Simone Moro of Italy is recovering and well enough to explain the details of the heart attack that put a shocking end to his planned attempt to climb Manaslu in winter.
Two days ago, news broke about the Italian climber being evacuated to the hospital from Khare, a settlement at 5,000m right below Mera Peak, after suffering a heart attack.
“I felt a big pain in my chest and my left arm, and I realized it had something to do with my heart,” he said in a video statement just published on his social media.
Delayed airlift
Shockingly, it was not possible to arrange a helicopter that day, so Moro had to deal with the cardiac condition and the pain all night long until he was finally airlifted to the hospital on the following morning, as he explained from his room at the HAMS hospital in Kathmandu.
Moro says that he has undergone surgery, but luckily didn’t require a bypass, pacemaker, or stent. The surgeons just cleared an obstruction in one of his two coronary arteries. Hear his complete report here:
Complete recovery expected
Moro noted he has no idea since when or why he had his vein obstructed, but he suggested his long stays at high altitude over the years and 50 Himalayan expeditions might have caused his blood to thicken.
At 58 years old, the Italian follows intensive training routines. His goal this season was to climb Manaslu in winter on a single, alpine-style push. He was acclimatizing on 6,476m Mera Peak with climbing partners Nima Rinji Sherpa of Nepal and Oswald Pereira of Poland.
Simone Moro, piloting a helicopter. Photo: Simone Moro/Instagram
Moro says he expects to recover completely and that the doctors have set no restrictions on what he can attempt in the future. In a day or two, he plans to return to Italy for further check-ups. Otherwise, he says he feels good and expects to resume his training as soon as possible.
Moro is also a helicopter pilot who works on high-altitude rescue missions in Nepal every spring.
