American climber dies on world’s fifth-highest peak in Nepal

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By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) – An American mountaineer died on Mount Makalu in eastern Nepal during a climb to raise funds for a children’s cancer programme, officials said on Tuesday, the second death in the Himalayan nation’s climbing season that began in March.

The world’s fifth-highest mountain, Makalu’s peak is 8,463 m (28,000 ft) high, compared to Mount Everest, the tallest peak, at a height of 8,849 m (29,032 ft).

Alexander Pancoe, 39, died on Sunday while settling into his sleeping bag at the mountain’s second high camp, after returning from an acclimatisation trip at the higher camp three, expedition organiser Madison Mountaineering said.

“Alex suddenly became unresponsive,” the company said on its website. “Despite hours of resuscitation efforts … they were unable to revive him.”

Nepal’s tourism department said it was arranging to bring the body to Kathmandu, the capital.

Pancoe, who survived a brain tumor when younger, had completed the Explorer’s Grand Slam – climbing the highest peaks on each of the seven continents and then skiing to both the North and South Poles.

He had been battling chronic myeloid leukemia and was attempting to climb Makalu to raise funds for the pediatric blood cancer programme of the Chicago-based Lurie Children’s Hospital, said expedition leader Garrett Madison.

He had already raised $1 million to help fund clinical trials and other programs there, Madison added.

In April, a Nepali sherpa died on Mount Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest mountain.

Wedged between India and China, landlocked Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, and its economy is heavily reliant on climbing, trekking, and tourism for foreign exchange.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)