Post by Jaga on Jan 28, 2018 20:06:47 GMT -7
This seem to be a main story in Polish news. But climbers are also often addicted to their profession, they would never stop, and they risk their lives and the lives of others. Polish rescue team came from Poland to save their countryman and his companion - French woman. They were descending from Nanga Parbat. She was rescued, he was not.
here is a story:
www.nytimes.com/2018/01/28/world/asia/pakistan-killer-mountain-nanga-parbat.html
KARACHI, Pakistan — An elite climbing team rescued a French mountain climber on Sunday from the treacherous Himalayan peak known as “Killer Mountain,” in Pakistan’s northeast, but her Polish climbing partner remains in peril after efforts to reach him were at least temporarily abandoned.
The climbers, Elisabeth Revol and Tomek Mackiewicz, began their ascent of Nanga Parbat, the ninth-highest mountain in the world, on Jan. 20th. The two are believed to have reached the summit, at an altitude of 8,126 meters, or 26,600 feet, which would make them only the second team to do so during the notoriously harsh winter season.
During their descent, Mr. Mackiewicz is said to have had acute mountain sickness, caused by the lack of oxygen in the lower air pressure that exists at higher altitudes, as well as snow blindness and frostbite.
Ms. Revol continued down the mountain alone and called for help from a satellite phone, and she was eventually met by two members of a four-person rescue team flown to the mountain’s base camp on Saturday. She had frostbite on her hands and feet, according to Ludovic Giambiasi, a friend who posted updates on Facebook, and she was taken to Islamabad, the capital, later in the day and received medical attention.
The extreme weather conditions — winds of more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) an hour and a wind chill nearing minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62 degrees Celsius) — forced the rescue team to postpone any plans to ascend further to search for Mr. Mackiewicz.
“The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible — because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extreme danger,” Mr. Giambiasi wrote.
“It’s a terrible and painful decision,” he added. “All our thoughts go out to Tomek’s family and friends. We are crying.”
Estimates of the number of people who have died trying to climb Nanga Parbat vary, but it is believed to be more than 60. The summit is considered to be among the most difficult to climb in the world, earning it its intimidating nickname.
The rescue mission, carried out by a team of private climbers, was delayed in part because the Pakistani military declined to arrange for a helicopter until funds for its operation were guaranteed, as is common practice for complicated rescue missions in the country’s northern mountains.
“The rule for funding is that whoever wants a recovery mission, before we can even leave, must deposit a certain amount of funding,” said Muhammad Ehtasham Amir, the general manager of charter services at Askari Aviation, a wing of the Pakistani military. Mr. Amir declined to specify the amount of the deposit.
Once sufficient funds were raised, Askari Aviation took the four mountaineers to Nanga Parbat’s base camp on Friday at the request of the Polish Embassy in Islamabad, according to Mr. Amir.
A GoFundMe page for the rescue mission appeared within hours of Ms. Revol’s call for help, and as of Sunday evening, a little more than 100,000 euros, or about $125,000, had been raised. The organizers hope to raise €150,000.
A desperate plea was also posted on Mr. Mackiewicz’s Facebook page on Friday, calling for funds so that a military helicopter could try to locate the climbers from the air and arrange transportation for the rescue teams.
This was Mr. Mackiewicz’s seventh attempt at scaling Nanga Parbat, after winter expeditions the previous years on the same mountain, and his third on Nanga Parbat with Ms. Revol.
“Tomek’s love for Nanga Parbat almost verges on mania,” Stefan Nestler, who covers adventure sports, wrote in November.
here is a story:
www.nytimes.com/2018/01/28/world/asia/pakistan-killer-mountain-nanga-parbat.html
KARACHI, Pakistan — An elite climbing team rescued a French mountain climber on Sunday from the treacherous Himalayan peak known as “Killer Mountain,” in Pakistan’s northeast, but her Polish climbing partner remains in peril after efforts to reach him were at least temporarily abandoned.
The climbers, Elisabeth Revol and Tomek Mackiewicz, began their ascent of Nanga Parbat, the ninth-highest mountain in the world, on Jan. 20th. The two are believed to have reached the summit, at an altitude of 8,126 meters, or 26,600 feet, which would make them only the second team to do so during the notoriously harsh winter season.
During their descent, Mr. Mackiewicz is said to have had acute mountain sickness, caused by the lack of oxygen in the lower air pressure that exists at higher altitudes, as well as snow blindness and frostbite.
Ms. Revol continued down the mountain alone and called for help from a satellite phone, and she was eventually met by two members of a four-person rescue team flown to the mountain’s base camp on Saturday. She had frostbite on her hands and feet, according to Ludovic Giambiasi, a friend who posted updates on Facebook, and she was taken to Islamabad, the capital, later in the day and received medical attention.
The extreme weather conditions — winds of more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) an hour and a wind chill nearing minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62 degrees Celsius) — forced the rescue team to postpone any plans to ascend further to search for Mr. Mackiewicz.
“The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible — because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extreme danger,” Mr. Giambiasi wrote.
“It’s a terrible and painful decision,” he added. “All our thoughts go out to Tomek’s family and friends. We are crying.”
Estimates of the number of people who have died trying to climb Nanga Parbat vary, but it is believed to be more than 60. The summit is considered to be among the most difficult to climb in the world, earning it its intimidating nickname.
The rescue mission, carried out by a team of private climbers, was delayed in part because the Pakistani military declined to arrange for a helicopter until funds for its operation were guaranteed, as is common practice for complicated rescue missions in the country’s northern mountains.
“The rule for funding is that whoever wants a recovery mission, before we can even leave, must deposit a certain amount of funding,” said Muhammad Ehtasham Amir, the general manager of charter services at Askari Aviation, a wing of the Pakistani military. Mr. Amir declined to specify the amount of the deposit.
Once sufficient funds were raised, Askari Aviation took the four mountaineers to Nanga Parbat’s base camp on Friday at the request of the Polish Embassy in Islamabad, according to Mr. Amir.
A GoFundMe page for the rescue mission appeared within hours of Ms. Revol’s call for help, and as of Sunday evening, a little more than 100,000 euros, or about $125,000, had been raised. The organizers hope to raise €150,000.
A desperate plea was also posted on Mr. Mackiewicz’s Facebook page on Friday, calling for funds so that a military helicopter could try to locate the climbers from the air and arrange transportation for the rescue teams.
This was Mr. Mackiewicz’s seventh attempt at scaling Nanga Parbat, after winter expeditions the previous years on the same mountain, and his third on Nanga Parbat with Ms. Revol.
“Tomek’s love for Nanga Parbat almost verges on mania,” Stefan Nestler, who covers adventure sports, wrote in November.
