German climber dies after 1,500-meter fall from Nepal summit

Wolfgang Waschiczek fell 1,500 meters to his death on Ama Dablam in Nepal on Monday. The 57-year-old German had reached the mountain's 6,812-meter summit on Sunday. He died during his planned descent the following day.

Gokul Thapa, head of the trekking company Real Himalaya, confirmed the incident. Thapa stated that Waschiczek was reported missing from Camp 3, which sits at an altitude of roughly 6,200 meters. The camp served as a resting point after the summit push.

The climber's personal guide, Sonam Lama, left him in the tent for a brief period to return borrowed equipment. Lama had instructed Waschiczek to stay inside while he was away. When the guide returned to the tent, Waschiczek was gone.

Another Sherpa located Waschiczek's body at Camp 2 around 8 a.m. on Monday. The camp sits at a lower altitude of approximately 4,600 meters. A helicopter retrieved the body that afternoon and transported it to Lukla. The town serves as a primary gateway for mountaineers entering the Everest region.

The body was then flown to Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. A postmortem examination is scheduled for Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Thapa said the body would be handed to Waschiczek's family through the embassy once the medical procedures were complete. Thapa noted that this was the German climber's second visit to Nepal, as he had trekked there in 2024.

Ama Dablam is located in the Khumbu region and is known for its steep, technically difficult faces. This is the first fatality recorded on the peak in 2026. More than 300 climbers are attempting the mountain during the current season.

Other climbing deaths have occurred across the region this year. Two Japanese climbers died on a peak in western Nepal last week. In July, ten climbers died after an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak. In May, an avalanche on Mount Makalu killed American climber Johannesen, who had reached the 27,838-foot summit before the slide struck her at 23,600 feet.