Missing mountaineer Charlie Fowler likely died in an avalanche on a remote Chinese peak, said a spokeswoman for a U.S. group organizing search efforts. The whereabouts of his climbing partner remain a mystery.
Fowler’s legs and gray boots were spotted poking through deep snow yesterday at about 17,000 feet on Genyen Peak in southwest China, Arlene Burns, spokeswoman for the search group, said from Telluride.
Given Fowler’s position in the snow, searchers are “99 percent sure” he was hit by an avalanche while about to make camp, Burns said. Fowler, 52, and girlfriend and climber Christine Boskoff, 39, were last seen alive more than a month ago near Sichuan province.
“Charlie wasn’t wearing a harness nor was he roped,” Burns said. “He was wearing crampons and a heavy pack full of camping gear.” Crampons are spiked boots used for traction.
The search for Boskoff continues. Her body may be buried nearby, Burns said.
Boskoff, like Fowler, was an accomplished mountaineer. She had summitted Everest twice and scaled five of the world’s highest peaks, according to the Web site of Mountain Madness, the guide service she owns. Mountain Madness employed Fowler.
The Seattle-based company gained fame a decade ago when its previous owner, Scott Fischer, was killed while leading clients to the top of Mount Everest. Seven other climbers also died May 10, 1996, when they were caught in a storm. The event inspired the nonfiction bestseller “Into Thin Air.” American friends reported Boskoff and Fowler missing when they didn’t return aboard a Dec. 4 flight to the U.S. Neither climber had children, Burns said.
