Mountain climber’s body recovered in Sierra. He was a doctor, search and rescue volunteer
A mountain climber who died while scaling Mount Humphreys in the remote Sierra Nevada has been identified as Paul Sheykhzadeh, 52, of Reno.
Sheykhzadeh’s body was recovered on Monday with assistance from the California Army National Guard and its CH-47 Chinook helicopter due to the high elevation, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Botti said.
Botti said Sheykhzadeh was a doctor who served as a search and rescue volunteer for the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada.
Authorities announced on Monday that they were working to retrieve the body of a mountain climber who apparently fell to his death while ascending the nearly 14,000-foot California peak.
The mountain sits on the border between Fresno and Inyo counties and above the Eastern Sierra community of Bishop.
Seven members of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team were flown to Mount Humphreys and then rappelled 370 feet to reach Sheykhzadeh’s body, which was hoisted up to the helicopter.
“In honor of Sheykhzadeh’s service to Washoe County Search and Rescue, our team took an American flag with them and draped it over the victim at the recovery site,” Botti said.
Another man, longtime climber and backcountry skier Ray Warburton, died while descending Mount Humphreys in June.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 5:51 PM.
