American climbers bodies discovered after 17 years in Himalaya. The world’s 14th-highest peak, when they discovered two bodies encased in ice on a glacier.
The bodies of renowned U.S. mountaineers Alex Lowe and David Bridges, who killed in a 1999 avalanche.
In the Himalayas found another pair of climbers, according to a charity founded and run by Lowe’s widow.
American climbers bodies discovered after 17 years in Himalaya..
Climbers David Goettler of Germany and Ueli Steck of Switzerland were preparing for an attempt to reach the summit of Shishapangma in Tibet.
The world’s 14th-highest peak, when they discovered two bodies encased in ice on a glacier.
The Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation said in a statement posted to its website on Friday.
The bodies had clothing and backpacks that matched the gear Lowe and Bridges were wearing when they disappeared.
NBC News reported the bodies found last week.
Lowe, who 40 at the time of his death, was regarded as the best American mountaineer of his generation.
When he and Bridges swept away an avalanche during an expedition that included plans to ski down the 26,291-foot (8,013 m) peak.
A third climber, Conrad Anker,injured but survived.
“Alex and David vanished, captured and frozen in time,” Lowe’s widow, Jenni Lowe-Anker, said in a statement.
“Sixteen years of life lived and now they are found.
We are thankful. Conrad, the boys and I will make our pilgrimage to Shishapangma.
It is time to put Alex to rest.”
Lowe-Anker married Anker in 2001 and the climber adopted her three sons.
She serves as president of the Lowe foundation, which provides advice and financial support to humanitarian programs that operate in remote parts of the world.
American climbers bodies discovered after 17 years in Himalaya.
Fellow climbers called Lowe a “mutant” for his accomplishments, which included two climbs to the top of Mount Everest.
The world’s highest peak, as well as several first ascents in Antarctica and dozens of less prominent but highly technical ascents.
Lowe rejected the label of world’s best climber.
“There might be a fastest runner or a highest jumper,” he once said in an interview with a specialty climbing publication.
“But climbing is different. It’s just too subjective. And it’s a lifestyle; it’s not a sport.”
