At least three climbers who were among scores who scaled Mount Everest over the weekend died on their descent, including Shriya Shah-Klorfine, who dreamed of becoming the fourth woman from Canada to mount the highest mountain on earth.
It’s believed Ms. Shah-Klorfine and the others, 61-year-old German doctor Eberhard Schaaf and South Korean mountaineer Song Won-bin, suffered exhaustion and altitude sickness.
Two other climbers were also missing, a Chinese national and his Nepalese Sherpa guide. According to Agence France-Presse, the Chinese climber, Ha Wenyi, has been found dead.
The climbers were among an estimated 150 mountaineers who reached the summit on Friday and Saturday, the first clear weather conditions of the spring climbing season. However, a windstorm swept the higher altitudes of the mountain by Saturday afternoon, said Gyanendra Shrestha of Nepal's Mountaineering Department.
“There was a traffic jam on the mountain on Saturday. Climbers were still heading to the summit as late as 2:30 p.m. which is quite dangerous,” Mr. Shrestha told The Associated Press by telephone from Everest's base camp.
Climbers are advised to not attempt to reach the summit after 11 a.m. The area above the last camp at South Col is nicknamed the “death zone” because of the steep icy slope, treacherous conditions and low oxygen level.
“With the traffic jam, climbers had a longer wait for their chance to go up the trail and spent too much time at higher altitude. Many of them are believed to be carrying limited amount of oxygen not anticipating the extra time spent,” Mr. Shrestha said.
Weather conditions are clear enough to permit climbing to Everest's 8,850-metre peak for only a short time in May.
On a website dedicated to her expedition, Ms. Shah-Klorfine, 33, said she wanted to be the first South Asian woman from Canada to raise the Canadian flag atop Everest. She said she was climbing to motivate young people and to help the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
“This is my dream and passion, and [I] want to do something for my country,” she wrote on her website. “Nothing is impossible in this world, even the word 'impossible' says 'I M POSSIBLE'!”
Ms. Shah-Klorfine was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, and grew up in Mumbai, India. She was working on a cruise ship when she met her future husband, Bruce Klorfine. The pair married in Mumbai and settled in Mr. Klorfine’s Toronto home.
According to her website, Ms. Shah-Klorfine is an entrepreneur, political activist and social worker. She is owner and president of SOS Splash of Style Inc., a company that imports products of a popular Indian chef, Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. In last year’s Ontario provincial election, Ms. Shah-Klorfine ran in the riding of Mississauga East-Cooksville for the Paramount Canadians Party.
Ms. Shah-Klorfine’s Everest expedition itinerary indicates she planned to arrive in Kathmandu on March 27 and expected to begin her trip back to Canada on June 10.
Expeditions to Everest have proven deadly in the past.
On May 10, 1996, eight people died on what is believed to be the worst day on Everest. The main reason was said to be that climbers who started their ascents late in the day were caught in a snow storm that swept the mountain in the afternoon.
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