China News Service, Beijing, July 10 (Xinhua) Lima News: According to foreign media reports, Peruvian police said on the 9th local time that the body of an American climber, William Stampfl, was found in the country’s Huascaran Mountain. The body has been buried in the snow for 22 years.

According to the Associated Press, Stampf attempted to climb Peru’s highest peak in 2002-the southern high point of Huascaran Mountain, which is more than 6,700 meters above sea level. He was unfortunately killed in an avalanche on the way. Stampf’s family had long given up hope of finding the body. An American climber recently found Stampf’s body while climbing and contacted his family based on the driver’s license information in his waist bag.

Stampf’s body is located at an altitude of about 5,200 meters on Huascaran Mountain, about 9 hours away from the climbers’ camp. Peruvian police and rescue workers jointly transported Stampf’s body down the mountain.

Peruvian police said that Stampf’s body was relatively intact due to being buried in ice and snow for many years. His clothes and hiking boots were intact, and his waist bag contained a driver’s license, sunglasses, a camera, recording equipment and two torn $20 bills. The body wore a gold wedding ring on the left hand.

Stumpf’s family plans to temporarily place the body in a funeral home in Lima, and bring the ashes back to the United States for burial after cremation.

The British “Guardian” said that Huascaran Mountain attracts hundreds of climbers every year, and most people need to spend about a week to reach the summit. Stumpf climbed the mountain with two friends. After encountering an avalanche, the body of one of the friends was quickly found, but the whereabouts of the other is still unknown.

According to Reuters, Stumpf’s body has a chance to be found because the Huascaran Mountain glacier has been melting in recent years.

According to reports, about 68% of the world’s tropical glaciers are located in Peru, and these glaciers are one of the ice layers most affected by global warming. A report released by the Peruvian government in November 2023 showed that the country’s tropical glaciers have shrunk by about 56% over the past 60 years.