Thousands of people have summited Mount Everest since it was first conquered by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. He was part of a four-member Indian climbers team, of which one has been rescued and two are still missing.
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Melbourne vet Robert Gropel was taken by helicopter from the mountain to the Nepalese capital on Monday, according to a statement from expedition leader Arnold Coster.
The following night, Eric Arnold of Netherlands died after a successful summit.
As climbers ascend above 8,000 metres, they enter the “death zone” – notorious for its hard terrain and thin air – where oxygen supplies fall to dangerously low levels and make mountaineers susceptible to altitude sickness.
She and her husband, Robert Gropel, were on a quest to climb the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents and, in the process, prove their vegan diets didn’t affect their climbing.
The deaths are reported to have been the result of altitude sickness.
The past year in which no deaths were recorded on the mountain was 1977. In April 2014, a deadly avalanche left at least a dozen dead in the single deadliest accident on Everest.
Ms Strydom’s mother, Maritha, praised the expedition leader and sherpas in an emotional Facebook post last night, writing: “Thank you, thank you, thank you Arnold Coster and all the incredible Sherpas, for risking your life’s to give me the greatest gift, my baby girl Marisa Elizabeth”. There are no regulations to require climbers to have any past experience before trying Everest. Climbing halted until April after a deadly quake hit Nepal past year. “I’m incredibly fortunate”, Arnot said in a statement. He has his sights on returning to Everest in 2017.
Climbing the Everest is not a “logical choice” rather, it is a “passion” to refine yourself into a better version of you, CNN-News18 quoted veteran mountaineer Jim Davidson.
A lot is riding on this year’s climbing season.
Seven Summit Treks managing director Mingma Sherpa said on Wednesday Marisa Strydom’s body had been moved 300 metres down the mountain from where she died but poor conditions had slowed progress.
Strydom was a passionate animal lover who supported many animal rescues, the Australian Cootamundra Pound said. Another Indian climber had died a few days ago.
After Everest, Strydom had plans of climbing Mount Vinson in Antarctica. “So you are kind of stuck behind slow people”.
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May is the most common month to attempt a climb because there is usually less wind-but it’s not any warmer, with temperatures hovering from -30 to -5 depending on the altitude.
