While summits dwindle as the winds move in for a few days, the dead and missing totals continue to skyrocket. 2023 has the ninth most Everest death total. The season may end next week.
As previously reported, yesterday, Malaysian Ag Askandar Bin Ampuan Yaacub died near the South Summit. Today another Malaysian climber, Muhammad Hawari Bin Hashimgot, 33, is missing after he summited. He is deaf and mute. Sherpas have searched every camp for him with no success. The Himalayan Times. Both Malaysians were climbing with Nepali operator Pioneer Adventures.
And over on Makalu, Indian female climber Piyali Basak was stranded was rescued by Sherpa climbers from an altitude of 7,800 meters and flown to Lukla. She was climbing with Nepali operator Pioneer Adventures. Another missing climber is Indian Singaporean climber Shrinivas Sainis Dattatraya. A search is underway. He was climbing with Seven Summits Treks.
The remaining teams on their summit push include Asian Trekking, Alpine Ascents, Adventure Consultants, Madison Mountaineering, Summit Climb, and several Nepali operators.
2023 Deaths
From 1922 to May 20, 2023, 192 members and 125 Sherpas died on Everest on both sides by all routes. The top causes of death for all 323 deaths include avalanches (78), falls (72), Acute Mountain Sickness-AMS (38), exhaustion (28), illness-non-AMS (27), and exposure (26).
This spring season is well above the historical average of four. The top years for deaths on both sides, by all routes, were 2014 (16), 1996 (15), 2015 (13), 2019 (11), 1982 (11), and 1988 (10). These are the deaths during this 2023 spring season:
1-3. On April 12: Tenjing Sherpa, Lakpa Sherpa, and Badure Sherpa, all working for Nepali operator Imagine Nepal, died when the upper section of the Icefall collapsed
4. May 1: American Jonathan Sugarman, 69, died at Camp 2 climbing with American operator International Mountain Guides (IMG)
5. May 16: Phurba Sherpa passed away near Yellow Band above Camp 3. He was part of the Nepal Army Mountain Clean-up campaign
6. May 17: Moldovan climber Victor Brinza died at the South Col with Nepali operator Himalayan Traverse Adventure
7. May 18: Xuebin Chen, 52, died near the South Summit with Nepali operator 8K Expeditions
8. May 20: Malaysian Ag Askandar Bin Ampuan Yaacub got above South Sumit, then became ill and died. He was climbing with Nepali operator Pioneer Adventures.
9. May 18: There was another death, Indian Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus, 59, who intended to climb Everest but left EBC ill and died in Lukla, so not technically a climbing death.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
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