An American climber has been confirmed dead and another missing after attempting to climb the world’s 14th highest peak.
The unsuccessful climb occurred on Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma on Saturday – after two avalanches hit its slopes at an altitude of around 26,000 feet, Chinese media reports.
US traveler Anna Gutu and her Nepalese guide Mingmar Sherpa were later reported missing – and on Sunday they were confirmed to have died after their bodies were recovered from the snow.
Another American-Nepalese couple, Gina Marie Rzucidlo and Tenjen Sherpa, also disappeared in the snow – the cause of at least 120 deaths in the region in the past two years.
Both women were competing to become the first Americans to climb the true summits of the world’s only 8,000-meter peaks – a series of mountains in the Himalayas and the neighboring Karakorams with eight-thousanders.
US mountaineer Anna Gutu was confirmed dead on Sunday after attempting to climb Mount Shishapangma in Tibet
Still missing is Gina Marie Rzucidlo, another American who fought to become the first woman from the United States to climb the peaks of the world’s only eight-thousanders – a mountain range in the Himalayas and the neighboring Karakorams with eight-thousanders
All peaks, including Shishapangma, are considered “death zones” – meaning that altitudes above a certain point result in a lack of oxygen insufficient to support human life.
That mark is widely believed to be about 8,000 meters – roughly the altitude where Gutu and Mingmar were when one of the avalanches on Saturday observed Shishapangma, the world’s 14th highest mountain at 8,027 meters (26,335 feet). became.
Their bodies were recovered by a mountaineering team on Sunday, according to the Himalayan Times – while Rzucidlo and her Nepalese guide are still missing as of 1:30 p.m. ET.
The four were among a total of 52 climbers from countries including Britain, Romania and Pakistan who were pushing toward the summit when the avalanches struck and were virtually there when the snow fell.
The dueling natural disasters also affected Nepalese mountain guide Karma Geljen Sherpa, who was accompanied down the mountain by rescuers and is now in a stable condition.
The still-missing Sherpa, meanwhile, was one half of a duo that broke the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains last July with a time of 92 days.
The previous record was 189 days – more than twice as long as he and 37-year-old Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila.
At the age of 35, if the climb had been successful, he would have been the youngest mountaineer to climb all 14 peaks twice.
Gutu’s Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa (pictured), was also reported missing – and his body was recovered along with the Americans on Sunday
Rzucidlo (left) and her Nepalese mountaineering partner Tenjen (right) were still missing on Sunday afternoon as all four were near the summit when the unusual avalanches struck
The still-missing Sherpa, meanwhile, was one half of a duo that broke the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains last July – alongside Norwegian pro Kristin Harila (right) in just 92 days
His partner Rzucidlo also couldn’t be found yet and was climbing with Seven Summit Tracks.
Harila, an experienced mountaineer with more than 160,000 followers on social media, confirmed on Saturday that she and members of her mountaineering team were on a plane to Nepal to help search for both climbers.
In an accompanying statement from Harila’s team, quoting the Himalayan Times report, she insisted that “her thoughts and prayers are with her”. [Tenjen] and his family.’
Gutu – another expert whose exploits had earned her more than 33,000 followers on social media – had climbed with Elite Exped, another respected climbing company founded in 2017 by world-class Nepalese mountaineers.
The Ukrainian-born American’s body and that of her Sherpa were recovered on Sunday, and since then friends and fans have flocked to her extensive social media accounts to pay their respects.
A tribute from noted Indian police officer Gurjot Singh Kaler read: “I really miss you.” It breaks my heart to hear about the avalanche. “You were one of the best people I’ve ever met.”
The avalanches hit Mount Shishapangma in Tibet at an altitude of 7,600 (about 25,000 feet) and 8,000 meters (about 26,000 feet) on Saturday afternoon.
Guta’s body and that of her Sherpa were recovered on Sunday and friends and fans have since flocked to social media to pay their respects. The mountain remains closed due to the dangerous snow conditions
One mourner wrote of the Ukrainian-born American: “We lost the most beautiful light today.” Without you, the world will never be as bright. You are forever frozen in time as our beautiful mountain angel. I love you very much’
Meanwhile, the search for Rzucidlo and Tenjen continues
Another added: “We lost the most beautiful light today.” Without you the world will never be as bright. You are forever frozen in time as our beautiful mountain angel. I love you very much.’
Meanwhile, the search for Rzucidlo and Tenjen is still ongoing – while climbing activities on Shishapangma are currently suspended for the foreseeable future.
Officials are now warning of dangerous snow conditions on the slopes of the mountain that killed American mountaineer Alex Lowe in 1999.
His body – as well as the remains of climbing companion David Bridges – were found in a partially melted glacier in 2016.
Experts also warn that climate change has increased the risk of avalanches in the region, even during the somewhat mild post-monsoon season the region is currently experiencing.
Nevertheless, the mountain is known to claim lives all year round. The incident comes after at least 42 people were killed last week after a glacial lake burst its banks, triggering flooding in the region.
Officials are still assessing the extent of this crisis.