Another American dies descending from Mount Everest's summit

Another American has died on Mount Everest, marking the ninth fatality on the Nepal side of the mountain this climbing season. It’s unclear what caused Chris Kulish’s death at South Col Monday after he descended from the summit, an official with Nepal’s tourism department, Mira Acharya, told the Reuters news agency.

Kulish’s family issued a statement expressing their heartbreak upon learning of the 62-year-old’s death. They noted that, after reaching Everest’s summit, Kulish “became a member of the ‘7 Summit Club’ having scaled the highest peak on each continent.

“An attorney in his ‘day job,’ he was an inveterate climber of peaks in Colorado, the West and the world over. He passed away doing what he loved, after returning to the next camp below the peak. He leaves his mother, Betty (‘Timmie’) Kulish, a younger sister, Claudia and a younger brother, Mark,” the family said.

Chris Kulshi, 61, was the ninth person to die on the Nepal side of Mount Everest May 27, 2019. The American was on his way down from the summit at South Col. Family of Chris Kulish

The American’s death comes days after another climber died on the Nepal side. British mountaineer Robin Fisher, who’d previously warned of overcrowding on the world’s highest peak, died during his descent Saturday.

Also last week, American Donald Cash, 55, died after reaching the summit. The government of Nepal issued a record number of climbing permits this season — 381 people were given permission to ascend the world’s highest peak, which can create a logjam to reach the summit.

Two climbers have also died on the Tibet side of the mountain this season, which ends this month.