Latest news with #HimalGautam
CTV News
15-05-2025
- CTV News
First Everest death of climbing season recorded
Mount Everest is seen from Namche Bajar, Solukhumbu district, Nepal, May 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) 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.
The Star
15-05-2025
- The Star
First Everest death of climbing season recorded
KATHMANDU: A Filipino climber has died on Mount Everest, officials said Thursday (May 15), becoming the first fatality of this year's climbing season on the world's highest mountain. Philipp Santiago (pic), 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 organised 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. - AFP
Hindustan Times
06-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
75 Indians, including 12 women, cleared to climb Mount Everest this season
Permission has been granted to 441 climbers, including 79 women, from 55 countries as of Monday for climbing Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world, this spring, according to the Department of Tourism. Nepal's 8K Expedition is currently engaged in the rope fixing job and they have deployed 12 Sherpa guides for the same.(AFP) According to Himal Gautam, director at Nepal Tourism Department, permissions have been granted to 44 expeditions from 55 countries to climb the Everest (8,848.86 mt) so far. Among them, 75 are Indian climbers, including 12 women, he said. The Nepal government has collected royalty amounting to Nepalese ₹ 653.8 million from the permission granted to climb the Everest this season. The Tourism Department has granted permission to 1,095 climbers to climb 26 different mountain peaks, including the Everest, this spring, he said. Altogether 114 expeditions from 73 countries have received permission to climb the mountains. From this, a total of Nepalese ₹ 748.1 million royalty has been collected, he said. So far, more than 8,000 Nepalese and foreign climbers have summitted the Everest. Hundreds of climbers have already reached the base camp of Everest and are moving towards higher altitude in their bid to climb the Everest and some of them are expected to reach the top by May 11 or 12, he said. Ice doctors are currently fixing ropes to facilitate the climbers who are on their way to the top. Rope fixing has almost completed up to the South Col and on May 9-10 they are expected to complete their task up to the peak. Nepal's 8K Expedition is currently engaged in the rope fixing job and they have deployed 12 Sherpa guides for the same.
France 24
28-04-2025
- France 24
Austrian climber dies on Nepal mountain
Nepal named the climber as Martin Hornegger, 64, who went missing during his descent on Saturday morning after reaching the summit of the Himalayan peak. "It is learnt that he fell down while descending, and his body was found on the foot of the peak," said Himal Gautam, director at the Mountaineering and Adventure Tourism Section of the tourism department. Hornegger had been climbing the 6,812-metre (22,349-foot) Ama Dablam with his daughter and son-in-law through a local agency, officials said. His body has been taken to the capital Kathmandu. "The tourism department is consulting with agencies to take the dead body back to his country," Gautam added. Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, and welcomes hundreds of climbers every year during the spring and autumn climbing seasons. But the dangerous terrain and extreme weather mean that accidents are common, particularly during the harsh winter. Scientists have said that climate change spurred by humans burning fossil fuels is making weather events more severe, super-charged by warmer oceans. Ama Dablam, located in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal, is a popular training peak for mountaineers preparing for Everest. © 2025 AFP
