As Kenyans wrap their head around the death of mountain climber Cheruiyot Kirui, which occurred near the summit of Mt. Everest, it turns out that he was fully aware of the consequences of the risk he was taking.

Kirui died after attempting to reach the summit of the mountain without supplementary oxygen. He is not the first person to make such an attempt as there have been previous success.

A post he shared on Facebook about on May 17, 2024 indicate that he was excited about the expedition, considering that the past days he had been confined at the Basecamp with no much activity.

He revealed that he had fully prepared for the no-oxygen attempt.

“A no-oxygen attempt comes with its special preparations and risks, it’s no accident that only 3% of successful Everest summits are without oxygen, and that 3% is a success rate of about 30% ( hoping we’ve not lost you there) of attempts by mostly professional mountaineers and alpinists. Physically my body has had its share of battering and although it may not like me anymore, it’s ready for this,” Cheruyiot Kirui said.

He also prepared for the other risks, which included keeping himself warm, carrying medication among other preparations.

He proceeded to list the conditions that would see his companion Newang Sherpa ferry him emergency oxygen. They included;

• If I go lights out or if I go bananas
• If I’m time barred: too much time in the death zone is dangerous.
• If I’m not moving strongly or quickly enough then there’s no point.
• Unfavorable weather: If the weather turns against our respected forecasters (as it happened on 12th) and the exposure is dangerous.
• Body limit reached: If the body is fed up and can’t handle the grind and I realize I’m not superman.

“Traffic jam: My initial plan was to climb from the Tibet/North side to avoid traffic. But here we are, hopefully we get to avoid it, but if it leads to dangerous inactivity and exposure in the death zone then we’ll weigh our options,” he explained.

“This attempt therefore looks a lot like a shot in the dark, but we know where the darkness is, and our shot is aimed in there. So as I send my body and spirit up there, I’ll sit with the rest of you and wait in anticipation for the outcome. Naturally the uncertainties add much more to the thrill of this undertaking.
And finally some clarification,” Cheruiyot Kirui further said.

“I’d mentioned I was to head up for a third rotation. That’s true. But what you know as third rotation I know as summit rotation or summit push.
Therefore, 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,” he concluded.

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