Erhard Loretan dies in tragic fall

Erhard Loretan, who was killed on April 28, his 52nd birthday, while climbing in Switzerland, was one of the few people to reach the summits of the world’s 14 highest mountains.

He was only the third mountaineer in history to scale the 14 Himalayan peaks above 8,000 metres (26,240ft), which include Mount Everest, Annapurna and K2. The feat took him 14 years, and he completed his quest in 1995.

According to police in the Swiss canton of Valais, Loretan died when he was leading a client up the summit ridge of the Grünhorn, in the Bernese Alps. The pair had made part of the climb on skis, then roped up for the final ascent.

For reasons that are not yet clear, they fell at 3,800 metres (12,500ft) up the 4,043-metre (13,264ft) mountain. Loretan died at the scene. His 38-year-old Swiss companion was flown to a hospital in a serious condition.

via Erhard Loretan – Telegraph.

Our thoughts go out to Erhard’s family and friends, and we hope his climbing companion makes a swift and full recovery.