Polish Team joins the search-and-rescue mission of missing climbers on Nanda Devi East
After the eight-member team of mountaineers went missing on Nanda Devi East (7434m) in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district in India, the Polish Anniversary Expedition team has now come forward to initiate the rescue mission alongside the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
According to the messages (at IST 19.52 & 20.01) received by GPS Communication Device of the polish team that was aiming to climb Nanda Devi East (also known as Sunanda Devi in India) to honour the 80th anniversary of the first ascent on Nanda Devi East by the Poles through the route of South Ridge, is all set to rescue the missing climbers from Martin Moran and Mark Moran’s expedition team, under the leadership of Jaroslaw Gawrysiak (Jarek).
“Polish climbers from the anniversary expedition are on their way to rescue missing climbers from Martin Moran's expedition on Nanda Devi East” – Message received by Dream Wanderlust from the Polish team.
Polish Rescue team members:
- Jaroslaw Gawrysiak (Jarek)
- Rafał Fronia
- Anindya Mukherjee
- Jan Lenczowski
- Bartłomiej Szeliga (Bartosz)
- Oswald Rodrigo Pereira
Polish Team (courtesy: Anindya Mukherjee)
Furthermore, a while ago, in a conversation with Dream Wanderlust, SDRF stated their inability to kick-start the rescue operation today since the harsh weather is still taking a rough toll in the mountain. However, they are certain to get a clear weather window to initiate the heli-rescue operation from tomorrow onwards. SDRF would fly one private helicopter and one from Indian Air Force to search those missing climbers on Nanda Devi East.
The ill-fated expedition team includes seven foreign nationals from the United Kingdom, United States, Australia (Ruth McCance from Sydney) and one liaison officer from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
The team left Munsiyari on 13th May to climb Nanda Devi East. They were scheduled to return to the base camp on yesterday.
Previously, the local district administration has sent a rescue-team in search of the missing climbers after they failed to return to the base camp, according to their proposed itinerary*.
The rescue team consists of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), a local team of police and medical personnel. According to a conversation of Dream wanderlust with Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team also joined the search and rescue operation. The original team consisted of 12 climbers, but four turned back to base camp while the remaining eight pushed on.
This expedition, led my English climber Mark Thomas, was sponsored by M/S Himalayan Run and Trek Ltd., New Delhi.
Previously Proposed Itinerary*:
Tuesday - 14th May: Trek from Lilam over Minsing Top (2900m); camp at a forest clearing at 2400m
Wednesday - 15th May: Trek up Gori Ganga gorge to camp at Nanda Pahar (2550m) (12km)
Thursday - 16th May: Trek to Martoli village (3350m) (18km) - at junction of Lwan and Gori valleys
Friday - 17th May: Trek up Lwan valley to forest camp at 3850m (12km)
Saturday - 18th May: Morning trek to Base Camp at Bhital Gwar (4250m) (8km)
Sunday - 19th May – Thursday, 23rd May: Acclimatisation and training ascent of Nanda Lapak (5782m) (grade AD with one camp at 5000m), while Sherpas establish a route to Longstaff's Col on Nanda Devi East and stock camp
Friday - 24th May – Wed 29th May: Climb to camp on Longstaff's Col and push route over pinnacles to 6150m with fixed ropes
Thursday - 30th May - Fri 31st May: Rest at base camp
Saturday - 1st June - Sun 9th June: Summit attempts with camps at 5910m on Longstaff's Col, 6150m camp above.
Martin Moran's expedition team (courtesy: Moran Mountain/Instagram)
