Bodies of missing Italian climbers recovered on Panpari Himal
Bodies of Farronato Stefano and Caputo Alessandro recovered at Camp 1 in Gorkha’s remote Panpari range after rescue efforts hampered by severe weather triggered by Cyclone Montha.
PC: Narendra Shahi/NNMGA
Two Italian climbers who went missing on Panpari Himal in western Nepal after being trapped by heavy snowfall since October 28 have been found dead, police said on Tuesday.
Deputy Superintendent of Gorkha District Police Raj Kumar Shrestha said the bodies of Farronato Stefano, 51, and Caputo Alessandro, 28, members of the Italian Panpari Q7 Expedition, were recovered at Camp 1 of Panpari Himal (6,887 metres). “The bodies were found at Camp 1, and preparations are underway to bring them to Kathmandu by helicopter,” Shrestha told Everest Chronicle.
The two climbers had been out of contact since October 28 after being trapped by continuous snowfall. The Department of Tourism (DoT) earlier said in a statement that it had received information from the expedition’s liaison officer and the concerned agency that the two were stranded at Camp 1.
The rescue mission was launched on Monday by a team comprising IFMGA guides Narendra Shahi and Pasang Kaji Sherpa, aspirant guide Kusang Sherpa, and expedition leader Valter Perlino.
“It was not an easy recovery,” Shahi told Everest Chronicle. “We first tracked the location using GPS coordinates provided by the expedition leader. Then we used a Recco detector to pinpoint the bodies before beginning to dig. After three and a half hours of digging, we located the tent and continued excavating until we recovered the body.”
Climbing and trekking activities had been severely affected over the past six days after Cyclone Montha brought widespread rain and snow across the country.
Stefano and Alessandro had obtained climbing permission through Sherpa Alpine Trekking Service Pvt. Ltd. under permit number 102, according to the DoT.
Panpari Himal, located in Nepal’s remote western region of Gorkha, is rarely climbed and lies in a rugged section of the Himalayas that experiences extreme and unpredictable weather.
The incident occurred amid worsening weather conditions across the Himalayas triggered by Cyclone Montha, which has brought widespread rain and snow in recent days, disrupting flights, rescue missions, and trekking schedules.
Authorities said poor visibility and high winds had made aerial rescue operations extremely difficult.
Autumn is Nepal’s second busiest climbing season after spring and is typically favored by mountaineers and trekkers for its stable weather and clear skies. However, this year’s late-season storms have severely impacted expeditions across multiple regions.
According to the Department of Tourism, about 1,400 climbers from 79 countries have received permits to attempt various peaks this autumn.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains above 8,000 metres, including Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, and Dhaulagiri.
