The bodies of a renowned mountaineer and expedition cameraman who were buried in a Himalayan avalanche 16 years ago have been found.
World-renowned mountaineer Alex Lowe had been climbing the 8,013m (26,290ft) Shishapangma peak in Tibet in October 1999 with cameraman David Bridges when they were hit.
Alex Lowe,40, was a world-renowned alpinist -- many regarded him as the world's best climber at the time. He climbed Mount Everest twice, the Matterhorn and also scaled El Capitan in Yosemite 16 times.
Dave Bridges, 29, of Aspen, Colorado, was one of three cameramen documenting the expedition to the world's 14th highest mountain. He was an accomplished high-altitude climber, cinematographer and two-time US national paragliding champion.
They were struck with an avalanche en route, which claimed the lives of Mr Lowe and Mr Bridges. The remaining members of the team had posted reports that their dead team mates “are locked in the eyesight of us and there is nothing we can do about it”.
Alex Lowe & Conrad Anker (Photo Courtesy - Chris Noble/Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation)
UeliSteck and David Goettler discovered their body’s while acclimatizing for an ascent of Shishapangma’s South Face. On cross checking with Mrs Lowe, there was not an iota of doubt about the identity of the bodies unearthed. It was the missing pair. Finally the bodies were unearthed 16 years after the tragedy struck and an official announcement of this revelation was made on Friday. Mr Anker, who was also a member of the expedition told that it was “fitting” that the men were found by climbers!
Anker had married Lowe's widow, Jenni Lowe-Anker in 2001 and adopted Lowe's three sons. He said in a statement that the discovery "brings closure and relief for me and Jenni and our family."
"Alex and David vanished, were captured and frozen in time. Sixteen years of life has been lived and now they are found. We are thankful," she said in a statement.
Lowe-Anker established the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation in 1999 in the memory of her first husband. The foundation fosters projects such as the KhumbuClimbing Center that offers technical training for local Himalayan mountain workers.
