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Everest recovery slowed by bad weather

The parents of a Melbourne climber who lost his wife on Mount Everest say the were 'very worried' before the couple embarked on their summit attempt.

Maria Strydom with husband Robert Gropel in an image acquired Sunday, May 22, 2016 shows Dr Maria Strydom (left).
Maria Strydom, lwho died on Mount Everest, with husband Robert Gropel. Source: AAP

Bad weather is hampering efforts to recover a Melbourne woman's body from Mount Everest.

Seven Summit Treks managing director Mingma Sherpa said on Wednesday Marisa Strydom's body had been moved 300 metres down the mountain from where she died but poor conditions had slowed progress.

"We're trying our very best, but the weather is bad and we can't bring her down today," he said by phone from Nepal.

"We need to get down to 6600 metres to camp two and from there we can get a chopper in to take her to Kathmandu."

Dr Strydom's sister, Aletta Newman, on Wednesday acknowledged "it will be at least a few days to get her to Kathmandu if successful".

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The Monash University lecturer died on the weekend after suffering altitude sickness while descending.

Her husband, Melbourne vet Robert Gropel, was airlifted to Kathmandu after also falling ill but has since been released from hospital.

He has a residual cough after battling fluid in the lungs and swelling of the brain during the fatal expedition that claimed the life of his 34-year-old wife and Dutch climber Eric Arnold.

Dr Gropel's parents, Heinz and Patricia, are in Nepal with their son after flying from Melbourne earlier this week.

The couple acknowledged they'd been "very worried" before their son and daughter-in-law embarked on their attempt to scale the world's highest peak.

"We knew what Everest could do but you can't deny children their dreams," Mrs Gropel said in an email to AAP.

"Heinz enjoyed climbing when young and we're walkers. We climbed Mt Kilimanjaro with Rob and Marisa two years ago."

Mrs Gropel said that shared trek was "a wonderful experience".

Meanwhile, two Indian climbers who'd been missing on Mount Everest have been confirmed dead by Nepalese authorities.

"Their bodies were spotted by another team at the Triangle close to the summit," tourism ministry official Gyanendra Shrestha told the dpa news agency.

"It's at such a great height that it would be impossible to try and carry the bodies down."


2 min read

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Source: AAP



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