KATHMANDU: A 57-year-old climber who went missing from Camp III on Mt Ama Dablam was found dead at around 4,500 m this afternoon, according to a base camp official. This is the first casualty on Ama Dablam this season, with more than 300 climbers attempting the mountain.

Gokul Thapa, Managing Director at Real Himalaya Nepal Pvt Ltd, confirmed that the body of German climber Wolfgang Waschiczek was recovered by a search and rescue team. “He fell some 1,700 m from Camp III,” Thapa said, adding that the body was being taken to Lukla for postmortem. He was a client of Real Himalaya Nepal and shared the Ama Dablam expedition permit with Snowy Horizon.

According to Bodhraj Bhandari, Managing Director at Snowy Horizon Treks, the 57-year-old lost contact with his guide while preparing to descend from around 6,200 m at around 8 a.m. on October 26.

Wolfgang and his climbing guide, Sonam Lama, successfully scaled Mount Ama Dablam on October 25 and descended to Camp III that evening, according to Bhandari. “The pair decided to stay at Camp III overnight after borrowing a sleeping bag and other gear from other climbers.”

On the morning of October 26, the climber was preparing to descend to a lower camp when he was asked to wait with his safety gear while Lama went to return the sleeping bag.

“When Lama returned within less than five minutes, Wolfgang was not at the spot where he had been asked to wait with his safety gear,” Bhandari said. It was also found that he was not wearing crampons.

Earlier, a Kailash helicopter with a search team had been mobilised to search for him, Bhandari said.