Two climbers who were stranded in the Himalayas have released dramatic new images showing them trapped on a ledge at 21,000 feet, visibly cold and fearing for their lives.
American climber Michelle Dvorak, 31, and her British partner Fay Manners, 37, were found hungry but alive three days after being stranded on a mountain after losing their equipment.
Shocking new footage shows them on a ledge, wondering if they will ever see their loved ones again after they got into trouble while hiking on India’s Chaukhamba Mountain.
“There are no signs of rescue and we are very cold,” Manners says in the Instagram post.
“One bag less and now it’s snowing.”
American climber Michelle Dvorak, 31, left, and her British partner Fay Manners, 37, say they never thought they would ever get off the ledge.
Brown adds: “There is no food or water.”
The falling rocks had cut a rope and sent a bag full of their survival items and technical equipment to the bottom of the valley.
“These rocks just came out from under me,” Manners said. Outside about the complicated climb.
“The next thing I knew, I looked down and the bag was gone.”
The accident left them stranded without critical items, such as a working communication device, a tent, a stove, fuel and down clothing.
Manners says he was on the verge of hypothermia and didn’t think the two could survive another night on the ledge.
They were stranded there for 48 hours without shelter, food or water. Snowfall constantly buried them.
They tried to keep warm by hugging each other.
“We were devastated,” Manners later told the outdoor sports news site.
‘At this point we haven’t eaten in two days. We are severely dehydrated. We are freezing. We have been on the wall for seven days.
On the ledge, the couple had watched in anguish as an Indian Air Force search helicopter appeared overhead.
He circled the mountain, but flew away without seeing them.
The climbers managed to send an SOS message to mountain rescue when they were at 20,350 feet.
Dvorak’s phone had enough charge to trigger a single SOS, but the battery died moments after sending the message.
Manners said he knew the couple was running out of options.
They were torn between staying put and waiting for a rescue, or risk descending without crampons, axes and other essential equipment.
“Given the incredibly complex and challenging approach, we knew it wasn’t possible,” Manners said.
‘Even if we get off the rock, how the hell are we going to operate on that terrain without our equipment?’
Still, on the third day, when it seemed that all hope of rescue had been lost, they decided to risk rappelling down the buttress.
Manners knew his chances were slim.
New photos show Michelle Dvorak, right, and Fay Manners, trapped on a ledge after losing much of their equipment.
Chaukhamba is in the Indian Himalayas, near the northern border with China.
American Michelle Dvorak, 31 (pictured), also disappeared along with Manners.
Michelle Theresa Dvorak and Manners, both experienced climbers, sent a message via pager to their liaison officer, telling him that their bag of food and vital equipment had fallen into a ravine.
“We were very dehydrated, hungry and cold,” he said.
“Our bodies were weak, and even before we lost the carrying bag we had been climbing for six days, pushing our limits.”
However, they began the descent, but at that moment fate offered them a break.
They saw four climbers from the French Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne from Chamonix.
“It was a miracle,” Manners said.
‘Perfect moment. When we got to them, they were trying to get to us too.
He added: “My heart was filled with emotion when we found out they were there to help us.”
The French team learned of the stranded climbers and was trying to rescue them. They helped them return to base camp.
They were evacuated through search efforts by the Indian Air Force (IAF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and State Disaster Management Authority.
Manners, who comes from Bedford, moved to the Alps to pursue her passion for climbing and became a professional mountaineer, sponsored by brands such as The North Face and Petzl.
He has become the first person to complete a series of complex routes across several alpine mountains.
“My ambition is to inspire women to pursue their interest in mountaineering,” their website reads.
Manners is a data consultant “by night,” according to her Instagram, which has more than 15,000 followers.
Dvorak is also an experienced climber and an assistant professor at the University of Washington.
