TORONTO – Shriya Shah-Klorfine, a Canadian, 33-year-old woman from Toronto was among the four people who died while descending from Mount Everest on Saturday.
Nepalese ministry officials said the conditions were extremely windy and overcrowded in an area known as the “death zone,” one of the most dangerous areas of the summit.
Sitting at 8,000-metres, this area above the last camp at the South Col gets its title because of the treacherous conditions and low oxygen levels that are present. There is a third as much oxygen as at sea level for more than a few days.
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Anyone who remains within the zone for longer will almost certainly die.
According to a 2008 study released by the Massachusetts General Hospital, most deaths on Mount Everest occurred during descents from the summit in this zone above 8,000 meters.
The study identified excessive fatigue, a tendency to fall behind other climbers and arriving at the summit later in the day as factors that are associated with a greater risk of death.
The reports said many people who died developed symptoms such as confusion, a loss of physical coordination and unconsciousness that suggest high-altitude cerebral edema — a swelling of the brain that results from leakage of cerebral blood vessels.
At 8,850-metres, Mount Everest is the world’s tallest peak, but K2, the second tallest at 28,251 ft, is considered more difficult to climb. When ascending to the death zone, some mountaineers use bottled oxygen, but those who don’t must descend quickly.
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