A 40-year-old Australian man who climbed the 8,849-meter peak of Mount Everest died on his way back down. Jason Bernard Kennison, from Perth, died on Friday after becoming unresponsive at the summit.
His family said ”he achieved his goal of reaching the peak … he stood on top of this world but sadly didn’t come home.”
”He was the most courageous, adventurous human we knew and he will be forever missed,” A family statement on Facebook said.
A guide told the Himalayan Times that the Australian man began acting strangely while descending Mount Everest. He was assisted down to the balcony area, which is 8,400m above sea level, by two Sherpa guides.
“Since the oxygen cylinders that they had with them were running out, they decided to descend to Camp 4 hoping to climb back again with oxygen cylinders to rescue him,” Asian Trekking chief Dawa Steven Sherpa told AFP.
However, because of strong winds, they were unable to reach the camp and Mr Kennison then collapsed and died. He died in what is commonly known by Everest climbers as the ”death zone”, the area of the mountain above 8000 meters. His remains are still on the mountain.
Notably, his ascent occurred 17 years after he was told he might not be able to walk again. He survived a devastating car crash in 2006 when a road train sideswiped the vehicle he was in on his way to work. He was climbing to raise funds for Spinal Cord Injuries Australia.
Mr. Kennison stated on his fundraising page that he would attempt to climb Mount Everest Base Camp ”and hope to continue to higher camps of the mountain” from there.
According to Sky News, this is the tenth fatality this climbing season on the world’s highest mountain. According to Nepal’s tourism department, nearly 450 climbers have scaled Mount Everest this season.
Also read: Indian Female Mountaineer dies at Everest Base Camp after falling ill
