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An experienced Swiss climber died on Sunday after he fell in the Everest region of Nepal during preparations to climb the world's highest mountain, the first to perish in the current climbing season, officials said.
Ueli Steck, 40, died after falling to the foot of Mount Nuptse, a smaller peak in the area, said Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summits Treks company that organized Steck's expedition.
Steck was in the area acclimatizing ahead of a bid to climb Everest through the less-climbed West Ridge route and traverse to Lhotse, the world's fourth highest peak - at 8,516 meters (27,940 feet) in May.
"His body has been retrieved and is being brought to Kathmandu," Sherpa told Reuters.
Kamal Prasad Parajuli, an official with Nepal's Department of Tourism, confirmed Steck died while climbing Nuptse and that he had planned to attempt an Everest ascent.
He said Steck, who climbed Everest in 2012, "slipped and fell 1,000 meters" in the Western Cwm along the normal route to Everest.
The incident took place near the route's Camp Two, which is located at an altitude of 6,400 meters (21,000 feet), Parajuli said.
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