Explorer Found Shot to Death in Pakistan

Climbers, skiers and explorers who knew Edward “Ned” Gillette are still trying to come to grips with his death at the hands of robbers last week in a notoriously dangerous region in northern Pakistan.

Details are sketchy, but Gillette, 53, and his wife, Susie Patterson, reportedly were trekking through the northern Kashmir region, an area disputed by India and Pakistan, when intruders stormed their tent during the night of Aug. 5 and shot them.

Patterson remains hospitalized in critical condition in Gilgit, Pakistan, according to Greg Mortenson, director of the Central Asia Institute, a privately funded agency that provides schooling and aid to impoverished inhabitants in the region.

Gillette and Patterson, of Sun Valley, Idaho, were members of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team in 1968 and 1976, respectively. Gillette was an avid explorer and once traveled around Mt. Everest on skis.

Mortenson said from his home in Bozeman, Mont., that the couple was fond of remote areas but obviously had ventured too far off the beaten path this time.

“This area is totally wild,” he said. “Everybody carries an AK47.”

Police, with help from villagers, reportedly arrested two suspects and charged them with the murder, saying robbery was the motive.