I am surprised nobody has posted this yet !
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?...tinent&col=
Pakistani pilots risked own lives to rescue climbers
From Nadeem Sarwar (DPA)
27 July 2008 Print E-mail
ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani pilot who saved the lives of two Italian climbers stranded at a deadly Himalayan peak said on Friday he had risked his life and that of his co-pilot to complete the rescue mission.
An army helicopter evacuated Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones from the 8,126-metre Nanga Parbat Mountain, where they were trapped after their team leader Karl Unterkirchner fell to his death in a crevasse.
“It was a quite difficult mission because at the height of 19,000 feet, where the climbers were located, we normally carry out sling operation for the evacuation. But the climbers were not ready for that and therefore we were left with no choice other than to land the helicopter even though it involved great risks,” said Flight Squadron Major Amir Masood.
Two Ecureuil helicopters took part in the rescue mission but only one evacuated the alpinists and this was being flown by Masood.
The second copter was flown by Lieutenant-Colonel Moin Uddin and provided cover to the operation. Later on the climbers and two Italian rescuers were flown to Gilgit in that helicopter.
Masood said he had to carry out the rescue operation despite only semi-favourable weather conditions.
“We were required to evacuate the two at all costs on Thursday because the battery of the phone we had dropped for them was running out and we feared that they might once again lose contact with the world.”
“We flew with minimum fuel and removed the entire luggage and four of the seven seats. When we landed, only one skid of the helicopter was touching the snow and the plane’s propeller was hardly a foot from the snow covered slope on our left side,” he added. “The loose snow was kicked up, reducing the visibility to almost zero. But I kept my nerves and thanks to Allah that we managed to lift the first person.”
Despite the danger the pilot airlifted Simon from the mountain.
“I flew back to the base at lower height, dropped Mr Simon, replaced my co-pilot and returned to the 19,000 feet,” Major Masood said.
“The weather had started to get bad and at one point it seemed that the evacuation of the last climber had to be postponed till tomorrow. But leaving Mr Walter alone in the hostile conditions on Naga Parbat was not appropriate. We flew and lifted him as well. The entire operation took three hours.”
Masood said it was a great pleasure for him that, with his colleagues’ assistance, he managed to save two lives. “Even though it was our official duty to do so, but the realization that we had saved two human lives is something that gave us so much inner satisfaction.”
One member of the Italian rescue team, comprising Silvio Mondinelli and Maurizio Gallo, which was dispatched from Milan last week to guide the two stranded climbers safely down, said no-one in the world but Pakistan’s pilots could fly a helicopter at the height where the two climbers were located.
“It was impossible to fly a helicopter at the height of around 7,000 metres and in very, very unfavourable weather conditions. No- one in the world could do that. Only people in Pakistan could do such things,” said Gallo.
Full Version: Pakistani Pilots Risked Own Lives To Rescue Climbers
No one reports such news. not even our own electronic Media....
MashAllah, that is a great achievement.
This is the first time I've heard some western guy acknowledging our heli pilots. MashAllah
Congrads to italion climbers.. i hope this will incourage them to come back often with other Italian fellows..
and hats off to PAA..
and hats off to PAA..
MashAllah again a good job. Askari aviation is a good way to provide operational training to pilots by using them for such operations.It will help us in areas like siachin.
This is the first time I've heard some western guy acknowledging our heli pilots. MashAllah
Ghias .. unfortuantely we don't make heros of our real heros while other's make heros of paper tigers >>>>
This is not the first time our brave pilots have faced the wrath of the nature & brought down moutaineers .. earlier too it was supposed to be the highest moutain rescue of the world !
http://www.everestnews.com/pak2005/nphumar2005u08142005.htm
The Perilous Rescue Drama High on the Mountain Comes to its Finale
Update: The Slovenian climber Tomaz Humar trapped for the past seven days on perched an icy ledge half way up the precipitous Rupal face of the Killer Mountain Nanga Parbat, was snatched from the jaws of death early by two Pakistan Army helicopters. The operation commenced at 0530 hrs early Wednesday morning when the two Lamas supported by one MI 17 helicopter landed at the Nanga Parbat Rupal Base camp from Jaglot under very clear weather conditions. The Army Aviation crew included Lama helicopter pilots Lt Col. Ubaid, Lt Col. Rashid Ullah Baig, Maj. Naeem, Maj. Khalid and two pilots of the support MI 17 helicopters.
Tomaz was almost frozen as the night was absolutely clear and cold with extremely low temperatures. He kept himself warm by digging snow, barely hung on to the morning and then fell asleep. It was the sound of the roaring helicopter directly next to him, which woke him up.
The helicopter piloted by Lt Col Ubaid and Maj. Naeem attempted to approach Tomaz flying perilously close to the ice wall but could not position themselves on the waving alpinist dressed in red. They gave way to the other hovering helicopter being piloted by Lt Col Rashidullah and Maj Khalid, who flew their chopper with his blades barely escaping collision with the rock wall hovered and lowered their helicopter within metres of Tomaz. Tomaž waited, tied to two ice screws with a loose prusik knot so he would not stagger while trying to catch the weights on the rope. The helicopter approached him, dropped the rope, Tomaž caught it, clipped onto it, raised his thumb to confirm he was OK and the helicopter lifted up. The rescue turned dramatic as he had not managed to free himself from the rope anchored to the mountain. As the helicopter pulled up luckily it broke thus preventing a disaster.
In one of the hair raising rescue ever attempted the Lama helicopter with hanging and crouched Tomaz on the rope under helicopter’s belly descended for another 15 minutes and appeared before the cheering team mates at the 3500 metres high base camp with cameras capturing the drama. After getting helping hands from the other helicopter crew who freed him from the rope Tomaž kissed the earth at 6.30 a.m. Actually, he fell on his knees since he could barely walk from exhaustion. They laid him on the sleeping bag, he cried, hugged everyone around him and continued paying his respect and gratitude to his rescuers. His team mates immediately changed him out of the wet clothes and footwear – his feet were at most risk.
Team Doctor Anda after his check up pronounced Tomaz healthy except for swollen and slight frostbitten feet. All Tomaž wanted to do was to drink and then words flew out of his mouth. He decided to remain at base camp to rest, and is probably leaving for Islamabad tomorrow.
It may be recalled that earlier attempts made by Army helicopters on the afternoon of Aug 9 and by another Allouette helicopter on Aug 6 had not succeeded in approaching him so close due to bad weather conditions.
His family contacts were informed and of the successful rescue. His close friend Nazir Sabir, President Alpine Club of Pakistan who played a key role in organizing this rescue operation remained in continuous contact with the base camp throughout this rescue operation. He reeled down with tears in his eyes as he heard the cheering voices at the base camp in the back ground.
Tomaz team mates were profuse in their praise for the Pakistani pilots who enacted this most unique and daring rescue in the entire Himalayan history.
The Foreign Minister Mr. Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri who had been monitoring the rescue mission with personal interest was briefed by Nazir Sabir on the successful rescue mission immediately on completion.
Tomaz Humor, later speaking on the Satellite telephone from the Base Camp in the afternoon with Nazir Sabir, paid highest tributes to the daring pilots of Pakistan Army who rescued him. He also thanked Foreign Minister Mr Khurshid Ahmad Kasuri, Govt of Paksitan and Pakistan Army for taking personal interest in saving his life.
He commented “The Pakistan Army helicopter pilots seemed to work magic and the coordination of the entire rescue was absolutely outstanding. No Hollywood film could go any where near what these men did on the deadly Rupal Face today, for which I congratulate them. They make you a proud Pakistani”.
Recounting his feeling during his ordeal he shared his heart with Nazir Sabir and choked with emotions remarked that he has come to live another life and has pledged Aug 10 being his new birthday.
Update: Mr. Shoukat Sultan - Army spokman, while briefing told the news that today very early in the morning two Pakistan Army helicopter started the rescue mission taking the advantage of freezing cold. But due to poor visibility it took them longer to finally rescue Mr. Humar. First he was brought down to Nanga Parbat Base Camp where Slovenian Expedition doctor examed Mr. Humar. After he was flown down to Army hospital in Gilgit for further treatment. Mr. Humar is in stable condition and out of danger. Mr. Humar was trapped on Rupal Wall on an altitude of 6000m from 6 days.
Asghar Ali Porik
Managing Director
M/s JASMINE TOURS
24-Canning Road, GPO Box 859, Ist Floor, Ishaq Market, Saddar,
Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Tel: 0092-51-5586823 Fax: 0092-51-5584566
e-mail: info@jasminetours.com
www.jasminetours.com
Update: Another attempt to rescue the stranded Slovenian climber Tomaz Humar was made today in the late afternoon by Army helicopters which was later abandoned due to setting in of bad weather and poor visibility.
Earlier, Mr. Nazir Sabir and Col. Manzoor, President and executive V.P respectively of the Alpine Club held another meeting with the Foreign Minister Mr. Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri. Following their briefing on the latest situation, Mr. Kasuri coordinated with the Interior Minister, the Defense Secretary, Minister of State for Defence and Civil Aviation Authority who informed the Minister that landing permission has been granted to any aircraft and helicopter that may arrive from Switzerland to augment the rescue efforts.
Weather has continuously been inclement with no break in the foggy and windy spell till late in the afternoon. It has rained at the Base Camp and with continuous snowing at the spot where Tomaz is stranded at 6000 meters.
The climber who is soaked and suffering from inadequate nutrition resulting from shortage of food and severe cold, is deteriorating fast.
In the morning of Tuesday an Army Aviation team left Rawalpindi for the Nanga Parbat Base Camp to undertake the rescue operations. However, the team comprising could not land at Base Camp due to persistent bad weather. In a pleasing turn around, the weather started clearing in the late afternoon and the three Army helicopters flew into the Base Camp.
After getting due briefing two Lama Helicopters flew from the Base Camp and after locating the besieged climber circled within meters of him but were unable to close in on him due to fading light conditions. The rescue operation has been postponed till early morning on 10 August.
The weather is getting better and as per Pakistan Met Dept. it is expected to remain clear for the next two days.
