Patrick Hyvert, Missing Mountain Climber, Body Discovered After 32 Years Frozen On Mont Blanc

Patrick Hyvert’s father said he was surprised to learn that his son’s body had been discovered after so many years.

The body of a mountain climber that went missing in 1982 has been found on the Alps’ Mont Blanc range.

Two climbers discovered the body of Patrice Hyvert last Thursday, according to Reuters. Hyvert had been training to be a mountain guide and was last seen on March 1, 1982. He was 23 at the time he went missing.

Hyvert embarked on a solo climb of the mountain on the day he went missing. He planned to trek up the "Aiguille Verte" mountain which is located on the western side of the Mont Blanc region. Mont Blanc is western Europe's highest mountain.

But Hyvert's plans changed when bad weather set in the afternoon of his climb, leaving him stranded on the mountain.

A second climber was rescued from the mountain on March 3, two days after the severe weather. However, rescuers were unable to find Hyvert.

An identity card found in a wallet found on the frozen body helped officials confirm that body is Hyvert, local police told a newspaper.

Hyvert’s 82-year-old father told RTL radio that he was surprised that his son’s body was found by the climbers. "I'm a mountain man, and I would have preferred him to stay up there. He was better on a mountain than in a coffin. He was in his element," Gerard Hyvert told the station.