Who: 29-year-old Frank Ziebarth of Calgary
Where: North side of Mt. Everest
His mistake: None here. He tried to tackle a monumental challenge and his body wasn’t ready for it.
What happened: A man who has been planning to climb the Tibetan side of the mountain without supplemental oxygen died on his descent after making the summit. The man had been planning and training for the climb for three years.
Hours after reaching the summit, the man was exhausted and confused. He tossed his hat and mitts. Authorities believe the climber may have been suffering from hypothermia and lack of oxygen.
The man disappeared from the trail. There is no plan for a search or recovery for his body. The climber was intent to climb the mountain with no technology or unnecessary equipment including no satellite phone, no computer and no supplementary oxygen. Just him and the mountain.
Read the story here.
June 9, 2009
I climbed Everest on the 22nd of May and was the first to approach deceased climber (aka Frank) at base of 3rd Step on NE Ridge of Everest. Time was 3:30AM (Nepali Time). My two Sherpas and I thought he was a Chinese climber who had died on 17th of May so I did not check climber for pulse… He was lying in fetal position attached to fixed line – gloves off (left hand frozen and glassy, right hand not visible, face down in snow (not visible) – no movement and he did not respond to our verbal communication – climber deceased or unconscious). ID'd this climber as Frank when I got down to ABC on the 23rd of May. Able to ID Frank by color of climbing suit
Chris Guest – 2009 Canadian Everest North Ridge Expedition