Update: Renowned Slovenian alpinist Tomaz Humar has been in a risky life and death situation on the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat for the last four days stuck at around 6000m to which he had climbed down from 6400m he had attained on Thursday since his said "good bye" to his fellows at Base Camp in the afternoon on Aug 01.
Tomaz Humar became extremely famous for challenging some of the most dangerous mountain faces and outstanding climbing pursuits in the European Alps and the Himalaya.
Tomaz Humar attempted the unclimbed route on Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat also known as "Killer Mountain" in 2003 but had to abandon due to bad weather conditions and his health problems. But the ace climber from Slovenia returned to take on the same route again this summer, when the weather has rather been most notorious for climbers all over the northern Pakistan.
Since he reached BC weather has been very bad but after a few clear days he climbed almost half way up the Rupal face towards his target and the weather tricked him with horrible snow conditions, fog, with thundering avalanches of freshly fallen all around him making it impossible for him to either go up or down the same steps he climbed up. Tomaz Humar is hanging on to this bird-like perch with the help of the few rescue items he has like ice screws and some rope. It has been snowing for the last 48 hours and nights and every few minutes avalanche activity is making it impossible for this adventurer to make a move towards descent. He is further jeopardized by physical deterioration as he has not been able to sleep in wet snow conditions and cannot dry up which makes life a lot harder.
Knowing the worsening condition minute by minute all evening through August 5 Mr. Tomaz made a request through Base Camp over Radio to his longtime friend and coordinator Nazir Sabir for heli rescue on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. who made an immediate request for a Helicopter rescues and Tomaz tried to climb lower to 6000m to make it a bit easier for the helicopter rescue. He dug a snow hole and counting days till a helicopter lifts him off the Rupal Face. But he also knows he is losing time with every click of clock as the helicopters rescue has so far been out of sight due to the bad weather conditions higher altitude.
Nazir Sabir talked to Tomaz Humar four times via radio since Friday night and feels the climber is losing psychological grip on his situation as he is counting days and consumes his meager food sources. Tomaz complains of sleepless nights when all around him the snow is sliding down the face.
Best possible efforts are being made and there has appeal for his rescue since Friday evening. It is understood that there have also been highest level contacts between Slovenian and Pakistan authorities concerning rescue arrangements to save life of Tomaz Humar by helicopter being the only option.
This a high profile emergency as Tomaz Humar is a hero in Slovenia world’s most outstanding personality for his great exploits in Alpinism and known for his daring solo climbs on world’s most difficult mountains in recent times.
Nazir Sabir, President Alpine Club of Pakistan, has appealed for his rescue. It can be a very positive image building step as millions around the world are eagerly looking on Pakistan for saving this precious life what may be considered is exploring the formation of an expert group of rescuers with appropriate logistical support and facilities acquired if possible. But these options need to be broached NOW while there is time yet for this. For Pakistan having the Siachen experience in hand his rescue will be a unique operation.
As of this evening Humar is in possession of survival spirit but physical deterioration caused by altitude will increase as the hours and minutes tick-by and rescue efforts are delayed for one reason or the other. In the face of the weather reports time is running out as the rations on the plate of Tomaz is in his ice cave and aggressive efforts need to be made as time is slipping out of hand!!!
the above was the press release from the expedition
Update: Attempts to rescue the famous Slovenian climber TOMAZ HUMAR, who is trapped high on the steep rock slopes at 6000 meters were continued during the last two days. An Allouette helicopter which flew to Astore on Saturday made two attempts on Sunday to reconnitre the area and was able to come within 40 meters of the climber in high wind conditions, but mist and clouds forced them to abandon further mission. The flight however, succeeded in filming the climber’s location for future efforts.
Weather conditions on Nanga Parbat, according to the Base Camp, continue to remain bad. It has been snowing since 10 p.m. Sunday with no early clearing in sight. It is windy and cloudy making it impossible for any attempt at heli rescue of Tomaz Humar who continues to remain trapped on the Rupal face of the mountain for the fifth day running. Hopefully when weather conditions improve after Tuesday more rescue attempts will be launched by Pakistan Army Aviators to rescue Tomaz Humar.
Update: Foreign Minister Mr. Khurshid Mahmood Qasuri has directed the Army authorities to provide fullest support in the evacuation of Slovenian climber Mr. Tomaz Humar. He was promptly reacting to the briefing given to him by Nazir Sabir eminent mountaineer and President Alpine Club of Pakistan and Col. Manzoor Hussain on the efforts being made on rescue operation of the climber. Emphasizing on saving the mountaineer’s life on humanitarian grounds at all costs, he said no effort should be spared in this regard.
Mr. Qasuri also spoke to the Interior Minister Mr. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and requested him to facilitate probable visit of helicopter or pilots arranged by the Govt. of Slovenia.
Responding to an earlier request made by Slovenian Foreign Minister he phoned his Slovenian counterpart and assured fullest support of the Govt. of Pakistan in this matter. Assuring of Pakistan’s capability to meet the situation he mentioned that Pakistan would welcome and facilitate any logistical help in men or materials arriving from Slovenia to augment the rescue operations.
Earlier Update: Tomaz Humar apparently has climbed himself into an area where he cannot descend the mountain by himself. He has called for a helicopter rescue. He is currently at 5900 meters.
Mr. Nazir Sabir, Everest and K2 Summiter, is helping with a helicopter rescue. Apparently, they are going to try to "throw him a rope". They are going to try on Monday, but the weather is expected to be very bad on Monday, so there chances will be much better on Tuesday...
The Himalayas are a great mountain range. The central Himalayan mountains are situated in Nepal, while the eastern mountains extend to the borders of Bhutan and Sikkim. The Nanga Parbat massif is the western corner pillar of the Himalayas. It is an isolated range of peaks just springing up from nothing, and is surrounded by the rivers Indus and Astore. Nanga Parbat or "Nanga Parvata" means the naked mountain. Its original and appropriate name, however, is Diamir the king of the mountains.
Nanga Parbat Base Camp
Nanga Parbat (main peak) has a height of 8126 meters/26,660 ft. It has three vast faces. The Rakhiot (Ra Kot) face is dominated by the north and south silver crags and silver plateau; the Diamir face is rocky in the beginning. It converts itself into ice fields around Nanga Parbat peak. The Rupal face is the highest precipice in the world. Reinhold Messner, a living legend in mountaineering from Italy, says that "every one who has ever stood at the foot of this face (4500 meters) up above the 'Tap Alpe', studied it or flown over it, could not help but have been amazed by its sheer size; it has become known as the highest rock and ice wall in the world!".
Nanga Parbat has always been associated with tragedies and tribulations until it was climbed in 1953. A lot of mountaineers have perished on Nanga Parbat since 1895. Even in recent years it has claimed a heavy toll of human lives of mountaineers, in search of adventure and thrill. Its victims, have included those in pursuit of new and absolutely un-climbed routes leading to its summit.
Nanga Parbat
It was in 1841 that a huge rock-slide from the Nanga Parbat dammed the Indus river. This created a huge lake, 55 km long, like the present Tarbela lake down-stream. The flood of water that was released when the dam broke caused a rise of 80 ft in the river's 3 level at Attock and swept away an entire Sikh army. It was also in the middle of the nineteenth century that similar catastrophes were later caused by the damming of Hunza and Shyok rivers.
The Nanga Parbat peak was discovered in the nineteenth century by Europeans. The Schlagintweit brothers, who hailed from Munich (Germany) came in 1854 to Himalayas and drew a panoramic view which is the first known picture of Nanga Parbat. In 1857 one of them was murdered in Kashgar. The curse of Nanga Parbat had begun.
Nanga Parbat, Fairy meadows
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Ghias .. unfortuantely we don't make heros of our real heros while other's make heros of paper tigers >>>>
This is not the first time our brave pilots have faced the wrath of the nature & brought down moutaineers .. earlier too it was supposed to be the highest moutain rescue of the world !
http://www.everestnews.com/pak2005/nphumar2005u08142005.htm
The Perilous Rescue Drama High on the Mountain Comes to its Finale
Update: The Slovenian climber Tomaz Humar trapped for the past seven days on perched an icy ledge half way up the precipitous Rupal face of the Killer Mountain Nanga Parbat, was snatched from the jaws of death early by two Pakistan Army helicopters. The operation commenced at 0530 hrs early Wednesday morning when the two Lamas supported by one MI 17 helicopter landed at the Nanga Parbat Rupal Base camp from Jaglot under very clear weather conditions. The Army Aviation crew included Lama helicopter pilots Lt Col. Ubaid, Lt Col. Rashid Ullah Baig, Maj. Naeem, Maj. Khalid and two pilots of the support MI 17 helicopters.
Tomaz was almost frozen as the night was absolutely clear and cold with extremely low temperatures. He kept himself warm by digging snow, barely hung on to the morning and then fell asleep. It was the sound of the roaring helicopter directly next to him, which woke him up.
The helicopter piloted by Lt Col Ubaid and Maj. Naeem attempted to approach Tomaz flying perilously close to the ice wall but could not position themselves on the waving alpinist dressed in red. They gave way to the other hovering helicopter being piloted by Lt Col Rashidullah and Maj Khalid, who flew their chopper with his blades barely escaping collision with the rock wall hovered and lowered their helicopter within metres of Tomaz. Tomaž waited, tied to two ice screws with a loose prusik knot so he would not stagger while trying to catch the weights on the rope. The helicopter approached him, dropped the rope, Tomaž caught it, clipped onto it, raised his thumb to confirm he was OK and the helicopter lifted up. The rescue turned dramatic as he had not managed to free himself from the rope anchored to the mountain. As the helicopter pulled up luckily it broke thus preventing a disaster.
In one of the hair raising rescue ever attempted the Lama helicopter with hanging and crouched Tomaz on the rope under helicopter’s belly descended for another 15 minutes and appeared before the cheering team mates at the 3500 metres high base camp with cameras capturing the drama. After getting helping hands from the other helicopter crew who freed him from the rope Tomaž kissed the earth at 6.30 a.m. Actually, he fell on his knees since he could barely walk from exhaustion. They laid him on the sleeping bag, he cried, hugged everyone around him and continued paying his respect and gratitude to his rescuers. His team mates immediately changed him out of the wet clothes and footwear – his feet were at most risk.
