Tributes flow for Perth climber Chin Tark Chan who died on Nepal’s Himlung Himal after falling ill

A climber who fell ill and died while climbing one of Nepal’s highest peaks has been revealed to be a much-loved Perth resident.

Chin-Tark Chan died on Wednesday while trying to climb the 7,126-metre Himlung Himal, a Himalayan peak about 150 km northwest of Kathmandu, near the Tibetan border.

He had a passion for mountaineering, particularly in Nepal, with social media photos showing him enjoying many expeditions with friends.

Following the heartbreaking news, friends took to social media to pay tribute to Mr Chan.

“We will miss you so much my friend, we are grateful for all the fun times and adventures we shared. You will never be forgotten,” wrote Natalie Thomas.

Ahmed Shakeeb shared photos of himself with Mr. Chan on their mountaineering trip, saying “this beautiful soul was lost in the mountains.”

It appears that Mr. Chan will be celebrating his birthday this weekend.

Friends and family started a GoFundMe in his honor and have raised almost $7,000 so far to support Nepal’s sherpa communities and high-altitude rescue teams.

“While no words can alleviate this loss, we choose to honor Chinny’s memory by giving back to those who make high-altitude expeditions possible: the devoted Sherpas of Nepal,” Rebecca Allan wrote.

“Sherpas risk their lives on every climb… but often work with limited support or protection.”

Mr Chan is understood to have worked for Go Medical Industries, a Subiaco-based company that provides products for medical procedures.

A spokesman for Mr Chan’s evacuation provider, Global Rescue, said Chan began experiencing severe symptoms at 6800 meters local time on Monday morning.

Reports said sherpas, Nepalese guides employed by expedition company 8K Expeditions, reported via WhatsApp that Mr Chan was suffering from snow blindness and loss of mobility.

Global Rescue said a helicopter was requested for long-line or aerial rescue, but this was “determined to be unsafe” because Mr Chan’s location exceeded Nepal’s maximum operating altitude for such missions.

Two hours later, sherpas reported that Mr. Chan was almost unconscious.

Another helicopter operator attempted a hover rescue four hours after he first fell ill, but bad weather caused the crew to abandon the mission.

Sherpas managed to move Mr Chan to a lower camp on Monday evening, where he was found to have frostbite on his fingers and toes.

It was reported that the group had to wait because heavy snowfall made both landing and evacuation by helicopter impossible.

Nepal authorities on Wednesday temporarily suspended all helicopter flights following an unrelated crash.

As the sherpas tried to carry Mr. Chan further down the mountain, Mr. Chan died halfway down the descent.

“Tragically, before a safe weather window was provided, the client died below the third camp at approximately 6500 metres,” a Global Rescue spokesperson said.

Lakpa Sherpa, managing director of 8K Expeditions, said Mr Chan was one of nine climbers supported by 10 sherpas on the mountain.

Lakpa Sherpa said Mr Chan had made several trips to Nepal and had failed in his Himlung Himal attempt the previous year.

“I know him very well personally… so I’m very sorry,” he said.

“We lost a good friend and a climber.”

He said Mr. Chan’s body remained on the mountain due to persistent bad weather, but he hoped rescue efforts would continue when conditions improved.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing consular assistance to Mr Chan’s family.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” the spokesman said.

– with NewsWire