Yesterday, a helicopter from the Indian Air Force picked up Fay Manners and Michelle Dvorak after a French climbing party helped the two climbers down Chaukhmaba III. The past three days have been full of tension.
Now, visibly exhausted but happy to have survived such a close call, Manners has shared some details of what happened on Chaukhmaba III.
Manners of the UK and Dvorak of the U.S. often partner up on climbs. On September 15, they obtained their permit in Delhi to tackle unclimbed Chaukhamba III via its southeast buttress. The 6,974m peak lies in the Gangotri Group of India’s western Garhwal Himalaya.
At the beginning of the expedition, with Manners (second from left) and Dvorak (third from left), beside the liasion officer and a ground team member. Photo: Fay Manners
On September 27, Manners and Dvorak left base camp via the Satopanth Glacier and started up the steep, complex, and crevassed terrain. Over five days, they climbed granite with difficulties up to 7a+ and successfully solved some engaging problems on ice and mixed terrain. During the ascent, they bivvied on some precarious ledges and picked their way carefully around loose rocks, according to Manners.
The approach to the southeast buttress of Chaukhamba III. Photo: Michelle Dvorak
Freak accident
On October 2, they had reached 6,400m after progressing through the major hardships of the climb. But then an unlucky incident changed everything: A falling rock cut the rope of their haul bag. The bag, which contained most of their safety equipment, tumbled into a deep gorge. With it, their tent, stove, Manners’ down pants, crampons, ice axes, and headlamps for moving at night were gone. They needed all this gear both to continue the ascent and for the descent.
Negotiating a rock buttress on Chaukhamba III. Photo: Michelle Dvorak
‘We were devastated’
When they realized what had happened, Manners felt despair, she told the BBC. The duo then sent an SOS to emergency services, asking for rescue.
”We were devastated that this meant the end of our attempt after so much continued effort,” recalled Manners today on social media. “We knew that we would have to deal with this major drama in an already exhausted state.”
Moments from the climb. Photos: Fay Manners and Michelle Dvorak
Shaking on a ledge
Manners and Dvorak took shelter on a ledge in worsening weather. It started to snow, and they had to share their one sleeping bag.
”I felt hypothermic,” Manners told the BBC, “[I was] constantly shaking, and with the lack of food, my body was running out of energy to keep warm.”
The rescue helicopters flew by them a couple of times, but they had no headlamp, and the searchers could not spot them on the vast face of the mountain. Also, the weather was bad. To survive, they knew they had to start going down. After rappeling a few sections down the mountain, they managed to find a little water.
From the southeast buttress of Chaukhamba III, about 200m below where the incident took place. Photo: Michelle Dvorak
The next day, the helicopter could not spot them, either. ”We were destroyed,” recalls Manners.
Although they were near the end of their strength, they continued rappeling down carefully and slowly.
Fortunately, Manners, who lives in Chamonix, was able to contact a French friend, one of a party of four who is also on Chaukhamba III. These climbers (Col. Chevalier, Sgt. Berlaud, Ch. Paulin, and Ch. Fouillade) belonged to the Group Militaire de Haute Montagne of Chamonix. They had come to climb the east pillar of Chaukhamba III.
Coincidentally, both parties were on the same face of the peak, and the French team knew the whereabouts of Manners and Dvorak. They started up to rescue them.
Reached safety
On Saturday, October 5, Manners and Dvorak finally reached safety at 5,300m after 72 hours, descending between whiteouts and storms with very little sleep, food, or water. Their Chamonix friends then helped them cross the glacier without their crampons or ice axes. Yesterday, an Indian Air Force helicopter finally picked up the two women.
An exhausted Fay Manners and Michelle Dvorak after their ordeal. Photo of a video published by PTI News
Conclusions
Manners and Dvorak made a bold attempt on this unclimbed near-7,000’er by a difficult technical route. The rope cut by falling rock is rare, says Manners, but it can happen at any moment.
The two climbers managed to mentally control the situation. They knew that they could not remain on the ledge because hypothermia was imminent. Their wide experience on previous difficult routes helped them make practical decisions.
They were lucky that another skilled party was nearby. Local rescue services had already started devising a plan B to send a ground rescue team for them on Sunday. Luckily, the French party reached the two women sooner.
The Indian Air Force did everything possible to search for them despite bad weather. After the climbers were safe and had descended with the help of their French party, the helicopter brought them back to civilization.
Unclimbed Chaukhamba III in the Garhwal Himalaya. Photo: American Alpine Journal
