Death of Indian Climber Takes Everest Toll to 6 in the Last Month

Indian climber Ravi Kumar, who was missing since Saturday, has been found dead by Sherpa rescuers on Mount Everest.

Trekkers rest at Everest Base Camp, Nepal, 2015. Image used for representational purpose. (AP Photo/Tashi Sherpa)

Ravi Kumar, the Indian climber who lost communication on Saturday, has finally been located, said a report in The Hindustan Times on Monday.

While his body was spotted on Mount Everest by Sherpa rescue workers, it was impossible to recover the same. The report stated that Thupden Sherpa of Arun Treks and Expedition reported Kumar’s body as having suffered a fall of 200 meters (650 feet) below the path.

Reports claim that Kumar had taken ill on his way back from the peak on Saturday and was unable to make his way to the nearest camp. The death toll for this spring climbing season now stands at six.

A 54-year-old Australian, Francesco Enrico Marchetti, died on the Tibetan side of the Everest, while Slovak Vladimir Strba, 48, perished near the Balcony in Nepal, officials said. Both climbers died on Sunday. 

Marchetti died due to apparent altitude sickness at about 8,300 metres (27,230 feet) above sea level while approaching the summit, said Navin Trital of the Expedition Himalaya company that coordinated logistics for the climber.

He fell sick and died while being brought down to a lower camp. He was unable to give details because of poor communications with the team.

Navin Trital, Expedition Himalaya company to Reuters

However, the exact circumstances leading to Strba's death are not clear.

Strba died at around 8,400 metres (27,500 feet) in the “death zone” on the Nepali side, where the air is very thin.

Gyanendra Shrestha, Tourism Department Official

The fourth victim this week was an American climber who scaled the peak on Saturday and could not be identified.

On 30 April, a famed Swiss climber fell to his death near Mount Everest while preparing to climb the mountain.

An 85-year-old Nepali man died at base camp earlier this month while trying to set a record for the oldest climber. This year's Everest expeditions have been confronted by bad weather and high winds.

There have been deaths on both sides. While few details are provided, it appears these were associated with altitude, not weather.

Alan Arnette, American blogger and climber

Nepal has cleared 371 climbers to Mount Everest in the current season, which ends this month. Nearly 200 climbers went to Tibet, from where the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) Everest Summit can also be climbed.

Historic ‘Hillary Step’ no more

Adding to the woes of mountaineers, The Guardian reported that British mountaineer Tim Mosedale has clarified that the famous ‘Hillary Step’, a rocky outcrop near Everest’s peak, has disintegrated.

Named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the outcrop’s collapse has made the climb more hazardous. The report also suggested that the Hillary Step had likely disintegrated during the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

It was reported last year, and indeed I climbed it last year, but we weren’t sure for certain that the step had gone because the area was blasted with snow. This year, however, I can report that the chunk of rock named the Hillary Step is definitely not there anymore.

Tim Mosedale, British mountaineer to <i>The Guardian </i>

Also Read: Everest Death Toll Rises to 5 in a Month, Hillary Step Collapses

(With inputs from Reuters)