In The News

Famous mountain climber dies in accident

Famous mountain climber dies in accident

Erhard Loretan, one of the few people to reach the summits of all 14 of the world’s highest mountains, has died in a climbing accident. He was 52.

The accident happened in his home country of Switzerland as he was guiding a client to the summit of the Gruenhorn in the Bernese Alps. The amateur climber was seriously injured in the accident.

It was in 1982 that Mr. Loretan climbed his first 8,000-metre peak – Nanga Parbat in Pakistan. Over the following 13 years he successfully conquered the other 13 mountains above 8,000 metres.

In 1986 he and Jean Troillet stunned the climbing world when they climbed Mount Everest without bottled oxygen in just 40 hours.

Mr. Loretan became a top mountain guide in order to help others achieve their climbing dreams.

He once explained his reasons for becoming a guide: “I want to share my passion with others, and it’s because of this that being a mountain guide is a good profession because you can help someone who dreams about climbing mountains. This is something very beautiful.”

 

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