Solo SA climber chased off Everest

A South African attempting to climb Mount Everest alone and without a permit has been ordered off the mountain, had his passport confiscated and will be fined $22 000 (about R298 000).

Ryan Sean Davy, 43, told officials at base camp that he had climbed alone as far as camp two – 6 400 metres – to acclimatise ahead of a summit push before he was caught.

Foreigners have to pay the Nepal government $11 000 for permission to climb the 8 848-metre peak – a major earner for the impoverished country.

“I saw him alone near base camp so I approached him and he ran away,” said Gyanendra Shresth, the government liaison officer at base camp.

“I followed him with my friend and found him hiding in a cave nearby,” he said.

“He had set up camp in an isolated place to avoid government officials.”

It is highly unusual for a foreign climber to attempt to scale Everest alone – most do so with the help of at least one Sherpa guide and a large support team at base camp.

Davy could be banned from Nepal for five years or face a 10-year ban on climbing in the country. Shresth said he had also seized Davy’s passport and told him to return to Kathmandu to retrieve it.

His fine of $22 000 is double the cost of the permit.

Davy could not be reached for comment, but photos on a Facebook page under his name appear to show a climber traversing the Khumbu Icefall, which lies between base camp and camp one.

In an accompanying post, Davy – who identifies himself as a director and producer – said that he had reached a height of 7 010 metres in six hours.

“When I heard that most of the expeditions on Everest had retreated to base camp because of incoming weather, I made my move,” read the post.

AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the Facebook page.

Davy told officials that he didn’t have enough money to buy a flight from the Everest region to Kathmandu to collect his passport.

He said he would instead walk and then catch a bus – a journey that would take at least four days.

Last year, an Indian couple were banned from Nepal after they faked photographs purporting to show them at the top of Everest.

– AFP

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