Concern turned into sad certainty. A four-man Nepalese search team from the operator 8K Expeditions found the body of the Mongolian mountaineer Usukhjargal Tsedendamba in the summit zone of Mount Everest at 8,550 meters. This was reported by the Kathmandu-based newspaper “The Himalayan Times”.
The 53-year-old and his 31-year-old compatriot Purevsuren Lkhagvajav have been missing since last weekend. “The fate of the other climber Purevsuren is still unknown,” said Lakpa Sherpa from 8K Expeditions. Realistically, the chances of finding the Mongolian alive are close to zero. The search operation in the summit area of Mount Everest had to be temporarily interrupted due to strong winds.
Without bottled oxygen and Sherpa support
Usukhjargal and Purevsuren were part of a three-man team from a mountaineering club in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator. They had set out to climb Mount Everest without bottled oxygen and without Sherpa support. The Mongolians had their expedition in Nepal organized by 8K Expeditions.
Second wave of summits expected at the weekend
A real rush of commercial teams to the summit of Everest is expected this weekend. Traffic jams at the key points seem inevitable. Meteorologists are predicting little wind for the coming days, but some snow showers. Around 70 summit successes were reported last weekend. The Nepalese Ministry of Tourism has issued a total of 414 climbing permits for this spring. In spring 2023, there were 478 permits, more than ever before in a single season.
At the beginning of May, Nepal’s Supreme Court called on the government to cap the number of permits in view of the environmental pollution on the world’s highest mountains. The highest court of the Himalayan state has not yet specified precise criteria for this, let alone figures.
Update 4.45 p.m.: According to the “Kathmandu Post”, the search team on Everest found another body at around 8,400 meters near the so-called “Balcony”. It is suspected that it is Purevsuren Lkhagvajav. We should know for sure by Saturday, it said.
