A United States mountaineer has died on Everest in the fourth fatality on the world’s highest peak this climbing season.
Jonathan Sugarman, 69, was on an
acclimatisation rotation at around 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) when he died on
Monday, his expedition organiser said.
He was feeling unwell and passed away at Camp
2. Efforts are underway to bring (back) his body,” Pasang Tshering Sherpa of
Beyul Adventure told AFP.
“We are trying to send a helicopter but it is
snowing and the weather is not favourable,” he said.
Beyul Adventure is a local partner of
US-based expedition organiser International Mountain Guides, which confirmed
“with deep sorrow” Sugarman’s death.
“We can confirm that this event was not the
result of a climbing accident or route condition that would be of potential
impact or safety concern to any other teams on the mountain,” IMG chief Eric
Simonson said in a statement on the company’s website.
Last year, Sugarman reached Camp 3 on Everest
before abandoning a climb.
This year’s spring climbing season on Everest
had a tragic start last month with the death of three Nepali climbers.
The trio were crossing the treacherous Khumbu
icefall as part of a supply mission when a block of glacial ice fell and swept
them into a deep crevasse.
Nepali guides — usually ethnic Sherpas from
nearby valleys — are essential to the multimillion-dollar industry, bearing
huge risks to prepare climbing routes and carry food and equipment.
– Traffic jam –
Nepal has issued 466 permits to foreign
climbers, and since most will need a guide, more than 900 people will try to
summit this season, which runs until early June.
This could result in heavy traffic and
bottlenecks en route to the summit, especially if there is a shorter climbing
window because of unfavourable weather.
On average, around five climbers die every
year on the world’s highest peak.
But in 2019, 11 people died, with four of the
deaths blamed on overcrowding.
It is possible that climate change is
exacerbating the risks, with climbers reporting widening crevasses, running
water on previously snowy slopes and more glacial lake formation.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10
highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when
temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
More than 600 climbers are aiming to summit
other Himalayan mountains this season.
Last month Northern Irish climber Noel Hanna,
56, died on Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest mountain, which has an even
higher death rate than Everest.
The 56-year-old adventurer was returning
after a successful summit of the 8,091-metre (26,545-foot) peak when he died at
Camp 4.
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A United States mountaineer has died on
Everest in the fourth fatality on the world’s highest peak this climbing
season.
Jonathan Sugarman, 69, was on an
acclimatisation rotation at around 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) when he died on
Monday, his expedition organiser said.
“He was feeling unwell and passed away at
Camp 2. Efforts are underway to bring (back) his body,” Pasang Tshering Sherpa
of Beyul Adventure told AFP.
“We are trying to send a helicopter but it is
snowing and the weather is not favourable,” he said.
Beyul Adventure is a local partner of
US-based expedition organiser International Mountain Guides, which confirmed
“with deep sorrow” Sugarman’s death.
“We can confirm that this event was not the
result of a climbing accident or route condition that would be of potential
impact or safety concern to any other teams on the mountain,” IMG chief Eric
Simonson said in a statement on the company’s website.
Last year, Sugarman reached Camp 3 on Everest
before abandoning a climb.
This year’s spring climbing season on Everest
had a tragic start last month with the death of three Nepali climbers.
The trio were crossing the treacherous Khumbu
icefall as part of a supply mission when a block of glacial ice fell and swept
them into a deep crevasse.
Nepali guides — usually ethnic Sherpas from
nearby valleys — are essential to the multimillion-dollar industry, bearing
huge risks to prepare climbing routes and carry food and equipment.
– Traffic jam –
Nepal has issued 466 permits to foreign
climbers, and since most will need a guide, more than 900 people will try to
summit this season, which runs until early June.
This could result in heavy traffic and
bottlenecks en route to the summit, especially if there is a shorter climbing
window because of unfavourable weather.
On average, around five climbers die every
year on the world’s highest peak.
But in 2019, 11 people died, with four of the
deaths blamed on overcrowding.
It is possible that climate change is
exacerbating the risks, with climbers reporting widening crevasses, running
water on previously snowy slopes and more glacial lake formation.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10
highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when
temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
More than 600 climbers are aiming to summit
other Himalayan mountains this season.
Last month Northern Irish climber Noel Hanna,
56, died on Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest mountain, which has an even
higher death rate than Everest.
The 56-year-old adventurer was returning
after a successful summit of the 8,091-metre (26,545-foot) peak when he died at
Camp 4.
A day later, record-holding Indian climber
Baljeet Kaur, 28, and compatriot Arjun Vajpai, 30, were both rescued from
Annapurna after a search lasting hours.
Later, a third Indian climber, Anurag Maloo,
34, was rescued alive after falling 300 metres (985 feet) into a crevasse.
AFP
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