German climber dies after 1,500 meter fall from Ama Dablam

Wolfgang Waschiczek fell roughly 1,500 meters to his death on Ama Dablam on Monday. The 57-year-old German had reached the mountain's 6,812-meter summit the previous day.

The incident unfolded in the Khumbu region of Nepal. Waschiczek spent the night of Sunday at Camp 3, situated at an altitude of about 6,200 meters. His guide, Sonam Lama, left him in the tent briefly to return borrowed equipment, instructing him to stay inside. When Lama returned, Waschiczek was gone.

Gokul Thapa, head of the trekking company Real Himalaya, confirmed the timeline to AFP. "After a successful summit, he spent a night at Camp 3 on Sunday, and on Monday morning, his guide found him missing," Thapa said.

Another Sherpa located Waschiczek's body at Camp 2 around 8:00 a.m. on Monday. The body was found at an elevation of approximately 4,600 meters. A helicopter retrieved the remains in the afternoon and transported them to Lukla, the primary gateway for the Everest region.

The body was then flown to Kathmandu for a postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Thapa stated that the family will receive the remains through the German embassy once the examination is complete. This marked Waschiczek's second visit to Nepal, having previously trekked there in 2024.

This is the first recorded death on Ama Dablam this year. More than 300 climbers are attempting the peak during the current season. The mountain is known for steep faces and technical difficulty. In October of last year, a French climber and a South Korean climber died during expeditions on the same peak.

Other fatal incidents have occurred in the region recently. Two Japanese climbers died on a peak in western Nepal last week. Earlier in the year, an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak killed a British Nepali climber and nine others in July. In May, an American climber died on Mount Makalu after reaching the summit.