Somewhere on a 40-ft vertical rock-face at 8,790m on the southeast ridge of Mt Everest, a dream lies buried in snow along with the 42-year-old dreamer from Ranaghat.

Subrata Ghosh, a schoolteacher, had reached the summit of the world’s tallest mountain in the early hours of Friday but could not make it back from Hillary Step, the rock-face.

“There is a smaller peak south of the Mt Everest peak, called South Summit, beyond which lies Hillary Step en route to the summit. It is the most technically difficult part of the climb. So, on the way back, one has to conserve some energy to climb this 50ft or so before the descent begins. It seems Subrata ran out of oxygen and energy somewhere here,” said veteran mountaineer Debasish Biswas.

Subrata, an assistant teacher at Kapashati Milanbithin High School in Bagdah, North 24-Parganas, and a resident of Ranaghat, had begun his journey on March 31, accompanied by his sister Sumitra Debnath.

They were later joined by Rumpa Ghosh and Ashim Kumar Mondal of the Mountaineering Association of Krishnanagar (MAK) in Kathmandu. Their final ascent began on May 10.

“The team had been put together by Snowy Horizon Treks and Expeditions, a Kathmandu-based agency that organised the expedition. Due to strong winds, their summit push from Camp IV got delayed. Climbers usually begin by 8pm the previous night, allowing around 12 hours to summit. But they started after 11pm. Ashim quit at this point and returned,” said Basanta Singha Roy of MAK, who had trained Subrata as well.

“Climbers typically carry five cylinders — four with the sherpa, one with the climber. Three are for the climber and two for the sherpa. Ahead of South Summit, a cylinder is left at a spot called the Balcony for use during descent. I believe they failed to reach that point. Once the oxygen ran out, his sherpa must have tried his best to revive him but failed,” said Singha Roy.

While Rumpa and Ashim’s expedition was organised by MAK, Subrata had independently arranged his summit bid.

Ranaghat had erupted in joy on Thursday night at the news of Subrata and Rumpa reaching the summit, but the mood changed on Friday morning on receiving the tragic update.

His family got the news early on Friday from a representative of Snowy Horizon.

“The call came around 7am,” said his younger brother, Surajit Ghosh.

The shock reverberated through Khirki Bagan Lane, where Subrata lived. Residents gathered at the Ghosh residence, united in disbelief and grief.

Despite the grim confirmation, the Ghosh family is praying for a miracle. His elderly parents are too distraught to speak. Chandranil Chatterjee, treasurer of the Ranaghat chapter of the Lions Club, which had partially funded Subrata’s expedition, shared the community’s anguish. “I don’t believe in miracles, but I wish it to happen,” he said.

The club has dispatched a four-member team to Kathmandu on Friday to coordinate the return of Subrata’s body and escort his sister Sumitra back home. She had remained at the base camp.

However, retrieving the body is proving to be difficult. The agency has reportedly demanded a hefty sum.

The Bengal government has been approached. “We are trying our best to bring back the body. However, there is no official confirmation yet from the top level,” said Ranaghat SDO Bharat Singh.

Sources said that the BJP leadership has also been trying to help.

Meanwhile, Rumpa’s husband Suman Basu is keeping his fingers crossed till he hears from his wife, a teacher of Cooper’s Colony High School in Ranaghat. “Their walkie-talkies are not working because of bad weather. She has reached Camp II is all that I know,” he said.

Subrata began his climbing career in 2017 with MAK and had a near-death experience in 2023 during an expedition in Arunachal Pradesh.

“It is critical in mountaineering to decide when to give up. He had experience of four summits, the tallest of which was 6,488m, and had already suffered high-altitude sickness. It is too late to discuss whether that was enough to attempt climbing the world’s tallest peak,” said Biswas.