Between India and Nepal
Successful German mountaineer missing in the Himalayas
The Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas. (Archive image) photo
© gms/Antje_Schmid/AP/dpa
An experienced mountain and ski guide sets off alone to climb the third highest mountain in the world. Now he is missing. A rescue team with four Sherpas is looking for the Allgäuer.
The well-known mountaineer Luis Stitzinger from the Allgäu is missing in the Himalayas. The experienced mountain and ski guide was alone on the third highest mountain in the world, the eight-thousander Kanchenjunga (8586 meters) on the border between India and Nepal, Thaneshwor Guragain, an employee of his Nepalese expedition company Seven Summit Treks, told the German press Agency.
Accordingly, Stitzinger only used Sherpa services in the base camp. Most recently, a local mountaineer from the Sherpa people saw him descending at around 8,500 meters last Thursday.
An employee from the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism confirmed that Stitzinger is missing. According to the expedition company, they sent a rescue team with four Sherpas. It was said that it could not climb up in the end due to bad weather. Also, they don’t have his exact location as his GPS device stopped sending signals during his ascent.
Stitzinger climbed several eight-thousanders and other high mountains, sometimes with his wife Alix von Melle, who is also a mountaineer. Together they published the book “Passion for Life: Together on the highest mountains in the world”. The description of the book says: “Luis felt at home in the mountains even as a child; the experienced mountain guide and expedition leader crowns ascents with spectacular ski descents. Worrying about each other often puts relationships to the test.”