ExWeb is reporting this morning that an American climber by the name of Rick Hitch has died on Everest. Hitch was apparently on his way to Camp 3 with the IMG team when he collapsed on the mountain. The guides attempted to revive him for more than 45 minutes, but to no avail. He was 55 years old.
According to this story in Rick's hometown paper, he was attempting to climb the Seven Summits and had completed six of those peaks, leaving just Everest remaining on his list. Hitch, along with his wife Loretta, traveled to Nepal on March 26. Loretta made the trek with her husband to Base Camp before heading back home to California on April 12.
In his final blog entry, Hitch indicated that he was in BC resting before beginning his third, and final, acclimatization rotation on Everest. He, along with a number of other IMG climbers, were nearing Camp 3 when he collapsed. The exact cause of death is still unknown.
My condolences to Rick's friends and family, and his teammates on the IMG squad.