DEATH TOLL MOUNTS
US lawyer, 62, becomes 11th climber to die on Mount Everest in just 10 days after struggling past queue of mountaineers to reach peak
The man was an 'inveterate climber of peaks in Colorado, the West and the world over'
AN AMERICAN lawyer who “saw his last sunrise from the highest peak on Earth” has become the 11th climber to perish on Mount Everest in just 10 days.
Christopher Kulish, 62, achieved his dream of scaling the highest peaks on seven continents – but died on Monday after struggling past a dangerous “traffic jam” of mountaineers to reach the peak.
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The Colorado man scaled the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) peak from the popular Southeast Ridge route in the morning.
But he died suddenly at South Col after descending from the summit, Mira Acharya, a Nepal tourism department official confirmed.
His brother, Mark Kulish, said in a statement: "We are heartbroken at this news. He saw his last sunrise from the highest peak on Earth.
"At that instant, he became a member of the '7 Summit Club,' having scaled the highest peak on each continent."
The cause of his death isn't yet known, said his brother.
He was an inveterate climber of peaks... the world over. He passed away doing what he loved.
Mark Kulish
Mark described Chris as a lawyer in his ";day job" who was "an inveterate climber of peaks in Colorado, the West and the world over.
"He passed away doing what he loved, after returning to the next camp below the peak."
His death marks the 11th fatality on Everest this season after a record 381 permits were issued to climb the mountain.
It's a lucrative industry, as climbers pay more than £30,000, including £8,600 for a permit, to tackle the peak.
Another American, Don Cash, 55, of Utah, died there last week.
Most are believed to have suffered from altitude sickness, which is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can cause headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath and mental confusion.
Climbers were photographed queuing past a frozen dead body as they battle past crowds to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
The haunting photo of a line of mountaineers stepping over a corpse was shared to highlight the potentially fatal dangers of tackling the peak.
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Canadian filmmaker and mountaineer Elia Saikaly posted the image on Instagram after scaling Everest for the third time.
He told how this climb would be his last after witnessing: “Death. Carnage. Chaos”.
The climber wrote: “I have a lot to say and share. I cannot believe what I saw up there.
“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.”
The carnage on the mountain was summed up by the eerie photo that was taken on the Hillary Step on May 23.
It shows at least 18 climbers walking inches apart from each other on a craggy ledge – as a frozen corpse lay directly beneath them.
'BENEATH OUR FEET...A LIFELESS SOUL'
“The early morning light had revealed the gateway to the summit of Everest and in parallel a human being who had lost his life,” Saikaly wrote.
“Here we all were, chasing a dream and beneath our very feet there was a lifeless soul. Is this what Everest has become?
“This poor human being perched 7000ft above the Western CWM 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.”
The post was shared as news emerged that the death toll on the mountain has climbed to 11.
11 DEATHS IN TEN DAYS
British climber Robin Haynes Fisher, 44, died on the mountain just hours after warning overcrowding on the mountain could be "fatal".
Fisher chillingly revealed on social media how he had changed his plans to avoid the crowds on Everest just hours before he died on the descent.
The climber said: "With a single route to the summit, delays caused by overcrowding could prove fatal so I am hopeful my decision to go for the 25th will mean fewer people.
"Unless of course everyone else plays the same waiting game."
Robin was the tenth person to die on Everest this season - with most suffering weakness, exhaustion and delays on the crowded route to the summit.
He had been descending down the 8,850m peak when he fainted but sadly his guides couldn't save him.
His partner Kristyn Carriere has now paid tribute to him on social media, saying: "He got his goal. My heart is broken. It was his ultimate challenge."
Robin, from Birmingham, has been described as an "aspirational adventurer" who "lived life to the full" by his distraught family.
OVERCROWDING FEARS
Nepal is under fire over the number of permits it has issued following overcrowding fears.
At least 381 permits have been issued - costing £8,600 each - for this spring season.
But, the points out, in reality, this means about 600 people prepared to make the climb, as permit holders are accompanied by their own support teams.
Gyanendra Shrestha, a liaison officer at the Everest base camp, told The Himalaya Times that climbers who reached above Camp IV complained of waiting for more than two hours on Wednesday in bottleneck lines on their way to reach the summit.
Dad-of-two
The 56-year-old, from Galway, Ireland, was coming from the Tibetan (north) side on Friday morning as part of a team of six along with three expert sherpas.
He died in his tent at 7,000m after turning back before reaching the summit.
His death came just over a week after dad-of-one Séamus Lawless, from Bray, Co Wicklow went missing after falling up to 500m from the Balcony area of Everest in temperatures of -27C.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in contact with relevant tour operators following reports that British climber has died on Mount Everest and are ready to provide support to the family."
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