Final rescue attempt abandoned for woman stranded 22,000ft up Kyrgyz peak

[putnam6]

Final rescue attempt abandoned for woman stranded 22,000ft up Kyrgyz peakhttps://inview.org.uk/news/184170-final_...yrgyz_peak
 

A desperate last-ditch attempt to rescue a female mountaineer trapped 22,965 feet up a mountain with a broken leg has been abandoned.
Russian mountaineer Natalia Nagovitsina, 47, has been stranded for ten days in severe weather on Victory Peak in Kyrgyzstan. 
The well-known climber was seen moving on drone footage as recently as three days ago, after she had been missing for a week, according to local reports. 
Since then, temperatures have dropped to -23C. A sleeping bag had been delivered to her by Italian climber Luca Sinigaglia, 49, who also brought a tent, food, water, and a gas cooker.
But repeated efforts to bring her down failed, both by climbing and using a helicopter.  
And tragedy struck when climber Sinigaglia died on the mountain from prolonged exposure to low oxygen and hypothermia.
 
She was spotted on drone footage earlier this week (Picture: east2west)
Today, a final effort to climb to her was abandoned just 3,600ft below where she is stuck, with the weather set to worsen, as the team were ordered to return to base camp.
Earlier, a defence ministry Mi-8 helicopter crashed as it sought to rescue her. Another helicopter, a Mi-17VM, was sent, but zero visibility again forced rescuers back.
Dmitry Grekov, rescue leader and head of base camp, said today that experienced mountaineer Vitaly Akimov had led a team seeking to climb to Nagovitsina, but he started suffering back pain from the helicopter crash, and the mission was abandoned. 
Asked if she was still alive, Grekov admitted he did not know but said: ‘I think not, because she has been there since August 12 – count how much time has passed….
‘It is unrealistic. It is unrealistic to survive at such an altitude.’
The Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed the rescue mission had been called off. 
 

[andy06shake]

Final rescue attempt abandoned for woman stranded 22,000ft up Kyrgyz peakhttps://inview.org.uk/news/184170-final_...yrgyz_peak

One would imagine they would have dropped off a satellite phone along with the tent, food, and water.

So they could establish is she was still alive or able to respond.

As far as im aware that would work at 22,000ft as long as she had a clear line of sight to the sky.

Im sure there is some reason or another, it may not have been a viable option through.

[putnam6]

One would imagine they would have dropped off a satellite phone along with the tent, food, and water.

So they could establish is she was still alive or able to respond.

As far as im aware that would work at 22,000ft as long as she had a clear line of sight to the sky.

Im sure there is some reason or another, it may not have been a viable option through.

A climber reached her earlier and left a sleeping bag, heat food etc, but bad weather set in.

She supposedly lost her 1st husband in a similar experience 4-5 years ago; his body was never recovered.

It was her 2nd husband who had to leave her on the mountain this time, to get help.


https://inview.org.uk/news/184170-final_...yrgyz_peak

She was spotted on drone footage earlier this week (Picture: east2west)
Today, a final effort to climb to her was abandoned just 3,600ft below where she is stuck, with the weather set to worsen, as the team were ordered to return to base camp.
Earlier, a defence ministry Mi-8 helicopter crashed as it sought to rescue her. Another helicopter, a Mi-17VM, was sent, but zero visibility again forced rescuers back.
Dmitry Grekov, rescue leader and head of base camp, said today that experienced mountaineer Vitaly Akimov had led a team seeking to climb to Nagovitsina, but he started suffering back pain from the helicopter crash, and the mission was abandoned. 
Asked if she was still alive, Grekov admitted he did not know but said: ‘I think not, because she has been there since August 12 – count how much time has passed….
‘It is unrealistic. It is unrealistic to survive at such an altitude.’
The Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed the rescue mission had been called off. 

[andy06shake]

A climber reached her earlier and left a sleeping bag, heat food etc, but bad weather set in.

She supposedly lost her 1st husband in a similar experience 4-5 years ago; his body was never recovered.

