Vancouver man, 63, dies while attempting to fulfil dream of summiting Mount Everest

A Vancouver man died while attempting to fulfill his life-long dream of summiting Mount Everest, his family and colleagues confirm.

A Vancouver man has died while attempting to fulfil his life-long dream of summiting Mount Everest, his family and colleagues confirm.

Pieter Swart, 63, died while descending below Camp IV—the last major stop before the summit—after suffering an “undefined respiratory event,” according to a statement by the head of University of British Columbia’s department of anesthesiology, where Swart worked as an associate professor.

“We lost Pieter while he was bravely and courageously pursuing his dream of being on top of the world, since he was nine. As many of you know, Pieter had an insatiable wanderlust,” Hamed Umedaly wrote in a statement Thursday.

Swart died on Thursday while roughly 8,000 metres above sea level—an area commonly referred to as “the death zone” by mountaineers, since oxygen levels at this altitude are so low.

It's believed he was climbing with Madison Mountaineering, based on a post on the company's website.

Umedaly told CTV News Swart had been training for years to fulfil his life-long dream.

Swart had also scaled Denali, the highest peak in North America, and summited a mountain in South America.