Story highlights Disabled climber fails on fifth attempt to climb Mt. Everest

It was the first Everest climb since 19 died in an avalanche during April earthquake

(CNN) Mount Everest's summit will once again remain elusive for Nobukazu Kuriki, the tenacious Japanese climber who was nearly a month into his fifth attempt to scale the world's highest mountain when perilous conditions on Saturday forced him to abandon his latest quest.

"I realized if I kept going, I wouldn't be able to come back alive," the 33-year-old Kuriki, who lost nine fingers to frostbite in a 2012 Everest attempt, posted on Facebook . "So I decided to descend."

Kuriki, who was making the last push from the final camp, said that "it took too much time to move in deep deep snow."

Challenge upon challenge

With a success rate of just 29%, and when one in 10 people die trying to do it, ascending the 29,035 feet to reach the summit of Mount Everest is a monumentally difficult task under the best of circumstances.

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