May 23 (UPI) -- A 55-year-old Utah man died after reaching the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the fourth person to die on the world's tallest peak this climbing season, Nepali officials said.
Donald Lynn Cash died Wednesday while descending from the summit to the nearby Hillary Step. His family members told KSL-TV in Salt Lake City that they believe he had a heart attack.
They said guides attempted to perform CPR on him and give him oxygen, but a 2-hour backup on the trail back to Camp IV prevented further medical intervention.
Cash was the fourth person to die while descending from the mountain. An Indian woman, Anjali S. Kukarni, died later Wednesday after falling ill, The Himalayan Times reported.
Cash's son, Tanner Cash, said his father loved a challenge.
"The last message he sent to me, he said 'I feel so blessed to be on the mountain that I read about for the last 40 years," Tanner Cash said.
"He taught us that nothing was impossible," daughter Brandalin Cash added. "You can do literally anything. If you can dream it, you can do it."
Like others who have died on Mount Everest, Cash's body will remain on the mountain.
