Third Everest death takes Nepal’s May toll of Himalayan climbers to five
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Members of an expedition team climb through the Khumbu Icefall during their rotation trip from Everest Base Camp to Camp 1 in the Solukhumbu district, also known as the Everest region.
PHOTO: REUTERS
KATHMANDU - A Nepali Sherpa guide fell into a crevasse and died on Mount Everest, for the third death in two weeks on the world’s highest mountain, as climbers remain undeterred by travel disruptions from the Middle East conflict, officials said on May 12.
Seasoned climbers from the Expedition Operators’ Association of Nepal are expected to fix ropes on the route to the summit by the weekend, allowing climbers to start moving up if weather conditions are good, hiking officials said.
“Despite the Middle East conflict, which has affected travel, tourism and trekking, Everest continues to lure an increased number of climbers,” said Mr Himal Gautam, an official of Nepal’s tourism department.
Nepal has opened more than 400 Himalayan peaks to climbers but the most popular number just over two dozen, including Everest, which is 8,849m tall.
The authorities have issued 492 permits at a cost of US$15,000 (S$19,100) each this climbing season from April to May for Everest, Mr Gautam added, an increase from 478 in 2023, which in turn exceeded the figures of the two subsequent years.
The latest death took to five the season’s tally among Himalayan climbers in the cash-strapped South Asian nation dependent on aid, remittances and tourism, where climbing is a key source of income and employment.
Mr Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 21, died after slipping on the snow and falling into a crevasse near Camp III on Everest, located at about 7,200m, said tourism department official Nisha Thapa Rawat. Another Nepali climber, Mr Bijay Ghimire Bishwakarma, 35, died during an acclimatisation exercise at the mountain’s Khumbu icefall, while 51-year-old Lakpa Dendi Sherpa died on his way to Base Camp early in May, hiking officials said.
In the last week, American Johannesen Shelley, 53, died on Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth-tallest peak, at 8,463m, while Mr David Ronbinek of the Czech Republic died on nearby Makalu II, which is 7,678m high, officials said. They gave no details.
In April, a towering block of ice, among smaller chunks, delayed by nearly two weeks the opening of the route to Everest’s summit, stranding hundreds of climbers at Base Camp. REUTERS
