A SCOTS-based mountaineer who spent weeks searching for his two friends after they went missing
during an expedition in the Himalayas has spoken of his relief after their bodies were finally found – 30 years after they disappeared.
Church of Scotland mission development worker Steve Aisthorpe, of Kincraig near Aviemore, was part of an expedition with Icelanders
Kristinn Runarsson and Thorsteinn Gudjonsson.
They were last seen alive at a height of 21,650ft on October 18, 1988, on their way to Pumori on the Nepal-Tibet border.
The 27-year-olds’ remains were discovered by an American mountaineer last month and taken back to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, by a group of local climbers. Their ashes were transported back to their homeland by relatives following a cremation service.
Aisthorpe, 55, said it is likely the pair fell from the face of the mountain and their remains were slowly carried down by a retreating glacier.
He said: “The discovery of the remains of Thorsteinn and Kristinn after so many years has inevitably brought many emotions to the surface for all who knew and loved these wonderful guys.
“My diary of the expedition reminds me of how, as someone who had only recently embraced the Christian faith, I found comfort and guidance as I turned to God in prayer.
“In the midst of the desperate tasks of searching and then leaving the mountain alone, the words of a psalm were a personal reality – ‘God is our refuge and strength.
“I plan to go to Reykjavik in Iceland
to meet their families soon and pay my respects.”
Aisthorpe believes more information about what happened to the men will be revealed soon as two camera films were found in one of the men’s pockets. The films have been sent to a
specialist in Australia for development.
Aisthorpe and a fourth expedition member had become ill and went back down the mountain to see a doctor, telling Runarsson and Gudjonsson to make a summit attempt if they wished. He said: “I’ve never felt as alone as the day I arrived back at our high camp.”
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