On Thursday the 27th of April, my wife Jennifer and I were walking back from a brief visit with Liz Hawley, the venerated historian of high altitude climbing in Nepal. It was a wonderful way to end a month of work with the Khumbu Climbing Center. I received a call from David Goetttler who was on the south side Shishapangma, Tibet, the 14th highest peak in the world. He and Ueli Steck were acclimatizing at the same base camp that I had used on our 1999 post monsoon expedition.
David calmly explained that they had found the remains of David Bridges and Alex Lowe. The memorial plaque that we left at base camp, the known fatalities on Shishapangma, the clothing and equipment all indicated that our two friends had emerged from the ice.
The outpouring of compassion from friends and the public at large has been most comforting. We have connected with the Bridges and Lowe families and talked about how we will progress. For Jennifer, Max, Sam and Isaac – our family – this brings a sense of closure. It brings back the emotion that we all went through in October of 1999 and at the same time a wave of relief. We will organize a trek with our families to bring peace to David and Alex. We will follow local custom for attending to bodies.
It will be an intense journey, yet one that will bring solace.
Photo by Jennifer Lowe-Anker of Alex BITD at the base of Super Crack, Shawangunks, New York.