Rescue Called Off for Woman Stranded With Broken Leg for 11 Days on Himalayan Peak
The original version of this article appeared on ExplorersWeb.
Rescue efforts for Russian climber Natalia Nagovitsyna, who has been stranded for 10 days at 7,150m on Kyrgyzstan’s Pobeda Peak with a broken leg, were called off Friday as winds intensified and snow closed in.
The four rescuers descended to Camp 1, according to Anna Piunova of Mountain.ru. They had wanted to progress up to 6,400m today and also to search for the body of Luca Sinigaglia of Italy. He died on August 16 after trying to rescue Nagovitsyna.
But bad weather had the last word, and they had to descend, ending the rescue mission. The weather also canceled a planned helicopter flight with Italian pilots. Forecasts show poor conditions through August 23–24.
Rescuers may begin a further attempt on August 25, but Nagovitsyna has already been stranded for 10 days above 7,000m, injured. Her few supplies have run out by now, and even today, there is not much hope of finding her alive.
The rescue team of Vitaly Akimov, Andrey Alipov, Sergey Krasovsky, and Andrey Novikov has been racing since August 20 to reach Nagovitsyna. The leader, Akimov, already has an injury he sustained during an early attempt to rescue Nagovitsyna on August 16, according to Elena Laletina of RussianClimb.
Inexperienced Guide
Nagovitsyna, a 47-year-old Muscovite, was a commercial client led by a guide named Roman, according to Life.ru. No one knew him at base camp, suggesting that he might have been unfamiliar with Pobeda’s deadly routes. During their descent on August 12, Nagovitsyna fell at the dangerous Black Rock section, breaking her leg while belaying Roman from above.
Friends called this situation “absurd,” arguing that a client shouldn’t belay an inexperienced guide.
“This mountain doesn’t forgive such mistakes,” said Denis Kiselev, a rescuer and instructor at the Central School of Mountaineering Instructors.
Nagovitsyna climbed despite an earlier leg fracture from a hike a year and a half ago. Her late husband, Sergey, who died of a stroke on Khan Tengri in 2021 as she stayed by his side, had warned her against Pobeda, citing its extreme physical demands. According to some sources, Luca Sinigaglia met the Russian couple at Khan Tengri in 2021, and they became friends.
Boris Dedeshko, a five-time Kazakh mountaineering champion, told KP.ru that in 2024, Nagovitsyna tried Pobeda, but her guide turned her back because she was unprepared. But a friend, Lia Popova, said she had trained hard for the Snow Leopard badge. Pobeda was her fifth 7,000m peak; she had only two left after this one.
She joined the expedition as the only woman in a mixed group. Life.ru notes Nagovitsyna’s insurance may not cover the $60,000 rescue cost, potentially leaving her 27-year-old son to cover much of the bill.
Increasing Pessimism
The Russian Mountaineering Federation issued stark warnings last week about the slim odds that Nagovitsyna can survive. The group’s vice president, Alexander Pyatnitsyn, said: “It will be almost impossible to save her,” he said. “There’s a three-kilometer-long ridge, and it takes at least 30 people in such a situation to rescue a person from there.”
Elena Laletina from RussianClimb echoed the same thoughts to ExplorersWeb: that four or even eight rescuers aren’t enough to carry out such a difficult rescue, where Nagovitsyna is immobilized and can’t assist.
Alexander Yakovenko of the Russian Mountaineering Federation said the rescuers themselves risk being caught in an avalanche, underscoring the perilous conditions on the mountain. Yakovenko even went so far as to describe the situation as “hopeless.”
“If she’s alive, I’ll believe in a miracle,” he told Pravda Greece. “If she is saved, then I will believe in a miracle twice over.”
Nagovitsyna came to Pobeda, also known as Jengish Chokusu, to pursue the Snow Leopard title. This old honor is bestowed on those who’ve climbed all five 7,000m peaks in the former USSR. By reputation, Pobeda is the hardest, and it marked her fifth summit. But on her way down on August 12, she slipped and fractured her leg. Her climbing partner, Roman, provided first aid, secured her in a tent, then descended to base camp to seek help.
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