Daniele Nardi’s team has posted a final message on the climber’s Facebook page, stating that the search for Nardi and his partner, Tom Ballard, has ended. “Part of them will remain forever at Nanga Parbat,” it concluded sadly.
The two “shapes” at about 5,900m that Alex Txikon spotted two days ago through a telescope turned out to be the bodies of the missing climbers, according to Stefano Pontecorvo, the Italian ambassador to Pakistan.
The bodies, which had not been buried in an avalanche as originally thought, are in a difficult-to-reach location. Several avalanches per day are raking that part of the Mummery Spur, and it will not be possible to retrieve them this season. The discovery of the final fate of the climbers was made by analyzing a photo taken by Txikon through a telescope. It shows two figures, including one whom the clothing identified as Nardi on a snowy chute and Ballard seated or leaning below him.
A report today from UK Climbing shows just how dangerous the earlier rescue attempts on foot were for Txikon and the others:
“On the second day of his arrival at Nanga Parbat, Alex, Ali and Dilawar went up just above Camp-II. Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to go any higher as the area was dangerous and avalanche-prone. Alex flew his drone from this point looking for the disappeared climbers. Unfortunately, a serac fell around 500 meters above and triggered an avalanche. The rescue team had to take evasive action to save their lives and in this process the drone got crashed. The team descended down to Camp-II and Ali managed to recover the crashed drone and they tried once again but couldn’t spot the climbers. Another smaller serac later fell as well starting a smaller avalanche. This basically assured the rescue team that it was extremely dangerous to keep on going up the Mummery Spur.”
Related stories:
Investigation of Two “Shapes” on Nanga Parbat Delayed
Two Silhouettes Spotted on Nanga Parbat
Hope Fades for Missing Climbers
Txikon Searches on Foot for Nardi and Ballard
Alex Txikon & Co. en Route from K2 to Nanga Parbat
No Sign of Climbers, Avalanche Risk Too High for Searchers
Wrecked Tent and Avalanche Debris Spotted on Nanga Parbat
Nardi and Ballard Missing on Nanga Parbat
Txikon Searches on Foot for Nardi and Ballard
