Top climber dies after rare feat in the Himalayas

A top Slovak climber has died while descending a 7,234m (23,730ft) peak in Nepal, after completing the rare feat of climbing the mountain’s treacherous east face.

Ondrej Huserka fell into a crevasse on Thursday after he and his climbing partner climbed Langtang Lirung mountain in the Himalayas – the 99th highest peak in the world.

The 34-year-old mountaineer has previously climbed the Alps, Patagonia and the Pamir Mountains.

His Czech climbing partner, Marek Holecek, said the pair were returning to base camp after becoming the first climbers to ascend Langtang Lirung via a “scary” eastern route.

While climbing a mountain wall, Huserka’s rope broke and he fell into an ice crevasse, his partner said.

He then “hit an angled surface after falling eight meters, then continued down a maze deep into the glacier.”

In an emotional Facebook post, Mr. Holecek recalled hearing his partner’s cries for help and trying his best to save him.

“I climbed down to him and stayed with him for four hours until his light faded,” Mr. Holecek said.

After freeing him from the ice, Holecek realized his companion was paralyzed.

“His star faded as he lay in my arms,” he said.

The Slovak mountain climbers’ association, SHS James, said adverse weather in Nepal had hampered rescue operations.

“After the phone call with Marek Holecek and his status announced yesterday, as well as the weather conditions in Langtang Lirung, family and friends will have to face the fact that Ondrej is no longer with them. me too,” it wrote on social networks. parcel.

According to his personal website, Mr. Huserka joined the Slovak national climbing team in 2011 and has won the SHS James Climber of the Year award six times.

His decades-long climbing career has taken him around the world.

His website says he completed the first ascent of the “Summer Bouquet” on Alexander Block Peak in Kyrgyzstan and repeated the “legendary route” on the southeastern slopes of Cerro Torre in South America.

Paying tribute to the late climber, SHS James said Mr. Huserka was a “top climber” and “world class.”

Slovak spectators said he was “one of the best climbers in Slovakia”.