The search for Gerhard “Gerry” Fiegl, an Austrian climber who fell approximately 2,624 feet while descending the southern route of the Nilgiri peak in north-central Nepal last week, has been called off, as reported by . Fiegl and his climbing partners, Hansjorg Auer and Alexander Bluemel, became the first people to successfully summit the mountain via the southern route on October 25. He was 27.
After the fall, the two remaining climbers descended back to base camp to call for help, reported last week. Inclement weather hampered the authorities’ rescue and recovery attempts.
“According to information from Nepal, there is no longer any hope to find Gerry still alive,” said a representative for Salewa, one of the party’s sponsors, according to Deutsche Welle.
Fiegl was a mountain guide from Tyrol. In 2014, he and partner Simon Gietl climbed Mount Fitz Roy in Patagonia, which requires stretches of technical rock climbing, in 21 hours and 30 minutes.