A British climber has recounted her harrowing experience after being rescued from the treacherous Chaukhamba mountain in northern India, where she spent two perilous days in brutal conditions without food or proper equipment.
Fay Manners, originally from Bedfordshire and currently residing in Chamonix, France, was climbing with her partner, Michelle Dvorak, from the United States, when a loose rock severed the rope that was transporting their supplies, leaving them stranded at an altitude of over 20,000 feet (6,096 meters).
The duo’s situation quickly escalated into a life-threatening ordeal. “I watched the bag tumble down the mountain, and I immediately knew the consequence of what was to come,” Manners told the BBC.
With their supplies, including a tent, stove, and warm clothing lost, the climbers found themselves without essential safety equipment, ice axes, or crampons, putting their survival in jeopardy.
Desperate for help, the pair managed to send a distress message, prompting search and rescue teams to launch an operation. However, the severe weather conditions hampered efforts to locate them.
“They did try to rescue us, but the conditions were brutal,” Manners explained. The relentless fog and high altitude made it difficult for helicopters to pinpoint their location, forcing the climbers to endure another night on the mountain.
As temperatures dropped and snow began to fall, Manners described feeling hypothermic and physically drained. The climbers huddled on a ledge, sharing the only sleeping bag they had. “With the lack of food, my body was running out of energy to keep warm,” she said. They managed to collect a small amount of water from melting ice, but their situation remained dire.
On the second day, as they began to navigate their way down the mountain, the women spotted a team of French climbers who had heard about their plight from mutual friends.
This serendipitous encounter proved to be a turning point. The rescuers shared vital equipment, food, and sleeping bags with Manners and Dvorak while also contacting a helicopter with their precise location for an evacuation.
“I cried with relief knowing we might survive,” Manners recalled, expressing gratitude for the climbers’ assistance.
The French team helped them traverse a steep glacier that would have been impossible without the proper gear, significantly enhancing their chances of survival. “We would have either frozen to death or attempted to cross the steep glaciers without the right equipment and slipped to our peril,” she stated.
In 2022, Manners made history by becoming the first woman to ascend the Phantom Direct route on the south face of Mont Blanc’s Grand Jorasses. She has also achieved remarkable feats in Pakistan and Greenland over the past year, embodying her commitment to inspiring women to pursue alpinism and mountaineering as a passion.
Reflecting on the traumatic experience, Manners noted that while the incident was unfortunate, it was also exceedingly rare. “We did very well to survive and retreat in the way that we did,” she affirmed, despite feeling mentally and physically exhausted.
Following their rescue, Manners and Dvorak planned to indulge in local Indian cuisine before returning home to reunite with their loved ones. A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office confirmed that they had been providing support to Manners’ family throughout the ordeal, expressing relief at her safe return.
