Bodies of world-class climber and cameraman found encased in ice 16 years after avalanche
THE bodies of a world-class mountaineer and a cameraman have been found encased in blue ice more than 16 years after they were killed in an avalanche.
David Bridges and Alex Lowe
Alex and David vanished, were captured and frozen in time.
Climber Alex Lowe and cameraman David Bridges were killed as they tried to climb Shishapangma, a 26,291-foot peak in Tibet in October 1999.
Last week, two climbers making another attempt to climb the Himalayan mountain discovered the remains of two people in a glacier.
Mr Lowe’s widow, Jenni Lowe-Anker said: "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.”
Alex Lowe was widely regarded as the best climber in the world
Mrs Lowe-Anker married her former husband’s friend Conrad Anker, who was climibing with the two men when they were killed.
He said: "They were close to each other. Blue and red North Face backpacks. Yellow Koflach boots. It was all that gear from that time period. They were pretty much the only two climbers who were there.”
Mr Anker got a call last week from David Goettler and Ueli Steck, two climbers who found the grisly remains coming out of a glacier.
David Bridges was 29 when he died
Shishapangma
The Lowe-Bridges team were climbing the world’s 14th highest mountain, with a view to skiing their way back down it once they reached the summit.
Mr Lowe, who was 40, was widely regarded as the best climber in the world when he was killed.
And Mr Bridges, 29, was a successful climber an cinematographer.