Alexander Pancoe, an American climber and advocate, died Sunday while attempting to scale Mount Makalu in Nepal. The 39-year-old was on an expedition on the world's fifth-highest mountain.
Pancoe died at Camp 2 after he had descended from an acclimatization rotation to Camp 3. He reportedly felt unwell before his death on the mountain.
Expedition organizers stated the cause of death is suspected to be cardiac arrest, though a postmortem examination is required for confirmation.
Alex Pancoe, a Chicago resident, was widely known for his climbing achievements and for surviving a brain tumor when he was younger. He completed the challenging Explorer's Grand Slam challenge, which involves reaching the highest peak on each of the seven continents and skiing to both the North and South Poles.
He was attempting the Mount Makalu climb to raise funds for the pediatric blood cancer program at Lurie Children's Hospital in his hometown.
Pancoe had recently been battling Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a condition he had been managing with treatment for nearly two years.
He acknowledged the difficulty of high-altitude climbing while managing a chronic illness but was determined to undertake the climb for his cause.
On his website, Peaks of Mind, he wrote, "It's going to be a huge challenge for me — climbing at altitude is plenty hard without a chronic ailment — but I look forward to rising to the challenge."