An Australian woman, 34, and a Dutch man, 35, have died while descending from the world’s highest mountain this weekend. Reports have stated that both climbers succumbed to altitude sickness on their descents.
Eric Arnold
A Dutch man, Eric Arnold died descending the 29,028-foot Mt. Everest this weekend. Arnold, 36, was a professional mountain climber and motivational speaker.
He survived the avalanche at Base Camp that left 18 dead, and was there the year before when 16 Sherpa guides were crushed by a falling block of ice. In 2012 bad weather forced him to turn back just yards from peak.
He told teammates: “my body has no energy left,” shortly before dying.
This was Eric’s 5th and final attempt at Mt. Everest. He did summit.
Dr. Maria Strydom
Dr. Maria Strydom was a lecturer with the Melbourne university’s Department of Banking and Finance. She reportedly was suffering from altitude sickness, weakness, and low energy on the summit.
“After reaching the summit yesterday she said she was feeling very weak and suffering from a loss of energy… signs of altitude sickness.” – Pasang Phurba Sherpa
The 34-year-old was joined by her husband Robert for the challenge. Their goal was to prove that ‘vegans can do anything’.
It’s thought that she also suffered a stroke and blindness while descending from the 29,000-foot summit.
“It seems that people have this warped idea of vegans being malnourished and weak. By climbing the seven summits we want to prove that vegans can do anything and more.” – Dr. Maria Strydom in March
