First Everest death of climbing season recorded
Kathmandu, Nepal — A Filipino climber has died on Mount Everest, officials said Thursday, becoming the first fatality of this year's climbing season on the world's highest mountain.
Philipp Santiago, 45, was preparing to summit the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak, but was exhausted when he reached the final camp (Camp 4) on Wednesday night, Himal Gautam of Nepal's tourism department told AFP.
'He died at the place where he was resting,' said Bodha Raj Bhandari, of Snowy Horizon Treks and Expedition, which organized Santigo's climb.
'We are consulting to bring his body back to the base camp.'
Eight Nepali climbers reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 9, kicking off this year's climbing season for hundreds of others, which runs from April to early June.
More than 50 climbers have reached the summit since the route opened, taking advantage of a brief spell of good weather.
Nepal has issued 458 permits to mountaineers this season, who are usually escorted by at least one Nepali guide.
A sea of tents hosting more than a thousand people -- foreign climbers and support staff -- has built up at the foot of Everest.
Over-crowding has become a serious issue on Everest where in 2019 a human traffic jam meant teams were forced to wait for hours at the summit in freezing temperatures, risking depleted oxygen levels that can lead to sickness and exhaustion.
At least four of the 11 deaths on the peak that year were blamed on overcrowding.
Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of climbers each spring, when temperatures are warmer and winds typically calmer.
Last year, more than 800 climbers made it to the peak of the world's highest mountain, including 74 from the northern Tibet side.
A boom in climbers has made mountaineering a lucrative business since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa made the first ascent in 1953.
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CBC
29-07-2025
- CBC
Peak romance: Regina couple engaged on Mount Everest, married on Mount Kilimanjaro
A couple from Regina is still coming down after taking their relationship to new heights earlier this month. Kelsey Bone and Scot Pominville had been together seven years before they got engaged on Mount Everest last September. Almost a year later, on July 3, the couple tied the knot on Mount Kilmanjoro — the highest mountain in Africa. "I figured I'd always kind of end up eloping or something like that … kind of combining adventure with love, " said Bone. She had met her husband Pominville for the first time at a friend's housewarming party. That night, the host's sewage system had been backed up and caused a mess in the bathroom. Bone said she arrived to see Pominville in the middle of it all. "He was helping clean it all up and was cracking jokes," said Bone. "When disaster struck, he stepped in, and right away I was interested." After they met, it didn't take long before the couple found themselves on a number of adventures. It started with their "first big hike" at Grey Owl in Waskesiu, Sask. "We just did it and enjoyed it," said Pominvile. "Didn't want to kill each other when things were difficult and you're tired and sore." Bone said after travelling so much together they decided to set a goal to travel to all seven continents. "Scot comes up with the idea that we're doing it, and then I do all the rest," said Bone. "He's had Everest on his bucket list, to go sleep at base camp, so that was just kind of the next step and check off Asia," said Bone. Engaged above 17,000 feet Prior to their engagement, Bone and Pominville had been researching a trip to Mount Everest for nearly two months before finally booking their tickets last September. They flew from Kathmandu, Nepal, and made their way to Lukla before embarking on a 10-day journey to reach the south base camp on Mount Everest — located at an elevation of 5,364 metres (17,598 feet), and the first stop of the much longer trek to the peak. Pominville said he had been carrying an engagement ring in one of his carry-on bags. He had spent the entire trip worrying Bone would find it. "Some of the stuff in my backpack was hers and vice versa ... and there's snacks," said Pominville. "So it's not like she would never go into my bag." Pominville said he tried to keep the ring in the part of his backpack where she would have "no real reason" to look. He also took the ring completely out of its box and kept it in a small ziplock bag so Bone would have a harder time stumbling upon it. "Luckily, she never did," Pominville said. When the couple finally reached base camp, they made their way to a famous rock on the southeast ridge route, often used for photos. A rock and a question "If he was gonna propose, I figured it might happen on this rock cause this is kind of the telltale of base camp," said Bone. As Bone started to pose for photos she was quickly caught off-guard. "I think we're going to get some photos and then look to my side and there he is down on his knee," she said. "I knew to say yes, but then like, what? Where do I put the ring? What hand does it go on? What finger? That was all lost in the moment." Pominville said he didn't tell anybody about his plans to propose until about a minute before. He pulled the ring out of his pocket "just a little bit" to show their guide. "He instantly knew, like we just talked telepathically," he said. The guide then pretended to act as their photographer, when he was actually taking a video