Spencer Matthews shared an emotional photo of a memorial for his late brother Michael on Mount Everest being covered in prayer shawls by strangers.
Michael Matthews died aged 22 in 1999 while climbing the world’s highest mountain, having become the youngest Briton ever.
Spencer, 34, follows his older brother’s exact steps on a mission to find his body for his Disney+ movie Finding Michael.
The former Made In Chelsea star has now revealed the family built a cairn. [a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose]Dedicated to Michael when they could not find his body at Thukla Pass in Chukla Lare.
The pass houses more than 100 memorials to those who lost their lives in the mountains.
Tribute: Spencer Matthews shared an emotional photo of the memorial with his late brother Michael covered in prayer shawls (left, as it looked when it was erected in 1999)
Adventurer: Michael sadly died in 1999 aged 22 while climbing Mount Everest
Spencer shared a remarkable photo on Instagram showing the memorial when it was first erected in 1999 – and as it looks today, with dozens of prayer shawls left there by strangers.
Wearing a baby blue fleece, hat and gloves to protect himself from the elements, the reality star stood by the memorial in awe of the many who kindly left a tribute to his brother.
Alongside the post, he wrote: “En route to Everest you arrive at Thukla Pass in Chukla Lare, where there is a collection of stupas (heaps of stones) commemorating some of those who captured the mountain.
“Shortly after Michael died and there was no body left, we had one built for him to be remembered in this beautiful way.
“I visited Mike’s last year and found everything covered in prayer shawls.
“Swipe on what it looked like in 1999.”
Michael’s body was never recovered and his family never fully understood what happened to him.
Now streaming on Disney+, Finding Michael follows Spencer’s emotional search for his late brother’s body alongside adventurer Bear Grylls and record-breaking rock climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja.
During the film, Spencer, who was just 10 when his brother died, embarked on a “heartbreaking” mission to climb Everest to find his brother’s body, following the “exact steps” his brother took when he died.
Brothers: The TV personality was 10 years old when Michael (left of brother James) tragically passed away
Finding Michael: Spencer decides to go find his dead brother’s body by retracing his steps
Tragic: Michael reportedly got into trouble after he began descending the “death zone” via the South Descent on May 13, 1999
Speaking on ‘The One Show’, Spencer said: “When Michael went missing it was too late for some people to realize he was missing. Actually nobody survives the night. A few cases maybe.”
Michael is said to have run into trouble after beginning his descent south through the “death zone” on May 13, 1999, after spending about 20 minutes at the summit.
He was also the brother of Pippa Middleton’s husband, racing driver turned hedge fund manager James Matthews (47).
The veteran climber, who previously conquered Aconcagua, the Pyrenees and the Swiss Alps, became the 162nd person to die on Everest.
Spencer went on to tell how he made the “difficult decision” to take on the mission himself.
In 2017, the family found a photo of a body on the mountain and claimed it could be Michael. It actually looked like it could be, with similar top suits. It was the first time I thought that even body recovery was possible.
“It kept going through my head, ‘What if it’s him?'” I definitely grew up feeling he was up there and he was dead and left there. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a dead body for my family to mourn?’
“We scraped together all the information we had. I haven’t seen any of the pictures of Michael on the mountain,” he said, becoming increasingly emotional as the interview progressed.
“It was the first time I saw him on camera because we didn’t do home videos or anything like that when we were kids.
“Retracing his steps and understanding his last days a little better was quite cathartic for me…”
Finding Michael is now streaming on Disney+.
Source: Daily Mail
Ashley Root is an author and celebrity journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for all things celebrity, Ashley is always up-to-date on the latest gossip and trends in the world of entertainment.
