A Brazilian mountaineer has been found dead after falling into the crater of Peru’s fourth-highest mountain, his family said.
Marcelo Delvaux had been missing since June 30, when he began his descent of Nevado Coropuna in Arequipa.
Delvaux, considered by many to be Brazil’s greatest climber, did not survive the fall into the crevasse on the mountain, which is 21,079 feet above sea level, his sister told CNN Brasil.
The family hired professional guides who joined police in searching for Delvaux on July 4 before the search was suspended on Sunday.
“When they got there, they found his walking sticks stuck in the ice and the crevasse open, where he fell and probably died instantly,” said Delvaux’s sister, Patricia Delvaux. “As he was unable to activate the GPS ‘SOS’, we assume he fell there. The crevasse is very deep, it is very difficult to carry out a rescue.”
Brazilian mountaineer Marcelo Delvaux was found dead on Saturday, a week after falling into the crater of Nevado Coropuna, Peru’s fourth highest peak.
The Nevado Coropuna is located at 21,079 meters above sea level in Arequipa, Peru
Pedro Hauck, a hiker and friend of Marcelo Delvaux, wrote in a blog that he was in the mountains on June 25, set up his tent and went on several hikes until he finally took a different route to reach the southwestern edge of Nevado Coropuna.
“More technical and more beautiful than usual. Very typical of Marcelo, who doesn’t follow the usual paths and tries to make his own, avoiding the famous places,” explains Hauck.
Hauck said Delvaux reached the summit of Nevado Coropuna at around 3 p.m. local time and began his descent about half an hour later.
But the GPS stopped transmitting its location after traveling 328 kilometers (200 miles) up the mountain and began recording points that were close to each other, similar to what happens when the signal is lost.
“What if Marcelo had dropped his GPS and it had rolled into a crevasse? That might explain why he hadn’t contacted anyone,” Hauck wondered.
Marcelo Delvaux was known as perhaps Brazil’s greatest mountain climber.
Marcelo Delvaux had climbed at least 150 mountains, including the Himalayas.
Marcelo Delvaux’s trekking poles were located on Saturday morning. The search and rescue team spotted his tent and equipment at the base of the mountain and footprints were discovered on the edge of the mountain’s crater.
“Perhaps he used them as a signal for the best crossing point while he was climbing, but as he was descending he lost his footing and our friend disappeared into the cold, dark interior,” Hauck wrote.
Nevado Coropuna was one of the 150 mountains that Marcelo Delvaux conquered along with the Himalayas and the Andes.
The mountain has seven peaks and it takes three to four days to climb.
Marcelo Delvaux first attempted to climb Nevado Coropuna in 2015 and returned in 2016, managing to summit four of the seven peaks. He returned in July 2023, but had to abandon the trip after encountering an area full of crevasses.
He lived in the city of Belo Horizonte in southeastern Brazil, but often spent most of the year hiking and working as a tour guide in the Andes.