An adventure-loving Utah couple reached the summit of Mount Everest on Friday, and returned with observations about the crowding and weather conditions that have led to 11 mountaineers dying on the world’s tallest peak this season.
“I would blame the weather for the difficulties this year, not the crowds,” said Caroline Gleich, a professional ski mountaineer based in Salt Lake City, who made it to the top of Everest at 7:04 a.m. local time on Friday with her fiancé, Rob Lea.
Gleich and Lea climbed Everest from the northeast ridge in Tibet, a less-traveled route than the Nepal approach, Gleich said in an email interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.