Cheruiyot Kirui: Missing Kenyan Banker Who Embarked On Daring Mt Everest Challenge
It was during a work boot camp at Outward Bound Training Centre in Kajiado County that he developed the passion to ascend to some of the highest peaks on Earth.
Marvin Chege 
Before he was reported missing on Wednesday, May 22, Kenyan banker Cheruiyot Kirui, in his 30s, was on a quest to ascent to the summit of Mt Everest, the world's highest mountain, without the use of supplemental oxygen, something very few human beings would dare to attempt.
It was during a work boot camp at Outward Bound Training Centre in Kajiado County that he developed the passion to ascend to some of the highest peaks on Earth. The Outward Bound is at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro, and standing at 5,895 metres, it is a major tourist attraction in Tanzania.
The desire to climb mountains pushed Kirui to try the ultimate challenge; summit the earth’s highest mountain above sea level: Mt Everest, which lies at a latitude of about 28 degrees and straddles the borders of Nepal and China.
“Climbing Everest has been done before. I think the only difference is what I'm trying to do, climbing without supplemental oxygen. That has not been done by any African. It's the tough way to climb Mt Everest,” he told reporters back in March this year.
Cheruiyot Kirui stands above 8,000 metres in the 'death zone' near the summit of Mt Manaslu, Nepal, last year. /CHERUIYOT KIRUI
“It is riskier than climbing with supplemental oxygen. So you need to be extremely fit. The success rate of climbing without supplemental oxygen is less than 40 per cent.”
The banker further noted that climbing with supplemental oxygen would be quite easy, and that is not what he wanted.
“The challenge for me would be without supplemental oxygen; otherwise, I wouldn't feel like I've achieved much. So I want to see how my body can cope in such altitude,” he added.
Kirui has been a believer in human extremes and has plenty of experience in doing so. Prior to the Everest challenge, he summited Mt. Manaslu in Nepal, the eighth-highest mountain in the world at 8,163 metres above sea level, without supplemental oxygen in September 2023, becoming the first African to achieve this feat on a peak above 8,000 meters.
He has done multiple speed climbs of Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895m), including completing the ascent and descent in just 15 hours and completing over 20 ascents of Mt. Kenya, setting course records on the three main routes, including a remarkable time of 2 hours and 56 minutes on the Sirimon route from Old Moses to Lenana Summit.
In 2014, he climbed Mt Kenya during the Easter holidays and Kilimanjaro, stating "I've lost count. The last two weekends, I climbed Mt Kenya. The next two weekends, I'll be there still. I climb up and down in less than seven hours. It has become relatively easier over the years."
Kirui has also done an expedition-style climb of Rwenzonri (Mt. Stanley 5,109m) over six days and traversed the Aberdare ranges, completing several routes including a self-supported South-North traverse.
Other than his mountaineering exploits, he also has plenty of experience in ultra marathons. In August 2022, he clinched second in the Ultra Trail Chiang Mai in Thailand (160km, 6,100m elevation).
He also participated in the Cappadocia Ultra Trail, Turkey (121km, 3,600m elevation) in October 2021 and completed the Tor Des Geants (Tour of the Giants) in the Italian Alps (356km, 27,000m elevation) in September 2019, chronicled in his book Ultramarathon: The Story Of Tor Des Géants.
Kirui also completed the No Business 100 in the USA (166km, 3,900m elevation) in 2018 and participated in the Beskidy Ultra Trail, Poland (96km, 4,900m elevation) in September 2017.
The mountaineer, who works at a local bank in Kenya, was reported missing alongside his Sherpa guide who both went out of contact from above 8,000m in the morning hours.
According to Mingma Sherpa, Chairman of Seven Summit Treks (SST), Kirui who attempted to scale Everest without using supplemental oxygen remained out of contact from the Bishop Rock, a few metres below the summit point.
Kirui, who wanted to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen, showed abnormal behaviour with his guide, Sherpa quoted Nawang as saying. "Then, the duo went out of contact," he added, as reported by The Himalayan Times.
SST mobilized two Sherpa rescuers to search for them and were reported to have reached above the balcony area. It is worth noting that a Romanian climber died at the same mountain, with expedition organisers led by Mohan Lamsal, Managing Director at Makalu Adventure revealing that Gabriel Tabara of Romania was found dead inside his tent at Camp III on Tuesday, May 21.
Before Kirui, 62-year-old retired Kenyan teacher James Kagambi made history by being the first Kenyan native to summit Mount Everest.
Other climbers who accompanied James during the climb included Phil Henderson, Manoah Ainuu, Fred Campbell, Abby Dione, Thomas Moore, Desmond “Dom” Mullins, Rosemary Saal, and Eddie Taylor. Their number was almost double that of the overall number of Black Everest summiteers.
