A new photograph from Kyrgyzstan’s Victory Peak shows stranded Russian climber Natalia Nagovitsina, 47, bravely smiling as her broken leg is propped up using a spare tent pole
A female climber who was left stranded on a 24,000ft mountain with a broken leg is seen in a haunting new photograph released by another climber today.
Natalia Nagovitsina, 47, became stuck in brutal -28C overnight conditions after fracturing her leg whilst ascending Victory Peak in Kyrgyzstan on August 12. After a doomed rescue operation – which saw one fellow climber succumb to frostbite and a military helicopter crash into the side of the mountain – authorities called off all searches on Friday after finding “no signs of life”.
The Russian mountaineer is now presumed dead. Now, in the newly released photograph, the Russian climber can be seen bravely smiling as her fractured limb is stabilised using a spare tent pole.
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Natalia remained alive almost for at least one week after the photograph was taken. She is seen alongside Italian climber Luca Sinigaglia, who died from frostbite on his way down the mountain around 24 hours later.
On August 19, she was seen waving to a passing drone sent up by rescuers, raising hopes of her being brought down alive – but no suitable light helicopter was found to retrieve her amid poor weather conditions. Critics of the rescue strategy there may have been windows for the mission if the aircraft and crew had been in place in time.
Rescuers instead sought to climb up to her, but were driven back by the weather and an injury to the team leader. Her son Mikhail, 27, was still pleading for a new rescue attempt this week to reach her location at 22,965 ft.
Yesterday, a drone was sent up to the scene, and thermal imaging indicated that she was dead. It came as one member of the earlier mission to bring Natalia supplies said he believed Natalia was “okay” when he visited her two days after she became stranded.
German mountaineer Günter Siegmund, who also suffered frostbite alongside Mr Sinigaglia, managed to make it down the mountain and was rushed to hospital. He told how the three had slept in her tent before they descended, and “made a decision to stay for the night together with her in the tent up there”.
Describing the conditions in Natalia’s tent, he said: “Inside it was still okay. It was not fine, but it was okay.” As they climbed down they reunited with another climber, Roman Mokrinsky, but shortly after Mr Sinigaglia’s condition spiralled “completely out of control”
“The very next minute, he just died in my arms”, Mr Siegmund said. Despite the tragic death of his fellow climber, he said he had not been overly worried about Natalia, who is stuck higher up the mountain.
“At this point, for us, it was for sure Natalia was fine since we supplied her with enough food, with enough gas for several days,” he said. “Okay, this was the very first step, but I never thought, ‘Is she already in a critical condition here….?’”
The 24,406ft peak is known as one of the most difficult and dangerous on the planet, with a high fatality rate. It is the northernmost 7,000 metre‑plus peak on Earth, in a region with an exceptionally short climbing season and brutally cold weather.
Climbers encounter temperatures below –30C, relentless snowstorms, high winds, and frequent avalanches.