Extraordinary story of how Australian who died on the way down from summit of Mount Everest taught himself to walk again after horrific crash – as his haunting final texts emerge
- An Australian climber has died on Mt Everest
- Jason Kennison was ‘unresponsive’ at the summit
- It marks the 10th fatality on Mt Everest this year
An Australian climber who died on Mt Everest had been preparing for the trek for years after surviving a car crash and being told he would never walk again
Jason Bernard Kennison, 40, who is from Perth, died after he became unresponsive at the summit on Friday.
His death is the 10th fatality recorded on the world’s highest mountain this year.
Mr Kennison survived a devastating car crash back in 2006 when a road train sideswiped the vehicle he was in as he was on his way to work.
The accident left him with a broken femur, a dislocated shoulder and a brain hemorrhage, among other injuries.
It forced the diesel mechanic to learn how to walk again – before he suffered further spinal nerve damage years later.
Australian climber Jason Bernard Kennison (pictured), 40, has died on Mt Everest after reaching the peak
Mr Kennison pushed on with his goal of climbing Mt Everest to raise funds for Spinal Cord Injuries Australia.
Asian Trekking chief Dawa Steven Sherpa confirmed that Mr Kennison was brought down to the Balcony area after reaching the mountain’s peak.
‘Since the oxygen cylinders that they had with them were running out, they decided to descend to Camp 4 hoping to climb back again with oxygen cylinders to rescue him,’ he told AFP.
‘It was high wind and bad weather that prevented them (from) going back to bring him down. He died at the Balcony area.’
The Balcony is a small platform, situated around 8400m, where climbers can rest.
Mr Kennison’s family announced his tragic passing in a post to social media.
‘It is with absolute broken hearts that our dearly beloved brother, son, cousin, friend sadly passed away on Friday 19th [of May] climbing Mt Everest,’ the post read.
‘He achieved his goal of reaching the peak … he stood on top of the world but sadly didn’t come home. He was the most courageous, adventurous human we knew.’
Mr Kennison survived a devastating car crash back in 2006 when a road train sideswiped the vehicle he was in
The Perth climber became unresponsive at the summit of Mt Everest (pictured) before he was brought down to the platform on Friday
A close friend of Mr Kennison’s uploaded text messages he sent to the climber weeks before his death.
‘It’s been a rough and tough year of prep, let alone a few weeks here with the rotations, so now comes the final run when and if the weather allows like you say…’ he wrote.
After asking about seeing a picture taken on the mountain’s peak, Mr Kennison responded: ‘Within the next 4 weeks hopefully mate.’
Mr Kennison is the sixth person to die on the mountain among non-Nepalis, and the 10th overall in 2023.
Mr Kennison pushed on with his goal of climbing Mt Everest to raise funds for Spinal Cord Injuries Australia
Four people died on the mountain just last week including a man from China who ‘fell’ trying to reach the peak and a woman from India last Thursday.
One man from Moldova also died from illness on Wednesday and a sherpa was killed during his descent from the mountain on Tuesday.
US mountaineer Jonathan Reuel Sugarman, 69, perished on the mountain after he became unwell earlier this month, while three Nepali climbers were killed in April.
There has been a significant spike in the number of deaths on Mt Everest this year after three deaths were reported for the entire 2022 climbing season.
Nearly 450 climbers have climbed Mt Everest this season, according to Nepal’s tourism department.
More to come
