According to an Associated Press report on October 10, Fay Mannas and Michel Dvořák were trapped on the snow-capped face of the Himalayas for three days before miraculously being rescued.
It is reported that United Kingdom Manas and United States Dvořák, who live in France, are "absolutely eager" to India climb the unclimbed mountain in the northern state of Uttarakhand--- Chorkamba III.
They began their attempt to climb the nearly 7,000-metre-high peak of Chokamba III on September 27, for which they climbed ice and rocks and slept on a narrow ledge. The road to the mountain alone was difficult, Mannas said — they chose a labyrinthine route through endless deep crevasses and unstable snow bridges that were even at risk of collapsing in warm weather. They even tried three times to reach the bottom of the mountain.
"We are nearing the end of all difficulties...... Maybe we have one more day to get to the top, and then we'll be the first to reach this peak. "Our dreams are just falling from a mountain." It seems that the two of them are very obsessed with this mountain, and they want to die here.
But just over 6,000 meters above sea level, a falling rock cut through the rope and the two had to be stranded in the desolate wilderness, with tents, stoves, food, crampons and ice axes all falling off the cliff.
"It was a horrible experience," Manners said, "and I just remember seeing the bag fall down the hill and being really shocked, and I thought, what's going on, what's going on?" ”
Without equipment, it was almost impossible to climb down and through the crevices, so they contacted emergency services for help. But the situation got worse when helicopters failed to spot them on the vast mountain face for two days in a row.
"We searched all day following the coordinates provided to us by the tour company and found nothing." Rescuers said.
During this time, Mannas said, the two had no food to eat or water to drink other than nibbling on the few energy bars they had used to melt snow.
Desperate and on the verge of dehydration, the duo were lucky enough to find a place to drip ice and collect a small amount of water in the hours the sun came out. But when they faced blizzards, hailstorms, and even avalanches, the situation kept getting worse. They were crammed into wet sleeping bags, their hair wrapped in ice sleeves and sturdy, and the temperature reached minus 15 degrees Celsius at night.
"I thought, I was almost hypothermic, and I was shaking so violently all night that Michelle had to hold my legs to keep me warm." "That sleeping bag saved our lives." ”
That's when they knew they had to act, she said, even though they were both weak. They then climbed down in the thick fog, even though they knew that the journey back to their base camp was very dangerous, with a high chance of being seriously injured or falling through the cracks.
But when they reached the bottom, they caught a glimpse of a group of France climbers – a "rival team" that had also been hoping to be the first to reach the top. But when Mannas learned that the France team had been sent to rescue them: "All my emotions welled up at once, and I had tears in my eyes. ”
Eventually, with their help, she and Dvořák trekked to the France base camp to chew cheese brought by rescuers from France. The India Air Force then airlifted them to a nearby hospital on Sunday, three days after the two were trapped.
Luckily, both climbers were uninjured and eager to fly home. Surprisingly, the two still haven't given up pursuing their dreams. Mannas said she wants to try to reach the top again next year — perhaps with the France team that saved them.
Mannas also said that when people look back on their experiences, she wants to see two strong women who are "really close to the top." She also stressed that when things went wrong, the two of them "were still able to survive and manage themselves in that very hostile and terrible situation."