[citation needed] By age 19, Næss had already made twenty first ascents of Norwegian mountains.
In 1985, Næss met American singer Diana Ross on a trip to the Bahamas.
Næss spent his remaining four years with Norwegian-born Camilla Astrup; they had two sons, Nicklas and Louis.
[2] Næss was staying with his friend Johann Rupert on 13 January 2004 when he died in a climbing accident while descending from a peak on Rupert's estate in the Groot Drakenstein mountains near the town of Franschhoek outside Cape Town, South Africa.
According to police reports, Næss' anchoring equipment loosened from the porous mountainside, leading to a 103-metre fall.