Photo: Fay Manners
Fay Jane Manners from the United Kingdom and Michelle Theresa Dvorak from the United States were reported missing on October 3 while attempting to ascend Chaukhamba III in the Indian Himalayas. The pair had started their attempt to summit the 7,000-meter peak on September 27 and were reportedly just one day away from reaching the summit when a rock severed the rope carrying their essential gear and left them stranded on the mountain until Sunday, October 6.
“We were near the end of all the difficulties … (we) maybe had one more day to get to the summit, and then we would have been the first to reach this summit,” Manners said, going on to explain that they instead watched as their “dreams were just falling down the mountain.”
With gear like axes, their tent, and more essential climbing gear now gone, their options were limited. They had two energy bars left, no water, and with their stove in the bag that had fallen down the mountain, they couldn’t even melt snow for drinking water. They were able to send out an SOS however and search for another base camp.
“I was close to hypothermia, I think, and I was shaking so violently through the night that Michelle had to hold my legs to just try and keep me warm,” Manners said of their first night.
Two Indian Air Force helicopters reportedly were the first to set out on Friday but they couldn’t find the pair. On Saturday, a separate French mountaineering team also attempting to climb Chaukhamba III made contact with Manners and Dvorak, relaying their coordinates back to authorities, ending a rescue that lasted nearly 80 hours.
The rescue of two foreign (US & UK) mountaineers from Chaukhamba III trek in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli is a testament to the resilience and skill of the Indian Air Force, along with the collaborative efforts of SDRF, NIM, and French mountaineers. After battling two days of bad… pic.twitter.com/dRQjmxdMMK
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 6, 2024
