Beijing Youth Daily reports that Chinese female mountaineer Wang Jing recently admitted to taking a helicopter from the base camp to Camp II during her Everest summit attempt. She had previously denied such claims. Wang explained that she took the helicopter because of the deadliest ice avalanche in Everest’s history in April, which completely blocked the route between the base camp and Camp II, leaving no other way to cross.
On May 23, Wang Jing announced her successful summit of Everest via the South Col route. However, Nepali local media later reported, citing helicopter pilots, that Wang had taken a helicopter from the base camp to Camp II. She denied those claims at the time, saying the helicopter was only used to transport porters and cooks. Wang has since explained her earlier denial as a misunderstanding caused by poor communication.