Two Climbers Died While Descending from the Summit of Mount Everest
Two climbers died on Mount Everest in the days after massive crowds reached the top. Outside learned of the fatalities from a liaison officer with Nepal’s Department of Tourism who is stationed at Mount Everest Base Camp . Both climbers wer…
Two climbers died on Mount Everest in the days after massive crowds reached the top.
Outside learned of the fatalities from a liaison officer with Nepal’s Department of Tourism who is stationed at Mount Everest Base Camp. Both climbers were clients of the Nepali guiding company Pioneer Adventures.
The deaths marked the first fatalities of the 2026 season involving client climbers.
According to Everest Chronicle, the victims were identified as Arun Kumar Tiwari and Sandeep Are, both of whom are of Indian descent. Quoting Nivesh Karki, the managing director of Pioneer Adventures, Everest Chronicle reported that both died of illnesses—not falls or avalanches—after descending the peak.
Tiwari died late at night on Thursday, May 21, near the Hilary Step on the summit ridge. He died after reaching the summit earlier that day. Sources told Outside that four Sherpa guides were attempting to rescue Tiwari and bring him down to lower elevations at the time of his death.
Are, who also reached the top on May 21, died just above Camp II at 21,000 during his descent. According to reports, Are developed snow blindness and other health problems on his descent and was being rescued by mountain workers at the time of his death.
Sources who knew Are told Outside that he was an avid mountaineer and climber who resided in Phoenix, Arizona. Climbing guide Jesse Ramos from Boulder, Colorado spoke to Outside from Everest Base Camp about Are, who was a client and friend.
“He would visit Colorado biannually for the past few years in his preparation to climb Everest,” Ramos said. “He wanted to be a more well-rounded mountaineer so he continued to develop in rock climbing, ice climbing, and fixed line climbing. He took health and wellness very seriously going into Mount Everest.”
Are had previously climbed 22,838-foot Aconcagua in Argentina, as well as 20,075-foot Lobuche Peak in Nepal in preparation for Everest.
According to Ramos, who operates a company called Boulder Mountain Guiding, Rae was a devoted yoga practitioner.
“As a working professional, he fit in his yoga practice every day as far as I know. He loved doing head stands when he visited lakes, cliffs and rivers,” Ramos said. “He spoke fondly of his homeland in India.”
Tiwari and Are’s deaths mark the fourth and fifth fatalities on Everest during the 2026 spring climbing season. Lakpa Dende Sherpa, 52, a climbing guide and high altitude worker died on May 3 while trekking to Base Camp. Bijaya Ghimire Bishwakarma, 35, a high altitude worker from Nepal’s Dalit ethnic group, died on May 10 while climbing through the Khumbu Icefall. Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 20, died on May 11 after slipping and falling on the Lhotse Face.
Are is survived by a 17 year old son. Outside offers our condolences go to the families of both Are and Tiwari in this difficult time.
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More than 70 Summits on May 22
After the record-breaking crowds on May 20, the Everest climbing route has continued to see steady summits on May 22, despite increasing winds above 26,000 feet.
Khim Lal Gautam, Nepal’s Department of Tourism representative at Everest Base Camp, told Outside that at least 70 climbers reached the summit on May 22.
This brings the season total to more than 700 successful summits. This number includes client climbers, guides, and high-altitude workers.
On May 22, Pa Dawa Sherpa from the village of Pangboche, just south of Everest Base Camp, climbed Everest for the second time this season. This marks Pa Dawa’s 31st Everest summit, placing him just one ascent behind world-record holding Kami Rita Sherpa.
Austrian guide Lukas Furtenbach told Outside that a massive wave of 42 clients and support team members from his company, Furtenbach Adventures, reached the summit on May 22, with another group of similar size from his company expected on May 23.
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