Kenyan Cheruiyot Kirui was on Wednesday declared missing on Mt Everest. Kirui was last heard of at 8,000 metres on the world’s tallest mountain as he endeavored to reach the peak without supplemental oxygen.
Whereas this was daring undertaking by Kirui, a brief profile on him reveals that he has been engaging in various mountaineering activities. None, though, has been as challenging as Mt Everest whose elevation (snow height) is at an astonishing 8,848.86 meters or 29,031 feet. This mountain is located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point.
Reports indicate that Cheruiyot Kirui and his guide Nawang Sherpa were last seen at Bishop Rock. This was just meters from the summit. Nawarg Sherpa reportedly told Base Camp that Kirui was behaving abnormally before the duo went out of contact.
Kirui has been working professionally as a banker with KCB. A breakdown that was shared by journalist Kenny Kaburu, Kirui had previously summited Mt. Manaslu which stands at 8,163 metres without supplemental oxygen in September 2023. This made him the first African to achieve this feat on a peak above 8,000 meters.
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He has also recorded multiple speed climbs of Mt. Kilimanjaro which stands at 5,895 metres. His latest ascent and descent was timed at just 15 hours. Kirui also has over 20 ascents of Mt. Kenya via the three main routes. Reports suggested that he had a time of 2:56 hours on the Sirimon route from Old Moses to the Lenana Summit. At the same time, Kirui had summited Mt Ruwenzori which stands at around 5,109 metres.
Kaburu also shared that Kirui had been ranked in the second position in the Ultra Trail Chiang Mai, Thailand in August 2022. He had participated in the Cappadocia Ultra Trail, Turkey in October 2021 and the Tor Des Geants (Tour of the Giants) in the Italian Alps in September 2019.
He had further finished the No Business 100 in the USA in 2018 and the Beskidy Ultra Trail, Poland in September 2017.