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Nepali Team Recovers Two Japanese Climbers’ Bodies on Gangapurna

By Drooid · Oct 24, 2026, 6:20 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Rescue Team Recovers

Nepali rescue team recovered bodies of climbers Hidesuke Taneishi and Tetsu Hashimoto on Mount Gangapurna.
Searchers said a slab avalanche swept them down 900 metres from their last camp at 6,210 metres.
They had left gear near 7,000 metres after reaching 100 metres below the 7,455-metre summit.
Pilot Sobit Gauchan, drone operator Manish Maharjan and guide Pasang Rinzee Sherpa led the search.
The bodies were airlifted to Kathmandu for postmortem before release to families.

Summary

Cosmo Adventure Coordinates

Vijay Sharma, Cosmo Adventure chairman, confirmed coordination with the Japanese Embassy during the rescue effort.
Cosmo Adventure arranged permits and local staffing as logistical support for the expedition.
Gangapurna West, opened to foreign teams in 2014, remains unsummited despite several attempts.
Hidesuke Taneishi, 40, earned a Piolet d’Or nomination last year after climbing Pholesobi Peak.
Nepal’s mountains contain 462 climbable peaks, with about 100 still awaiting a first ascent.

History

Historical Context

In May 1996, a sudden blizzard on the South Col killed eight climbers, including leaders Rob Hall of Adventure Consultants and Scott Fischer of Mountain Madness, making that season Everest’s deadliest until later avalanches. The tragedy sparked worldwide debate over Everest’s commercialization, leading Nepal to tighten permit rules and require rescue contracts for future expeditions, a framework that guides today’s Japanese-Nepali rescue coordination on Gangapurna.

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Rescue Team Recovers

Nepali rescue team recovered bodies of climbers Hidesuke Taneishi and Tetsu Hashimoto on Mount Gangapurna.
Searchers said a slab avalanche swept them down 900 metres from their last camp at 6,210 metres.
They had left gear near 7,000 metres after reaching 100 metres below the 7,455-metre summit.
Pilot Sobit Gauchan, drone operator Manish Maharjan and guide Pasang Rinzee Sherpa led the search.
The bodies were airlifted to Kathmandu for postmortem before release to families.

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