On May 22, one of the best weather windows of the seasonso faropened up on Everest,and more than 200 climbersmade their push for the summit of the world’s highest peak. One of the climbers angling for the top of the 29,029-foot mountainwas American Don Cash, who was climbing with Nepali-owned outfitter Pioneer ϳԹs. After more than 12hours, Cash summitted along with the two Sherpas who were guiding him.
On the descent, though, something went wrongand Cash lost consciousness. The two Sherpas quickly performed CPR and were able torevivethe 55-year-old and move him down to the Hillary Step, the iconic rock feature 200 feet below the summit. After the 2015 earthquake shifted rocks on the mountain, the Hillary Step is no longer as technically challenging as it once was. But it’s still a steep snow slope that can create bottlenecks, especially when there are hundreds of people all pushing for the summit at once. When Cash and his Sherpa guides got to the Hillary Step they were forced to wait their turn for at least two hours. During the wait, Cash passed out again and took his final breaths. The cause of death is currently unknown.
This is the third death on Everest this season. A climber from India,Ravi Thakar,died after summiting while at the South Col andSeamus Sean Lawless, of Ireland, disappeared after his summit and is presumed dead from a fall between the Balcony and South Col. There have been 12 deathsacross the 8,000-meters mountains during this spring’s climbing period.