They Disappeared In The Mountains Without A Trace. But 16 Years Later, Climbers Found THIS

#1 Shishapangma.

It rises more than 26,000 feet above sea level, but in Nepal, at the Roof of the World, it doesn't stick out so much.

As the 14th tallest peak in the world, if it were anywhere other than the Himalayas, it would tower over the landscape.

#2 It's a forbidding peak.

In fact, it was the last mountain over 8,000 meters in height to be scaled by a climber.

Expeditions to Shishapangma have claimed the lives of 29 climbers to date.

#3 Avalanches are the biggest danger to climbers.

In 1999, climber Alex Lowe considered by many one of the greatest climbers of his generation, and one of the first to document his climbs on the Internet and two of his climbing companions were swept away. The other members of their team could only watch helplessly.

#4 They were locked in the ice.

Alex and cameraman Dave Bridges were "locked in the ice within eyesight of us and there is nothing we can do about it," the team reported.

Another climber, Conrad Anker, was also caught in the avalanche but survived with head and torso injuries. The team spent 20 hours searching for Alex and Dave before having to give up.

Failing to find the pair left an open wound. "There wasn't that sense of closure," said Conrad.

But now, 16 years later, a trace of Alex and Dave has turned up with the spring thaw.

#5 Swiss and German climbers Ueli Steck and David Goettler.

They are no strangers to dangerous peaks.

Ueli has set numerous speed records for ascents of some of the toughest mountains in the Alps, and David works as a mountain guide and cameraman in the Alps. In the spring of 2016, they were headed up Shishapangma, trying to climb a new route up the south face.

Ueli had also been part of a 2014 expedition to Shishapangma on which two climbers, Sebastian Haag and Andrea Zambaldi, died in an avalanche.

#6 On their way up, They found...

David and Ueli encountered a pair of bodies partially melted out of a glacier.

Knowing the history of the mountain, they were confident the bodies were Alex and Dave. David called Conrad to confirm, listing off the blue and red North Face backpacks and yellow Koflach boots they were wearing.

Alex's widow, Jenni, was on hand as well.

#7 After Alex died, Conrad and Jenni, grieved together and eventually fell in love.

Jenni wrote about it in a memoir, which was made into a documentary called Meru. In her memoir, Jenni predicted that "Alex will melt out of the glacier one day... and I do not look forward to it."

#8 Finally, Alex and Dave's families have closure.

What's more, unlike so many bodies in the Himalayas, theirs are recoverable, although they're still frozen in ice.

Conrad, Jenni, and their family will travel to Nepal to reclaim Alex's body, end 16 years of wondering, and lay him to rest.