Deaths of Privileged People Prompt Soul Searching in Nepal

Actress Mandy Moore celebrated her climb to Mount Everest's base camp this week, saying, "'There is so much magic in these mountains. They represent adventure in the grandest form and in a language all their own."

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough "magic" to go around, as near-record number of people have died this season attempting to reach the summit.   There are 41 teams with a total of 378 climbers authorized by the government to scale the mountain during the spring climbing season. An equal number of Nepalese guides are helping them get to the summit.

A Canadian filmmaker recently shared a haunting photo of Everest climbers stepping over a dead body as they queue for the summit.  The identity of the corpse is not known.

The eerie image shows a long line of adventurers stepping over a rope attached to a frozen corpse which hangs over the mountain almost 29,000 feet above sea level.  Elia Saikaly, from Ottawa, Canada, posted his image to warn climbers of the danger of taking on the world's highest peak.  In his social media post accompanying the image, Saikaly wrote:

'We passed over 60 people during the night and arrived to the south summit just after sunrise.   Minds hypoxic, extremities nearly numb, we all pressed on through the life or death situation.   The early morning light had revealed the gateway to the summit of Everest and in parallel a human being who had lost his life.  Here we all were, chasing a dream and beneath our very feet there was a lifeless soul. Is this what Everest has become?  As I documented the team climbing the iconic step, my mind raced and empathized with every person who struggled to stay alive while undoubtedly questioning their own humanity, ethics and integrity"

"This poor human being perched  for everyone to observe was a reminder of each of our own mortality. Was this the 'Dream of Everest' we all imagined?  My heart bled for the family and loved ones and at the same time I was conscious of the necessity to continue to move. At nearly 9000m above sea level, there is no choice but to carry on.  Who is responsible here? The individuals? The companies? The Government? Is it time to enforce new rules? Will things ever change? What's the solution here?   With great sadness, as the cues pushed onwards and upwards, so did we, as did over 200 people that day."

"I deeply apologize for the sensitivity of this post, but I feel we have a responsibility to inform aspiring future climbers of the seriousness of this undertaking while creating a dialogue around how to make safer, more responsible and more ethical choices with how we approach climbing to the top of the world.  To those that lost their lives this season may their souls Rest In Peace."

Saikaly later said: 'I cannot believe what I saw up there. Death. Carnage. Chaos. Lineups. Dead bodies on the route and in tents at camp 4.   People who I tried to turn back who ended up dying. People being dragged down. Walking over bodies. Everything you read in the sensational headlines all played out on our summit night.'

Four additional bodies were retrieved from Everest last week and have yet to be identified.

Many of the deaths on the world's highest mountain have been blamed on over-crowding with teams waiting sometimes for hours in the 'death zone' where the cold is bitter, the air dangerously thin and the terrain treacherous.

The eleven identified dead climbers are as follows:

Séamus Lawless, a 38-year-old Irish professor, is presumed to have died on May 16 after falling up to 1,600 feet from the balcony area of the mountain.  He was said to be an experienced climber who had reached the summit before.

Ravi Thakar, a 28-year-old Indian climber, died on May 17 while in his sleep in his tent on the mountain’s highest camp site. Thakar successfully reached the summit but began experiencing issues during his descent.  His body was discovered hours later.

Donald Cash, a 54-year-old resident of Utah, had  just achieved his goal of climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, collectively known as the seven summits, before he collapsed at the summit on May 22.  He collapsed again while descending near Hillary Step and could not be revived.

Anjali Kulkarni, a 64-year-old citizen of India, scaled the peak with her husband, Sharad Kulkarni. She died from “energy loss” on her way back to Camp 4. Kulkami and her husband had climbed other mountains together, including Kilimanjaro.

Nihal Bagwan, a 27-year-old physical education teacher from India, suffered from acute dehydration and exhaustion on his way down from the summit on May 23. It was his second attempt to climb Everest after falling short five years ago.

Kalpana Das, a 50-year-old India citizen, scaled Everest twice, but did not survive the second expedition. She became ill and died on her way down the mountain, around the balcony area, on May 23.

Ernst Landgraf, a 64-year-old Austrian builder, also died on May 23 on his way down from the summit.   Landgraf was an experienced mountain climber who was in good physical shape. His trip up Everest had been his final climb of the seven summits.

Kevin Hynes, a 56-year-old Irishman, died in his tent at an elevation of about 23,000 feet on May 24.  He had trekked to a higher altitude a day earlier, but decided to turn back. A strong and experience climber, he had previously reached the summit of Everest last year.

Dhruba Bista, a 32-year-old Nepali climbing guide, fell while trekking down the mountain on May 24.  A Sherpa administered CPR, but Bista did not respond.

Robin Haynes Fisher, a 44-year-old British climber, died 45 minutes after reaching the summit on May 25. Several days earlier, he had warned of overcrowding on Mount Everest in a post on Instagram and announced plans to delay his ascent.  Fisher was 492 feet below the summit when he suddenly “fell down.” A company official said guides were not able to revive him.

Christopher John Kulish, a 62-year-old Colorado lawyer, had returned to Camp IV base camp after reaching the summit, his seventh and final climb in his seven summits journey.  He was reportedly “aware, fit and in a good mood” before entering his tent in the early morning of May 27. A guide later found him and administered CPR for 25 minutes, he said. A cause of death is not yet known.