Mountaineer Luis Stitzinger is dead: his body was found on the Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas. © Imago/HRSchulz/Montage
Luis Stitzinger is dead. His body is said to have been found at over 8,000 meters. The mountaineer's widow speaks out emotionally via Instagram.
Update from May 31, 13:05 p.m.: In the meantime, there is sad certainty: the mountaineer Luis Stitzinger from Germany, who went missing in the Himalayas, is dead. On social media, his wife and also a mountaineer, Alix von Melle, says goodbye to her husband. In her post, you can see several pictures showing Luis Stitzinger in action.
"Dear Luis, the mountains were your life and ours," it says at the beginning of the accompanying text. Stitzinger's wife speaks of the 25 best years "of my life at your side", thanks them for the time they spent together and finally mentions all the dreams the couple would have had.
Update from May 31, 06:31 a.m.: Mountaineer Luis Stitzinger from the Allgäu region is dead. A search team had found his body on the third highest mountain in the world – the eight-thousander Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas. Stitzinger had been missing since last Thursday. The 54-year-old had been alone on the 8586-meter-high mountain on the border between India and Nepal.
Five Sherpas discovered Stitzinger's body at about 8400 meters. This would now be brought down by the search team, said Mingma Sherpa, head of the expedition company "Seven Summit Treks", which had organized Stitzinger's expedition. The mountaineer was therefore without artificial oxygen on the way. From an altitude of 8000 meters you reach the so-called death zone, informed the industry magazine Bergwelten. So, the body begins to die gradually, as it does not get enough oxygen. You can only stay here for 48 hours.
On Tuesday evening, the German mountaineer Billi Bierling, who lives in Kathmandu, told the BR program "Abendschau" that Stitzinger had been a very accomplished and cautious mountaineer. After 22 hours at high altitude, without additional oxygen and with his own luggage, he was probably very exhausted. What exactly happened can only be speculated at the moment.
Mountaineer from Bavaria is dead: body of Luis Stitzinger found
Update from May 30, 18:40 p.m.: Luis Stitzinger is dead, reports the newspaper "The Himalayan Times". The body of the 54-year-old German was found on the mountain, the organizer of the expedition said.
"Luis Stitzinger was found dead at an altitude of 8,400 meters, and his body will be taken to a low-lying camp," said the chairman of the company "Seven Summit Treks". Stitzinger had climbed alone to the summit of Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas. At 8,586 meters, it is the third highest mountain in the world. He allegedly only used the help of Sherpas as far as the base camp.
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Successful mountaineer from Bavaria missing in the Himalayas – rescue team is looking for Luis Stitzinger
Update from May 30, 11:56 a.m.: The extreme mountaineer Luis Stitzinger (54) from the Allgäu is still missing in the Himalayas. Sherpas are now looking for the well-known mountaineer on Kanchenjunga (8,586 meters). The expedition company Seven Summit Treks has dropped a four-member Sherpas search team at base camp at around 5,150 meters, writes journalist Stefan Nestler in his blog. The weather had improved and made a helicopter flight possible. The rescue team was supposed to reach Camp 4 at 7,600 meters. The blog entry is from May 29th.
Luis Stitzinger had reached the summit of the eight-thousander Kanchenjunga on Thursday evening (25 May). The mountaineer was traveling without a breathing mask. "The last contact with him was a radio message around 21 p.m.," the blog reads. By this time, it was already dark. However, Luis did not arrive at Camp 4. Stitzinger was on the descent at an altitude of around 8,300 meters. Position data of his GPS device would not be available, which would complicate the search.
Successful mountaineer from Bavaria missing in the Himalayas – local still saw him at 8,500 meters
Kathmandu – The concern is great: Luis Stitzinger from Füssen (Bavaria), one of the best-known and most successful mountaineers from Germany, is missing in the Himalayas. As Thaneshwor Guragain, an employee of his Nepalese expedition company Seven Summit Treks, announced on Whit Monday (29 May), the experienced mountain and ski guide had been alone on the third highest mountain in the world, the eight-thousander Kanchenjunga (8,586 meters) on the border between India and Nepal.
Lost in the Himalayas: German mountaineer Luis Stitzinger is missing
Only at the base camp would Stitzinger have used the services of Sherpas. A local mountaineer from the Sherpa people would have seen him for the last time on Thursday (25 May) on the descent to around 8,500 metres. The fact that Stitzinger is missing had already been confirmed by an employee from the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism.
According to its own information, the expedition company is sending a rescue team with four Sherpas. It is said that Stitzinger was unable to climb up in the face of bad weather. In addition, his exact location is not known, as his GPS device stopped sending signals during his ascent.
"Together on the highest mountains in the world": Luis Stitzinger married to mountaineer Alix von Melle
Partly together with his wife Alix von Melle, also a mountaineer, Stitzinger climbed several eight-thousanders and other high mountains. Together they published the book "Passion for Life: Together on the Highest Mountains in the World".
"Luis has been at home in the mountains since he was a child; the experienced mountain guide and expedition leader crowns ascents with spectacular ski runs. Often, caring for each other puts the relationship to the test," reads the description of the book. (han/dpa)
