The head of China's national climbing team joined other professionals in the search for two missing US mountain climbers yesterday after the body of a famous mountaineer was found on Mount Edger Saturday morning.

Jonathan Copp, 35, a well-known climber, and his two teammates, Wade Johnson and Micah Dash, were scheduled to begin their climb on April 30 and return around May 28, according to their plan submitted to local authorities in Sichuan province as part of a safe climbing registration.

Experts feared the three might have encountered an avalanche while climbing Mount Edger, 6,400 meters above sea level in Luding county of Sichuan.