In an interview about his 2015 attempt , Joisher declared that his motivation to climb Everest was to disprove the notion that a vegan diet is nutritionally deficient , and wanted to use clothing and equipment not made from animal products . This attempt also saw Joisher reach for crowd funding ; he offered to give away his Everest summit ice-axe to anyone who donated over Rs. 100,000 . His attempt to be the first vegan to summit from the south side failed due to an avalanche that was caused by the 2015 Nepal earthquake , which resulted in 21 deaths . A video of the incident that featured Joisher went viral on YouTube receiving over 23 million hits . Joisher trekked with his fellow survivors for 3 – 4 days from EBC to Lukla from where they were transported to Kathmandu by IAF helicopter . They then volunteered to assist relief work for the earthquake hit as they awaited the arrival of their gear . Joisher kneaded dough and cut vegetables for a kitchen that served puri bhaji . Joisher told NDTV " I 'm certain I 'll be back again next year "
2015 Nepal earthquake
April 2015 Nepal earthquake
Kuntal Joisher