KATHMANDU, JUNE 21
This spring, celebrated climber Nirmal 'Nims' Purja of Elite Exped made headlines for many wrongdoings in the mountaineering industry. The list includes holding illegal training for Elite Exped climbers above the Everest base camp, commandeering an illegal chopper flight to Camp II, circulation of misleading video on rope slicing above the South Summit and revelation of alleged sexual assault against his female clients among others.
Besides, THT's investigation has revealed that Nims deliberately took a world's renowned female athlete to Camp II last year to attempt to scale Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse. "Rochelle Gilmore, 42, was illegally taken to Camp II from the base camp on 21 May 2023 to resume her ascent to the world's highest peak," confirmed sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Nims chartered a heli flight for Rochelle to take her Camp II on May 21 and airlifted her from the same location on May 26 last year, CAAN's flight logbook details show.
According to the Department of Tourism, Rochelle made it to the summit of Everest on May 23 and reached the summit point of Mt Lhotse on May 25 as she was guided by a IFMGA Guide. Base camp sources also confirmed that she began her climb from Camp II taking an illegal heli-ride on May 21 and was also picked from Camp II for Kathmandu after she descended from the summit point of Lhotse on May 26.
"It's illegal to take climbers directly to Camp II for the summit bid," Rakesh Gurung, Chief at the mountaineering section of the Department of Tourism, said. "Summit is only counted if the climb begins and ends at the designated base camp of the mountain," he said.
With the help of the expedition liaison officer, who never showed up at the base camp, Nims then managed to obtain summit certificates to Rochelle, sources said. "I am so proud of Rochelle Gilmore and very happy for her– she has just summitted Everest and Lhotse with us @eliteexped," Nims immediately posted in his social media, "Never let anyone tell you your dreams cannot be done. There is always a way – with the proper preparation, mindset and team supporting you."
According to his post, Rochelle has complex medical conditions which make it very hard for her to acclimatise at high altitude – people didn't believe that she could achieve it because of her medical conditions, which include: allergic asthma, Hypogammaglobulinemia, Cholinergic urticaria, hypertension, Haglund syndrome and allergies – including certain medications.
"However, with careful planning and consideration of all the health concerns, we were able to work together to create an all-round plan to support her to make her dreams possible. Firstly, she summitted Ama Dablam with us last year and then, guess what? Rochelle smashed Everest and Lhotse," Nims added.
Flouting climbing rules, Nims chose to reschedule her climb from Camp II - Summit - Camp II as Rochelle fell ill during the first summit push near Camp III from where she had been evacuated for treatment just a week ago. Sources claimed that Nims reportedly charged Rs 2.5 crore to make her mission a success. "After a week of medication and rest in Kathmandu, she returned to Camp II to make final summit pushes," sources clarified.
However, Rochelle has not shared anything about her climb on Everest and Lhotse in her personal blog and social media but she only recounted her painful journey to Everest base camp back in 2019. The athlete, who has recently bought a new home in Dubai, usually lives in Cronulla, Australia (October – March); Northern Italy & Mallorca Spain (March – October). She reportedly sold her Mallorca house to pay Everest/Lhotse expenses to Nims after returning to her home country.
Rochelle's Career Highlights:
· Inducted into the NSW Sports Hall of Fame (2017)
· Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist
· 3 x World Cup Gold Medalist
· 2 x World Track Championships Silver Medalist
· 2 x Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist
· Oceania Games Champion
· Junior World Championship Silver Medalist
· 2 x Giro d'Italia Femminile Stage Winner
· Route De France Stage Winner
· 2 x Australian Scratch Race Champion
· 2 x Australian Criterium Champion
· 1 x Australian Points Race Champion
