Dead climber’s Everest dream
Magesh Jagadeesan’s dream was to conquer Mt Everest.
He wasn’t interested in a relationship or marriage until he achieved his goal – one he hoped to achieve at the end of this year, his older brother said. But on Saturday, during an overnight climb, a dash to retrieve his belongings as they slid down the ice at the summit of Mt Ruapehu ended the 32 year old’s life.
The avid climber and mountaineer couldn’t stop sliding and tragically plunged dozens of metres into the mountain’s crater lake, unable to be revived.
Speaking from Chicago on Monday night, the Lower Hutt man’s older brother Satish Jagadeesan said Magesh was an experienced climber with more than five years experience in mountaineering.
‘‘What started as a simple hobby turned into a passion for him,’’ he said. ‘‘He was always someone who liked nature and that’s one of the reasons why he was so much in love with New Zealand.’’
Magesh moved to New Zealand in early 2009 to undertake a Masters at the University of Waikato.
After completing a degree, he worked for a couple of companies before joining Datacom in Wellington in 2011 where he worked as an information security officer.
Datacom Group CEO Greg Davison said his passing was a blow to the entire company.
‘‘[He] was known as a dedicated, and positive influence on everyone around him ... this news comes as a shock to our teams across the company.’’
Magesh became a New Zealand citizen last year.
His mother still believes he’s only injured and will call her any time, Jagadeesan said.
‘‘She refuses to believe that he is no more.’’
In a tragic coincidence, the Jagadeesan boys’ father died on the same day – September 22 – 15 years ago.
‘‘Now we have lost Magesh on the same day.’’
The second eldest of three boys, Magesh visited his older brother in Chicago in March this year to celebrate a family birthday. That was the last time Jagadeesan saw his younger brother. Family will remember him as a person who liked to keep others happy.
‘‘He was a very caring brother, a loving son and an affectionate uncle to my kids. He would go to any extent to help his friends and family’’.
Magesh’s dream was to climb Mt Everest, Jagadeesan said, and he wasn’t interested in having a partner or marriage until he achieved his goal.
Photos on the Lower Hutt residents’ Facebook page show he’d traversed the Nepalese mountain range in the past.
Police confirmed Magesh was with a group undertaking an overnight climb on Mt Ruapehu at the weekend.
The group of six had reportedly stopped for a lunch break when things went tragically wrong.
Hiker Josh Davis, who arrived at the lake at the mountain’s summit about 20 minutes after the man’s fall, spoke with members of the group he was with.
He understood some of the group’s possessions had begun to slide away on the ice.
‘‘Two of the men jumped up to try to grab the belongings and they started sliding, too,’’ he said on Monday.
One of the men managed to stop himself, but Jagadeesan kept skidding and fell. Jagadeesan died at the scene around 1.45pm.
Magesh will be farewelled in Hamilton before being flown to Chennai, India for cremation.