He says his Makalu guide left him at 7,900 metres, and now he alleges attempted murder

Konstantin Smirnov says his guide walked away near Makalu’s summit in May 2026. He survived, lost five fingers, and filed criminal and civil cases in Nepal.

DSBy Dawa Sherpa · Jul 22, 2026 · 4 min read · Updated Sep 20, 2026 · ▶ Web Story

Left for Dead at 7,900 Metres on Makalu: He Lost Five Fingers, Then Sued His Guide for Attempted Murder

At a glance

PublishedJul 22, 2026 · updated Sep 20, 2026
TopicRecords & People
Verified againstThe Tourism Times
Treks coveredIsland Peak Climbing — 18 Days, Makalu Base Camp Trek — 18 Days

Konstantin Smirnov spent nearly two days alone above 7,700 metres on the world’s fifth-highest mountain, without his guide, without supplementary oxygen, and without anyone at base camp knowing exactly where he was. He survived. He did not keep his fingers.

Key facts

Russian climber Konstantin Smirnov summited Makalu (8,485 m) with guide Bhajuram Gurung on 9 May 2026.
Smirnov says he was left alone on the descent at roughly 7,900 m and was not found until the following day.
He lost all five fingers on his left hand and most of the ring finger on his right hand to frostbite.
He has filed a criminal complaint alleging attempted murder against the guide, and a separate civil case against the operator seeking roughly $75,000.

What Smirnov says happened

He says his guide left him behind at around 7,900 metres on the descent, between 6:30 and 7pm on 9 May. The pair had reached the summit at about 10:45am that morning.

A high camp on a snow mountain — The dispute is about what happened above the camps.

“When I woke up I was shocked to discover that my guide had left me to die high on the mountain,” Smirnov later said. Exhausted and out of bottled oxygen, he continued descending alone and collapsed lower on the route.

Timeline of the 9 to 10 May 2026 Makalu incident
When	What happened
9 May, ~10:45am	Smirnov and guide Bhajuram Gurung reach the Makalu summit
9 May, evening	Smirnov says he is left alone on the descent at roughly 7,900 m
Overnight	Smirnov, out of oxygen, collapses further down the route
10 May	A second guide reaches him after a 13-hour push through bad weather
Following weeks	Amputation of all five fingers on his left hand, most of his right ring finger

What the operator says happened

The operator disputes his account, and the disagreement is about whether the client could be moved. The company says Smirnov refused to descend with Gurung, and that Gurung continued down immediately to alert base camp rather than abandoning him.

It also says rescue efforts that day were hampered by poor weather and by a separate avalanche on the mountain. A second guide was dispatched after Gurung reached base camp without his client, and walked 13 hours through the night and worsening weather to reach Smirnov. That much is common to both versions.

What he lost, and what he is claiming

He is pursuing two separate cases, one criminal and one civil. The criminal complaint, accusing Gurung of attempted murder, was filed at the Sankhuwasabha District Police Office.

A lawyer at a desk beside a figure of the scales of justice — The claim is now in front of a court.

The civil case went to Kathmandu’s Consumer Court, reportedly seeking around $75,000 in damages on top of the $14,600 he had already paid for the expedition package.

8,485mMakalu’s summit, the world’s 5th-highest peak

7,900mAltitude where Smirnov says he was left alone

~48 hrsApproximate time exposed before rescue reached him

$14,600Price of the expedition package he had paid

The rules are easier to write than to enforce

Whatever a Nepali court decides about intent, one thing is not in dispute: a client on a paid, guided 8,000 m expedition lost every finger on one hand. Cases like this are rare. They are not unheard of.

A roped team of climbers — Duty of care is easy to write and hard to enforce.

They are exactly why the Nepal Mountaineering Association and the Department of Tourism keep pushing operators toward stricter guide-to-client ratios and documented emergency protocols on the highest peaks. Those rules are far easier to write than to enforce once a team is above 7,000 metres and out of radio range.

What this means for trekkers

Almost nobody reading this is attempting an 8,000 m summit, and the lesson still applies at every altitude. The vast majority of our clients trek to base camps or climb well-guided, lower-risk peaks such as Island Peak or Mera Peak with fixed guide ratios and NMA-certified leaders.

What this means for you

Before you pay any deposit, ask exactly who your guide is, how many clients they are responsible for above high camp, what the operator’s emergency and evacuation protocol actually is in writing, and whether your travel insurance covers high-altitude rescue at the elevation you will actually reach. We have written before about the questions worth asking any Nepal trekking agency before you commit, and this case is a reminder of why that vetting matters most exactly where it is hardest to check — far above base camp.

Source: The Tourism Times.

Cover photo: European Space Agency via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 igo). Section photos: Suvankar Giri via Pexels (Pexels licence); https://kaboompics.com/ via Pexels (Pexels licence); Giuseppe Paoletti via Pexels (Pexels licence).

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