American mountaineer Anna Gutu and guide Mingmar Sherpa lost their lives in an avalanche on Shisha Pangma. The Himalayan Times confirmed on Saturday that this peak marks the final hurdle for the North American climber to become the first in the United States to complete the historic ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders.
Another American climber, Gina Marie, was in direct competition with Gutu and his guide as both pressed toward completing the 14 peaks that define the world’s highest summits. The expedition above 7,800 metres was struck by disaster when the avalanche hit, claiming lives and altering the course of the climb for anyone chasing the record of reaching all fourteen eight-thousanders.
Three Nepalese Sherpas, Kami Rita Sherpa, Mitra Bahadur Tamang, and Karma Gyalzen, sustained varying injuries in the same incident. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of Gutu and Mingmar Sherpa in the aftermath of the avalanche, according to reports from the same outlet cited earlier.
Gutu and Gina Marie had been locked in a narrow battle to determine who would become the first American to summit all fourteen eight-thousanders. Tenjen Lama, working alongside Kristin Harila, holds the current record for the fastest completion of the 14 peaks, accomplished in 92 days, a benchmark that has framed recent discussions about speed ascents on the world’s tallest giants.
Anna Gutu, born in Odessa, Ukraine, later became an American citizen. Both Gutu and Gina Marie had recently stood atop Cho Oyu, the eighthousanders, achieving that summit within a span of five days. Shisha Pangma represented the final challenge for these climbers to complete a significant milestone in the American climbing narrative, a milestone previously achieved by Christopher Bernard Warner and Ed Viesturs, the two other Americans who have completed all 14 eight-thousanders. These narratives of perseverance and ambition are recounted with respect to the evolving history of American high-altitude mountaineering.