The mummified remains of an American climber, William Stampfl, have been discovered 22 years after he went missing while attempting to scale a snowy peak in Peru. Stampfl, who was 59 at the time, disappeared in June 2002 when an avalanche buried his climbing party on Mount Huascaran, which stands over 22,000 feet high. Despite extensive search and rescue efforts, his body was not found until recently, when climate change-induced ice melt exposed his remains.
Peruvian police confirmed that Stampfl’s body, along with his clothes, harness, and boots, had been remarkably well-preserved by the cold. His passport, found among his possessions, allowed authorities to identify him. Stampfl’s driver’s license, indicating he was a resident of California’s San Bernardino County, was also recovered.
The discovery was made on the Cordillera Blanca range of the Andes, a region known for its snowy peaks and popular with mountaineers from around the world. Stampfl had embarked on the climb with friends Matthew Richardson and Steve Erskine. While Erskine’s body was found shortly after the avalanche, Richardson’s remains are still missing.
Stampfl’s body was brought down the mountain over the weekend by guides and police officers and placed in a morgue in the city of Huaraz. The mountains of northeastern Peru, including Huascaran and Cashan, are renowned for their challenging climbs and attract adventurers globally.
This discovery is not an isolated incident. In May, the body of an Israeli hiker was found nearly a month after he disappeared in the same region. Last month, an experienced Italian mountaineer was found dead after falling while attempting to scale another Andean peak. As glaciers around the world continue to melt and recede, largely attributed to global warming, there has been an increase in the discovery of remains of hikers, skiers, and climbers who went missing decades ago.
In June, five frozen bodies were retrieved from Mount Everest as part of Nepal’s mountain clean-up campaign. Last year, the remains of a German climber who went missing in 1986 were recovered on a glacier in the Swiss Alps. In 2017, Italian mountain rescue crews recovered the remains of hikers on a glacier on Mont Blanc’s southern face, likely dating from the 1980s or 1990s. That same year, the remains of a climber discovered in the Swiss Alps were identified as a British mountaineer who went missing in 1971.
In 2016, the bodies of a renowned mountain climber and expedition cameraman, buried in a Himalayan avalanche in 1999, were found partially melting out of a glacier. In 2015, the remains of two Japanese climbers who went missing in 1970 on Switzerland’s famous Matterhorn were found and identified through DNA testing.
The phenomenon of melting glaciers revealing long-lost climbers is a stark reminder of the ongoing impact of climate change. Peru has lost more than half of its glacier surface in the last six decades, with 175 glaciers disappearing entirely between 2016 and 2020, according to scientists from a state agency studying glaciers. The World Meteorological Organization reported that the previous decade was the hottest on record, leading to accelerated melting of polar and mountain ice and rising sea levels.
The increase in average global temperatures has significantly accelerated the retreat of glaciers, especially in the tropics. Jesus Gomez, director of glacier research at Inaigem, emphasized the unprecedented rate at which glaciers are thinning, losing nearly one meter of ice per year. The Antarctic continental ice sheet has also seen a dramatic increase in ice loss, nearly 75 percent more between 2011 and 2020 compared to the previous decade.
Stampfl’s discovery is the second mummified body found in the Andes in recent years. Last year, the remains of Marta Emilia Altamirano, known as Patty, were found 41 years after she disappeared during an expedition. Altamirano, who was 20 at the time, slipped on ice and fell to her death. Her body was found attached to a glacier, and authorities had to break the ice to extract it.
The preserved body of William Stampfl serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers faced by mountaineers and the lasting impact of climate change on our planet’s glaciers. As the ice continues to melt, more long-lost climbers may be discovered, bringing closure to their families and highlighting the urgent need to address global warming.
Source: CBS/AFP, BBC News
