GEOFFREY MBUTHIA ENTERTAINMENT SUB-EDITOR

23 May 2024

• The late climber was a banker at Kenya Commercial Bank.

Cheruiyot Kirui the famous Kenyan mountain climber who wanted to reach the summit of Everest without oxygen has been found dead.

Kirui who had inspired many with his heroic attempt had made a last post on social media 5 days ago that detailed his plan for the final assault.

"Finally. Tonight we head up. Summit Rotation. After 10 Basecamp days. But there were parties in honour of successful summits.

Kazakh party was particularly lively celebrating first Kazakh woman summiting Everest (powered by Kenyan armband)," he begun.

He also addressed the possible risks he might face stating that cold was a major one and what he had done to mitigate the issue.

" My plan A no-oxygen attempt comes with it's special preparations and risks, physically my body is ready. On the other risks, I'm taking the following measures; Cold Without oxygen one is much more susceptible to frostbite. So I have; Hands: Pair of heated gloves, pair of heated mittens with a spare set of batteries.

Feet: Two pairs of heated socks with a spare set of batteries.MedsI'm susceptible to HAPE so I'm armed with Nifedipine. For HACE I have Dexamethasone. And Acetazolamide. Manaslu taught me well, having had an episode of HAPE and no meds."

He also explained the contingencies he had in place where he to fail in his no-oxygen attempt.

"Emergency oxygen. Nawang Sherpa will ferry an emergency bottle of oxygen to be used; If I go lights out or if I go bananas.

If I'm time barred Unfavorable weather Body limit reached: when I realize I'm no superman.

Traffic jam: I'd planned to climb from the Tibet/North side to avoid traffic. But here we are, hopefully we get to avoid it."

The late Kirui finished by explaining the heavy toll planning for/executing the journey to the top had been for him.

"And so after heavy investment physically, mentally, timewise (this expedition is taking more than a month from a regular 8 to 5 banker), financially (the amount of zeros needed to make this happen means I declare bankruptcy immediately I land back in Kenya)...it's now the moment of truth. As usual, we reconvene here in a few days to see how things will have turned out."