It was her 2nd husband who had to leave her on the mountain this time, to get help.


https://inview.org.uk/news/184170-final_...yrgyz_peak

That's tragic and so sad.

RIP to all of them.

[putnam6]

That's tragic and so sad.

RIP to all of them.

Yes, all true, but for the climbers at least, they seemingly died doing what they loved...

Chances are my ticker will burst while Im sitting in traffic, or on the can like Elvis...

[Tecate]

I have worked in Kyrgyzstan back in the early 90’s, at altitude (Kumtor Gold Mine), and have seen how quickly and drastically the weather changes.

Snow overnight and as soon as the sun comes out the fog (clouds literally) is so dense that it becomes dangerous to move around in. The fog burns off and it gets hot and you burn quickly. It’s a very forbidding place, and we were at 12,500’ in camp and the crusher was at 14,000’, with the worksite at 16,000’.

I can’t imagine being at 22,000’. RIP to those people, and yes, at least they were doing what they loved…

Tecate

[putnam6]

I have worked in Kyrgyzstan back in the early 90’s, at altitude (Kumtor Gold Mine), and have seen how quickly and drastically the weather changes.

Snow overnight and as soon as the sun comes out the fog (clouds literally) is so dense that it becomes dangerous to move around in. The fog burns off and it gets hot and you burn quickly. It’s a very forbidding place, and we were at 12,500’ in camp and the crusher was at 14,000’, with the worksite at 16,000’.

I can’t imagine being at 22,000’. RIP to those people, and yes, at least they were doing what they loved…

Tecate

This i one thing I dig about DI and ATS is hearing all the other posters' lives and adventures...

I've got no real regrets, but my life's been fairly mundane in comparison....

[andy06shake]

Yes, all true, but for the climbers at least, they seemingly died doing what they loved...

Chances are my ticker will burst while Im sitting in traffic, or on the can like Elvis...

[Image: https://media0.giphy.com/media/dyYNcuT5p.../giphy.gif]

They do say, "find a job you enjoy doing and you will never work a day in your life." 

Not the most pleasant way to go out.

Freezing to death with a broken leg, at 22,000ft.

But she obviously knew the risks, and did what she loved, as you suggest.

[putnam6]

They do say, "find a job you enjoy doing and you will never work a day in your life." 

Not the most pleasant way to go out.

Freezing to death with a broken leg, at 22,000ft.

But she obviously knew the risks, and did what she loved, as you suggest.

The only pleasant way to go is likely unaware and in your sleep, which is what happens after you pass the endless shivers from the cold, and your body finally shuts down, you lose consciousness, and never wake up...

Now the hours before worrying about that process would be brutal...

[MichSwampbuck]

I won't say I'm a paranoid hermit, but I believe that nothing good happens when you leave the farm. Then again, I have injured myself pretty good around here, like grazing my knee with the chainsaw back in April. That was a ragged gash that needed the city sawbones to clean and stitch up.

Of course, that latest one was just a couple weeks ago when my GF was traveling to Detroit to visit her mother. 50 miles out her vehicle was totaled by a deer, and she ended up with a gash on her head and a concussion. That put me behind and left me without a vehicle as mine needs repairs, something I didn't want to do but rather buy another one. Not buying any car now, not too soon anyway.

Not sure what one can do to avoid such events, except not do extreme things and work as safely as possible. Being cautious isn't being afraid or paranoid, but you have to understand the consequences if things go bad, and there are many things that can cause problems, even if you never leave the house. Given what have you, climbing up to that altitude on a dangerous mountain and breaking your leg sounds like an unexpected accident, and yet they seemed unprepared for such a scenario. Maybe it was being overconfident in your abilities while pushing the envelope on your skills that caused this to happen.

ETA: I don't find much consolation in the idea of dying while engaged in an activity you enjoy. I enjoy gold panning lately, but I don't want to drown in the creek or be found face first in my pan out at my prospecting camp.