Mountain Climbing Accidents: Deaths On Kanchenjunga By Notable Famous Deaths [53 more lists]

Sitting at 8,586 meters or 28,169 feet, Kanchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world and many mountain climbers have died attempting the climb. Translating to The Five Treasures of Snows, the mountain contains five peaks including four over eight thousand meters. The range, located in the Himalayas on the border of India and Nepal, is shorter than only Mount Everest and K2.

Well before the mountain's summit was successfully reached in 1955 by two British climbers, many attempted the expedition but died trying. The first deaths on the mountain came all together in 1905 when a group of five climbers, including four sherpas and Swiss mountaineer Alexis A. Pache, died from a fall.

Nearly a dozen perished on Kanchenjunga before the peak was successfully reached and over three dozen since then also died trying to reach or return from the massive peak. The mountain has taken the lives of some of the most well known and accomplished climbers including Andrzej Czok from Poland in 1986, Wanda Rutkiewicz, also from Poland, in 1992, and Benoît Chamoux from France in 1995.

Print Info View Views: 3280 Items: 14

< >

Show: 5 25

Rank Name

2

Alexis Pache

As one of the first recorded deaths on the mountain, Alexis A Pache died of a fall while attempting to scale Kanchenjunga on September 1, 1905. Three other sherpas perished on the mountain on that day bringing the total deaths to five for that ill-fated expedition.
3

Andrzej Czok

Veteran Polish mountaineer Andrzej Czok lost his life to lung adema on Kanchenjunga on January 11, 1986. Previously, Czok scaled Mount Everest and was the first to make a successful winter ascent of Dhaulagiri.
4

Benoît Chamoux

Renowned climber Benoît Chamoux scaled 10 eight-thousanders in his career before losing his life to one on October 6, 1995. According to a photographer and sherpa that accompanied him, Chamoux went missing on Kanchenjunga and was not heard from ever again.
5

Borut Bergant

Physical education teacher and veteran mountaineer Borut Bergant made over 450 ascents in his career before one proved fatal for the Slovenian. Bergant died on April 22, 1985, after he became injured during a descent from Kanchenjunga.
6

Chettan

Chettan was an Indian sherpa that accompanied an expedition on Kanchenjunga more than 25 years before the first successful ascent. On May 9, 1930, Chettan was on the northwest face of the mountain when he was killed by falling ice.
7

Chris Chandler

American climber Chris Chandler was the 15th person killed on Kanchenjunga when he was on the northwest face of the mountain on January 15, 1985. Chandler reportedly died from a cerebral edema as a result of the elevation.
8

Christopher Grasswick

Though one of the first in his expedition to reach Kathmandu, Christopher Grasswick was a young Canadian climber when he met his maker on Kanchenjunga. Grasswick reportedly fell to his death during the climb with several others on May 24, 2002.
9

Edgar Francis Farmer

Edgar Francis Farmer was the first American to lose his life on Kanchenjunga and one of the first to attempt the summit. The climber was presumed dead after disappearing on the southwest face of the mountain on May 27, 1929.
10

Han Do Kyu

Han Do Kyu was one of two lost on September 14, 1999, on the northwest face of Kanchenjunga. Along with Hyun Myeong-Kun , Han died after an avalanche on the mountain buried both climbers.
11

Hyun Myeong-Kun

Korean news reporter Hyun Myeong-Kun was a victim of a fatal avalanche on Kanchenjunga on September 14, 1999. The avalanche also took the life of Han Do Kyu, but spared the third climber in the crew who was airlifted out of the area and survived.
12

Iñigo de Pineda

The death of Iñigo de Pineda from Spain on Kanchenjunga is one of the most recent deaths on the mountain. The mountaineer was presumed dead after disappearing following a fall on May 25, 2007.
13

Jože Rozman

Along with Marija Frantar, Jože Rozman was killed during a fall on the southwest face of Kanchenjunga. The deaths took place for the Slovenian climbers on May 3, 1991.
14

Takeo Matsuda

Japanese climber Takeo Matsuda was killed on May 15, 1973, on the southwest ridge of Kanchenjunga. According to reports, he passed away from fatal injuries caused after he was hit by a rock.
1

Wanda Rutkiewicz

Known for being the first female to summit K2, Wanda Rutkiewicz died on either May 12 or May 13, 1992, on Kanchenjunga. She was attempting to become the first woman to summit the world's three tallest mountains when she disappeared. It was not known if she reached the peak of Kanchenjunga or not.