Anna Gutu, an American mountaineer was killed along with a sherpa after avalanche hits Tibetan mountain: Crews search for missing American Gina Marie Rzucidlo
An American climber has died and another is confirmed missing after attempting to scale the world’s 14th highest peak.
The unsuccessful climb took place on Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma on Saturday – after two avalanches hit its slopes at an altitude of around 26,000 feet, Chinese media reported.
American traveler Anna Gutu and her Nepali guide, Mingmar Sherpa, were subsequently reported missing – and on Sunday were confirmed dead after their bodies were pulled from the snow.
Another American-Nepalese couple, Gina Marie Rzucidlo and Tenjen Sherpa, also disappeared in the snowdrift – the cause of at least 120 deaths in the region in the past two years.
Both women were racing to become the first American females to traverse the true peaks of the world’s only eight thousanders — a range of mountains located in the Himalayas and neighboring Karakorams with 8,000-meter (26,000-foot) peaks.
American mountaineer Anna Gutu was confirmed dead on Sunday after attempting to climb Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma
Still missing is Gina Marie Rzucidlo, another American who was racing to become the first female from the US to reach the peaks of the world’s only eight thousanders – a range of mountains located in the Himalayas and neighboring Karakorams with 8 000 meter peaks
All the peaks, including Shishapangma, are considered ‘death zones’ – meaning that they boast heights above a certain point, creating a lack of oxygen insufficient to sustain human life.
That marker is widely believed to be around 8,000 meters – about the height where Gutu and Mingmar were when one of the avalanches was seen Saturday on Shishapangma, the world’s 14th highest mountain, at 8,027 meters (26,335 feet).
Their bodies were found by a mountaineering team on Sunday, according to the Himalayan Times — while Rzucidlo and her Nepalese mountain guide were 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 pushing for the summit when the avalanches hit, and were practically there when the snow hit.
Nepalese mountain guide Karma Geljen Sherpa was also affected by the twin natural disasters, who was escorted down the mountain by rescuers and is now said to be in a stable condition.
The still-missing Sherpa, meanwhile, was one half of a duo that smashed 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 double the time he and 37-year-old Norwegian climber Kristin Harila.
If he were 35 himself, a successful climb would have made him the youngest climber to scale all 14 peaks twice.
Gutu’s Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa (pictured), was also reported missing – and his body was retrieved with the Americans on Sunday
Rzucidlo (left) and her Nepali mountaineering partner Tenjen (right) were still missing on Sunday afternoon as all four were near the summit when the unseasonal avalanches hit
The still-missing Sherpa, meanwhile, was one half of a duo who smashed the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains this past July – and did so with Norwegian professional Kristin Harila (right) in just 92 days
His partner, Rzucidlo, has also yet to be located, and climbed with Seven Summit Tracks.
Harila, an accomplished climber 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.
An accompanying statement from Harila’s team, citing The Himalayan Times report, insisted that her “thoughts and prayers are with (Tenjen) and his family.”
Gutu – another expert whose exploits have earned her more than 33,000 fans on social media – climbed with Elite Exped, another respected climbing company founded in 2017 by world-class Nepali mountaineers.
The Ukrainian-born American’s body and that of her sherpa were recovered on Sunday, and friends and fans have since flocked to her sprawling social media accounts to pay their respects.
One tribute, left by famous Indian police officer Gurjot Singh Kaler, reads: Really miss you. Sad to learn about the avalanche. You were one of the best people I ever met.’
The avalanches hit Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma at 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 her social media to pay their respects. The mountain remains closed 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’
Meanwhile, the search for Rzucidlo and Tenjen 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.’
Meanwhile, a search for Rzucidlo and Tenjen continues – while Climate Activities on Shishapangma are currently suspended for the foreseeable future.
Officials are now warning of dangerous snow conditions still present on the mountain’s slopes – which American climber Alex Lowe claimed in 1999.
His body – as well as the remains of climbing partner David Bridges – was 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 blissful post-monsoon season, which the region is currently in the midst of.
Yet the mountain is known to claim lives all year round. The incident comes after at least 42 people died after a glacial lake burst its banks and caused floods in the region over the past week.
Officials are still assessing the extent of the crisis.