ISLAMABAD: Elite Polish climbers were on Saturday ascending Pakistan’s treacherous “Killer Mountain” in the dark to save a French woman mountaineer and a fellow Pole, officials said, hoping the daring effort could see them reach the French climber today (Sunday).
Military helicopters buzzing over the 8,126 metre (26,660 feet) Nanga Parbat mountain spotted Elisabeth Revol of France at about 6,700m mark during daylight hours, a Pakistani official said, but were unable to communicate with Tomasz Mackiewicz from Poland, who is believed to be in a crevasse.
After abandoning their ascent at about 7,400m on Pakistan’s second highest mountain, Revol on Friday helped Mackiewicz, who is suffering from frostbite and snow blindness, come down to 7,280 metres and set him up in a tent to spend the night, before descending and calling for help on a satellite phone. The race against time effort will continue into the night after Pakistan’s military picked up several Polish climbers attempting the first winter ascent of nearby K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, and flew them to Nanga Parbat on Saturday to lead the rescue. Brig Shahid Sardar, a representative of military-owned Askari Aviation, told Reuters that Revol was spotted near Nanga Parbat’s Base Camp 2, while the Polish rescue team had been dropped off at Base Camp 1.
“We are hoping they will reach the French lady by tomorrow, but there is no contact with the Polish climber. It is a very complex rescue operation,” Sardar said.
Published in Daily Times, January 28th 2018.
