ISLAMABAD: The global mountaineering community has raised $100,000 to find two American climbers who went missing in the Karakoram mountains 10 days ago.
Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson went missing on August 22 while attempting to summit the Ogre II in the Karakoram that stands some 7,000 metres high, said Karrar Haidri, spokesperson for the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP).
“Climbers from around the world raised $100,000 in 15 hours to fund a search and rescue for the climbers. Helicopters may be chartered to fly around the mountain in search of the climbers, but not in the stormy weather. As of August 31, the efforts to locate the climbers have been limited to sending search parties on foot,” Mr Haidri said.
He added that army helicopters have not been able to conduct a single sortie because of the weather.
In the absence of proper rescue facilities in Pakistan, which is one of the most popular climbing destinations for veteran climbers, the ACP charters army helicopters for search and rescue operations which cost thousands of dollars by the hour.
Helicopters cannot be sent to search for the climbers due to stormy weather
While the summer climbing season in the Karakoram Range is over, a handful of climbers were still attempting their summits and Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson were trying to be the first to summit the Ogre II.
According to the ACP, the two climbers set out on the north face of the mountain on August 21 and planned to reach the top and descend within five days. They were last seen on Monday, August 22 by their Pakistani cook.
“[The cook] saw them halfway up the mountain Monday evening. On Tuesday, a storm rolled in and diminished the visibility in the area. There has been no sign of the two climbers since,” Mr Haidri said.
He added that on August 28, a week after the two American climbers started their ascent, their families and friends started coordinating a search and rescue operation with help from local authorities and another climbing team in the area.
Their fundraising page reads: “Please help these boys. We have also been required to transfer money for the helicopter rescue and porters on foot in search of Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson. With the unreliable weather we are in [need] of more money every day.”
Karrar Haidri knows Kyle Dempster personally and says he is one of the toughest climbers in the world.
“Dempster’s accomplishments in mountaineering are well known, including his historic accent of Ogre I in 2012 for which another climber and him earned the prestigious Piolets d’Or award for speed climbing in 2013,” Mr Haidri said, adding that Mr Dempster had also won the Golden Ice Axe in a competition for the fastest and strongest climber.
The ACP and the porters are trying to get a visual, which is hard as the mountain is covered in clouds. In most cases, a climber who is exhausted, in need for food and water or medical assistance succumbs to the extreme weather in 48 hours, he said.
“But he is one of the strongest men I know and it is possible that we will find them alive,” he said.
Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2016
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