of the engagement ring. Pominville said he instantly felt relieved. "You know, there's a million thoughts going through my mind. So as soon as it happened, I was like, 'Oh, good, I don't have to worry about anything anymore,'" said Powmanville. The couple had booked their hike during the Everest's off-season, which meant they were the only ones on the mountainside that night. Pominville said that meant they were able to have their engagement entirely to themselves. "We had a nice, I don't know, 12 or so hours of just soaking in the moment and being isolated and alone in a pretty remote spot and it was really nice," he said. The dress that hiked After the engagement, the couple hadn't thought much about the kind of wedding they wanted. Bone said she always knew she never wanted a really big wedding. "I always knew we weren't really big wedding people, so I'd always kind of pictured in my head that I'd either be eloping or destination Mexico, one of the two," she said. Pominville said the where or how never really mattered to him either. He also thought they would most likely end up eloping to a hot destination. "I always said the important part is who it's to, not where it is or what it is," he said. Two of their close friends had been pushing them to elope shortly after their engagement, and invited them to join a trip to Kilimanjaro. 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Before starting the final stretch of the hike, Bone changed into her wedding dress and tucked it into the rain pants she was wearing. Seven hours later, the couple made it to the top. "I definitely had an adrenaline rush of like, 'Oh my God, this is actually happening'," she said. "I put my hair in a ponytail and then the maid of honour, she stuck the veil in, and we had our quick one minute." Another peak surprise Little did she know, Pominville had another surprise for her. Due to a lack of time, Bone's original ring had been a "cheap" last-minute pick from a local shop, he explained. Before the trip, Bone's parents insisted Pominville replace her ring with a family heirloom. He said the heirloom was around 150 years old and had been locked in a safe the last few years. "So I took it and got it resized so it fit her," said Pominville. He didn't tell her about the new ring until the moment they got married. Bone said the day couldn't have been any better. 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CBC
28-05-2025
- CBC
Sherpa guide breaks record by making 31st summit of Mount Everest
Social Sharing Kami Rita Sherpa, 55, reached the summit of the tallest mountain in the world for a record 31st time on Tuesday. He broke his own record of most climbs to the top of Everest. The famed Sherpa guide made it to Everest's 8,849-metre peak while leading a team of 22 Indian-army members and 27 fellow Sherpas. Since his first climb in 1994, Kami Rita has summitted Everest nearly every year, guiding foreign climbers in the gruelling, and often dangerous, trek up to the top of the world. In the decades since Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to receive credit for summitting Everest in 1953, more than 8,000 people have made the climb. Around 700 to 1,000 people attempt to scale the mountain every year with success rates ranging from 60 to 70 per cent. Kami Rita's monumental summit reflects the crucial role of the Sherpas — an ethnic group indigenous to the Himalayan region — in keeping foreign climbers safe during the often weeks-long journey to the peak. Sherpas have long been associated with Everest, known for their ability to withstand high altitudes due to physiological adaptations. As wealthy foreigners flocked to the Himalayan region looking to check the iconic summit off their bucket lists, an industry began to grow, providing a new source of income in a country that has historically been poverty stricken. David Morton, a climber and a co-founder of the Juniper Fund, an organization that supports high-altitude Sherpa workers in the event of an accidental death on the job, said that while things have changed in the last 15 to 20 years, many Sherpas still work as porters, ferrying the equipment of foreign climbers up and down the mountain. Morton, who personally knows Kami Rita, said that more Sherpas have been able to find better paying work as guides in recent years — establishing camps and fixing routes as opposed to just functioning as load-bearers. But there are still many "inadequacies" in how the work is compensated, especially when a worker dies during a climb, he said. He said the families of Sherpa workers who have died during a climb only receive up to $15,000 US in compensation from the Nepali government. According to the Himalayan Database, an archive of all Himalayan summit expeditions and attempts over the past century, approximately 340 people have died trying to climb Mount Everest. Nearly one-third of those deaths were Sherpa workers. In the 2025 season alone, which began in early April, four climbers have died so far, two of them being Sherpa workers, according to a report from Outside Magazine. Morton said Kami Rita and his brother Lakpa Rita Sherpa, who is also a Sherpa guide and has scaled Mount Everest 17 times, have been able to support their small community of Thame in Nepal through the global recognition they've received from setting and breaking climbing records, and continue to do so through the access they've gained to foreigners.
Globe and Mail
27-05-2025
- Globe and Mail
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