Team Doctor Anda after his check up pronounced Tomaz healthy except for swollen and slight frostbitten feet. All Tomaž wanted to do was to drink and then words flew out of his mouth. He decided to remain at base camp to rest, and is probably leaving for Islamabad tomorrow.
It may be recalled that earlier attempts made by Army helicopters on the afternoon of Aug 9 and by another Allouette helicopter on Aug 6 had not succeeded in approaching him so close due to bad weather conditions.
His family contacts were informed and of the successful rescue. His close friend Nazir Sabir, President Alpine Club of Pakistan who played a key role in organizing this rescue operation remained in continuous contact with the base camp throughout this rescue operation. He reeled down with tears in his eyes as he heard the cheering voices at the base camp in the back ground.
Tomaz team mates were profuse in their praise for the Pakistani pilots who enacted this most unique and daring rescue in the entire Himalayan history.
The Foreign Minister Mr. Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri who had been monitoring the rescue mission with personal interest was briefed by Nazir Sabir on the successful rescue mission immediately on completion.
Tomaz Humor, later speaking on the Satellite telephone from the Base Camp in the afternoon with Nazir Sabir, paid highest tributes to the daring pilots of Pakistan Army who rescued him. He also thanked Foreign Minister Mr Khurshid Ahmad Kasuri, Govt of Paksitan and Pakistan Army for taking personal interest in saving his life.
He commented “The Pakistan Army helicopter pilots seemed to work magic and the coordination of the entire rescue was absolutely outstanding. No Hollywood film could go any where near what these men did on the deadly Rupal Face today, for which I congratulate them. They make you a proud Pakistani”.
Recounting his feeling during his ordeal he shared his heart with Nazir Sabir and choked with emotions remarked that he has come to live another life and has pledged Aug 10 being his new birthday.
Update: Mr. Shoukat Sultan - Army spokman, while briefing told the news that today very early in the morning two Pakistan Army helicopter started the rescue mission taking the advantage of freezing cold. But due to poor visibility it took them longer to finally rescue Mr. Humar. First he was brought down to Nanga Parbat Base Camp where Slovenian Expedition doctor examed Mr. Humar. After he was flown down to Army hospital in Gilgit for further treatment. Mr. Humar is in stable condition and out of danger. Mr. Humar was trapped on Rupal Wall on an altitude of 6000m from 6 days.
Asghar Ali Porik
Managing Director
M/s JASMINE TOURS
24-Canning Road, GPO Box 859, Ist Floor, Ishaq Market, Saddar,
Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Tel: 0092-51-5586823 Fax: 0092-51-5584566
e-mail: info@jasminetours.com
www.jasminetours.com
Update: Another attempt to rescue the stranded Slovenian climber Tomaz Humar was made today in the late afternoon by Army helicopters which was later abandoned due to setting in of bad weather and poor visibility.
Earlier, Mr. Nazir Sabir and Col. Manzoor, President and executive V.P respectively of the Alpine Club held another meeting with the Foreign Minister Mr. Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri. Following their briefing on the latest situation, Mr. Kasuri coordinated with the Interior Minister, the Defense Secretary, Minister of State for Defence and Civil Aviation Authority who informed the Minister that landing permission has been granted to any aircraft and helicopter that may arrive from Switzerland to augment the rescue efforts.
Weather has continuously been inclement with no break in the foggy and windy spell till late in the afternoon. It has rained at the Base Camp and with continuous snowing at the spot where Tomaz is stranded at 6000 meters.
The climber who is soaked and suffering from inadequate nutrition resulting from shortage of food and severe cold, is deteriorating fast.
In the morning of Tuesday an Army Aviation team left Rawalpindi for the Nanga Parbat Base Camp to undertake the rescue operations. However, the team comprising could not land at Base Camp due to persistent bad weather. In a pleasing turn around, the weather started clearing in the late afternoon and the three Army helicopters flew into the Base Camp.
After getting due briefing two Lama Helicopters flew from the Base Camp and after locating the besieged climber circled within meters of him but were unable to close in on him due to fading light conditions. The rescue operation has been postponed till early morning on 10 August.
The weather is getting better and as per Pakistan Met Dept. it is expected to remain clear for the next two days.
Update: Renowned Slovenian alpinist Tomaz Humar has been in a risky life and death situation on the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat for the last four days stuck at around 6000m to which he had climbed down from 6400m he had attained on Thursday since his said "good bye" to his fellows at Base Camp in the afternoon on Aug 01.
Tomaz Humar became extremely famous for challenging some of the most dangerous mountain faces and outstanding climbing pursuits in the European Alps and the Himalaya.
Tomaz Humar attempted the unclimbed route on Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat also known as "Killer Mountain" in 2003 but had to abandon due to bad weather conditions and his health problems. But the ace climber from Slovenia returned to take on the same route again this summer, when the weather has rather been most notorious for climbers all over the northern Pakistan.
Since he reached BC weather has been very bad but after a few clear days he climbed almost half way up the Rupal face towards his target and the weather tricked him with horrible snow conditions, fog, with thundering avalanches of freshly fallen all around him making it impossible for him to either go up or down the same steps he climbed up. Tomaz Humar is hanging on to this bird-like perch with the help of the few rescue items he has like ice screws and some rope. It has been snowing for the last 48 hours and nights and every few minutes avalanche activity is making it impossible for this adventurer to make a move towards descent. He is further jeopardized by physical deterioration as he has not been able to sleep in wet snow conditions and cannot dry up which makes life a lot harder.
Knowing the worsening condition minute by minute all evening through August 5 Mr. Tomaz made a request through Base Camp over Radio to his longtime friend and coordinator Nazir Sabir for heli rescue on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. who made an immediate request for a Helicopter rescues and Tomaz tried to climb lower to 6000m to make it a bit easier for the helicopter rescue. He dug a snow hole and counting days till a helicopter lifts him off the Rupal Face. But he also knows he is losing time with every click of clock as the helicopters rescue has so far been out of sight due to the bad weather conditions higher altitude.
Nazir Sabir talked to Tomaz Humar four times via radio since Friday night and feels the climber is losing psychological grip on his situation as he is counting days and consumes his meager food sources. Tomaz complains of sleepless nights when all around him the snow is sliding down the face.
Best possible efforts are being made and there has appeal for his rescue since Friday evening. It is understood that there have also been highest level contacts between Slovenian and Pakistan authorities concerning rescue arrangements to save life of Tomaz Humar by helicopter being the only option.
This a high profile emergency as Tomaz Humar is a hero in Slovenia world’s most outstanding personality for his great exploits in Alpinism and known for his daring solo climbs on world’s most difficult mountains in recent times.
Nazir Sabir, President Alpine Club of Pakistan, has appealed for his rescue. It can be a very positive image building step as millions around the world are eagerly looking on Pakistan for saving this precious life what may be considered is exploring the formation of an expert group of rescuers with appropriate logistical support and facilities acquired if possible. But these options need to be broached NOW while there is time yet for this. For Pakistan having the Siachen experience in hand his rescue will be a unique operation.
As of this evening Humar is in possession of survival spirit but physical deterioration caused by altitude will increase as the hours and minutes tick-by and rescue efforts are delayed for one reason or the other. In the face of the weather reports time is running out as the rations on the plate of Tomaz is in his ice cave and aggressive efforts need to be made as time is slipping out of hand!!!
the above was the press release from the expedition
Update: Attempts to rescue the famous Slovenian climber TOMAZ HUMAR, who is trapped high on the steep rock slopes at 6000 meters were continued during the last two days. An Allouette helicopter which flew to Astore on Saturday made two attempts on Sunday to reconnitre the area and was able to come within 40 meters of the climber in high wind conditions, but mist and clouds forced them to abandon further mission. The flight however, succeeded in filming the climber’s location for future efforts.
Weather conditions on Nanga Parbat, according to the Base Camp, continue to remain bad. It has been snowing since 10 p.m. Sunday with no early clearing in sight. It is windy and cloudy making it impossible for any attempt at heli rescue of Tomaz Humar who continues to remain trapped on the Rupal face of the mountain for the fifth day running. Hopefully when weather conditions improve after Tuesday more rescue attempts will be launched by Pakistan Army Aviators to rescue Tomaz Humar.
Update: Foreign Minister Mr. Khurshid Mahmood Qasuri has directed the Army authorities to provide fullest support in the evacuation of Slovenian climber Mr. Tomaz Humar. He was promptly reacting to the briefing given to him by Nazir Sabir eminent mountaineer and President Alpine Club of Pakistan and Col. Manzoor Hussain on the efforts being made on rescue operation of the climber. Emphasizing on saving the mountaineer’s life on humanitarian grounds at all costs, he said no effort should be spared in this regard.
Mr. Qasuri also spoke to the Interior Minister Mr. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and requested him to facilitate probable visit of helicopter or pilots arranged by the Govt. of Slovenia.
Responding to an earlier request made by Slovenian Foreign Minister he phoned his Slovenian counterpart and assured fullest support of the Govt. of Pakistan in this matter. Assuring of Pakistan’s capability to meet the situation he mentioned that Pakistan would welcome and facilitate any logistical help in men or materials arriving from Slovenia to augment the rescue operations.
Earlier Update: Tomaz Humar apparently has climbed himself into an area where he cannot descend the mountain by himself. He has called for a helicopter rescue. He is currently at 5900 meters.
Mr. Nazir Sabir, Everest and K2 Summiter, is helping with a helicopter rescue. Apparently, they are going to try to "throw him a rope". They are going to try on Monday, but the weather is expected to be very bad on Monday, so there chances will be much better on Tuesday...
The Himalayas are a great mountain range. The central Himalayan mountains are situated in Nepal, while the eastern mountains extend to the borders of Bhutan and Sikkim. The Nanga Parbat massif is the western corner pillar of the Himalayas. It is an isolated range of peaks just springing up from nothing, and is surrounded by the rivers Indus and Astore. Nanga Parbat or "Nanga Parvata" means the naked mountain. Its original and appropriate name, however, is Diamir the king of the mountains.
Nanga Parbat Base Camp
Nanga Parbat (main peak) has a height of 8126 meters/26,660 ft. It has three vast faces. The Rakhiot (Ra Kot) face is dominated by the north and south silver crags and silver plateau; the Diamir face is rocky in the beginning. It converts itself into ice fields around Nanga Parbat peak. The Rupal face is the highest precipice in the world. Reinhold Messner, a living legend in mountaineering from Italy, says that "every one who has ever stood at the foot of this face (4500 meters) up above the 'Tap Alpe', studied it or flown over it, could not help but have been amazed by its sheer size; it has become known as the highest rock and ice wall in the world!".
Nanga Parbat has always been associated with tragedies and tribulations until it was climbed in 1953. A lot of mountaineers have perished on Nanga Parbat since 1895. Even in recent years it has claimed a heavy toll of human lives of mountaineers, in search of adventure and thrill. Its victims, have included those in pursuit of new and absolutely un-climbed routes leading to its summit.
Nanga Parbat
It was in 1841 that a huge rock-slide from the Nanga Parbat dammed the Indus river. This created a huge lake, 55 km long, like the present Tarbela lake down-stream. The flood of water that was released when the dam broke caused a rise of 80 ft in the river's 3 level at Attock and swept away an entire Sikh army. It was also in the middle of the nineteenth century that similar catastrophes were later caused by the damming of Hunza and Shyok rivers.
The Nanga Parbat peak was discovered in the nineteenth century by Europeans. The Schlagintweit brothers, who hailed from Munich (Germany) came in 1854 to Himalayas and drew a panoramic view which is the first known picture of Nanga Parbat. In 1857 one of them was murdered in Kashgar. The curse of Nanga Parbat had begun.
Nanga Parbat, Fairy meadows
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The same story from another news media :-
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25746014/
Italian climbers tell of leader's death, helicopter rescue from Pakistan's 'killer mountain'
Related stories What’s this?
Storm delays rescue of Himalayan climbers
2 Italian climbers say they're safe on Himalayan peak in Pakistan after death of comrade
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
updated 2:14 p.m. ET July 25, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Karl Unterkircher, one of the world's top mountaineers, died when a bridge of snow masking a crevasse on Pakistan's "Killer Mountain" gave way under his tentative step, his surviving colleagues said Friday.
Unterkircher, a 37-year-old Italian, was picking his way up a daunting, uncharted route on the 26,810-foot Nanga Parbat on July 16 when the accident occurred.
Pakistani military helicopters this week staged a high-risk rescue operation for his two stranded colleagues, who on Friday gave a sometimes anguished account of their brush with death.
Rescuers said the three Italians had scaled a treacherous 6,500-foot overhanging wall of rock and ice and were picking their way across a shoulder of the mountain where a series of crevasses lay buried by debris falling from higher slopes.
"Karl was just a few meters (yards) from us" when the snow suddenly gave way beneath him, Simon Kehrer told a news conference in the Pakistani capital. "In that moment, Karl just vanished from view."
Walter Nones, the third climber, lowered Kehrer by rope into the frigid crevasse, where he dug with his hands until he found Unterkircher's body.
"The ice is as hard as concrete and he fell about 15 meters (50 feet) and poor Karl had more than one meter (three feet) of snow on top of him. It's not hard to understand" that he didn't survive, Kehrer said.
Maurizio Gallo, an experienced Italian climber who rushed to the area to help guide the survivors down the mountain, said the trio had not been roped together at the time in order to save time.
"In the circumstances, it was more dangerous to be slow than to climb without a rope," Gallo said.
Shocked and shorn of their experienced leader, the pair rested a whole day while mulling what to do.
With rock and ice falls making the face of the mountain too dangerous to re-descend, the pair decided to climb on to 23,000 feet to find a safer route down.
As bad weather hampered their progress, rescuers, alerted by the last call before the battery of their satellite phone gave out, were able to locate their tents high on the mountain.
Pakistani army helicopters, flying at their operational limit because of the lack of oxygen in the air, at first could only drop food, bottled gas and another phone to them.
Stripped of all nonessential equipment to lighten their load, the helicopters were a "spiral of light which raised our spirits and encouraged us to make it home," Nones said.
The pair were eventually plucked off the mountain on Thursday and are to fly out of Pakistan for Italy on Sunday.
Unterkircher, a professional mountaineer who served with elite Italian Alpine troops, was trying to pioneer a new route up Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth highest peak.
It is known as "Killer Mountain" because many climbers have died trying to scale it.
The summit was first conquered by Herman Buhl of Germany in 1953, after 31 people died attempting to climb it. In 1970, Guenther Messner died on the mountain while climbing with his brother Reinhold Messner, a world-famous Italian alpinist.
In 2004, Unterkircher clocked a world record for the fastest ascent, in 63 days, of both Mount Everest and K2 without oxygen. Two years later, he was the first to conquer the 20,500-foot Mount Genyen in China.
Kehrer and Nones thanked their rescuers and expressed sorrow for the loss of their friend, who leaves behind a wife and three young children in Italy's northern Val Gardena valley.
However, they said mountaineering was a passion that still had a hold on them and that they would like to return to Pakistan and other parts of the Himalayas.
Kehrer shrugged off a question about whether he felt the expedition had endangered other people unnecessarily by saying he too took part in mountain rescue operations.
"Every day we risk our lives, here or anywhere else," he said. "We are in God's hands."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25746014/
Italian climbers tell of leader's death, helicopter rescue from Pakistan's 'killer mountain'
Related stories What’s this?
Storm delays rescue of Himalayan climbers
2 Italian climbers say they're safe on Himalayan peak in Pakistan after death of comrade
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
updated 2:14 p.m. ET July 25, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Karl Unterkircher, one of the world's top mountaineers, died when a bridge of snow masking a crevasse on Pakistan's "Killer Mountain" gave way under his tentative step, his surviving colleagues said Friday.
Unterkircher, a 37-year-old Italian, was picking his way up a daunting, uncharted route on the 26,810-foot Nanga Parbat on July 16 when the accident occurred.
Pakistani military helicopters this week staged a high-risk rescue operation for his two stranded colleagues, who on Friday gave a sometimes anguished account of their brush with death.
Rescuers said the three Italians had scaled a treacherous 6,500-foot overhanging wall of rock and ice and were picking their way across a shoulder of the mountain where a series of crevasses lay buried by debris falling from higher slopes.
"Karl was just a few meters (yards) from us" when the snow suddenly gave way beneath him, Simon Kehrer told a news conference in the Pakistani capital. "In that moment, Karl just vanished from view."
Walter Nones, the third climber, lowered Kehrer by rope into the frigid crevasse, where he dug with his hands until he found Unterkircher's body.
"The ice is as hard as concrete and he fell about 15 meters (50 feet) and poor Karl had more than one meter (three feet) of snow on top of him. It's not hard to understand" that he didn't survive, Kehrer said.
Maurizio Gallo, an experienced Italian climber who rushed to the area to help guide the survivors down the mountain, said the trio had not been roped together at the time in order to save time.
"In the circumstances, it was more dangerous to be slow than to climb without a rope," Gallo said.
Shocked and shorn of their experienced leader, the pair rested a whole day while mulling what to do.
With rock and ice falls making the face of the mountain too dangerous to re-descend, the pair decided to climb on to 23,000 feet to find a safer route down.
As bad weather hampered their progress, rescuers, alerted by the last call before the battery of their satellite phone gave out, were able to locate their tents high on the mountain.
Pakistani army helicopters, flying at their operational limit because of the lack of oxygen in the air, at first could only drop food, bottled gas and another phone to them.
Stripped of all nonessential equipment to lighten their load, the helicopters were a "spiral of light which raised our spirits and encouraged us to make it home," Nones said.
The pair were eventually plucked off the mountain on Thursday and are to fly out of Pakistan for Italy on Sunday.
Unterkircher, a professional mountaineer who served with elite Italian Alpine troops, was trying to pioneer a new route up Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth highest peak.
It is known as "Killer Mountain" because many climbers have died trying to scale it.
The summit was first conquered by Herman Buhl of Germany in 1953, after 31 people died attempting to climb it. In 1970, Guenther Messner died on the mountain while climbing with his brother Reinhold Messner, a world-famous Italian alpinist.
In 2004, Unterkircher clocked a world record for the fastest ascent, in 63 days, of both Mount Everest and K2 without oxygen. Two years later, he was the first to conquer the 20,500-foot Mount Genyen in China.
Kehrer and Nones thanked their rescuers and expressed sorrow for the loss of their friend, who leaves behind a wife and three young children in Italy's northern Val Gardena valley.
However, they said mountaineering was a passion that still had a hold on them and that they would like to return to Pakistan and other parts of the Himalayas.
Kehrer shrugged off a question about whether he felt the expedition had endangered other people unnecessarily by saying he too took part in mountain rescue operations.
"Every day we risk our lives, here or anywhere else," he said. "We are in God's hands."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
More from other news agencies .. I think our newspapers got only democracy jingoism to cover !
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7675053
Helicopter rescues 2 Italian climbers in PakistanAP foreign, Thursday July 24 2008 By MUNIR AHMAD
Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - A high-altitude rescue helicopter safely plucked two stranded Italian climbers from one of the world's highest mountains on Thursday, officials said.
Mountaineers Walter Nones and Simon Kehrer were in good condition after being stranded some 21,600 feet up on Nanga Parbat Mountain, said Rashid Ahmad, a representative of a local tour company that supported the Italians' expedition. The men were being transported to the region's main town of Gilgit.
``As far as my information is concerned, they are in a good condition and they don't need any immediate medical care,'' Ahmad told The Associated Press.
Nones and Kehrer had been struggling to descend from the 26,810-foot mountain since July 16, when fellow climber Karl Unterkircher fell to his death in a crevasse.
Organizers of the Himalayan climb in Italy said that two helicopters reached the climbers at 18,700 feet; thin air makes it risky for helicopters to fly above 19,685 feet.
Nones and Kehrer used skis ``to accelerate'' the descent to reach the helicopter, Steffanoni said.
One of the choppers ferried Kehrer to a base camp before returning for Nones, who reached safety 20 minutes later, Francesca Steffanoni said.
Organizers monitoring the progress waited for confirmation that the rescue had succeeded.
``We exploded in shouts of joy,'' Sara Sottocornola said.
