Brian McDonald
A Kenyan and a Nepalese climber died near Summit of Mount Everest, tourism officials said Thursday, bringing this season’s toll on the world’s highest mountain to at least four. Three climbers, including the Kenyan climber’s guide, are missing.
Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui, 40, and his Nepali guide Nawang Sherpa, 44, were out of contact on Wednesday morning and a search team was sent to the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) high mountain.
“The team found the dead Kenyan climber between the summit and the Hillary Step, but his guide is still missing,” Khim Lal Gautam, head of the tourism department’s field office at base camp, told AFP.
The climb by Kirui, a 40-year-old banker at the Kenya Commercial Bank, was closely watched in Kenya, and his fellow climber James Muhia posted frequent updates about the attempt online.
“It is a sad day,” Muhia wrote on Thursday in X. “Our brother is now one with the mountain. It will be a difficult time.
Kenyan Foreign Ministry Secretary Korir Sing’oei said he met Kirui before his trip to Nepal and described him as fearless and audacious.
“Really devastated by this news,” Sing’oei wrote on social media. “I have followed his exploits until this unfortunate end. He is a fearless and audacious spirit and represents the indomitable will of many Kenyans. We will miss him.”
Another Nepalese climber, Binod Babu Bastakoti, 37, died at about 8,200 meters (26,902 feet) on Wednesday, a statement from the tourism department said.
Search teams are also still searching for a 40-year-old British climber and his Nepali guide who went missing on Tuesday morning after a mass of snow collapsed while they were descending from Everest’s peak.
A Romanian climber died in his tent on Monday during an attempt to Lhotse scalethe fourth highest mountain in the world.
Everest and Lhotse share the same route until they divert at around 7,200 meters.
Two Mongolian climbers went missing this month after reaching the summit of Everest and were later found dead.
Two more climbers, one French and one Nepalese, died this season on Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest peak.
Last year was the deadliest season on Everest
Nepal has issued more than 900 licenses for its mountains this year, including 419 for Everest, earning more than $5 million in royalties.
More than 500 climbers and their guides have reached the summit of Everest after a rope-setting team reached the peak last month.
Sarah Lai/AFP/Getty Images
China also reopened the Tibetan route to foreigners this year, for the first time since it closed it in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are mild and winds are typically calm.
More than 600 climbers summited Everest last year, but it was also the deadliest season on the mountain, with 18 deaths.
Thursday’s sad news came on the same day that Nepali climber Phunjo Lama reached the summit of Everest in 14 hours and 31 minutes, breaking the record for the fastest mountain climb in the world by a woman. Climbers often take days to reach the top of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights at their different campsites to rest and acclimatize.
Just one day before Lama set his record, another Nepali climber, renowned Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita, reached the summit of Everest for the record 30th time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
