Luis Benitez is a professional mountaineer guide who has climbed the Himalayas since 1999 and summited Mount Everest six times. Luis was leading an expedition to the summit of Mount Cho Oyu in September 2006 and was in the base camp when the shooting started. He broke the story around the world after emailing his account to Explorer’s Web, a decision that cost him his career and changed his life.
Luis now works as a senior trainer and wilderness educator for Outward Bound Professional.
Tibet: Murder In The Snow - Mountain Climbers
A larger-than-life television cameraman who was filming the adventure of his attempt to climb Mount Cho Oyu. Sergiu Matei captured the murder on film after having the presence of mind to pick up his camera when the shooting began.
The chilling footage earned him an International News Emmy nomination and made headlines around the world.
A policeman and a response driver in the Bristol countryside with over 20 years service as a police officer. A trained observer, Steve Lawes was the first climber prepared to give his name and admit he had witnessed a murder.
An experienced climber, Steve loves outdoor challenges. He was suffering from pulmonary oedema at the time of the events and witnessed the shooting and its aftermath from the base camp.
A land agent, a deal maker, an outdoorsman and a budding travel writer. Lee Farmer thinks of himself as a risk taker and describes himself as a “collector of summits”. His passion is the challenge.
Lee is a great student of exploration history and sees himself following in the footsteps of his heroes. Lee summited Mount Everest in May 2008.
Paul Rogers was Assistant Mountain Guide to Luis Benitez. He did not witness the shooting as he was acclimatising further up the mountain. He first heard about the incident from Luis Benitez who told him about it on the radio.
Once back at Base Camp, Luis told Paul he had emailed the story out to Explorers Web. Concerned about the safety of the group Paul consulted with experienced climber Russell Brice.
Australia ski instructor and mountaineer (nicknamed Disco Phil by his friends), prefers to remain anonymous as he wishes to return to the Himalaya for further mountaineer trips.
Phil witnessed the shooting and like many of the climbers felt powerless to do anything about it. On the day of the shooting he was getting ready to climb up to the next Base Camp in preparation for his summit attempt of Mt Cho Oyu.
