Mackiewicz and Revol stranded on Nanga Parbat. Rescue to start on Jan 27. Polish mountaineers from K2 to be involved.
Edited 1/27 to correct spelling mistake
News is coming in from the Polish media that Tomasz Mackiewicz and Elizabeth Revol have become stuck in an attempt to summit Nanga Parbat (8,126 m).
Mackiewicz is suffering from snow blindness and HACE, whereas Revol is in a better condition.
The Pakistanis have agreed to mount a rescue attempt after being guaranteed payment of USD50,000 by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a decision which is already generating controversy on social media.
“The Pakistanis will fly Polish mountaineers from K2 to Nandze, at an altitude of over 6,000 m. Then a team of four will climb a thousand meters of difficult terrain to the stranded Mackiewicz and Revol,” said a relative of Mackiewicz.
The weather on Nandze Parbat is not good, with temperatures dropping to around -60. Conditions will significantly worsen on Saturday with winds of up to 95 km/h.
Team from K2
“All team members volunteered for this operation” said Krzysztof Wielicki, manager of the expedition to K2 in an interview with TVN 24.
In a Facebook post, K2 team member Adam Bielecki stated:
“Our rucksacks are almost packed. Helicopters should be here tomorrow in the morning. At least 4 of us are flying towards Nanga Parbat. Denis and I are going up light and fast as high as possible. The rest will back us up with the heavy gear. Keep your fingers crossed for all of us and the weather.”
ExWeb will continue to report on developments.
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Edit: Contrary to our report above, rescue efforts appear to be financed by a GoFundMe campaign, which has already reached it’s goal of
€
60,000, with monetary and logistical support from the Polish and French embassies
