82-Year-Old Climber Dies on Everest

Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay wanted to set a record
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2011 4:29 AM CDT
82-Year-Old Climber Dies on Everest
This Oct. 21, 2005 file photo shows Mount Everest from an aerial view taken over Nepal.   (AP Photo/Jody Kurash, File)

A sad end to an ambitious tale: Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay, 82, wanted to become the oldest person to climb Mount Everest, but has died in his attempt. The former Nepalese foreign minister was on his way back to the base camp last night when he collapsed and died, the AP reports. His body was carried back to the camp and is expected to be airlifted out today. Upadhyay is believed to have succumbed to high-altitude sickness, commonly responsible for mountain climbing deaths. (More Mount Everest stories.)

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