Colorado skier Michael Gardner, 32, died Monday while climbing the Jannu East mountain in Nepal alongside longtime climbing partner Sam Hennessey.

Professional alpine climber Michael Gardner has died at age 32 following a fall.

"Mike was an optimist who lived a big, bold life," sponsor Arc'teryx wrote in an Instagram tribute Brenton Blanchet is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. He has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Brenton's work has previously appeared in Billboard, Pigeons ...

Michael Gardner—a professional alpine-climber who scaled mountains in Denali, Alaska and Nepal—died from a fall while descending Nepal's Jannu East mountain on Oct. 7. He was 32.

Michael Gardner died in a fall on Jannu East (7,468m), in Nepal’s Kangchenjunga region, on October 7. The 32-year-old was attempting a new route with longtime friend and climbing partner Sam Hennessey up the imposing North Face,