Melbourne university lecturer Maria Strydom dies descending Mount Everest

A 34-year-old Melbourne woman has died after climbing to the summit of Mount Everest.

Dr Maria Strydom, who also goes by Marisa, was a finance lecturer at Monash University, and fell ill from altitude sickness while descending from the summit.

Her mother-in-law told the ABC that Dr Strydom’s husband, Rob Gropel, was with her when she died, and he has since been brought down to Camp 2 where he will then travel to Kathmandu.

Dr Strydom was on her way down from Camp 4 to Camp 3 when she became sick, Pasang Phurba Sherpa, a board director at Seven Summit Treks, said.

“After reaching the summit yesterday she said she was feeling very weak and suffering from a loss of energy … signs of altitude sickness,” Sherpa said.

Dr Stydom’s mother, Maritha Strydom, has confirmed her daughter’s death on Facebook, saying she is “too devastated to communicate”.

The ABC has contacted DFAT for comment.

Dutch mountaineer Eric Arnold, who was in the same climbing party as Dr Strydom, also fell ill from altitude sickness and died on Friday.

The Dutch news agency ANP reported that Mr Arnold had told his team-mates after returning from the summit “my body has no energy left”, adding he had apparently died in his sleep.

Mr Arnold was among the climbers caught in a deadly avalanche on Everest base camp last year following a massive earthquake.

About 330 climbers have successfully scaled Mount Everest this season, including Alyssa Azar who summitted on Saturday, becoming the youngest Australian to do so.

However, two other mountaineers have died in the past few days.

A Nepali Sherpa guide perished on Thursday after he slipped and fell 2,000 metres down Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest peak.

On the same day an Indian climber died after falling ill while descending from Mount Dhaulagiri, also in the Himalayas.

University pays tribute to much-loved friend, teacher

Monash University told the ABC this was a “challenging day for so many who knew Maria”.

“Maria was a valued and popular member of the department of banking and finance at Monash University,” colleague Philip Gray said.

“More than that, she was a much-loved friend to many and inspiration to all.”

The university described Maria has having an “unparalleled zest for life and the outdoors” and said everyone who knew her was “amazed at her discipline and enthusiasm”.

“Maria will be greatly missed — but very fondly remembered — by her many generations of students and colleagues at Monash business school and the broader academic community throughout Australasia,” Professor Gray said.

Over the last eight years, Dr Strydom has climbed Denali in Alaska, Aconcagua in Argentina, Mount Ararat in Turkey and Kilimanjaro in her continent of birth, Africa.

Before she left for Nepal, Dr Strydom said despite the life-threatening risks of climbing Everest, she felt well-prepared.

“There are certain aspects of the mountain which will be out of our control, such as avalanches and icefalls which have plagued the previous two seasons on Everest,” she said.

“We can’t worry about this aspect of the climb and the odds are still very small of being caught up in it.

“A very experienced guide in Alaska once told us that of all the things you can regret once you are on the mountain, you will never regret over-training. It is also important to get experience spending long periods on a mountain.”

© 2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Read the ABC Disclaimer here.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.