Female mountaineers believed they had strayed off course in the Himalayas.
In September, Fay Manners from the UK and Michelle Dvorak from the USA embarked on an attempt to summit Chaukhamba-3. The seasoned climbers were making headway until a rockslide forced them to misplace a considerable portion of their gear. All of a sudden, their situation became a matter of survival.
The story of these two adventurous women hitting a snag at 6500 meters on Chaukhamba-3 didn't have a promising ring to it. During their climb, they also lost a backpack containing vital equipment as they approached the 6995-meter summit.
Chaukhamba-3 is located in the Garhwal Himalayas of India, a notorious region known for claiming the lives of many climbers and hikers, as media sources suggest. As recently as June, a lethal snowstorm swept through a high-altitude trail in Uttarakhand, taking the lives of nine hikers in a group of 22.
On September 15, the duo's ascent began from Delhi. A distress call had been made via pager by the two women on the preceding Thursday, revealing that they were stranded on the mountain. "Without their equipment, they were essentially stuck, unable to either ascend or descend," stated information disseminated by the Uttarakhand government.
Trapped by the mountain
An initial search mission was initiated by the Indian Air Force, employing two helicopters, to locate the missing climbers, but they remained elusive. Furthermore, the rescue operations were hindered by unfavorable weather and severe conditions. Meanwhile, the Indian Mountaineering Federation contacted a French climbing team actively engaged in the same region for assistance.
The crucial breakthrough came when the French team provided vital intel about Manners and Dvorak's whereabouts. On a Sunday morning, the two women were rescued from an altitude of approximately 5300 meters by an Indian Air Force mountain rescue team.
According to a spokesperson from the Chamoli district disaster management office, both women were in excellent health following their rescue, as reported by the "Times of India."
After the rescue, Manners opened up to the British "Telegraph," describing how she had braced herself for imminent death at temperatures approaching -15 degrees Celsius. With only a single sleeping bag between the two, they endured the relentless cold together, spotting the rescue helicopters twice but remaining undetected themselves.
Then, rest
Manners described the intervention of the French mountaineers as a "small miracle." Without their aid, she and Dvorak might have succumbed to the freezing temperatures or foolishly attempted a treacherous descent without the necessary equipment and subsequently put themselves in grave danger. The rescuers traced them due to their audacious decision to descend, albeit under precarious circumstances.
Manners recalled how, upon the breakdown of their equipment's rope during the rockslide, she instantly grasped the potential dangers at hand. In their bag were their shelter, stove, all their warm clothing, crampons, and ice axes. This situation posed severe risks: freezing to death, starvation, or plunging into crevasses and meeting an untimely demise.
After the exhilarating rescue, Manners is now recuperating in Delhi, where she plans to indulge in local cuisine, mentally unwind, and sleep as much as possible in the coming days. Despite the extended hours at freezing temperatures, her passion for mountain climbing has not waned. She simply seeks to stay clear of the towering peaks "until winter sets in."
The European Union expressed concern over the safety of mountaineers in the Garhwal Himalayas following the incident, urging for improved safety measures and equipment. Due to their harrowing experience, Fay Manners and Michelle Dvorak have now advocated for better preparation and emergency response mechanisms within the European Union's mountain climbing communities.
