28-year-old British climber Benjamin Cheek is missing on Shimshal Whitehorn (6303m), Karakoram, Pakistan. Cheek, a climber and research biologist, was injured by rockfall on Shimshal Whitehorn in 2006. He had returned to the Karakoram Range this year to attempt Distaghil Sar (7883m) as a member of a British-Canadian team. According to Canadian expedition member Don Bowie, the team’s attempt on Distaghil Sar was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions, at which point Cheek left the other members of the expedition to make a solo attempt on Shimshal Whitehorn. Search and rescue attempts are underway.
Cheek’s disappearance and need for rescue is not the first in the Karakoram this season–Italian alpinists Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones were rescued from Nanga Parbat (read the July 24, 2008 NewsWire) and, more recently, four Austrian climbers were flown off Spantik (7027m) (read the July 28, 2008 NewsWire).
More information will be posted as it becomes available.