Sherpas who were with him gave CPR and massages,” he said. “After that he woke up, then near Hillary Step he fell down again in the same manner, which means he got high altitude sickness.”
Their deaths come a week after Irish professor Seamus Lawless, aged 39 and from County Wicklow, fell during his descent from the peak having achieved a lifetime ambition of reaching the summit. The search for Mr Lawless, presumed dead, has been called off.
An Austrian climber and two Indian climbers are also reported to have died in the last week. Conditions are reportedly worse than usual this year, with high winds leaving less time for climbers to reach the summit.
Garrett Madison of the US based Madison Mountaineering company that sponsors climbers to Mount Everest said many were not “well qualified or prepared climbers” and were without the support necessary to ascend and descend safely.
“If they were with a strong and experienced team they would have likely been fine, but with minimal support, once something goes wrong it’s tough to get back on course,” said Mr Madison.
A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are in contact with relevant tour operators following reports that British climber has died on Mount Everest and are ready to provide support to the family.”
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