Mountain climber dies on Mount Everest during mission to prove vegans are capable of extreme challenges
Maria Strydom, 34, fell victim to altitude sickness after being forced to turn back on the final leg of her climb
A MOUNTAIN climber on a mission to prove vegans are capable of completing extreme physical challenges has died on Mount Everest.
Maria Strydom tragically succumbed to altitude sickness after being forced to turn back on the final leg of her climb.
The 34-year-old Australian academic was among 30 climbers, including her husband, to suffer frostbite or fall ill climbing the world's tallest peak over the weekend.
She has become the third mountaineer to die in the first season since an earthquake struck Nepal last year.
On Friday Dutch climber Eric Arnold passed away in his sleep near the summit after telling fellow mountaineers "my body has no energy left".
Dr Strydom was an experienced climber who had scaled peaks around the world including Mount Arrat in Turkey.
The lecturer, who worked at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, was attempting to climb the seven summits with her husband Robert Gropel.
She was hoping to scale the seven highest peaks in the world in an effort to disprove claims vegans struggle with extreme physical exertion.
In a post on her university’s website in March, she said: “It seems that people have this warped idea of vegans being malnourished and weak.
“By climbing the seven summits we want to prove that vegans can do anything and more.”
Following her tragic death her mum Maritha took to Facebook posting: “My beautiful girl. Just [too] devastated to communicate.”
A couple of Indian climbers are still missing in the mountains so called "death zone" - above 26,000 feet - as hundreds head to the Himalayas to make the most of the eight week climbing season.
Another Indian mountaineer perished overnight becoming the third to die in recent days.