The world’s tallest mountain continues to claim lives.
A death toll is mounting on Mount Everest as overcrowding is causing deadly “traffic jams” near the summit.
A second American died after reaching the summit of Mount Everest as the world’s tallest peak faces a growing death toll amid dangerous overcrowding this climbing season.
Christopher Kulish, 62, a Boulder, Colorado, attorney, died Monday at a camp after summiting the mountain, his family said. He was the second American to died this season on Mount Everest.
Everest was the last peak in Kulish journey to summit the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents.
“He saw his last sunrise from the highest peak on Earth,” brother Mark Kulish said in a statement. “He passed away doing what he loved, after returning to the next camp below the peak.”
Don Cash, 55, of Utah, also achieved a lifelong dream of reaching the top of the seven tallest peaks on each continent, but like Kulish, died in his descent from Everest last week.
CBS News spoke to Dr. Ed Dohring, who was on the same expedition as Kulish. He had this to say, “I was surprised at how many people were, you know, above 26,000 feet and were really obviously either not fit or not experienced and probably shouldn’t have been there,” Dohring said. “I certainly wasn’t prepared to pass dead bodies that were attached to the safety line. It was very difficult.”
According to Reuters’Â count, at least nine climbers have died this season, though some news outlets place the number at 11.