SEATTLE – A retired Seattle doctor died while climbing Mount Everest on Monday, according to University of Washington officials.
University officials said on Twitter Tuesday that Dr. Jonathan Sugarman died Monday on the mountain. He was climbing the mountain as part of an expedition arranged by Washington state-based International Mountain Guides.
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Company officials said on their website that one of their team members died on the mountain at Camp 2, two levels higher than the base camp.
“It is with deep sorrow that IMG reports the death of one of our Everest 2023 team members at Camp 2," Eric Simonson, CEO of International Mountain Guides, said in a post on the website. “We can confirm that this event was not the result of a climbing accident or route condition that would be of potential impact or safety concern to any other teams on the mountain.”
Sugarman and the other IMG expedition climbers began moving up the mountain on April 29, according to expedition posts on the website.
The University of Washington said on Twitter that Sugarman was a clinical faculty member known for his work in Native American health care and international health.
Three Sherpa climbers died after falling into a deep crevasse on a treacherous section of Mount Everest just above the base camp in April.
Hundreds of foreign climbers and a similar number of Nepalese guides and helpers were expected to try to scale the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) mountain during the main climbing season that began in March and ends in late May.