Alex Lowe Feared Dead in Avalanche; World Class Climber and High-Altitude Camerman Presumed Dead on Shishapangma.SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1999-- Alex Lowe Stuart Alexander "Alex" Lowe (1958-1999), was widely considered his generation's finest all-around mountaineer prior to his October 5, 1999 death in a massive slab avalanche on Shishapangma in Tibet. , one of America's strongest and best-known climbers, is presumed dead after an avalanche struck on 26,291-foot Shishapangma in Chinese Tibet at approximately 9:30 a.m. on October 5 (Tibet time). Also missing and feared dead is high-altitude cameraman Dave Bridges, who was part of a documentary film crew. The massive avalanche struck the climbers above Advance Base Camp on the upper slopes of the mountain, according to MountainZone.com, which is broadcasting the expedition live on the World Wide Web. Lowe, 40, of Bozeman, Montana, and Bridges, 29, of Aspen, Colorado, were part of the Shishapangma 1999 American Ski Expedition, which hoped not only to climb the 14th highest mountain on earth, but to ski down it. Expedition leader Andrew McLean told MountainZone.com via satellite telephone early Tuesday morning (PDT PDT abbr. Pacific Daylight Time PDT Pacific Daylight Time PDT n abbr (US) (= Pacific Daylight Time) → hora de verano del Pacífico PDT ) that Lowe, Bridges and Colorado climber Conrad Anker were caught in the avalanche. McLean reported Anker, a member of this spring's Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition The goal of the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition of 1999 was to discover evidence of whether George Mallory and Andrew Irvine had been the first to summit Mt. Everest in their ill-fated attempt of 8-9 June 1924. to Mount Everest, was "pretty beat up" but not seriously injured The casualty status of a person whose injury may or may not require hospitalization; medical authority does not classify as very seriously injured, seriously injured, or incapacitating illness or injury; and the person can communicate with the next of kin. Also called NSI. See also casualty status. . Lowe and Bridges have not been found. Lowe is widely regarded as one of the world's strongest climbers. His resume of hard alpine climbs stands out among the achievements of other modern climbers. Just his recent highlights include an ascent last August of Great Trango Tower in Pakistan. Other recent ascents include Kwangde Nup, north face, new route; Kusum Kanguru, north face, new route, solo, both in Nepal. In Alaska, Lowed pulled off a one-day first ascent of Hunter's Moonflower moonflower: see morning glory. Buttress; in Antarctica, he made numerous first ascents, including Mount Scott, south face, Rakekniven, Queen Maud Land Queen Maud Land, region: see Antarctica. , Minaret minaret (mĭnərĕt`), tower, used in Islamic architecture, from which the faithful are called to prayer by a muezzin. Most mosques have one or more small towers, which are usually placed at the corners. , Ellsworth Range; and in Baffin Island, he made the first ascent of Sail Peak. Many of his climbs were made with members of The North Face climbing team, of which Lowe was a long-time member. A US national paragliding champion, Bridges' Himalayan highlights include reaching the summits of Annapurna IV, Ama Dablam, Baruntse and Makalu. In 1994, he was the leader of the successful American K2 South Spur Expedition where he personally reached 8,300m. MountainZone.com, as a sponsor and official Web site and news source for the expedition, will continue to publish information on this tragedy on Shishapangma as it becomes available. The expedition is sponsored by The North Face; a documentary film was being made by American Adventure Productions for an NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. Television series. About MountainZone.com Launched in March of 1996, MountainZone.com, the leading mountain sports Web site offering community, commerce and content, has created one of the Internet's most successful virtual communities and is an expert in climbing expedition cybercasts. |
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