A prominent Slovak mountaineer died after climbing the tough east face of the 99th highest peak in the world, his climbing partner said.
Ondrej Huserka, known for scaling the Alps, Patagonia, and Pamir mountain ranges, fell into a crevasse last week while descending the 7,234m Langtang Lirung peak in Nepal.
His Czech climbing partner Marek Holecek confirmed the death of the 34-year-old in a post on Facebook on 2 November. The duo were coming down after completing the first ascent ever of Langtang Lirung via the "terrifying" east face when the tragedy struck.
They began their descent at around 4pm local time on 31 October, Mr Holecek said. "Ondra rappelled after me. What held fine for me proved fatal for him," he wrote.
Huserka's rope snapped and he fell into an ice crevasse and hit an angled surface after an 8m drop, Mr Holecek recounted, adding that his partner "continued down a labyrinth into the depths of the glacier".
"I rappelled down to him and stayed with him for four hours until his light faded.”
Mr Holeck said he heard his partner scream for help: "Pull me out, please." After freeing Huserka, he realised that his partner was paralysed.
"He couldn’t feel his legs, and his arms were paralysed. His answers and awareness were totally confused," Mr Holeck added. "His star was fading as he lay in my arms… it lasted hours."
SHS James, a Slovak climbers association, called for rescue action but said helicopters could not take off because of bad weather. "It will not happen in the coming days," the group said in a post on social media.
"Following a phone call with Marek Holecek and his status published yesterday, and given the weather conditions under Langtang Lirung, the family and friends will have to cope with the fact that Ondrej is not with us any more," it said.
"Humble and great friend, top mountaineer, it is not an exaggeration to say world-class, gone prematurely."
