Warming Temperatures Melted Ice On A Mountain In Peru And Revealed The Mummified Body Of A Mountaineer Who Was Missing For 22 Years
For 22 years, the body of Bill Stampfl, a 58-year-old mountaineer, has remained missing — until now. Stampfl and his two partners, Matthew Richardson and Steve Erskine had been in the Andes of Peru, trying to reach the top of the highest mountain.
But on June 24, 2002, they perished in an avalanche on Huascarán, the 22,205-foot peak that they were climbing.
Now, warming temperatures have melted the ice on the mountain, revealing Stampfl’s body. Two American brothers, Ryan Cooper and Wesley Waren, were coming down Huascarán when they saw something strange. It turned out to be a mummified human body.
The body was undisturbed and exposed to the elements. It was still wearing a helmet, jacket, boots, and gold wedding ring. There was also a fanny pack that contained cash, sunglasses, a camera, a passport, and an identification card.
“Someone loved him, and someone wanted him to come home,” Cooper said. “As soon as I found out he was an American climber, I knew we had a responsibility to track down the family and give them the news.”
Cooper and his group of mountaineers had been trying to reach the summit of Huascarán, but when the conditions became too dangerous to go on, they began to make their way back down the mountain. They happened to take an older route that was no longer in use, which was when they came across Stampfl’s body at an elevation of about 17,060 feet.
While still on the mountain, Cooper called his wife, who was at their home in Las Vegas, to tell her what he had found. She helped him track down Stampfl’s family. After sifting through old newspapers, she learned what had happened to the mountaineer over two decades ago.
Two days later, Cooper contacted Stampfl’s son, Joseph, who was now 51 years old. He also spoke to Stampl’s widow, Janet Stampfl-Raymer, and his 53-year-old daughter, Jennifer. The family was grateful to Cooper and was relieved to have finally received closure.
They hired a rescue team to recover Stampfl’s body. His remains will be transported to a morgue in Lima, where they will be cremated. Then, he will be returned to his family in the United States. They plan to go to California’s Mount Baldy to scatter his ashes.
cherrus – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
That mountain was where Stampfl underwent training for his mountaineer expeditions. He ran up and down the slopes with a 60-pound bag of cat litter in his backpack.
The remains of one of Stampfl’s climbing partners, Matthew Richardson, are still missing. After the avalanche on Huascarán in 2002, Steve Erskine’s body was found.
As alpine glaciers melt due to the effects of global warming, long-lost human remains are becoming visible.
Corpses have also surfaced on Mount Everest, Theodul Glacier, and various lakes. In the last 50 years, the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru has lost 27 percent of its ice sheet, according to official estimates.
The discovery of Stampfl’s body truly highlights how climate change is altering the landscape of regions around the world.
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