Mount Everest in 2012

The difficult decisions made during the climbing season were highlighted by the departure of guiding company Himex from the mountain after concerns about a hanging serac in the Khumbu icefall.

Two years later, 16 Nepalese guides were killed when ice broke from the serac and created an avalanche.

Of interest was the fossil-bearing limestone that crowns Mount Everest, the nature and impact of ice in the region (such as the icefall), and the overall stratigraphy (including limestone, metamorphic rocks, pelites, and quartzites).

The retired office worker lives at the base of Mount Fuji, and had climbed many other peaks including Denali, the Eiger, and Lhotse.

[14] The Guinness Book of World Records states that 234 climbers summited on one day in 2012.

[20] Other factors involved overcrowding on the mountain,[21] a late summit bid, and insufficient bottled oxygen.