Four climbers died on Mt Everest over the weekend, according to various news reports, including one dispatched to the mountain to collect trash.
Reuters reported that tourism officials in Kathmandu confirmed Monday that Eberhard Schaaf from Aachen, Germany, died Saturday along the normal Southeast Ridge Route on the 8,850-metre peak. Schaaf, 61, was participating in the Eco Everest Expedition organized by Asian Trekking to remove garbage from the mountain.
Shriya Shah, a 32-year-old Nepal-born woman living in Canada, and a Korean, Song Won-Bin, also died while climbing down from the summit at the weekend, a Nepalese tourism official told the wire service.
On Monday, Outsideonline.com reported that the body of Chinese climber Ha Wenyi, 55, was found near 28,200 feet on Sunday and that a Nepali guide was reported missing Saturday.
Reuters said about 300 climbers were still clustered at base camps Monday waiting for good weather so they could begin their final trek to the summit. The climbing season will end in coming weeks with the arrival of the annual monsoon rains.