A Sherpa guide has died on Mount Everest after falling into a crevasse, marking the third fatality in just two weeks on the world’s highest peak. The incident comes as climbers continue to flock to the mountain, seemingly undeterred by global travel disruptions.
Experienced mountaineers from the Expedition Operators’ Association of Nepal are poised to establish ropes on the route to the summit by the weekend, paving the way for ascents should weather conditions prove favourable, according to hiking officials.
“Despite the Middle East conflict, which has affected travel, tourism and trekking, Everest continues to lure an increased number of climbers,” stated Himal Gautam, an official from Nepal’s tourism department.
Nepal offers access to over 400 Himalayan peaks, though only around two dozen are widely sought after, including Everest, which stands at 8,849m (29,032ft). A total of 492 permits, each costing $15,000, have been issued by authorities for this climbing season, running from April to May. This figure represents a rise from 478 in 2023, which itself surpassed previous years’ totals.
This latest incident brings the season’s overall death toll among Himalayan climbers to five. For Nepal, a cash-strapped South Asian nation heavily reliant on aid, remittances, and tourism, mountaineering serves as a vital source of income and employment.
Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 21, died after slipping on the snow and falling into a crevasse near Camp III on Everest, located at about 7,200 m (23,620 ft), said Nisha Thapa Rawat, another tourism department official.
Another Nepali climber, Bijay Ghimire Bishwakarma, 35, died during an acclimatisation exercise at the mountain’s Khumbu icefall, while 51-year-old Lakpa Dendi Sherpa died on his way to base camp early this month, hiking officials said.
In the last week American Johannesen Shelley,53, died on Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth tallest peak, at 8,463 m (27,765 ft), while David Ronbinek of the Czech Republic died on nearby Makalu II, which is 7,678 m (25,190 ft) high, officials said.
They gave no details.
In April a towering block of ice, among smaller chunks, delayed by nearly two weeks the opening of the route to Everest’s summit, stranding hundreds of climbers at base camp.
