Records & People

A Mountain Held His Body for 22 Years. When the Ice Let Go, His Children Got a Call They Never Expected.

Bill Stampfl was buried by an avalanche on Peru's Huascarán in 2002. In June 2024, two American climbers found his mummified remains and a passport…

By Laxman Rawal · Jul 28, 2026

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In June 2024, Bill Stampfl's son got a phone call from a stranger in Peru. The stranger said he had come across a body on Huascarán, still dressed in a climbing harness and boots, frozen and largely intact. Twenty-two years earlier, an avalanche had buried…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What this means for trekkers

On the ground Stampfl's family finally has a place to grieve, and a body to bring home to be cremated. It is a reminder of why our peak climbs run with certified guides who know a specific glacier's current crevasse pattern, not a route memorised from a…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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