Dramatic new video shows shivering climbers stuck on an icy ledge at 21,000ft - heres how they survived
Two climbers who got stranded in the Himalayas have released dramatic new footage showing them stuck on a ledge at 21,000ft, visibly cold and fearing for their lives.
Two climbers who got stranded in the Himalayas have released dramatic new footage showing them stuck on a ledge at 21,000ft, visibly cold and fearing for their lives.
US mountaineer Michelle Dvorak, 31, and her British companion Fay Manners, 37, were found hungry but alive three days after they were stranded on a mountain having lost their equipment.
The shocking new footage shows them on a ledge, wondering if they will ever see their loved ones again after they got into difficulty while trekking up Indias Chaukhamba mountain.
No sign of rescue, and were really f*****g cold, Manners says in the Instagram post.
One bag down, and now its snowing.
US mountaineer Michelle Dvorak, 31, left, and her British companion Fay Manners, 37, says they did not think they would ever get down from the ledge.
Brown adds: No food and water.
Falling rocks had sliced a rope and sent a bag full of their survival goods and technical gear plummeting to the valley floor.
These rocks just came out from under me, Manners told Outside about the tricky climb.
The next thing I knew, I looked down, and the bag was gone.
The accident left them stranded without critical items, such as a working communication device, tent, stove and fuel, and down apparel.
Manners says she was near hypothermic and did not believe the two could survive another night on the ledge.
Theyd been stranded there for 48 hours without shelter, food, or water. Snowfall was steadily burying them.
They tried to stay warm by cuddling each other.
We were shattered, Manners later told the outdoor sports news site.
At this point we havent eaten for two days. Were severely dehydrated. Were freezing. Weve been on the wall seven days.
On the ledge, the pair had watched in anguish as an Indian Air Force search helicopter appeared overhead.
It circled the mountain, but flew off without spotting them.
The climbers had managed to send an SOS message to mountain rescue from when they were 20,350ft up the mountain.
Dvoraks phone had just enough charge for her to fire off a single SOS, but the battery died just moments after the message was sent.
Manners said she knew the pair were running out of options.
They were torn between staying put and waiting for a rescue, or chance a descent without crampons, axes, and other essential gear.
Given the incredibly complex, challenging approach, we knew it wasn’t possible, Manners said.
Even if we get down off the rock, how the hell are we going to operate on that terrain without our gear?
Still, on the third day, when it looked like all hope of a rescue was lost, they decided to chance rappelling down the buttress.
Manners knew their chances were slim.
New photos show Michelle Dvorak, right, and Fay Manners, stuck up on a ledge after losing much of their gear.
Chaukhamba is in the Indian Himalayas, near the northern border with China
American Michelle Dvorak, 31, (pictured) was also missing alongside Manners.
Michelle Theresa Dvorak and Ms Manners, both experienced climbers, sent a message via pager to their liaison officer, saying their bag with food and vital gear had fallen into a gorge
We were severely dehydrated, hungry, freezing, she said.
Our bodies were weak, and even before we lost the haul bag we’d been climbing for six days, pushing our limits.
They nevertheless started a descent, but at that moment fate offered them a respite.
They spotted four climbers from the French Group Militaire de Haute Montagne of Chamonix.
It was a miracle, Manners said.
Perfect timing. When we got to them, theyd been trying to get to us as well.
She added: My heart was overfull when we figured out they were there for us.
The French team had learned about the stranded women climbers and were trying to rescue them. They helped them get back to base camp.
They were evacuated through search efforts by the Indian Air Force (IAF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the State Disaster Management Authority.
Manners, who comes from Bedford, moved to the Alps to pursue her passion for climbing and became a professional alpinist, sponsored by brands including The North Face and Petzl.
She has become the first person to complete a number of complex routes up various alpine mountains.
My ambition is to inspire women to pursue their interest in alpinism, her website reads.
Manners is a data consultant by night, according to her Instagram - which has over 15,000 followers.
Dvorak is also an experienced climber as well as a teaching assistant at the University of Washington.
