They are in a mountain of trouble.
Two scandal-scarred climbers were banned from climbing in Nepal after an investigation found that they had falsified the summit of Mount Everest, according to a report on Thursday.
Narender Singh Yadav and Seema Rani Goswami of India have been banned by tourism officials from practicing alpine sport in the country for six years – after taking the fraud to new heights in 2016, the Indian Express newspaper reported.
To prove that they reached the highest peak in the world, the pair allegedly tampered with their photos at the summit and presented them to tourism officials as evidence, according to the vehicle. Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism then certified that they had completed the grueling task.
But when Yadav ran for India’s prestigious Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award last year, other climbers pointed to evidence that the images of his 29,032-foot climb were likely to have been altered.
A Nepal tourism ministry then launched an investigation, which concluded that the climbers lied – and in fact “never reached the summit,” said an agency official.
“In our investigation, we found that they presented false documents [including photographs]. Based on the documents and the conversation with the employees involved, including Sherpas [expert Nepalese mountaineers], we reached that conclusion, ”an official from the Ministry of Tourism told the newspaper.
Climbers’ certificates were revoked and their main guide, Naba Phukon, was also banned from mountaineering in the country for six years, according to the newspaper.
After the scandal broke, Phukon said the pair had changed before reaching the top due to problems with oxygen tanks and freezing.
“His oxygen cylinders were not working and his Sherpa, Dawa Sherpa, was not there either. Seeing his condition, he told them both to return [to base camp]. Later, I met Rani at Lhotse Face and she was suffering from freezing. I called the Sherpas at base camp and they launched a rescue for her. Yadav had already left for the base camp, ”said Phukon, according to the newspaper.