Kalpana Dash: The Tragic Death in the “Death Zone” – Everest’s 2019 Nightmare
May 23, 2019. At 27,000 feet on Mount Everest, a climber struggles to descend. Her legs no longer respond. Wind screams through her mask at 40 miles per hour. Her goggles fog with every labored breath. Each step feels like wading through concrete.
Three hours earlier, she had stood on top of the world, arms raised in victory, smiling for the camera. The hardest part was supposed to be over. She had reached the summit. She had won.
So why was her body refusing to move?
Below her, her Sherpa guide’s face shifted—a mix of panic and resignation. Because he knew something she didn’t. He had known it eighteen hours earlier, when they climbed past this very spot, and he had begged her to turn back. He knew what her oxygen-starved brain could not process.
She had been dying for hours. She just didn’t know it yet.
This is the story of Kalpana Dash—from the promise she made to her mother, to the message that would break a nation’s heart .
1. The Dream That Refused to Die
Kalpana Dash was born on July 7, 1966, in Dhenkanal, Odisha, India. She was a lawyer by profession, but her true passion was the mountains .
In 2008, she made history as the first woman from Odisha to scale Mount Everest, reaching the summit on May 21 . It was a moment of national pride. She had failed twice before—in 2004 and 2006—due to bad weather and health conditions, but she never gave up .
She climbed Denali in North America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, and peaks across Europe, South America, and Australia . She became a symbol of inspiration for young women across India .
2. The Final Expedition
In April 2019, Dash set off for Everest once again. She was part of a three-woman team, climbing alongside Kanchimaya Tamang of Nepal and Liamu Mank of China . Her goal was not just to summit, but to encourage women to participate in adventure sports and spread a message of world peace, fraternity, and women’s empowerment .
Before leaving, she met with Odisha’s Governor, who greeted her. Her family and thousands of well-wishers gathered to see her off .
On May 23, 2019, Dash and her team reached the summit. She had done it again. But the celebration was short-lived.
3. The Descent: When the Mountain Takes Its Price
The descent from Everest is often deadlier than the ascent. Climbers reach the summit exhausted, their oxygen supplies depleted, only to face hours of dangerous downward climbing in freezing temperatures.
During her descent, Dash began to struggle. Her legs weakened. Her breathing became labored. According to her brother, who stayed in contact with her team, she had trouble walking and was coming down slowly with the help of Sherpas .
She collapsed near the “Balcony”—an area at approximately 8,600 meters (28,200 feet) on the South Col route . Her breathing stopped .
Her body lay hanging near the Balcony, waiting to be retrieved .
4. The “Traffic Jam” That Killed Her
Dash’s death was not an isolated tragedy. It was part of a much larger crisis that plagued the 2019 Everest season. Nepal had issued a record 381 permits costing $11,000 each . Hundreds of climbers rushed the mountain during a narrow weather window, creating deadly bottlenecks.
The queue near the summit forced climbers to wait for hours in the “Death Zone”—above 8,000 meters, where the air is too thin to sustain life. Ang Tshering Sherpa, former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, warned: “Spending a long time above the death zone increases the risk of frostbite, altitude sickness and even death” .
At least 11 climbers died during the 2019 season . Dash was among them, along with other Indian climbers like Nihal Bagwan and Anjali Kulkarni, and American climber Donald Cash .
5. The Recovery: Bringing Her Home
Retrieving Dash’s body was a difficult and dangerous operation. A search and rescue team of Sherpas climbed to retrieve her remains from the Balcony . On May 27, her body was brought down to Base Camp IV, then flown to Kathmandu .
On June 2, 2019, her mortal remains arrived in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Hundreds gathered at Kalinga Stadium to pay their respects. Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera said: “Kalpana Dash was an ace mountaineer who brought fame to the state. She was an achiever who led by example and even in her death she will continue to inspire young aspirants to scale great peaks” .
6. The Legacy
Kalpana Dash was 52 years old when she died. She was the first woman from Odisha to summit Everest, a feat she achieved after two failed attempts. Her death in 2019 was a devastating reminder of the dangers of overcrowding on Everest—a problem that has only grown worse in the years since.
She once said that her purpose was to encourage women to participate in adventure sports and spread a message of world peace and women’s empowerment . Her legacy continues to inspire a generation of climbers.
Primary Sources:
Wikipedia — Kalpana Dash
Dawn — “Traffic jam at Everest claims more lives” (2019)
The New Indian Express — “Odisha’s first woman mountaineer Kalpana dies” (2019)
India Today — “Body of Odisha’s first Everester Kalpana Dash reaches home” (2019)
ANI News — “Mountaineer Kalpana Dash’s mortal remains retrieved” (2019)