Famed Climber Feared Dead

Alex Lowe, described by Outside magazine this spring as the best mountain climber in the world, was presumed killed early Tuesday with another climber in a Himalayan avalanche, the expedition announced.

Also missing and presumed dead was cameraman Dave Bridges.

A dispatch from the American Shishapangma Ski Expedition, posted on the Web site MountainZone.com, said the climbers were struck by an avalanche on 26,291-foot Shishapangma in Chinese Tibet.

Andrew McLean, the expedition leader, told MountainZone.com, an expedition sponsor, by satellite telephone that the avalanche struck the climbers above their advance base camp on the upper slopes.

Lowe, 40, of Bozeman, Mont., and Bridges, 29, of Aspen, Colo., were swept away along with Colorado climber Conrad Anker, McLean said. Anker was “pretty beat up” but not seriously injured when he was found, McLean said.

Lowe and Bridges have not been found, and the search for their bodies has been abandoned because of hazardous conditions on the mountain.

The expedition had as its goal not only climbing Shishapangma, the 14th highest mountain in the world, but also skiing down it. Bridges was part of a three-man film crew.

Report cards not passing

Some of this fall’s first mandatory hunter report cards are trickling in to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the agency is not happy about the content.

“We’ve received a number of reports that are either incomplete or incorrectly filled out,” wildlife biologist Jon Rachael said. “We really need sportsmen to take a few extra moments to accurately complete the report before sending it off to us.”

All deer and elk hunters must complete and return a report card within 10 days of a kill or 10 days after their season ends. The major change from last year is the cards do not have to be carried or completed in the field.