"Thank you so much everyone," he told his supporters in Kathmandu on Monday. Ahead of his return from China, he wrote on his official Instagram account that his achievement was a "tribute to every Sherpa who has ever dared to dream beyond the traditional boundaries set for them."
Among the deceased was professional climber Keita Kurakami; the bodies were found at different locations on the mountain, all thought to have ascended separately, raising questions on the circumstances of their deaths.