An American climber has been confirmed dead and another missing following an attempt to scale the world’s 14th-tallest peak.
The unsuccessful ascent happened Saturday on Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma – after two avalanches hit its slopes at an altitude of around 26,000 feet, Chinese media reports.
United States traveler Anna Gutu and her Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa, afterwards were reported missing – and on Sunday were confirmed to be deceased after their bodies were pulled from the snow.
Another American-Nepalese pair, Gina Marie Rzucidlo and Tenjen Sherpa, also disappeared in the flows of snow – the cause of at least 120 deaths in the region over the past two years.
Both women had been racing to become the first American females to traverse the true summits of the world’s only eight-thousanders – a series of mountains located in the Himalayas and neighboring Karakorams with 8,000-meter (26,000 ft) peaks.
United States mountaineer Anna Gutu was confirmed dead Sunday, after attempting to climb Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma
Still missing is Gina Marie Rzucidlo, another American who had been racing to be the first female from the US to reach the summits of the world’s only eight-thousanders – a series of mountains located in the Himalayas and neighboring Karakorams with 8,000-meter peaks
All of the summits, including Shishapangma, are considered ‘death zones’ – meaning they boast altitudes above a certain point create a lack of oxygen insufficient to sustain human life.
That marker is generally accepted to be around 8,000 meters – roughly the altitude where Gutu and Mingmar had been when one of the avalanches seen Saturday on Shishapangma, the world’s 14th-highest mountain, at 8,027 meters (26,335 feet).
Their bodies were recovered by a mountaineering team Sunday, according to the Himalayan Times – while Rzucidlo and her Nepalese mountain guide, as of 1:30pm ET, are still said to be missing.
The four were among a total of 52 climbers from countries like Britain, Romania, and Pakistan pushing for the summit when the avalanches hit, and were virtually there when the snow struck.
Also affected by the dueling natural disasters was Nepalese mountain guide Karma Geljen Sherpa, who was escorted down the mountain by rescuers and is now said to be in stable condition.
The still-missing Sherpa, meanwhile, was one half of a duo who shattered the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains this past July, with a time of 92 days.
The previous record was 189 days – more than double the time him and 37-year-old Norwegian climber Kristin Harila.
Aged 35 himself, a successful ascent would have seen him become the youngest climber to scale all 14 peaks twice.
Gutu’s Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa (pictured), was also reported missing – and his body was retrievd along with the Americans on Sunday
Rzucidlo (left) and her Nepalese mountaineering partner Tenjen (right) on Sunday afternoon were still missing, as all four were near the summit when the unseasonal avalanches struck
The still-missing Sherpa, meanwhile, was one half of a duo who shattered the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains this past July – doing so with Norwegian professional Kristin Harila (right) in just 92 days
His partner, Rzucidlo, has also yet to be located, and had been climbing with Seven Summit Tracks.
Harila, an accomplished climber with more than 160,000 followers on social media, confirmed Saturday that she and members of her mountaineering team were on a plane to Nepal to assist in the search for both climbers.
An accompanying statement from Harila’s team, citing The Himalayan Times report, insisted her ‘thoughts and prayers are with [Tenjen] and his family.’
Gutu – another expert whose exploits had amassed her a more than 33,000-strong following on social media – had been climbing with Elite Exped, another respected climbing company founded by world class Nepalese mountaineers in 2017.
The Ukrainian born American’s body and that of her sherpa were recovered Sunday, and friends and fans have since flocked to her sprawling social media accounts to pay their respects.
One tribute, left by renowned Indian police official Gurjot Singh Kaler, read: Really miss you. Heartbroken to learn about the avalanche. You were one of the best human beings I ever came across.’
The avalanches struck Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma on Saturday afternoon at 7,600 (about 25,000 ft) and 8,000 meters (about 26,000 ft)
Guta’s body and that of her sherpa were recovered Sunday, and friends and fans have since flocked to her social media to pay their respects. The mountain remains closed off due to dangerous conditions created by the snow
One mourner wrote of the American, who was born in Ukraine: ‘We lost the most beautiful light today. The world will never be as bright without you. You are forever frozen in time as our beautiful mountain angel. I love you very much’
The search for Rzucidlo and Tenjen, meanwhile, continues
Another added: ‘We lost the most beautiful light today. The world will never be as bright without you. You are forever frozen in time as our beautiful mountain angel. I love you very much.’
A search for Rzucidlo and Tenjen, meanwhile, is still ongoing – while Climbing activities on Shishapangma are currently suspended for the foreseeable future.
Officials are now warning about dangerous snow conditions still present on the mountain’s slopes – which claimed American climber Alex Lowe in 1999.
His body – as well as the remains of climbing companion David Bridges – were found in 2016 in a partially melted glacier.
Experts also warn that climate change has increased the risk of avalanches in the region even during the somewhat sage post monsoon season, which the region is currently in the midst of.
Still, the mountain is known to claim lives year-round. The incident comes after at least 42 were killed after a glacial lake burst its banks and triggered floods in the region this past week.
Officials are still assessing the extent of that crisis.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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