Melbourne woman Maria Strydom dies on Mount Everest
Melbourne
university lecturer Maria Strydom has died on Mount Everest, and her
family are angry they had to find out about her death through the media.
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 yesterday gave them hope but a
Google search last night delivered the devastating news that Dr Strydom
had died, her sister Aletta Newman told AAP.
"Before I went to
bed last night, I came across this article in the Himalayan Times naming
my sister as having died on Everest and that is the absolute first I'd
heard of it," Ms Newman said in Brisbane.
Maria Strydom reached the top of the world's highest peak, but perished on the way back down. (Monash Business School)
An
experienced climber, Ms Strydom told a university newsletter that
icefalls and avalanches were the main hazards she was concerned about.
(Monash Business School)
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.
"We just don't have answers and we'd really like to have some," Ms Newman said..
The family is also worried about Mr Gropel, a veterinarian who was with his wife on the expedition.
The Department of Foreign Affairs told Ms Newman only that Rob is injured and they are trying to get him down from the mountain.
"Praying for Rob's safety," Dr Strydom's mother Maritha Strydom wrote on Facebook today.
Ms Strydom said she expected to set her sights on a new adventure after the Everest expedition. (Monash Business School)
Ms Newman said efforts were underway to recover her sister's body but from an elevation of 8000 metres it would be difficult.
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."
Eric Arnold was also a seasoned mountaineer. (Twitter/@EricArnold8850)
News
of the deaths broke as confirmation came through that Queensland
teenager Alyssa Azar had become the youngest Australian to conquer
Everest on her third attempt.
Mountaineering expert Alan Arnette
told AAP it was "very normal" for five to 10 people to die on Everest
each year and altitude sickness was quite common.
He said altitude sickness was a broad term for a number of problems, including fluid in the lungs and brain swelling.
Monash
University said in a statement it was "deeply saddened by the tragic
news" of Dr Strydom's death and extended heartfelt thoughts and support
to her family, friends, colleagues and students.
Dr Strydom played with St Michael's Netball Club, who put out a statement saying she'll be greatly missed.
Everest expeditions in 2014 were cancelled after 16 sherpas died in an icefall avalanche.
Trips
were cancelled again in 2015 when Nepal's 7.8-magnitude quake triggered
an avalanche that killed 22 mountaineers at Everest Base Camp.
