“Everest is a mountain of extremes”, said Jon Kedrowski, a geographer and climber who summited Mount Everest in 2012, when 10 climbers died. The deadly incident resulted in protests by Sherpa guides and their families that brought the climbing season to a premature end.
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Mr Nava Kumar Phukon, an Indian climber who summitted on Friday, told AFP the weather had been harsh through the weekend with strong winds severely hampering visibility.
“Climbers are careless and confused about their strength and preparedness”, said 30-year-old Indian Ratnesh Pandey after summiting Everest on Saturday, without naming anyone.
She said Dr Gropel was still critical from altitude sickness and his parents had flown to Nepal to be by his side. Two other Indian climbers lost contact with their group and disappeared Saturday on slopes known as the “death zone”, and hopes for their survival were fading.
“I guess everyone who gets into high altitude mountain climbing casts a fleeting thought towards Mount Everest”, says Strydom in the news article.
Gropel survived and was taken to a Nepal hospital for treatment.
Everyone summited except Dr Strydom who made a decision to turn around just above the South Summit at 8am due to fatigue.
The couple acknowledged they’d been “very worried” before their son and daughter-in-law embarked on their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak.
The tourism industry, which brings in more than $3 million from Everest climbing fees alone, is Nepal’s chief source of foreign income and contributed nearly 9 percent of its GDP in 2014, according to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Last year, an natural disaster and avalanche on Mount Everest buried at least 19 people at a base camp.
Deaths are not uncommon on Everest and the number of fatalities this year is close to average.
More details were not available because of communication difficulties on the 29,035-foot mountain.
The Australian finance professor and experienced mountaineer had been looking forward to the climb. Before attempting a May summit, Kedrowski recommends arriving at base camp toward the beginning of April to acclimatize for a few weeks.
An expedition Madison led a year ago wasn’t as lucky.
Favourable weather has allowed almost 400 climbers to reach the summit from Nepal since May 11, but the altitude, weather and harsh terrain can cause problems at any time.
“Tragedy struck our team”, expedition leader Arnold Coster said in a post on his blog.
Despite the risks and recent disasters, Everest’s allure remains undimmed, with Nepal issuing 289 permits to foreigners for this year’s spring climbing season.
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She and Mr Arnold both died during the descent, Mr Coster said.
