Mountaineer Cheruiyot Kirui's friend, James Muhia, opened up about the deceased's last conversation and interaction while summiting Mt Everest.
In an interview with NTV, Muhia recalled that the duo was scheduled to summit the tallest mountain together after a previous success climbing Mt Manaslu in Northern Nepal.
However, Muhia opted out due to a personal reason but was assured that Kirui's attempt would be a success.
“We were meant to go to Everest together but three weeks before the expedition, I had to make the painful decision to call and inform him that I was not going for (the Mt Everest climb) for personal reasons. I told him no pressure but I hope you come back with a summit because if you sum it, then I can ship my focus to a different Mountain," he stated.
"I know for a fact that he was very much prepared for that climb. We had done a lot of preparations. I can guarantee that some of the things that we did before Manaslu and before Everest, pushed ourselves to the limit."
Muhia further noted that he kept communication with Kirui who was, at first, reluctant to publicise his achievements on the mountain in real time. He was preparing to climb without supplementary oxygen.
After persuasion, however, Muhia and a colleague, Limo, were allowed to document his achievements as part of recording history in the making.
“When he arrived on the mountain, we kept communication. Initially, he didn't want his climb put out there until it was done, but I told him that what he was doing, was making his history and we needed to write our own history. We needed to record our achievements and inspire the next generation," he added.
“After a lot of persuasion, he agreed that myself and Limo, our mutual friend, could post regular updates for his climb. We would constantly push him where what's the plan and eventually we knew that he was ready for the summit."
"He did proper acclimatisation climbs. He did two rotations up and down the mountain. The last one was to camp 3 around 7,000 meters and he slept there. He was upbeat," Muhia added.
The friend further revealed that while Kirui was on the mountain, he ran into a South African mountaineer who was descending from the summit.
The duo had agreed to meet after the sport was over but Kirui passed away just 40 meters away from the summit.
Muhia revealed that official communication from Nepal indicated that the incident happened after Kirui had crossed the 8,800-meter mark.
"I talked to one of the climbers who was on the mountain at the same time, a South African lady and she told me that she met Cheruiyot on his way up to the summit. They chatted a bit. He was upbeat, energetic, and sharp. There was no indication that he was tired or struggling," bMuhia recalled.
"Unfortunately, the mountains are unpredictable. From the reports we are getting directly from the expedition company, there was a partial collapse of the route at a place called Hillary Step. Hillary Step is the last hurdle before you get to the summit. He was above Hillary Step at a place called Bishop Rock."
Kirui, whose body will remain at the mountain, was found dead on May 23 this year and the family held a casket-less funeral on Monday.
