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Seamus Lawless, 39, fell to his death last week while descending the mountain following a successful summit

An Irish climber who fell to his death on Mount Everest sent a heartbreaking last text to his pregnant wife from the summit telling her 'he'd done it'.  

Just hours after sending the text, Seamus Lawless, 39, fell on the 27,000-ft high 'balcony' area of the world's highest mountain early on Thursday.

Guides eventually called off their search for the mountaineer, an assistant professor at the School of Computer Science at Trinity College, Dublin. 

His death comes as eleven climbers have died in just nine days after treacherous weather cut the climbing window, leaving mountaineers waiting in long queues, risking exhaustion and running out of oxygen. 

Thousands gathered on Sunday at the Holy Redeemer Church, in Bray, Co Wicklow to pay tribute to Mr Lawless.

Parish priest Fr Michael O'Kelly revealed during the service that the climber sent a final text to his expectant wife Pamela from Everest's summit saying 'he'd done it, reached the summit and was coming home'.

According to the Sun, the father sent a final text to his expectant wife Pamela from Everest's summit saying 'he'd done it, reached the summit and was coming home'.

The crowds were also told Mr Lawless left an 'imprint on everyone' and that it was 'fitting that his final resting place should be on top of the world'. 

Mr Lawless, from Bray in County Wicklow, was part of the eight-member Irish climbing team attempting to scale the daunting 29,000ft mountain. 

Sherpas with the expedition told The Himalayan Times that the rest of the climbers had descended to the mountain's Camp IV, but that Mr Lawless's fate was unknown.

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Last week a Canadian climber posted a picture of crowds attempting to reach the summit stepping over a dead body (circled) 

Mr Lawless had taken time off from his post at Trinity College's School of Computer Science and Statistics to follow his dream of conquering the world's highest peak with the 2019 Irish Everest Expedition.

'I turn 40 in July,' he said in a newspaper interview in February before setting off. 'My friends are joking that climbing Everest is my mid-life crisis.' 

Yesterday a Canadian filmmaker posted a haunting photo of Everest climbers stepping over a dead body as they queue for the summit.

The eerie image shows a long line of adventurers stepping over a rope attached to a frozen corpse which hangs over the mountain almost 9,000 metres above sea level.

Elia Saikaly, from Ottawa, Canada, posted his image to warn climbers of the danger of taking on the world's highest peak.  

He captioned his grim photo: 'Here we all were, chasing a dream and beneath our very feet there was a lifeless soul. Is this what Everest has become?'

Mr Saikaly, who was filming four Arab women on the mountain on Thursday, said: 'I cannot believe what I saw up there. Death. Carnage. Chaos. Lineups. Dead bodies on the route and in tents at camp 4. 

'People who I tried to turn back who ended up dying. People being dragged down. Walking over bodies. Everything you read in the sensational headlines all played out on our summit night.'

Former Parachute Regiment soldier Martin Hewitt shared footage on Sunday from the peak, saying he had been forced to cut the queue to the top as his tank ran low on oxygen.  

Missing Irish mountaineer Seamus Lawless after scaling Alaska's 20,000-ft Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America, last summer in preparation for his Everest attempt 

A memorial service was held in the Holy Redeemer Church in Bray, Co. Wicklow for Mr Lawless on Sunday

A photo taken last week on Everest shows heavy traffic of climbers lining up to stand at the summit of Everest

As well as the Everest deaths, nine climbers have died on other 26,000 ft Himalayan peaks, while one is missing.

At least four deaths on the world's highest mountain have been blamed on over-crowding with teams waiting sometimes for hours in the 'death zone' where the cold is bitter, the air dangerously thin and the terrain treacherous.

John Kulish is the second American to die in the last ten days after reaching the peak. He was part of a group of climbers who celebrated his 62nd birthday on the mountain.

Most of the deaths have been attributed to exhaustion and tiredness, exacerbated because a crowded route to and from the summit has led to delays.

Kulish was a patent lawyer from Boulder, Colorado. It remains unclear how experienced he was. 

The Nepalese army was drafted in to remove 22,000 lbs of rubbish and four dead bodies found in the Everest summits during a massive cleaning campaign. 

This year's Everest toll is the highest since 2014-15 when huge earthquakes triggered devastating avalanches. 

The route up the mountain includes several large obstacles and a huge moving glacier near to base camp as shown in the map above

Former Parachute Regiment soldier Martin Hewitt posted a video online showing the queue backed up behind him - he tweeted that there were too many unprepared climbers on Everest

Nepalese defence minister Ishwor Pokhrel (centre) along with the head of Nepalese army and government officials pose with waste bags collected from the Everest Mount at Namche Bazar, Solukhumbu district, Nepal

Nepali climbers pose on bags of trash with discarded oxygen tanks recovered from Mount Everest

Robin Haynes Fisher, 44, who died on Mount Everest last week, had previously told of his worries about overcrowding on the mountain and had even changed his plans before setting off.

Mr Fisher died in the 'death zone' -known for low oxygen levels - on his descent after reaching the summit of the world's highest mountain.  

