Translated, the 7,439-meter-high mountain on the border between Kyrgyzstan and China means “Victory Peak” in both Kyrgyz (Jengish Chokusu) and Russian (Pik Pobeda). But these days, there are no victors on Kyrgyzstan’s highest mountain.
On 11 August, Russian climbing legend Nikolai Totmyanin – winner of the Piolet d’Or award for the first ascent of the North Face of Jannu (7,710 m) in eastern Nepal in 2004, among other achievements – died at the age of 66 in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, after most likely suffering from high altitude sickness while descending from the summit of the seven-thousander. But that was only the beginning of the drama.
In the days that followed, two Iranian and one Italian climbers lost their lives on Pik Pobeda. It is highly doubtful whether a female Russian climber, who has been stranded on the summit ridge at around 7,200 meters with a broken leg for two weeks, is still alive. And even if she is, it will probably be of no use to her. According to Anna Piunova from the Russian mountaineering portal mountain.ru, the rescue operation was finally called off yesterday due to bad weather with snowfall and temperatures dropping to minus 30 degrees Celsius at night.
On 19 August, Natalya Nagovitsyna was still alive
Maryam Pilevari and Hassan Seifollah from Iran were last seen on 12 August on the summit ridge of Pik Pobeda. Since then, there has been no trace of them. Video recordings of the ridge taken by a drone on 16 and 19 August 16 also failed to provide any clues as to whether the two had fallen or what else might have happened to them.
However, the drone filmed Russian mountaineer Natalya Nagovitsyna waving from her wind-torn tent on the ridge. So on 19 August, one day before her 48th birthday, she was still alive. On 23 August, four days after this drone flight, the Russian news agency TASS quoted a source from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergency Situations as saying: “Let’s be realistic, the weather conditions will not allow rescue teams to reach Nagovitsyna this year.” Two days later, the rescue operation was over.
Slipped and broke her leg
The Russian woman was part of a four-person team that also included a Russian compatriot, a German, and Italian Luka Sinigaglia. According to Pionova, this is how the drama unfolded: On the planned summit day, August 12, the German mountaineer reached the highest point first, followed later by the two Russians. Luka, who was not feeling well, waited for the others in a snow cave at around 6,900 meters.
In the next radio message to base camp, the male Russian climber reported that he and Natalia had slipped while descending from the ridge and that, miraculously, the rope had caught on something. He was unharmed, but Natalia had broken her leg.
On the advice from base camp, the Russian secured his companion and then descended. After he arrived at the snow cave and reported the accident, the Italian and the German climbed up to Natalya. They brought her a tent, a sleeping bag, food, a stove, and gas. They took the team’s only radio with them, as the Russian woman’s position was known.
When descending from the summit of the mountain, you first have to cross the approximately six-kilometer-long West Ridge to the 6,918-meter-high West Summit, and only from there does the normal route lead steeply downhill.
Italian dies of high-altitude cerebral edema
The weather was getting worse and worse, and visibility was approaching zero. The base camp crew advised the three men to descend during the clear night. Below the pre-summit, the trio was forced to dig another snow cave because Luka was showing symptoms of high altitude cerebral edema. His condition deteriorated, and the Italian died in the early evening of 15 August.
The rescue operation for the stranded climbers was ill-fated. On 16 August, a rescue helicopter landed so hard that several rescuers on board were injured.
The Russian climber finally managed to reach the plateau where the base camp is located by himself. The German mountaineer was helped down by some rescuers who had climbed up to meet him.
Husband died on the mountain in her arms
The weather remained bad. The rescuers could not get higher than 6,100 meters, and the helicopters – including one suitable for high-altitude operations with an Italian pilot – could not take off.
Finally, the authorities in Kyrgyzstan pulled the plug and ended the rescue operation. This meant that Natalya Nagovitsyna was effectively abandoned and declared dead.
The Russian woman had lost her husband on the seven-thousander Khan Tengri in 2021. After Sergei Nagovitsyn suffered a stroke at an altitude of 6,900 meters, Natalya had stayed with him against the advice of the rescue team. He had died in her arms. In a TV documentary a year later, Natalya said, “I’m not afraid to die on a summit.”
Pik Pobeda and Khan Tengri are the two northernmost seven-thousanders in the world and notorious for their weather conditions. According to media reports, more than 70 climbers have died on Pik Pobeda alone.