The mountaineers may stay for a day or two in Gilgit before leaving for Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, Ahmad said.
Nanga Parbat is the world's ninth-highest peak, and in the Urdu-language it means ``Naked Mountain.'' It is also known as ``Killer Mountain'' because many climbers have died while trying scale it.
Northern Pakistan's spectacular mountains, including the world's second-highest, K-2, are popular with international climbers.
In August 2005, a Pakistani army helicopter rescued a Slovene mountaineer, Tomaz Humar, after he was stranded for a week on Nanga Parbat from a height of 22,000 feet. The army described it as one of the highest rescue missions ever. Slovenia presented the two army pilots with the country's highest award for bravery
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7675053
Helicopter rescues 2 Italian climbers in PakistanAP foreign, Thursday July 24 2008 By MUNIR AHMAD
Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - A high-altitude rescue helicopter safely plucked two stranded Italian climbers from one of the world's highest mountains on Thursday, officials said.
Mountaineers Walter Nones and Simon Kehrer were in good condition after being stranded some 21,600 feet up on Nanga Parbat Mountain, said Rashid Ahmad, a representative of a local tour company that supported the Italians' expedition. The men were being transported to the region's main town of Gilgit.
``As far as my information is concerned, they are in a good condition and they don't need any immediate medical care,'' Ahmad told The Associated Press.
Nones and Kehrer had been struggling to descend from the 26,810-foot mountain since July 16, when fellow climber Karl Unterkircher fell to his death in a crevasse.
Organizers of the Himalayan climb in Italy said that two helicopters reached the climbers at 18,700 feet; thin air makes it risky for helicopters to fly above 19,685 feet.
Nones and Kehrer used skis ``to accelerate'' the descent to reach the helicopter, Steffanoni said.
One of the choppers ferried Kehrer to a base camp before returning for Nones, who reached safety 20 minutes later, Francesca Steffanoni said.
Organizers monitoring the progress waited for confirmation that the rescue had succeeded.
``We exploded in shouts of joy,'' Sara Sottocornola said.
The mountaineers may stay for a day or two in Gilgit before leaving for Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, Ahmad said.
Nanga Parbat is the world's ninth-highest peak, and in the Urdu-language it means ``Naked Mountain.'' It is also known as ``Killer Mountain'' because many climbers have died while trying scale it.
Northern Pakistan's spectacular mountains, including the world's second-highest, K-2, are popular with international climbers.
In August 2005, a Pakistani army helicopter rescued a Slovene mountaineer, Tomaz Humar, after he was stranded for a week on Nanga Parbat from a height of 22,000 feet. The army described it as one of the highest rescue missions ever. Slovenia presented the two army pilots with the country's highest award for bravery
QUOTE(Pikes @ Jul 27 2008, 06:21 AM) 
No one reports such news. not even our own electronic Media....
It was repoted in the Dawn buddy.
In-fact Dawn has reported such stories always, all here on Dawn Search http://www.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-8...s&sa=Search
Well done Pakistan Army pilots.
why they have to screw up with nanga perbat. leave that mountain alone. its not mount everest where people can just get there. Compare to nanga perbat, mountain everest is a joke.
Rod stewart new song
"Leave nanga perbat alone"
hehehehehehehe
Rod stewart new song
"Leave nanga perbat alone"
hehehehehehehe
Mashallah and Kudos to our pilots be their airforce or army aviation... it means we still got hope for this country! I pray our nation is rescued the same way by an able leader as these pilots have rescued the Italians.
Wah Ji Wah
They done it yet again....Keep doing it men your efforts will bring more people in Pakistan.
They done it yet again....Keep doing it men your efforts will bring more people in Pakistan.
Khaleej Times and all other reported on July 26 or 27.
It was in Dawns breaking news on July 24th, and actual release on July 25th http://dawn.com/2008/07/25/nat3.htm
Italian climbers plucked from ‘killer peak’
GILGIT, July 24: Two Italian mountaineers stranded for 10 days on one of the world’s deadliest peaks in northern Pakistan were rescued on Thursday, army rescuers said.
The climbers — Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones — had been stranded on Nanga Parbat, also known as the Killer Mountain, since July 15 when their colleague, Karl Unterkircher, fell into a crevasse and died.
“The weather had been bad but we have successfully rescued them after they descended to about 19,000 feet today,” army pilot Lt-Col Moinuddin told Reuters shortly after he airlifted the pair in his helicopter to the northern town of Gilgit.
“They are safe and physically fine,” he said.
Rashid Ahmad, a representative of the tour company that supported the Italians’ expedition, confirmed that the two were fine. “As far as my information is concerned, they are in a good condition and they don’t need any immediate medical care,” Ahmad said.
Everest-K2-CNR, the group in Italy that organised the Himalayan climb, said the two helicopters reached the climbers at 18,700 feet. Thin air makes it risky for helicopters to fly above 19,685 feet.
One of the choppers ferried Kehrer to a base camp at 14,435 feet before returning for Nones, who reached safety 20 minutes later, said Francesca Steffanoni of the Everest-K2-CNR.
Organisers monitoring progress from offices in the northern city of Bergamo waited for confirmation that the rescue had succeeded. “We exploded in shouts of joy,” said Sara Sottocornola, one of the organisers with the group.
Ahmad said the mountaineers might stay for a day or two in Gilgit before leaving for Islamabad.—Agencies
It was in Dawns breaking news on July 24th, and actual release on July 25th http://dawn.com/2008/07/25/nat3.htm
Italian climbers plucked from ‘killer peak’
GILGIT, July 24: Two Italian mountaineers stranded for 10 days on one of the world’s deadliest peaks in northern Pakistan were rescued on Thursday, army rescuers said.
The climbers — Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones — had been stranded on Nanga Parbat, also known as the Killer Mountain, since July 15 when their colleague, Karl Unterkircher, fell into a crevasse and died.
“The weather had been bad but we have successfully rescued them after they descended to about 19,000 feet today,” army pilot Lt-Col Moinuddin told Reuters shortly after he airlifted the pair in his helicopter to the northern town of Gilgit.
“They are safe and physically fine,” he said.
Rashid Ahmad, a representative of the tour company that supported the Italians’ expedition, confirmed that the two were fine. “As far as my information is concerned, they are in a good condition and they don’t need any immediate medical care,” Ahmad said.
Everest-K2-CNR, the group in Italy that organised the Himalayan climb, said the two helicopters reached the climbers at 18,700 feet. Thin air makes it risky for helicopters to fly above 19,685 feet.
One of the choppers ferried Kehrer to a base camp at 14,435 feet before returning for Nones, who reached safety 20 minutes later, said Francesca Steffanoni of the Everest-K2-CNR.
Organisers monitoring progress from offices in the northern city of Bergamo waited for confirmation that the rescue had succeeded. “We exploded in shouts of joy,” said Sara Sottocornola, one of the organisers with the group.
Ahmad said the mountaineers might stay for a day or two in Gilgit before leaving for Islamabad.—Agencies
FIRST OF ALL I CONGRATULATE THEM. THEY ARE THE BEST AND BRAVEST PILOTS THE WORLD HAS EVER WITNESS.
QUOTE(sobank @ Jul 28 2008, 07:16 AM)
why they have to screw up with nanga perbat. leave that mountain alone. its not mount everest where people can just get there. Compare to nanga perbat, mountain everest is a joke.
Rod stewart new song
"Leave nanga perbat alone"
hehehehehehehe
Rod stewart new song
"Leave nanga perbat alone"
hehehehehehehe
I totally agree, world should leave some places untouched, the way it is.
But all hats off to Pakistani Pilot to do this daring mission and save 2 lives, I guess the Sakuno one get by saving a person’s life us incomparable. They will hold there head high and so will there families. God bless this individuals.
goes to show where GEO/ARY etc. etc. are stand when it comes to giving airtime to national heros.
They are all hiding up Ganja's behind
They are all hiding up Ganja's behind
Our media is full of sh*t, had the same happened in India, their media would patriotically champion their hero’s.
Well done to our brave pilots and I hope our Italian friends are doing well.
Well done to our brave pilots and I hope our Italian friends are doing well.
QUOTE(waz @ Jul 29 2008, 02:11 PM)
Our media is full of sh*t, had the same happened in India, their media would patriotically champion their hero’s.
Well done to our brave pilots and I hope our Italian friends are doing well.
Well done to our brave pilots and I hope our Italian friends are doing well.
And who do you think is going to folk out the bill for this......the desperate Pakistani people.
I don't think you realise how much money one of these rescues can take.
QUOTE(England @ Jul 29 2008, 05:28 PM)
And who do you think is going to folk out the bill for this......the desperate Pakistani people.
I don't think you realise how much money one of these rescues can take.
I don't think you realise how much money one of these rescues can take.
Bro yes I do know how much money such rescues take but what on earth has that got to do with highlighting this achievement?
Unless you’re suggesting, that the climbers were there for their own leisurely pursuits so hence we should have left them, because our people are in desperate times. But leaving them to freeze to death, when we are fully capable of rescuing them, would be unjust both in terms of faith and would caste us in a bad light. I'm pretty sure the money saved, had this operation not went ahead would have been squandered by the administration, with the common man seeing none of it.
I bet one of the regular trips our present government takes to London, to discuss Pakistani issues costs more and they don’t save any lives.
QUOTE(waz @ Jul 29 2008, 02:11 PM)
Our media is full of sh*t, had the same happened in India, their media would patriotically champion their hero’s.
Well done to our brave pilots and I hope our Italian friends are doing well.
And who do you think is going to folk out the bill for this......the desperate Pakistani people.
I don't think you realise how much money one of these rescues can take.
I would say 4 tanks full for helo fuel, making 3 sorties from the base camp !
+ 20hours each of 4 pilots & 20 hours more for 4 technicians + support 4 supporting aviation radar operators !
But as Waz has mentioned it would not even be 1/10 of the expense of :-
I bet one of the regular trips our present government takes to London, to discuss Pakistani issues costs more and they don’t save any lives.
You seem to forget the enourmous experience which our pilots, operators & ground staff has acquired from this testing rescue expedition.
