David Sharp

Mount Everest's North Face. Sharp took three expeditions to this mountain, with the third resulting in his death and triggering an international controversy. David Sharp (15 February 1972 – 15 May 2006) was an English mountaineer who died near the summit of Mount Everest. His death caused controversy and debate because he was passed by several other climbers heading to and returning from the summit as he was dying, although several tried to help him. and was noted as a talented rock climber who seemed to acclimatise well. He appeared briefly in season one of the television show Everest: Beyond the Limit, which was filmed the same season as his ill-fated expedition to Everest.

Sharp had a degree from the University of Nottingham and pursued climbing as a hobby. He graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1993.

Sharp took a six-month sabbatical from his job to go on a backpacking trip through South America and Asia.

2001 Gasherbrum II expedition In 2001, Sharp went on an expedition to Gasherbrum II, an mountain located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan province, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Xinjiang, China.

2003 Mount Everest expedition Sharp's first Mount Everest expedition was in 2003 with a group led by British climber Richard Dougan. The party also included Terence Bannon, Martin Duggan, Stephen Synnott, and Jamie McGuinness. Only Bannon and McGuinness reached the summit, but the group incurred no fatalities. climbed to , but did not reach the summit. but who became, on this 2004 expedition, the 56th French person to summit Everest. and included Austrians Marcus Noichl, Paul Koller, and Fredrichs "Fritz" Klausner as well as Nepalis Chhang Dawa Sherpa, Lhakpa Gyalzen Sherpa, and Zimba Zangbu Sherpa (also known as Ang Babu).

D'Aubarede and Sharp disagreed on using supplementary oxygen while climbing. D'Aubarede said it was wrong to climb alone and attempt summiting without supplementary oxygen. as he did not consider it a challenge to climb Everest with supplementary oxygen.

Before Sharp booked his trip with Asian Trekking, his friend McGuinness, an experienced climber and guide, invited him to join his organised expedition at a discount. Sharp acknowledged this as a good deal but declined so he could act independently and climb at his own pace.

Photo of Green Boots, a formerly unidentified corpse whose body became a landmark on the main Northeast ridge route of Mount Everest. DNA testing showed him to be Dorje Morup. Sharp was transported by vehicle to the Base Camp, and his equipment was transported by yak train to the Advance Base Camp as part of the Asian Trekking "basic services" package. Sharp remained there for five days to acclimatise to the altitude.

Sharp's predicament was not immediately known as he was not climbing with an expedition that would monitor climbers' locations, he had not told anyone beforehand of his summit attempt (although other climbers spotted him on his ascent), he did not have a radio or satellite phone to notify others, and two other more inexperienced climbers from his group went missing around the same time.

Members of the group of climbers Sharp was with, including George Dijmarescu, realised Sharp was missing when he did not return later in the evening on May 15 and nobody reported seeing him. There was no immediate concern as Sharp was an experienced climber who had previously turned back when he had experienced problems, and it was surmised that Sharp had sought shelter at one of the higher camps or bivouacked somewhere higher up on Everest. High-altitude bivouacs are very risky but are sometimes recommended in certain extreme situations.

Sharp died under the rocky overhang, sitting with arms clasped around his legs, next to Green Boots.

Accounts of the fatal climb Himex expedition – first team Himex had organised several teams to climb Everest during the 2006 climbing season expedition. The first team was guided by mountain climber and guide Bill Crouse. At around 01:00 on 14 May, during their ascent near the North route known as the "Exit Cracks", Crouse's expedition team passed by Sharp. When Crouse's team descended around 11:00, Sharp was seen again higher up on the mountain at the base of the Third Step. They left their high camp in the evening on 14 May and were traveling in three separate groups.

In the late evening to early morning, the Turkish team members encountered Sharp while ascending. The first group encountered Sharp around midnight, noticed he was alive, and thought he was a climber taking a short break. Sharp supposedly waved them on. Others who later noticed Sharp thought he was already dead.

Some of the Turkish team summited early in the morning on 15 May, while others turned back near the summit due to medical difficulties.

At about 01:00, Woodward and his group (including Inglis, Alexander, Whetu, and some Sherpa porters) encountered an unconscious Sharp. He was afflicted with severe frostbite but noticeably breathing. Woodward noted Sharp had thin gloves and no oxygen and they yelled at Sharp to get up, get moving, and follow the headlamps back to the high camps. Woodward shined his headlamp in Sharp's eyes, but Sharp was unresponsive. During his descent, Chaya and the Sherpa porter/guide he was with, Dorjee, encountered Sharp a little after 09:00 and tried to help him. Chaya also notified the Himex expedition manager Russell Brice over the group's radio.

Statements by Inglis suggest that he believed Sharp was beyond help by the time the Inglis party passed him during their ascent and the reported radio calls to their base camp. However, Brice, who was initially criticised for reportedly advising Inglis during his ascent to move on without assessing the situation or the possibility of rescuing Sharp, denied that he received any radio call about Sharp until he was notified some eight hours later by climber Maxime Chaya.

Jamie McGuinness New Zealand mountaineer Jamie McGuinness reported a Sherpa who reached Sharp on the descent, "...Dawa from Arun Treks also gave oxygen to David and tried to help him move, repeatedly, for perhaps an hour. But he could not get David to stand alone or even stand resting on his shoulders. Dawa had to leave him too. Even with two Sherpas, it was not going to be possible to get David down the tricky sections below". He also was on the 2003 expedition to Mount Everest with Sharp and other climbers,

David Watson Mountaineer David Watson, who was on the North side of Everest that season, commented to The Washington Post: "It's too bad that none of the people who cared about David knew he was in trouble... the outcome would have been a lot different." Watson thought it was possible to save Sharp, and said Sharp had worked with other climbers in 2004 to save a Mexican climber who had gotten into trouble. Watson went to Sharp's tent and showed Sharp's passport to Tashi, who confirmed his identity.