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29 March 2024

UAE residents escaped second-deadliest Everest season

(SUPPLIED)

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

Two Dubai-residents reached the Mount Everest summit this month despite this year having the second-deadliest summit season.

The Mount Everest season of 2012, which has now come to a close, was the second-deadliest season for climbers challenging the mountain top.

Overall, 11 have died, of whom 6 people died in the last week only.

The Finnish Atte Miettenin and the British Leanna Shuttleworth, both residents of Dubai, however made it to the summit successfully.

"There are only certain time frames, called summit windows, when climbing the summit is responsible, due to the changing weather circumstances.

This year there were only two summit windows; a 36 and a 48 hours period!" explains Atte who reached the summit on May 19.

Due to the limited opportunities to reach the summit and a high number of climbers, there was a bottleneck of people trying to reach the summit, due to which 6 people died.

"This was a strange experience. All of a sudden you see hundreds of people trying to reach the summit. Every now and then a water bottle would fall down, which could have hit us fatally. Imagine that you almost made it to the top but lose life because of a water bottle," says Atte recalling his summit push.

Altogether 240 people reached the summit this year, a near record.

However, there are many people who decide to return before having reached the summit. "About 50% of the summit climbers," thinks Atte.

"It is a tough decision. You train all year long, and you see the summit in front of you. But if you realize that you might not be able to make it back, you have to be realistic and choose for your safety," believes Atte.

"These people will say: I reached my summit."

The 8-manned expedition team of Atte saw 6 people reach the summit. Two of the team members had to return.

Another team member, the American Duane, has serious injuries to his feet. "It is frostbite; we had to evacuate him per helicopter, and he is being treated now in his country. It is still not clear what can be done, but he might have lost his toes forever. And he wanted to become a marathon runner," tells Atte.

"I am happy that I have not had to experience seeing people die," tells Atte. "There is an unwritten rule that once you are in the death zone –the zone above 8000 meters- you should not attempt to help a dying person, because you might risk your own life and there is very little chance you can save a person at this point.

"However, I was afraid to encounter such a situation, because it means giving up a part of a human reaction to death.

"I heard of people who have had to step over dead people in order to continue to the summit. I cannot imagine myself doing this."