Search abandoned for illegal French climbers

The Haveeru Daily Online reports the search for the four French climbers who illegally crossed into Tibet from Nepal to climb the 7200m Ganesh Himal 7, has now been abandoned. They are believed to have died in an avalanche.

Deebas Shah, the general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said the bodies could not be reovered as they are in China.

The climbers obtained a permit to climb Mt. Paldor, a 5896m peak in Nepal, but instead tried to tackle the Ganesh Himal 7 in neighbouring Tibet. The illegal summit attempt was confirmed by two friends of the climbers involved in the search. The Nepal Mountaineering Association, has confirmed that any ascent of Ganesh Himal 7, which is situated on the border between Nepal and China, would require crossing on to Chinese soil.

Put off by high permit prices and bureaucratic red tape from Himalayan nations, "illegal climbing" is apparently a common practice.

The four missing climbers are: Jean-Baptiste Moreau, Raphaël Perrissin, Vincent Villedieu and Stefan Cieslar.