The German mountaineer who fell to his death while descending a peak in Tibet last week had been an avid climber and mountain guide at home, his peers said yesterday.

Raimund Spang, 58, a lifelong avid mountaineer, was with a seven-member German climbing team to Mount Cho Oyu, the world's sixth highest peak, said the German team leader.

He said the other members of the team have descended the peak and arrived at Lhasa. "We'll fly back to Germany today," he said.

The team leader said it was windy when Spang stumbled and fell off the peak last Tuesday.

Spang had made it to the top but stumbled at an altitude of 7,800 meters and slid about 70 meters before hitting his head on a rock. He then fell into an ice chasm, said Zhang Mingxing, China Tibet Mountaineering Association secretary-general.

The association notified the German embassy in Beijing of the tragedy last week and Spang's remains were buried on the same peak on Wednesday, Zhang said.

The 8,201-meter Mount Cho Oyu is located near Mount Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest.