Friedrich "Fritz" Ludwig Stammberger (born 22 June 1940) was a German mountaineer, skier, and explorer. He was a pioneer of mountain skiing and holds the record for the highest ski descent which he made down

Cho Oyu Cho Oyu ( Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means " Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the '' Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur Him ...

mountain. Stammberger disappeared while scouting an expedition of

Tirich Mir Terich Mir (also spelled Terichmir, Tirich Mir and Turch Mir) is the highest mountain of the Hindu Kush range, and the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas–Karakoram range, at above sea level. It is located in the Chitral ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. His widow,

Janice Pennington Janice Maurine Pennington (born July 8, 1942) is an American former model and one of the original "Barker's Beauties" on ''The Price Is Right''. As its longest-serving model, Pennington was with the show from its premiere in 1972 until 2000. She ...

, published ''Husband, Lover, Spy'' after his disappearance with the help of her third husband Carlos de Abreu. The book claimed Stammberger was a spy working with the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

and that ultimately led to his disappearance.

Life

Stammberger was born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. One of his earliest memories was of his home being bombed by allied forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He immigrated to

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

in 1963. Stammberger took part in an expedition of Cho Oyu in April 1964. During the climb, his two mountaineering companions came down with

high-altitude pulmonary edema High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a life-threatening form of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema that occurs in otherwise healthy people at altitudes typically above . HAPE is a severe presentation of altitude sickness. Cases have also been rep ...

(HAPE). Stammberger completed the summit of Cho Oyu without oxygen. When he returned to camp where his companions remained, he used skis to descend the mountain. His partners died before they could receive help. Stammberger married model and ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...

'' hostess Janice Pennington in 1974.

Disappearance

Stammberger disappeared in October 1975 while scouting an expedition of Tirich Mir in Pakistan. A 1977 expedition was made by his climbing companions to find Stammberger. Stammberger's widow, Janice Pennington, received military intelligence that Stammberger had joined the

mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

and died in the early 1980s in Afghanistan. The CIA may have recruited Stammberger to gather information. Pennington's search for Stammberger continued until 1992 and led her to interview multiple members of U.S. and Soviet intelligence. The area of his disappearance is notable as it lies between the (then)

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

, and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

borders and was hostile during that time leading up to the Soviet-Afghan War. Pennington published the findings of her decades-long search for Stammberger in ''Husband, Lover, Spy''.

References

1970s missing person cases Date of death unknown German mountain climbers Missing German people Missing person cases in Pakistan {{climbing-bio-stub

Life

Disappearance

See also

References