May 31, 2023, 23:13 PM
May 31, 2023, 23:13 PM
High altitude mountaineering is always a dance on the razor’s edge, and this time it had a fatal outcome for the renowned German extreme mountaineer Luis Stitzinger. The Allgäu native, known for his spectacular ski descents from the world’s highest mountains, died while working on a solo project in the Himalayas. Now, a team of helpers are trying to recover his body from the Kangchenjungaat 8,586 meters high, and take it to the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu.
The mortal remains of the mountain and ski guide will be transferred to the second high camp to be transferred from there, according to Mingma Sherpa, head of the Seven Summit Treks company, which organizes the expedition.
Meanwhile, Stitzinger’s wife, the renowned height climber Alix von Melle, publicly said goodbye to her partner on the shared Instagram account. “The 25 years by your side were the best of my life”published von Melle on Wednesday after the body of the experienced expedition leader was found the day before. “The mountains were your life and ours. The Kangchenjunga, your great lifelong dream, which you still wanted with all your might to fulfill. Your eyes sparkled with emotion when you talked about him.”
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world and one of the less frequently climbed 8,000-meter peaks, because it is so difficult to reach, has a very irregular summit structure, and an extremely difficult final stretch from the last camp to the highest point.
According to Billi Bierling, head of the “Himalayan Database”, the record of all the expedition’s ascents to the mountains of Nepal, Stitzinger had reached the summit without bottled oxygen and with his own luggage after 22 hours at extreme altitude late Thursday afternoon.
Last try for the top
According to his last radio message, Stitzinger wanted to leave his ski storage at an altitude of about 8,300 meters to reach the next camp. He never came after the darkness caught up with him.
“Climbing a high mountain and then skiing was his trademark,” said Manfred Lorenz, co-CEO of tour operator DAV Summit Club, for which Stitzinger had organized and led expeditions for many years. The 54-year-old man was a very prudent and careful mountain guide. But “high-altitude mountaineering is always a border crossing, it works five times well and once, unfortunately, it goes wrong.” “His death of him affects us very much,” emphasized mountain guide Stefan Winter, well known to Stitzinger, on behalf of the German Alpine Club.
