British climber dies on overcrowded Everest
A British climber who collapsed on the descent from Mount Everest’s summit became the latest in a string of fatalities on the world’s tallest peak.
Robin Haynes Fisher, 44, died Saturday when he became too weak and fainted in Everest’s “death zone,” a section at the top of the mountain known for its low levels of oxygen that can be fatal if climbers linger for too long.
Fisher’s death is at least the eighth this season on Everest, according to Reuters, and the mountain has been mired with overcrowding and delays that some have blamed for the deaths.
Because of poor weather this year, climbers have had only a few days to attempt to summit Everest, CNN reported.
Long lines of climbers at high altitudes have created near standstills at times.
“Before you reach the summit, you have to wait, and every minute counts at the height,” Krishma Poudel of Peak Promotion, a mountaineering agency in Nepal, told NBC News.
The problem is that the air on Everest’s more than 29,000-foot peak has such low oxygen levels that climbers can stay there only a short time.
“Once you get above about 25,000 feet, your body just can’t metabolize the oxygen,” Grayson Schaffer, editor of Outside magazine, told NPR. “Your muscles start to break down. You start to have fluid that builds up around your lungs and your brain. Your brain starts to swell. You start to lose cognition . ... And you start to make bad decisions.”
Don Cash, 55, of Utah died last week as he descended Everest. For Cash, reaching the summit marked the completion of his dream: to climb the tallest mountain on all seven continents. He collapsed on his way down Everest.