INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, JUNE 21This spring, celebrated climber Nirmal 'Nims' Purja of Elite Exped made headlines for many
wrongdoings in the mountaineering industry
The list includes holding illegal training for Elite Exped climbers above the Everest base camp, commandeering an illegal chopper flight to
Camp II, circulation of misleading video on rope slicing above the South Summit and revelation of alleged sexual assault against his female
Lawmaker calls for ban on climber Nims Purja, Osprey ends partnership over sexual abuse allegations
DoT expresses serious concern over Nims Purja's Everest video claim,
announces legal investigation
Besides, THT's
investigation has revealed that Nims deliberately took a world's renowned female athlete to Camp II last year to attempt to scale Mt Everest
"Rochelle Gilmore, 42, was illegally taken to Camp II from the base camp on 21 May 2023 to resume her ascent to the world's highest peak,"
confirmed sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal
Nims chartered a heli flight for Rochelle to take her Camp II on May 21 and airlifted her from the same location on May 26 last year, CAAN's
flight logbook details show.According to the Department of Tourism, Rochelle made it to the summit of Everest on May 23 and reached the
summit point of Mt Lhotse on May 25 as she was guided by a IFMGA Guide
Base camp sources also confirmed that she began her climb from Camp II taking an illegal heli-ride on May 21 and was also picked from Camp
II for Kathmandu after she descended from the summit point of Lhotse on May 26.
"It's illegal to take climbers directly to
Camp II for the summit bid," Rakesh Gurung, Chief at the mountaineering section of the Department of Tourism, said
"Summit is only counted if the climb begins and ends at the designated base camp of the mountain," he said.With the help of the expedition
liaison officer, who never showed up at the base camp, Nims then managed to obtain summit certificates to Rochelle, sources said
posted in his social media, "Never let anyone tell you your dreams cannot be done
medical conditions, which include: allergic asthma, Hypogammaglobulinemia, Cholinergic urticaria, hypertension, Haglund syndrome and
together to create an all-round plan to support her to make her dreams possible
Firstly, she summitted Ama Dablam with us last year and then, guess what? Rochelle smashed Everest and Lhotse," Nims added.Flouting climbing
rules, Nims chose to reschedule her climb from Camp II - Summit - Camp II as Rochelle fell ill during the first summit push near Camp III
from where she had been evacuated for treatment just a week ago
Sources claimed that Nims reportedly charged Rs 2.5 crore to make her mission a success
"After a week of medication and rest in Kathmandu, she returned to Camp II to make final summit pushes," sources clarified.However, Rochelle
has not shared anything about her climb on Everest and Lhotse in her personal blog and social media but she only recounted her painful
journey to Everest base camp back in 2019
She reportedly sold her Mallorca house to pay Everest/Lhotse expenses to Nims after returning to her home country.Rochelle's Career
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
