British mountaineer dies near peak of Aconcagua in Argentina

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/01/british-mountaineer-dies-aconcagua-argentina-andes

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A British mountaineer has died attempting to reach the peak of the Aconcagua mountain in Argentina’s Andes.

Roger Cookson, 58, was taken ill just 1,640ft (500m) from the peak of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of Asia at 22,837ft.

On Sunday night his body was still on the mountain, at the Nido de Condores camp at 18,874ft. “Weather conditions are not good enough to bring his body down with the helicopter,” said José Casas, who runs the Lanko mountain-climbing company in the province of Mendoza, which helped organise the expedition.

Cookson is reported to have died on Saturday at 10am local time, of respiratory failure. “He had a lot of mountain-climbing experience and his medical records showed he was in perfect condition,” said Casas.