Posted on 05/22/2016 8:00:39 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Dr Strydom, who also goes by Marisa, was on a seven-week expedition with her husband Robert Gropel - who has also been injured during the trek.
The 34-year-old's family say the couple's GPS tracker stopped working on Friday.
A single transmission from the tracker on Saturday gave them hope but a Google search on Saturday night delivered the devastating news that Dr Strydom had died, her sister Aletta Newman told AAP.
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Conflicting media reports attributing her death to altitude sickness, snow blindness and a stroke only added to the distress of the Strydom family, who have yet to hear from the company behind the expedition.
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Seven Summit Treks confirmed Dr Strydom's death but said it didn't have her family's details.
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The family is also worried about Maria's husband Robert Gropel, a veterinarian who was with his wife on the expedition.
The Department of Foreign Affairs told Ms Newman only that Dr Gropel is injured and they are trying to get him down from the mountain.
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Ms Newman said efforts were underway to recover her sister's body but from an elevation of 8000 metres it would be difficult.
Dr Gropel is at camp two and a rescue will be attempted.
Dutch climber Eric Arnold, who was in the same climbing party, died of altitude sickness on Friday - both fatalities the first this year on the world's highest peak.
Ms Newman said her sister and brother-in-law were experienced climbers and took extra oxygen bottles as a precaution.
Dr Strydom and Dr Gropel are vegans who were determined to climb the highest mountains on each continent.
"It seems that people have this warped idea of vegans being malnourished and weak," Dr Strydom said in March.
"We want to prove that vegans can do anything and more."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
As it was explained on talk radio, many moons ago.....’cows have teeth for grinding, therefore they are vegetarians. Dogs have teeth for tearing, therefore they are carnivores. Humans have both types of teeth, therefore they were designed to eat both vegetables and meat’. ‘Nuff said, that should end it’.
Yes, that is an amazing read. Beck Weathers figured prominently. Just as you say, left for dead twice. Didn’t he keep trying to indicate to his rescuers that his wristwatch was strangling his hand (and he ended up losing that hand?)
Yeah, but do they believe that?
They know they are, only not quite as.....
Was Beck Weathers a doctor? I seem to remember reading his book I have a fascination for reading books about climbing Mt. Everest. After reading so many, they all start running together.
vegans may be healthy for a time, but not for long...their “choices” are ultimately bad ones...IMO of course...
re the Sherpas:...it really does seem that the Sherpas are the ones doing the work....you never see their names but they make all these climbs repeatedly, and they carry all the stuff too...
vegan angle is stupid but the young hiker threw up the statement herself...
Beck went on to become a pathologist. He wrote a book called “Left For Dead”.
That’s disgusting.
timing is everything in high mt climbing...
I applaud the death of thrill seekers. And, if only they or their estate would be required to reimburse every dime of rescue efforts including injuries to the rescuers as if such had been caused by the thrill seekers negligence, and for which insurance may not be purchased, it would be perfect.
When I first heard of that I thought they had said they found Irvine’s body, not Mallory’s.
Still a lot of mystery on this.
I stand corrected, so they are still searching for Irvine’s body and the film.
I don't recall that. I think he either lost or took off his gloves and spent the whole night in the snow with no protection on his hands at all. A couple of people came by him and another Japanese lady who was lying beside him, and they all thought he was dead.
He gives inspiration talks around the country these days. I can't imagine anyone better suited to the job.
They are taking steps to alleviate the inexperience problem. Climbers will have to provide proof they have climbed on a mountain taller than 6500 meters. Altitude sickness is a major killer on these mountains, especially for inexperienced climbers who have have no idea how their bodies will react to oxygen deprivation.
The amazing people in all this are the Sherpas, who perform super-human tasks almost every day. Without them, there would be a lot more dead newbies.
I thought everyone carried one of those bags you could pressurize a sufferer in these days?
Being a vegan or scaling Everest?
Climbing the mountain.
Thanks
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