American climber dies 'suddenly' while attempting to scale Mount Makalu in Nepal
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An American climber died Sunday on Mount Makalu in Nepal during a climb to raise money for a children's cancer program.
Alexander Pancoe, 39, died while settling into his sleeping bag at the mountain's second high camp after returning from an acclimatization trip at the higher camp three, according to reporting from Reuters.
Makalu is the world's fifth-highest mountain, peaking at 28,000 feet. Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain, peaks at about 29,032 feet.
Madison Mountaineering, the company that organized the expedition, confirmed the death on its social media pages Monday.
"We are heartbroken by the sudden loss of our teammate and dear friend, Alex Pancoe, who passed away unexpectedly on the evening of May 4th at Camp 2 on Makalu," the company said in a Facebook post on May 5. "Alex was sharing a tent with our expedition leader and guide, Terray Sylvester. The two had just finished dinner and were settling into their sleeping bags, chatting casually, when Alex suddenly became unresponsive. Despite hours of resuscitation efforts by Terray and our team of climbers and Sherpa at Camp 2, they were unable to revive him," the company said on Facebook.
According to Reuters, Nepal's tourism department said it was arranging to bring Pancoe's body to Kathmandu, the country's capital.
Nepal's Mountaineering Association and Madison Mountaineering did not immediately respond to a USA TODAY request for comment.
Pancoe was attempting to raise money for a children's cancer program
Reuters reports that Pancoe survived a brain tumor when he was younger and had been battling chronic myeloid leukemia.
Pancoe was attempting to climb Makalu to raise funds for the pediatric blood cancer program at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, expedition leader Garrett Madison told Reuters. Madison added that Pancoe had already raised $1 million to help fund clinical trials and other programs at the hospital.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.
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