Who Is Roland Yearwood? Alabama Doctor Dies Climbing Mount Everest

Doctor Roland Yearwood, 50, a physician from Georgiana, Alabama, died during a trekking expedition on Mount Everest, Sunday.

Yearwood breathed his last at an altitude of around 27,500ft on the mountain, which is also known as the “death zone,” following the fact that the atmospheric air thins drastically in the area. It has not been determined whether or not the Alabama doctor reached the summit of Mount Everest, the goal for every trekker who undertakes the life-threatening expedition.

“We have confirmation of his death but no other details are known. It is also unclear if he was on his way up or down from the summit,” said Murari Sharma, from the Everest Parivas Expedition agency, Kathmandu, Nepal, Metro reported.

Read: Who Is Min Bahadur Sherchan? Everest Climber Dies In An Attempt To Become Oldest Man On Peak

The only information that is known about Yearwood’s climb is that he was part of the 16-member team led by climber Daniel Mazur from the United States. Mazur became a well-recognized name in the world of mountain-climbing after leading Greg Mortenson's 1993 K2 expedition in the book, "Three Cups of Tea," and rescuing Lincoln Hall, an Australian climber, on Mount Everest on May 25, 2006.

Yearwood had attempted to climb Mount Everest in 2015. At the time, he has barely managed to survive after his side of the mountain was hit by a big avalanche. He and his team had to descend to a base camp where they were rescued by a helicopter. The same incident killed 18 people, who were climbing Mount Everest at the time.

In 2016, he managed to successfully reach the summit of Mount Everest, a photograph on his Facebook page testament to the event.

Yearwood graduated from the University of London, according to his Facebook profile. He was affiliated with Butler Primary Care in Georgiana, as well as Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery.

Read: Who Is Ueli Steck? Famous Climber Nicknamed 'Swiss Machine' Died In Accident Near Mt. Everest

Yearwood’s last place of employment was Georgiana Medical Center in Alabama. He had received a 5-star rating for his profession on Care Dash.

Yearwood is survived by his wife Amrita Yearwood, who is also a doctor in Alabama, and two daughters, who are already enrolled in college. On his spare time, Yearwood liked to go diving, flying and sailing, according to his staff profile on the official website of Georgiana Medical Center. One of his goals in life was to climb the tallest peaks of the seven continents of the world.

“He is always calm,” his wife Amrita, told AL at the time. “He does a lot of sports. He is adventurous. He doesn’t get freaked out.”

Two other climbers died on their way to the Mount Everest summit, Sunday too. One climber was identified as Vladimir Strba, 50, from Slovakia, Tourism Ministry official Gyanendra Shrestha confirmed, WHIO TV7 reported. Another climber, Francesco Enrico Marchetti, 54, from Queensland, Australia, died on the Chinese side of Everest.

High-altitude related sicknesses are fairly common while climbing Mount Everest and it is something that has claimed the lives of more than 280 people over the years.