In one of his last social media posts, he told of how he had changed his plans in order to avoid the 'fatal' crowds.

He said: 'With a single route to the summit, delays caused by overcrowding could prove fatal so I am hopeful my decision to go for the 25th will mean fewer people. Unless of course everyone else plays the same waiting game.'

Local guides have blamed the clogged up routes for the recent death toll because waiting in queues is sucking up mountaineers' limited oxygen supply and exposing them to the harsher winds for longer. 

Mr Fisher was described as an 'aspirational adventurer' who 'lived life to the full' in a statement from his family.

They said: 'He achieved so much in his short life, climbing Mont Blanc, Aconcagua and Everest.

'He was a 'tough guy', triathlete, and marathoner. A champion for vegetarianism, published author, and a cultured theatre-goer, lover of Shakespeare. 

'We are deeply saddened by his loss as he still had so many more adventures and dreams to fulfil.

'Everyone who ever met him in any capacity will always remember the positive impact he had on their lives.

'Robin is a much loved and loving son, brother, partner, uncle, and friend.'

In a video shot on the expedition by Mr Fisher's partner, Kristyn Carriere, he is heard saying it 'should be a trip to remember' as he looks up at the ascent from base camp. 

Robin Haynes Fisher, 44, died in the 'death zone' of Mount Everest - known for its low oxygen levels and had previously told of his worries around overcrowding on the mountain

Mr Fisher was described as an 'aspirational adventurer' who 'lived life to the full' in a statement from his family. They said: 'He achieved so much in his short life, climbing Mont Blanc, Aconcagua and Everest. Pictured is Mr Fisher on his way to climb Everest

Mountaineers call for a limit on Everest permits to end 'dangerous climbing conditions' caused by overcrowding

Nepal's reluctance to limit the number of permits it issues to scale Mount Everest has contributed to dangerous overcrowding, with inexperienced climbers impeding others and causing deadly delays, seasoned mountaineers said.

During the short period this season when the weather was clear enough to attempt the summit, climbers were crammed crampon-to-crampon above South Col's sharp-edged ridge, all clipped onto a single line of rope, trudging toward the top of the world and risking death as each minute ticked by.

'There were more people on Everest than there should be,' said Kul Bahadur Gurung, general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, an umbrella group of all expedition operators in Nepal. 

Once only accessible to well-heeled elite mountaineers, Nepal's booming climbing market has driven down the cost of an expedition, opening Everest up to hobbyists and adventure-seekers. They are required to have a doctors' note deeming them physically fit, but not to prove their stamina at such extreme heights.

There are currently no restrictions on how many permits are issued by the Nepali government. Climbers can also access the mountain from the Chinese side

Because of the altitude, climbers have just hours to reach the top before they are at risk of a pulmonary edema, when the lungs fill with liquid. From Camp Four at 8,000 meters (26,240 feet) to the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak, the final push on Everest is known as the 'death zone.'

The conditions are so intense at such times that when a person dies, no one can afford to expend energy on carrying the body down from the mountain.

'Every minute counts there,' said Eric Murphy, a mountain guide from Bellingham, Washington, who climbed Everest for a third time on May 23. He said what should have taken 12 hours took 17 hours because of struggling climbers who were clearly exhausted but had no one to guide or help them.

Just a handful of inexperienced climbers, he said, is 'enough to have a profound effect.' 

Nepal doesn't have any regulations on the books to determine how many permits should be issued, so anyone with a doctor's note can obtain one for a $11,000 fee, said Mohan Krishna Sapkota, secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.

This year, permits were issued to 381 people, the highest number ever, according to the government. They were accompanied by an equal number of guides from Nepal's ethnic Sherpa community. Some climbers were originally issued permits in 2014 that were revoked mid-season when 16 Sherpa guides died in an avalanche and other Sherpas, whose support as guides and porters is essential, effectively went on strike.

Another factor was China's limit on the number of permits it issued for routes in its territory on the north side of Everest this year for a clean-up. Both the north and south sides of the mountain are littered with empty oxygen canisters, food packaging and other debris.   

Instead of limiting the number of people who attempt to reach Everest's peak, Saptoka said Nepal's government will encourage even more tourists and climbers to come 'for both pleasure and fame.'

Mirza Ali, a Pakistani mountaineer and tour company owner who reached Everest's peak for the first time this month, on his fourth attempt, said such an approach was flawed.

'Everybody wants to stand on top of the world,' but tourists unprepared for the extremes of Everest endanger the entire industry, he said.

'There is not a sufficient check on issuing the permits,' Ali said. 'The more people come, the more permits, more business. But on the other side it is a lot of risk because it is costing lives.'

Indian climber Ameesha Chauhan, recovering from frostbitten toes at a hospital in Kathmandu, described the agony of turning away from the peak when she realized her supplemental oxygen supply was low.

Two of her team members died on the May 16 ascent. She returned and scaled the peak a week later.

'Many climbers are too focused on reaching the summit,' she said. 'They are not only risking themselves but also putting others at risk.'