Foreign climbers are our guests and in our religion & tradation it is where we should given our own food to our guests if they are hungry.
Well done Pakistan for arranging the rescue expedition & Well done to our personnel to keep our heads high.
Our media is full of sh*t, had the same happened in India, their media would patriotically champion their hero’s.
Well done to our brave pilots and I hope our Italian friends are doing well.
And who do you think is going to folk out the bill for this......the desperate Pakistani people.
I don't think you realise how much money one of these rescues can take.
I would say 4 tanks full for helo fuel, making 3 sorties from the base camp !
+ 20hours each of 4 pilots & 20 hours more for 4 technicians + support 4 supporting aviation radar operators !
But as Waz has mentioned it would not even be 1/10 of the expense of :-
I bet one of the regular trips our present government takes to London, to discuss Pakistani issues costs more and they don’t save any lives.
You seem to forget the enourmous experience which our pilots, operators & ground staff has acquired from this testing rescue expedition.
Foreign climbers are our guests and in our religion & tradation it is where we should given our own food to our guests if they are hungry.
Well done Pakistan for arranging the rescue expedition & Well done to our personnel to keep our heads high.
And who says lightning doesn't strike twice ?
Just heard the daring and dashing Pakistan Army Aviation boys have rescued two stranded frost bitten climbers from the K-2 mountain.
As they say.............No challenge is too great!!!!
Just heard the daring and dashing Pakistan Army Aviation boys have rescued two stranded frost bitten climbers from the K-2 mountain.
As they say.............No challenge is too great!!!!
QUOTE(SUNNY92 @ Aug 4 2008, 10:20 AM)
As they say.............No challenge is too great!!!!
Yep, they tried to rescue the third but couldn't land (weather).
They communicated with him, dropped off supplies, and will attempt his rescue later.
Helicopters save climbers after K2 disaster http://dawn.com/2008/08/04/welcome.htm
I am starting to fear the lives of our brave pilots .. It seems they are flying too many sorties of such dangerous type !
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Pakistan/10234356.html
Helicopters rescue two Dutch climbers from K-2; 11 others feared dead
AP
Published: August 04, 2008, 17:58
Islambad: A helicopter plucked two frostbitten Dutch climbers from K-2 on Monday after an avalanche and exposure left at least 11 people missing and believed dead on the world's second-highest mountain.
One of the rescued men, Wilco Van Rooijen, blamed mistakes in preparation for the final ascent, not just the avalanche, for one of mountaineering's worst disasters as a stranded Italian climber struggled to descend low enough to reach rescuers.
K-2, which lies near Pakistan's northern border with China, is regarded by mountaineers as more challenging to conquer than Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. K-2 is steeper, rockier and more prone to sudden, severe weather.
Van Rooijen said several expeditions waited through July for good weather to scale K-2 and decided to go for the summit when winds dropped on Friday. In all, about two dozen climbers made the ascent, officials said.
The Ministry of Tourism released a list of 11 climbers believed dead: three South Koreans, two Nepalis, two Pakistanis and mountaineers from France, Ireland, Serbia and Norway.
It was not clear how they all died. At least two fell on their way up the mountain, before the avalanche.
Shahzad Qaiser, a top official at the ministry, said on Monday that all climbers who had been caught on K-2 during the avalanche were accounted for.
On Monday morning, a helicopter brought Van Rooijen and Dutch colleague Cas Van de Gevel from K-2's base camp to a military hospital in Skardu, said Maj. Farooq Firoz, an army spokesman.
The Italian climber, Marco Confortola, was still struggling down the mountain on Monday afternoon, still too high for a helicopter rescue, Firoz said.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Pakistan/10234356.html
Helicopters rescue two Dutch climbers from K-2; 11 others feared dead
AP
Published: August 04, 2008, 17:58
Islambad: A helicopter plucked two frostbitten Dutch climbers from K-2 on Monday after an avalanche and exposure left at least 11 people missing and believed dead on the world's second-highest mountain.
One of the rescued men, Wilco Van Rooijen, blamed mistakes in preparation for the final ascent, not just the avalanche, for one of mountaineering's worst disasters as a stranded Italian climber struggled to descend low enough to reach rescuers.
K-2, which lies near Pakistan's northern border with China, is regarded by mountaineers as more challenging to conquer than Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. K-2 is steeper, rockier and more prone to sudden, severe weather.
Van Rooijen said several expeditions waited through July for good weather to scale K-2 and decided to go for the summit when winds dropped on Friday. In all, about two dozen climbers made the ascent, officials said.
The Ministry of Tourism released a list of 11 climbers believed dead: three South Koreans, two Nepalis, two Pakistanis and mountaineers from France, Ireland, Serbia and Norway.
It was not clear how they all died. At least two fell on their way up the mountain, before the avalanche.
Shahzad Qaiser, a top official at the ministry, said on Monday that all climbers who had been caught on K-2 during the avalanche were accounted for.
On Monday morning, a helicopter brought Van Rooijen and Dutch colleague Cas Van de Gevel from K-2's base camp to a military hospital in Skardu, said Maj. Farooq Firoz, an army spokesman.
The Italian climber, Marco Confortola, was still struggling down the mountain on Monday afternoon, still too high for a helicopter rescue, Firoz said.
Army helicopters rescue two climbers after worst K2 disaster
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
GILGIT: Pakistani Army helicopters airlifted two frostbitten Dutch climbers from K2 on Monday after a catastrophic avalanche on the world's second highest peak killed 11 mountaineers, officials said.
An attempt to evacuate an Italian climber stranded on the 8,611-metre (28,251-foot) Himalayan summit, regarded as far more dangerous to scale than Mount Everest, was postponed after a storm grounded the choppers. The accident is believed to be the deadliest single incident on K2.
"Two Dutch climbers were brought by our people and their colleagues down to base camp from an altitude of 7,300 metres overnight," Army officer Captain Azimullah Beg told AFP by satellite telephone from K2 base camp.
"They were then picked up by Army helicopter from base camp this morning and have now been shifted to hospital for treatment for severe frostbite," said Beg, identifying the climbers as Wilco Van Rooijen and Las van de Gevel.
A team of four Pakistani rescuers was bringing Italian Marco Confortola down to the 5,200-metre base camp, Pakistani mountain guide Sultan Alam said, adding that the climber could not walk because of frostbite in his leg.
A helicopter made contact with Confortola earlier but was unable to rescue him, and the choppers have now been grounded because of a dust storm in Skardu, where they are based, an aviation firm said.
"Our helicopters are on standby but chances are slim for a rescue operation today. It is likely that the Italian will now be rescued tomorrow," Colonel Ilyas Mirza, of army-backed Askari Aviation, told AFP.
The two Dutchmen and the Italian were "badly affected" by frostbite "and it appears that at least one of them would have his hand and leg chopped off. This is what our high altitude doctors believe," Alam said.
The disaster happened when a pillar of ice broke away in a steep gully known as the Bottleneck near the summit and swept away fixed lines used by the mountaineers as they made their descent on Friday. "At least 11 climbers have died. This is one of the worst incidents in the history of K2 climbing," Alam said.
An Austrian climber at K2 base camp said he was aware of 12 deaths resulting from Friday's avalanche, although the figure was not confirmed by Pakistani officials.
"The mood at the camp is obviously very low," Christian Stangl was quoted as saying by Austria's APA news agency. "Every expedition has lost at least one or two people." A Swedish climber who survived said there were too many inexperienced climbers on the mountain, widely acknowledged as much harder to climb than Everest despite being a few hundred metres shorter. "The accident could have been prevented. These mountains lure out way too inexperienced and naive people," Fredrik Straeng, told the Swedish news agency TT, also putting the death toll at 11.
He said a large number of climbers decided to leave their camp at just over 7,000 metres before disaster struck to try to reach the summit after the skies cleared following a long period of poor weather.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=128168
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
GILGIT: Pakistani Army helicopters airlifted two frostbitten Dutch climbers from K2 on Monday after a catastrophic avalanche on the world's second highest peak killed 11 mountaineers, officials said.
An attempt to evacuate an Italian climber stranded on the 8,611-metre (28,251-foot) Himalayan summit, regarded as far more dangerous to scale than Mount Everest, was postponed after a storm grounded the choppers. The accident is believed to be the deadliest single incident on K2.
"Two Dutch climbers were brought by our people and their colleagues down to base camp from an altitude of 7,300 metres overnight," Army officer Captain Azimullah Beg told AFP by satellite telephone from K2 base camp.
"They were then picked up by Army helicopter from base camp this morning and have now been shifted to hospital for treatment for severe frostbite," said Beg, identifying the climbers as Wilco Van Rooijen and Las van de Gevel.
A team of four Pakistani rescuers was bringing Italian Marco Confortola down to the 5,200-metre base camp, Pakistani mountain guide Sultan Alam said, adding that the climber could not walk because of frostbite in his leg.
A helicopter made contact with Confortola earlier but was unable to rescue him, and the choppers have now been grounded because of a dust storm in Skardu, where they are based, an aviation firm said.
"Our helicopters are on standby but chances are slim for a rescue operation today. It is likely that the Italian will now be rescued tomorrow," Colonel Ilyas Mirza, of army-backed Askari Aviation, told AFP.
The two Dutchmen and the Italian were "badly affected" by frostbite "and it appears that at least one of them would have his hand and leg chopped off. This is what our high altitude doctors believe," Alam said.
The disaster happened when a pillar of ice broke away in a steep gully known as the Bottleneck near the summit and swept away fixed lines used by the mountaineers as they made their descent on Friday. "At least 11 climbers have died. This is one of the worst incidents in the history of K2 climbing," Alam said.
An Austrian climber at K2 base camp said he was aware of 12 deaths resulting from Friday's avalanche, although the figure was not confirmed by Pakistani officials.
"The mood at the camp is obviously very low," Christian Stangl was quoted as saying by Austria's APA news agency. "Every expedition has lost at least one or two people." A Swedish climber who survived said there were too many inexperienced climbers on the mountain, widely acknowledged as much harder to climb than Everest despite being a few hundred metres shorter. "The accident could have been prevented. These mountains lure out way too inexperienced and naive people," Fredrik Straeng, told the Swedish news agency TT, also putting the death toll at 11.
