They are in a mountain of trouble.
According to a report on Thursday, two scandalous climbers were banned from mountaineering in Nepal after investigations found they faked their summit of Mount Everest.
Narender Singh Yadav and Seema Rani Goswami, of India, were banned by tourism officials from practicing alpine sports in the country for six years – after taking fraud to new heights in 2016, Indian Express newspaper reported.
To prove they had reached the world’s highest peak, the couple allegedly recreated photos of themselves at the summit and presented them to tourism officials as evidence, the outlet said. Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism then stated that they had accomplished the grueling feat.
But when Yadav took home the prestigious Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award in India last year, fellow mountaineers pointed to evidence showing that the footage of his 29,032-foot ascent had likely changed.
A Nepalese tourism ministry then launched an investigation, which revealed that the climbers had lied – and in fact “never made it to the top,” an agency official said.
“During our investigation, we found out that they had submitted fake documents [including photographs]Based on the documents and the interview with the relevant officials, including Sherpas [expert Nepalese mountaineers], we came to this conclusion, ”an official from the tourism ministry told the newspaper.
The climbers’ certificates were revoked and their lead guide, Naba Phukon, was also banned from climbing the country for six years, according to the newspaper.
After the scandal broke out, Phukon said the duo turned around before reaching the top due to problems with oxygen tanks and freezing.
Their oxygen bottles were not working and their Sherpa, Dawa Sherpa, was not there either. When I saw their condition, I told them both to return [to base camp]Later I met Rani at Lhotse Face and she suffered from frostbite. I called the Sherpas at base camp and they launched a rescue mission for her. Yadav had already left for base camp, ”Phukon said, according to the newspaper.