KATHMANDU: Russian climber Konstantin Smirnov, who was reportedly ‘left behind’ by his climbing guide during the descent from the summit point on Mt Makalu, has knocked on the door of Nepal’s court for justice.

After losing all fingers on his left hand due to frostbite, Konstantin accused Kathmandu-based Makalu Adventure and its guide of negligence and filed separate chargesheets at the Consumer Court in Kathmandu and the District Police Office in Sankhuwasabha.

According to the climber, he and his guide, Bhajuram Gurung, summited Mt Makalu on May 9, 2026, at around 10:45 a.m.

“I was left behind by my guide on the descent from the Makalu summit at 6:30 to 7 p.m. on May 9 at an altitude of approximately 7,900 meters,” the climber claimed.

While his guide, Gurung, arrived at the summit camp at 7,500 meters by 9 p.m., he left Konstantin alone at 7,900 meters. “But Bhajuram did not inform the base camp officials or other Sherpas in the summit camp that I was left behind,” the climber stated in his court appeal.

According to the GPS tracking record on his watch, Konstantin descended by himself until 9:30 p.m. on May 9, when at an altitude of 7,720 meters he stopped to rest and fell into a high-altitude coma/sleep. “As a result of lacking a mitten on my left hand, I suffered severe frostbite, requiring the full amputation of all fingers,” he added.

The next morning at 5 a.m. on May 10, Konstantin was somehow able to wake up and immediately activated the SOS signal on his Garmin Messenger. “My expedition to Makalu was organized by Makalu Adventure, a trekking and expedition operator in Nepal. I purchased a full-service package with a personal guide and five bottles of oxygen for $14,600,” he added.

Makalu Adventure assigned Bhajuram to him as his personal guide. The duo completed two proper acclimatization rotations prior to their summit bid. They had no conflicts, as Bhajuram was always in positive spirits and very service-oriented, he recounted.

“After my SOS signal was activated, my wife contacted Mohan Lamsal, owner of Makalu Adventure. Despite receiving my exact coordinates from Garmin, Mohan assured her for three hours that I was safe in the summit camp. I believe he delayed my rescue on purpose,” the climber shared.

“After admitting I was not in the summit camp, Lamsal implied it was my fault. He said I refused to use oxygen, which was a total lie,” Konstantin said, adding, “Finally, Lamsal said 'his Sherpas' could not go up to help me due to strong winds. At the same time, I was slowly descending by myself, and according to Garmin, by 7:30 a.m. on May 10 I had reached an altitude of 7,600 meters, not far from the summit camp (notwithstanding those 'strong winds'). As there was no visibility, I fell asleep again,” he recounted.

“At 10 a.m. on May 10, I woke up and asked Lamsal (via Garmin) to send someone up to help me, as I could not see the direction to the summit camp. He assured me and my wife that 'Sherpas with oxygen' were coming to help me. After waiting for four hours, I decided to proceed with my descent, as I was certain I would not survive another night on the mountain.”

By 5:40 p.m. on May 10, Konstantin was able to reach the summit camp at 7,500 meters by himself. His guide reportedly stayed the whole day in a comfortable, warm tent with plenty of oxygen. Makalu Adventure repeatedly asked him to come up to help the climber, but he refused, Konstantin added.

“I felt like he wanted me to die as soon as possible, as dead bodies do not talk. When I reached the tent, he refused to provide me with either oxygen or water (I was without water for 30 hours), so I just lay on the tent floor hoping to survive till morning,” Konstantin recounted.

Fortunately, at 1 a.m. on May 11, another Renjin Sherpa, the brave and strong climber as described by Konstantin, arrived at the tent to help Konstantin. “He was asked by Makalu Adventure to rescue me, and he left the base camp (5,700 meters) at noon on May 10. He walked for 13 hours straight through the night and bad weather and effectively saved my life,” Konstantin added.

“After arriving at our tent, Renjin immediately gave me oxygen, water, and found my emergency medicine box with dexamethasone ampules. My guide, on the contrary, had only pills against diarrhea in his first-aid kit. Later, Renjin told me that I was in very bad shape and 2–3 hours later it might have been too late.”

On May 11, Renjin helped Konstantin descend along the steep fixed lines to Camp 2 at 6,600 meters. With his frostbitten hand, he would not have been able to descend himself. “The next morning, on May 12, I was airlifted from Camp 2 by helicopter to Kathmandu,” Konstantin shared.

On the evening of May 12, Konstantin was admitted to Norvic Hospital in Kathmandu, where he spent ten days. “I was discharged on May 22. While at the hospital, I decided to pursue legal action against Makalu Adventure, Mohan Lamsal, and my guide, Bhajuram Gurung. Apparently, he was a regular trekking guide rather than a certified mountain guide. I hired a reputable local law firm, Imperial Law Associates,” Konstantin described.

Notably, Lamsal failed to contact him for over ten days while Konstantin was in the hospital. “Then, after my lawyers visited the police office in Kathmandu on May 22, he miraculously showed up at the hospital and wanted to see me. On the advice of my lawyers, I refused to communicate with him and his people from Makalu Adventure. They also advised against talking to the press prior to the registration of my court cases. Now that my civil case against Makalu Adventure and my criminal case against my guide have been successfully registered, I am free to speak publicly,” Konstantin added.

According to Imperial Law Associates, this is the first precedent in Nepal in which a foreign client has successfully filed a lawsuit against an expedition company and his guide. A case against Makalu Adventure is registered at Kathmandu’s Consumer Court demanding compensation and legal action against the firm.

The tourist police in Kathmandu also referred him to the police office in Khandbari, Sankhuwasabha, as Makalu mountain is located in that district. “So I traveled there with my lawyers and successfully filed an attempted murder case against my guide in Sankhuwasabha,” Konstantin shared.

However, Mohan Lamsal, owner of Makalu Adventures, rejected all claims made by Konstantin. “His allegations are baseless and completely untrue,” Lamsal said. According to him, Konstantin successfully made it to the top of Makalu, and an experienced mountain guide, Bhajuram, helped him achieve the feat. During his descent, Konstantin refused to move with Bhajuram, as he was moving very slowly and oxygen was running out. “Bhajuram immediately descended to the lower camp and informed us about the client’s condition,” Lamsal said, it was his duty to timely inform about the client’s condition.

Lamsal informed that rescue efforts were delayed due to poor weather conditions, as well as the route being struck by an avalanche that killed an American female climber the same day. With oxygen support, Konstantin slowly descended to the summit camp and was helped by another Makalu Adventure guide, Renjin, to get to Camp II. “He was saved by our strongest guides – Bhajuram and Renjin,” Lamsal, who is also the former general secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association, said, adding that Bhajuram is well-trained NMA certified mountain guide.

“Konstantin’s intent was just to defame Nepal’s mountaineering industry by lodging complaints with the court and police authorities,” Lamsal alleged. “We mobilised all resources, including a helicopter, to save his life in the death zone,” Lamsal said, adding that Konstantin aimed to set a bad precedent in Nepal’s mountaineering history.

When climbers fall ill on mountains, an agency’s responsibility is to rescue them as soon as possible, Lamsal clarified, adding that Makalu Adventure did its best to do the same in Konstantin’s case. Lamsal feared that Konstantin was lured by the law firm, which prioritised money over humanity. “There is no evidence to support Konstantin’s claims,” Lamsal claimed, adding that his legal team was preparing a strong reply to the court with all the evidence and would submit the same on time.