He said a large number of climbers decided to leave their camp at just over 7,000 metres before disaster struck to try to reach the summit after the skies cleared following a long period of poor weather.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=128168
An attempt to evacuate an Italian climber stranded on the 8,611-metre (28,251-foot) Himalayan summit, regarded as far more dangerous to scale than Mount Everest, was postponed after a storm grounded the choppers. The accident is believed to be the deadliest single incident on K2.
28,251ft .. now that's mighty high !!!
http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=51199
italy’s mountaineer remains stranded at Karakoram
Updated at: 1245 PST, Tuesday, August 05, 2008
KARAKORAM: An Italian mountaineer was still stranded after the tragic incident, at the world’s second highest peak, K-2 in northern Pakistan.
Rescue operations were halted by storms around K2 and Marco Confortalo was not transferred to a safe place. Italy’s Confortalo was saved by the mountains guides, however, he remained stranded at the place because of the weather.
According to Askari Aviation, stormy weather didn’t allow them to shift the Confortalo to a safe area.
Spokesman of Italy’s embassy has also confirmed it.
28,251ft .. now that's mighty high !!!
http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=51199
italy’s mountaineer remains stranded at Karakoram
Updated at: 1245 PST, Tuesday, August 05, 2008
KARAKORAM: An Italian mountaineer was still stranded after the tragic incident, at the world’s second highest peak, K-2 in northern Pakistan.
Rescue operations were halted by storms around K2 and Marco Confortalo was not transferred to a safe place. Italy’s Confortalo was saved by the mountains guides, however, he remained stranded at the place because of the weather.
According to Askari Aviation, stormy weather didn’t allow them to shift the Confortalo to a safe area.
Spokesman of Italy’s embassy has also confirmed it.
http://dawn.com/2008/08/06/top10.htm
August 06, 2008 Wednesday Sha’aban 3, 1429
Last survivor of K2 disaster reaches base camp
ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: After a painful descent on frostbitten feet, the last survivor of the mountaineering disaster that killed 11 climbers on K2 reached base camp on Tuesday as cloud and snow prevented a helicopter rescue.
Italian Marco Confortola was stranded on the world’s second highest peak after an ice fall nearly four days ago.
“I am happy to be alive,” Confortola told the Everest-K2-CNR, an Italy-based high-altitude scientific research group, during a phone call from the camp where he was treated by an American doctor.
Group spokeswoman Francesca Steffanoni said the mountaineer was reported to be in good condition, despite his frostbitten toes. No helicopter pick-up has been scheduled so far as it is snowing, Steffanoni said.
Two Pakistani choppers have been on standby at the nearest town of Skardu since Monday, but grounded because of the poor conditions. The base camp lies at just above 16,400 feet, considerably below the threshold at which they are able to fly safely.“He (Confortola) is out of danger. He will stay at the base camp for a night, and the army’s pilots will fly helicopters on Wednesday morning to rescue him if the weather has improved there,” Pakistan tourism ministry official Shaukat Zaman said.
Confortola had managed to descend to a camp at 19,000 feet on Monday, helped by three others, including an American climber. The Italian took food, fluids and oxygen, and then continued his climb down K2 on Tuesday.
Agostino Da Polenza of the Everest-K2-CNR group quoted Confortola as telling him he was feeling well but feeling pain in his lower limbs.
On Monday, helicopters plucked two frostbitten Dutch climbers from base camp. All of the up to 30 climbers who started the ascent of K2 on Friday are now accounted for.
Pakistan has listed 11 climbers missing and believed dead: three South Koreans, two Nepalis and two Pakistanis besides mountaineers from France, Ireland, Serbia and Norway.
The 28,250-foot peak lies near Pakistan’s northern border with China. It is regarded by mountaineers as more challenging to conquer than Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.
K2 is steeper, rockier and more prone to sudden, severe weather.—AP
August 06, 2008 Wednesday Sha’aban 3, 1429
Last survivor of K2 disaster reaches base camp
ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: After a painful descent on frostbitten feet, the last survivor of the mountaineering disaster that killed 11 climbers on K2 reached base camp on Tuesday as cloud and snow prevented a helicopter rescue.
Italian Marco Confortola was stranded on the world’s second highest peak after an ice fall nearly four days ago.
“I am happy to be alive,” Confortola told the Everest-K2-CNR, an Italy-based high-altitude scientific research group, during a phone call from the camp where he was treated by an American doctor.
Group spokeswoman Francesca Steffanoni said the mountaineer was reported to be in good condition, despite his frostbitten toes. No helicopter pick-up has been scheduled so far as it is snowing, Steffanoni said.
Two Pakistani choppers have been on standby at the nearest town of Skardu since Monday, but grounded because of the poor conditions. The base camp lies at just above 16,400 feet, considerably below the threshold at which they are able to fly safely.“He (Confortola) is out of danger. He will stay at the base camp for a night, and the army’s pilots will fly helicopters on Wednesday morning to rescue him if the weather has improved there,” Pakistan tourism ministry official Shaukat Zaman said.
Confortola had managed to descend to a camp at 19,000 feet on Monday, helped by three others, including an American climber. The Italian took food, fluids and oxygen, and then continued his climb down K2 on Tuesday.
Agostino Da Polenza of the Everest-K2-CNR group quoted Confortola as telling him he was feeling well but feeling pain in his lower limbs.
On Monday, helicopters plucked two frostbitten Dutch climbers from base camp. All of the up to 30 climbers who started the ascent of K2 on Friday are now accounted for.
Pakistan has listed 11 climbers missing and believed dead: three South Koreans, two Nepalis and two Pakistanis besides mountaineers from France, Ireland, Serbia and Norway.
The 28,250-foot peak lies near Pakistan’s northern border with China. It is regarded by mountaineers as more challenging to conquer than Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.
K2 is steeper, rockier and more prone to sudden, severe weather.—AP
china's CCTV reported the news and it surprised me...
Pak pilots are really brave since the environment in the mountain area is so atrocious there.
Pak pilots are really brave since the environment in the mountain area is so atrocious there.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?...tinent&col=
Army chopper plucks last of K2 survivors
(AFP)
7 August 2008 Print E-mail
GILGIT - A helicopter plucked the last known survivor of a climbing disaster from the slopes of K2 on Wednesday, ending a gruelling five-day ordeal on the world’s second highest peak.
Severely frostbitten Italian mountaineer Marco Confortola was being airlifted to hospital after bad weather cleared up overnight and allowed a military chopper to come save him at a 5,200-metre (17,060-foot) camp.
“Marco has been rescued by a helicopter from the base camp this morning,” Italian embassy spokesman Oddo Sergio said.
“He is about to arrive in the town of Skardu, where he will undergo medical examination and hopefully fly to Islamabad today,” Sergio said.
An army-linked firm that operates the helicopter, Askari Aviation, confirmed that it had rescued the climber but said it had yet to return to its base in the northern city.
“Marco’s helicopter has not landed yet in Skardu. They had to stop at another place and pick up more people,” said Mohammed Akram, the vice-president of Adventure Foundation Pakistan, a leading expedition operator.
Confortola would not be able to get to the capital, however, because the last flight of the day had already left, he said.
His feet blackened by frostbite, the 37-year-old Italian hobbled into base camp on the mountain on Tuesday but had to spend the night when thick clouds around the peak grounded rescue choppers.
Two Dutch climbers were airlifted off K2 on Monday and are in a military hospital after they too surived Friday’s catastrophic ice fall near the summit of the mountain.
Three South Koreans, two Nepalese, two Pakistanis, a Serbian, an Irishman, a Norwegian and a Frenchman died in Friday’s avalanche, the worst disaster ever to happen on K2.
A pillar of ice broke away in a steep gully known as the Bottleneck near the summit, sweeping away fixed lines used by the mountaineers as they made their descent.
Confortola on Tuesday spoke of his joy at surviving the disaster.
“I am happy to be alive. I realise that they are all dead and that only three of us survived,” he told a member of his expedition team based in Italy, according to the Italian ANSA news agency.
“My hands are in a quite good state while my feet are black because they are frozen. But I have been able to walk,” he was quoted as saying by telephone to Agostino Da Polenza, who coordinated the rescue with Pakistani authorities.
Army chopper plucks last of K2 survivors
(AFP)
7 August 2008 Print E-mail
GILGIT - A helicopter plucked the last known survivor of a climbing disaster from the slopes of K2 on Wednesday, ending a gruelling five-day ordeal on the world’s second highest peak.
Severely frostbitten Italian mountaineer Marco Confortola was being airlifted to hospital after bad weather cleared up overnight and allowed a military chopper to come save him at a 5,200-metre (17,060-foot) camp.
“Marco has been rescued by a helicopter from the base camp this morning,” Italian embassy spokesman Oddo Sergio said.
“He is about to arrive in the town of Skardu, where he will undergo medical examination and hopefully fly to Islamabad today,” Sergio said.
An army-linked firm that operates the helicopter, Askari Aviation, confirmed that it had rescued the climber but said it had yet to return to its base in the northern city.
“Marco’s helicopter has not landed yet in Skardu. They had to stop at another place and pick up more people,” said Mohammed Akram, the vice-president of Adventure Foundation Pakistan, a leading expedition operator.
Confortola would not be able to get to the capital, however, because the last flight of the day had already left, he said.
His feet blackened by frostbite, the 37-year-old Italian hobbled into base camp on the mountain on Tuesday but had to spend the night when thick clouds around the peak grounded rescue choppers.
Two Dutch climbers were airlifted off K2 on Monday and are in a military hospital after they too surived Friday’s catastrophic ice fall near the summit of the mountain.
Three South Koreans, two Nepalese, two Pakistanis, a Serbian, an Irishman, a Norwegian and a Frenchman died in Friday’s avalanche, the worst disaster ever to happen on K2.
A pillar of ice broke away in a steep gully known as the Bottleneck near the summit, sweeping away fixed lines used by the mountaineers as they made their descent.
Confortola on Tuesday spoke of his joy at surviving the disaster.
“I am happy to be alive. I realise that they are all dead and that only three of us survived,” he told a member of his expedition team based in Italy, according to the Italian ANSA news agency.
