Two of America's best-known big wall and alpine climbers, Jonny Copp and Micah Dash, both residents of Boulder, Colorado, are feared to have lost their lives in the mountains of Chinese Sichuan.
The pair had received a Mugs Stump Award in America to attempt unclimbed Dojitsengza in the Eastern Kangri Garpo Range of Tibet, but possibly due to political access problems, changed their objective to the impressive E Gongga (Mt. Edgar, 6,618m)in the Minya Konka Group of Sichuan's Daxue Shan.
Together with Nick Rosen and Wade Johnson of Sender Films, who hoped to document part of the expedition for a National Geographic TV series, the two established base camp below the mountain in May.
Rosen returned to Colorado, and on the 15th May the remaining three left their liaison officer to established an advanced base camp. They returned to base, having cached gear and food at a suitable site, reported to be five hours above if carrying a heavy load.
On the 20th, Copp, Dash and Johnson moved up to advanced base. From there Dash and Copp would attempt the peak, while Johnson remained in camp. Nothing was heard from them after that date and when they failed to return to base camp and then missed their homeward flight on the 3rd June, Rosen alerted the authorities.
The agent in Chengdu requested help from the Chinese Mountaineering Association in Beijing, who sent two experienced climbers. This pair left base camp at 6am on Saturday 6th June and after three hours walking, found a body at c4,000m.
Currently, there is no information on how this climber might have died. Visibility was reported to have been very limited and the way ahead blocked by avalanche. The two Chinese only got close enough to take a photograph for identification purposes, and were not able to move the body.
Thirty-year old Dash was an impressive rock climber who climbed extensively in Yosemite, where he made free ascents of the Regular Route on the North West Face of Half Dome and Freerider on El Capitan. He made first free ascents and new routes in the Tasermiut Fjord of South Greenland, a new route on Cat's Ears Spire in the Karakoram, and the first ascent of the Shafat Fortress in India.
Copp, who was five years older, had climbed extensively, making important new routes in America (eg the Black Canyon of the Gunnison) and Canada (eg the Bugaboo). In addition he’d climbed many new lines in the Paine and Fitz Roy regions of Patagonia, several in the Karakoram (including the second ascent of the US grade VII Inshallah on Shipton Spire), and various attempts and ascents in India, including the Shafat Fortress with Dash. Copp was also an Ambassador for Patagonia, and founder of Boulder's Adventure Film Festival.
At the time of writing several American climbers are preparing to fly to the area to help with rescue operations.
The photograph shows Dash (left) and Copp close to base camp in India's Suru Valley with the lower granite walls of the Shafat Fortress behind.
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