What was supposed to be a day of celebration and glory for the Polish alpinist Tomek Mackiewicz and the French alpinist Elisabeth Revol has turned into a scary situation: in a January 25 summit bid on Nanga Parbat (8,126 meters), during which they hoped to become the second ever team to climb the mountain in winter, the partners became stranded high on the mountain when Mackiewicz was stricken with snow blindness and frostbite. A massive rescue operation went underway.
Elisabeth Revol was rescued off Nanga Parbat by Adam Bielecki, Denis Urubko, Jarek Botor and Piotr Tomala who climbed ceaselessly throughout the night. A helicopter transported the Frenchwoman to Islamabad and she and later returned to France for medical treatment, while the four mountaineers will return to their attempt at climbing K2 in winter.
IMAGE: Nanga Parbat: Denis Urubko, Elisabeth Revol and Adam Bielecki
Photo by Adam Bielecki
