It was a major scandal last month when Mount Everest looked like a freeway in Los Angeles, thus contributing to at least 11 deaths. However, another scandal is emerging as people have been alleged to be outright lying about reaching the summit:
Hell, these three climbers allegedly never made it past Camp III:
Vikas Rana, Shobha Banwala, and Ankush Kasana, all from northern India, were climbing this season with the Nepalese guide company Prestige Adventure. Kasana told the Himalayan Times that the group summited the mountain, along with four Sherpas, on May 26, around 10:30 A.M., which would have made them the only people on the summit that day. (According to my records of the 2019 season, there were no summits on May 26 due to high winds.) Kasana said that they didn’t know the names of the four Sherpas and refused to share summit photos when asked by the Kathmandu-based newspaper.
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Outside has been unable to reach the three climbers for comment. Damber Parajuli, owner and CEO of Prestige Adventure, told Outside that his company “got the summit news just a day before debriefing, but [the climbers] are not able to give proof for it. For this reason, they will not have the certificate without the proof, which we have already informed to the concerned authority.”
Successful Everest summit bids are verified by a liaison officer from the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism, who is also tasked with monitoring a team’s compliance with the rules. Climbers are required to produce a photograph of themselves standing on the summit with a clear view of their face for the liaison to validate whether or not they reached the top.
As to why they allegedly lied about summiting Everest: As one man who may or may not have reached the summit of Everest once said, "Because it is there."
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