Bay Area mountain climber reacts to 11 climber deaths on Everest

ByCornell W. Barnard KGO logo
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Bay Area mountain climber reacts to 11 climber deaths on Everest
A well-known climbing expert in the Bay Area warns of the danger of climbing a Mountain so dangerous.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The death toll has now risen to nearly a dozen near the top of the world, where another climber has died this season after summiting Mount Everest. A well-known climbing expert in the Bay Area warns of the danger of climbing a Mountain so dangerous.

Chris Kulish watched his last sunrise from the top of the world, the 62-year-old attorney and experienced climber from Boulder Colorado died Monday on Mt. Everest after heading down to camp.

RELATED: American man who reached Seven Summits dies on Everest

He's the 2nd American, and 11th person to die this week.

"It's a dangerous mountain and the appeal to be there is so strong-- it doesn't seem to dissuade people," said climber Hans Florine.

Florine owns a rock climbing gym in Concord. He's also scaled Yosemite's El Capitan 178 times.

Florine has also tackled extreme climbs like Acacongua in South America at 22,000 feet where the air is thin.

"You can't think, your head hurts so bad," said Florine.

On Everest, with a narrow window of good weather, there's a traffic jam of climbers forced to spend longer stretches in the lethal "death zone" where oxygen tanks can run out.

"I get frustrated, here's a person dying and three dozen people walking by them," Florine added.

Nepal has issued a record number of permits this climbing season at $11,000 each.

Florine believes that the process needs to be changed.

He says all climbers need to know the risks and be prepared to scale the tallest mountain in the world.