The body of William Stampfl, an American mountaineer who was buried by an avalanche on Mount Huascaran in Peru in 2002, has been found after 22 years. The discovery was made by an American climber who came across the frozen body near a camp 17,060 feet above sea level.
The body of William Stampfl, an American mountaineer who was buried by an avalanche on Mount Huascaran in Peru in 2002, has been found after 22 years. The discovery was made on Friday by an American climber who came across the frozen body near a camp 17,060 feet above sea level.
American Mountaineer's Mummified Body Found 22 Years After Avalanche
Stampfl was with two friends, Matthew Richardson and Steve Erskine, when they attempted the ascent of Huascaran in 2002. They had travelled the world to climb challenging mountains and had summitted Kilimanjaro, Rainier, Shasta and Denali, according to a Los Angeles Times report at the time.
The avalanche struck as the three climbers were attempting to scale Mount Huascaran, Peru’s highest peak. Erskine’s body was found shortly after the avalanche, but Richardson’s is still missing.
American Mountaineer's Mummified Body Found 22 Years After Avalanche
Police in the Ancash region told The Associated Press that Stampfl’s body and clothing had been preserved by the ice and freezing temperatures. His driver's license was also found inside a hip pouch that had also been preserved by the cold. It says he was a resident of Chino in California’s San Bernardino County.
The effort to retrieve Stampfl's remains began last week, after the American climber came upon the frozen body while making his way to the Huascaran summit. The climber opened the pouch and read the name on the driver's license. He called Stampfl’s relatives, who then got in touch with local mountain guides.
A team of 13 mountaineers participated in the recovery operation, including five officers from an elite police unit, and eight mountain guides who work for Grupo Alpamayo, a local tour operator that takes climbers to Huascaran and other peaks in the Andes.
Stampfl’s body was brought down over the weekend and taken to a morgue in the city of Yungay.
Eric Raul Albino, the director of Grupo Alpamayo, said he was contacted and hired by Stampfl's family to retrieve the body from the mountain.
"The climber (who first came across Stampfl's body) opened the hip pouch and noticed there was a drivers license there with his name and address" Albino told The Associated Press. "So he contacted the family and then they contacted me."
Lenin Alvardo, one of the police officers who participated in the recovery operation, said Stampfl’s clothes were still mostly intact, preserved by the cold. The hip pouch with his driving license also contained a pair of sunglasses, a camera, a voice recorder, and two decomposing $20 bills.
"I've never seen anything like that" Alvarado said.
Huascaran is Peru's highest peak. Hundreds of climbers visit the mountain each year with local guides, and it typically takes them about a week to reach the summit.
However, climate change has affected Huascaran and the surrounding peaks higher than 5,000 meters, known as the Cordillera Blanca. According to official figures, the Cordillera Blanca has lost 27% of its ice sheet over the past five decades.
The discovery of Stampfl's body brings closure to his family and friends, who have been searching for him for over two decades. It also serves as a reminder of the dangers of mountaineering, and the importance of being prepared for the unexpected.