“My hands are in a quite good state while my feet are black because they are frozen. But I have been able to walk,” he was quoted as saying by telephone to Agostino Da Polenza, who coordinated the rescue with Pakistani authorities.
Just to show what rescue effort means to go above 10,000 ft ... let alone 22,000 ft !
http://www.policeone.com/SWAT/articles/520...copter-Crashes/
Disaster on Mt. Hood; Climbers Die in Crevasse, Rescue Helicopter Crashes
Higher Altitude Elevated Risk for Copter
by Ray Rivera, The Seattle Times
Above 10,000 feet, the controls feel mushy, engine power fades and the rotors lose lift in the thinning air — making high-mountain evacuations among the most dangerous peacetime missions for military helicopter pilots.
Blinding white slopes only add to the danger.
"When you're against snow like that, it's very difficult to find a hover reference," said Lt. Col. Chuck Foster, director of Alaska Rescue Coordination Center and a veteran HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter pilot, the same kind of craft that went out of control and crashed on Mount Hood during a rescue operation yesterday.
"Hovering that craft is not an automatic thing, it takes a lot of skill, and without a fixed object to reference, it's hard to hover in one spot," said Foster.
Investigators are still determining what caused the Pave Hawk to go down yesterday.
Peter Leas, a former climbing guide who witnessed the crash while assisting in the rescue, said the pilot told him the wind, blowing at 40 mph, changed directions, causing a loss of power. The pilot, later identified by the Air Force as Capt. Kelvin Scribner, told Leas he then tried to push the chopper away from the rescue scene to minimize injuries on the ground.
One member of the six-person Air Force Reserve crew, Staff Sgt. Martin M. Mills, was in serious condition with a broken wrist and internal injuries at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.
The others were taken to the hospital with more minor injuries. Three were treated and released, according to a nursing supervisor.
The helicopter, assigned to the Air Force Reserve's 939th Rescue Wing out of Portland, was rescuing critically injured climbers who had fallen into a crevasse near the summit of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest mountain at 11,237 feet.
The crew carried two of the climbers down the mountainside to a staging area near historic Timberline Lodge, where they were transferred to Oregon National Guard Black Hawk helicopters for the final leg to a Portland hospital.
But as the crew was trying to get into position to pick up a third climber, the craft appeared to lose control and nosed into the mountain, its rotor splintering into pieces. The helicopter tumbled down the snowy slope, stopping when it struck a snow bank at the base of a huge outcropping called Crater Rock.
Built for combat, the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter is also the Air Force's premier search-and-rescue craft — performing dozens of air and sea rescues every year.
A highly modified version of the Army Black Hawk helicopter, the Pave Hawk is built to fly in all weather and is known as a comfortable, easy craft to operate.
But at 10,000 feet, an altimeter warning goes on in the cockpit, and performance begins to drop off. The highest rescue operation for the Pave Hawk was 14,500 feet at Alaska's Mount McKinley. Operations at higher altitudes require sturdier helicopters such as the SA-315 Llama, which has plucked people off McKinley at 19,500 feet.
"The HH-60 is a very good helicopter, no question about it," said Foster, who has been involved in dozens of McKinley rescues. "But at higher altitudes, because the air is thinner, you have less power available. The engines breathe air, so taking air away from it is like taking fuel away. And then you have a double whammy because the rotors become less effective because the air is less dense, and you don't get the same lift."
The result, he said, is "things move a little slower. You accelerate slower, you slow down slower."
That means less time to react to changing conditions, such as the wind shift indicated by the pilot in yesterday's crash.
"If you're operating with a reduced margin of performance, your options are also reduced. These are all things that might have come into play," said Foster, a member of the Alaska Air National Guard.
Pilots prepare for this drop in power with months of high-altitude training at the Air Force rescue school at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M.
Foster declined to speculate on possible causes of yesterday's crash. He watched in dismay yesterday as news coverage broadcast the crash over and over.
"It was dramatic footage," Foster said. "That must have been quite a ride."
According to the Air Force Safety Center in Albuquerque, there have been nine crashes and 34 fatalities since the craft was introduced in 1982. The last fatalities came in 1998, when two Pave Hawks collided during rescue training in Nevada; 12 died.
Two years ago, a Black Hawk helicopter crash landed at the 11,300-foot level of Mount Shasta in Northern California while searching for a missing hiker. None of the seven people on board was seriously injured.
Still, helicopters rarely go down during high-mountain rescues, said Dave Kreutzer, manager of aviation rescues at Mount McKinley, where about a dozen air rescues occur each year.
"Mountain rescues are out of the realm of normal flying," Kreutzer said. "You're throwing in wind, you have different mountain conditions and then performance drops off. But most of the time you have experienced crews used to that kind of flying."
The 939th is scheduled to be transferred this fall from Portland International Airport to an Air Force Base in Florida. The Rescue Wing will be replaced by an aerial refueling squadron, a move opposed by Oregon officials and the Pacific Northwest congressional delegation.
In addition to mountain rescues in the Northwest, the 939th often is called to sea to pull injured sailors off ships.
U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., said the Northwest delegation argued that mountain rescues need a quick response, and the 939th is located in a perfect spot. Without them, rescues would have to be handled by cash-strapped local agencies.
"These choppers and crews are scarce and tremendously valuable commodities," Baird said.
http://www.policeone.com/SWAT/articles/520...copter-Crashes/
Disaster on Mt. Hood; Climbers Die in Crevasse, Rescue Helicopter Crashes
Higher Altitude Elevated Risk for Copter
by Ray Rivera, The Seattle Times
Above 10,000 feet, the controls feel mushy, engine power fades and the rotors lose lift in the thinning air — making high-mountain evacuations among the most dangerous peacetime missions for military helicopter pilots.
Blinding white slopes only add to the danger.
"When you're against snow like that, it's very difficult to find a hover reference," said Lt. Col. Chuck Foster, director of Alaska Rescue Coordination Center and a veteran HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter pilot, the same kind of craft that went out of control and crashed on Mount Hood during a rescue operation yesterday.
"Hovering that craft is not an automatic thing, it takes a lot of skill, and without a fixed object to reference, it's hard to hover in one spot," said Foster.
Investigators are still determining what caused the Pave Hawk to go down yesterday.
Peter Leas, a former climbing guide who witnessed the crash while assisting in the rescue, said the pilot told him the wind, blowing at 40 mph, changed directions, causing a loss of power. The pilot, later identified by the Air Force as Capt. Kelvin Scribner, told Leas he then tried to push the chopper away from the rescue scene to minimize injuries on the ground.
One member of the six-person Air Force Reserve crew, Staff Sgt. Martin M. Mills, was in serious condition with a broken wrist and internal injuries at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.
The others were taken to the hospital with more minor injuries. Three were treated and released, according to a nursing supervisor.
The helicopter, assigned to the Air Force Reserve's 939th Rescue Wing out of Portland, was rescuing critically injured climbers who had fallen into a crevasse near the summit of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest mountain at 11,237 feet.
The crew carried two of the climbers down the mountainside to a staging area near historic Timberline Lodge, where they were transferred to Oregon National Guard Black Hawk helicopters for the final leg to a Portland hospital.
But as the crew was trying to get into position to pick up a third climber, the craft appeared to lose control and nosed into the mountain, its rotor splintering into pieces. The helicopter tumbled down the snowy slope, stopping when it struck a snow bank at the base of a huge outcropping called Crater Rock.
Built for combat, the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter is also the Air Force's premier search-and-rescue craft — performing dozens of air and sea rescues every year.
A highly modified version of the Army Black Hawk helicopter, the Pave Hawk is built to fly in all weather and is known as a comfortable, easy craft to operate.
But at 10,000 feet, an altimeter warning goes on in the cockpit, and performance begins to drop off. The highest rescue operation for the Pave Hawk was 14,500 feet at Alaska's Mount McKinley. Operations at higher altitudes require sturdier helicopters such as the SA-315 Llama, which has plucked people off McKinley at 19,500 feet.
"The HH-60 is a very good helicopter, no question about it," said Foster, who has been involved in dozens of McKinley rescues. "But at higher altitudes, because the air is thinner, you have less power available. The engines breathe air, so taking air away from it is like taking fuel away. And then you have a double whammy because the rotors become less effective because the air is less dense, and you don't get the same lift."
The result, he said, is "things move a little slower. You accelerate slower, you slow down slower."
That means less time to react to changing conditions, such as the wind shift indicated by the pilot in yesterday's crash.
"If you're operating with a reduced margin of performance, your options are also reduced. These are all things that might have come into play," said Foster, a member of the Alaska Air National Guard.
Pilots prepare for this drop in power with months of high-altitude training at the Air Force rescue school at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M.
Foster declined to speculate on possible causes of yesterday's crash. He watched in dismay yesterday as news coverage broadcast the crash over and over.
"It was dramatic footage," Foster said. "That must have been quite a ride."
According to the Air Force Safety Center in Albuquerque, there have been nine crashes and 34 fatalities since the craft was introduced in 1982. The last fatalities came in 1998, when two Pave Hawks collided during rescue training in Nevada; 12 died.
Two years ago, a Black Hawk helicopter crash landed at the 11,300-foot level of Mount Shasta in Northern California while searching for a missing hiker. None of the seven people on board was seriously injured.
Still, helicopters rarely go down during high-mountain rescues, said Dave Kreutzer, manager of aviation rescues at Mount McKinley, where about a dozen air rescues occur each year.
"Mountain rescues are out of the realm of normal flying," Kreutzer said. "You're throwing in wind, you have different mountain conditions and then performance drops off. But most of the time you have experienced crews used to that kind of flying."
The 939th is scheduled to be transferred this fall from Portland International Airport to an Air Force Base in Florida. The Rescue Wing will be replaced by an aerial refueling squadron, a move opposed by Oregon officials and the Pacific Northwest congressional delegation.
In addition to mountain rescues in the Northwest, the 939th often is called to sea to pull injured sailors off ships.
U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., said the Northwest delegation argued that mountain rescues need a quick response, and the 939th is located in a perfect spot. Without them, rescues would have to be handled by cash-strapped local agencies.
"These choppers and crews are scarce and tremendously valuable commodities," Baird said.
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