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The bodies of renowned mountain climber Alex Lowe — a world-class climber and former Utahn — and an expedition cameraman who were buried in a Himalayan avalanche 16 years ago have been found.

The widow of Alex Lowe said in a statement Friday that two climbers attempting to ascend the 26,291-foot Shishapangma in Tibet discovered the remains of two people partially melting out of a glacier.

The climbers described the clothing and backpacks seen on the bodies to Conrad Anker, who was climbing with Lowe and cameraman David Bridges at the time of the October 1999 avalanche and survived. Anker concluded that the two were Bridges and Lowe, the statement said.

"Alex and David vanished, were captured and frozen in time," Jenni Lowe-Anker said. "Sixteen years of life has been lived and now they are found. We are thankful."

She married Anker, her husband's friend and fellow elite climber, in 2001. They live in Bozeman, Mont., and run the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation together.

Lowe — who lived in Salt Lake City for several years and had worked as a forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center — first summited Everest in 1990 as a commercial guide, repeating the feat in 1993, according to a Salt Lake Tribune article from that year.

Anker said the discovery of the bodies has brought him closure and relief.

He told Outside magazine that although he hasn't seen photos of the remains, he's convinced they are those of Lowe and Bridges.

"They were close to each other. Blue and red North Face backpacks. Yellow Koflach boots. It was all that gear from that time period," Anker said. "They were pretty much the only two climbers who were there."

In October 1999, Lowe, Anker, Bridges and several others were on an expedition to climb Shishapangma, the 14th highest mountain in the world, then ski down it. On Oct. 5, they were scouting routes at about 19,000 feet when they saw a slab of snow break free 6,000 feet above them.

Lowe was regarded as the world's greatest mountain climber when he was swept to his death at age 40.

He was known jokingly as "Lungs With Legs" for his incredible strength and stamina. He had made difficult climbs all over the world, including Nepal's Kwangde and Kusum Kanguru, and twice reached the summit of Mount Everest. In Peru, he climbed the southwest buttress of Taulliraju.

He was credited with rescuing several climbers in Alaska in 1995, a year when six climbers died on Denali, formerly Mount McKinley.

Bridges, 29, of Aspen, Colo., was an accomplished high-altitude climber and cinematographer.