Where are Sergey and Davoud?
Agu 3, 2004 16: 07 EST
The missing K2 climbers Davoud Khadem Asl and Serguey Sokolov were last heard from Sunday: In a radio call down to Base Camp they stated that they were just leaving the tent in Camp 4 to descend to Camp 3.
The weather is still windy but expected to calm somewhat tomorrow according to the forecasts.
The altitude "death zone" is generally 8000+ and the climbers have stayed below that, in the shelter of a camp. Although 7600 meters is still very high, Everest climbers have stayed at altitudes of 6500 meters for up to 2 weeks.
If Sergey and Davoud managed to reach the shelter of Camp 3 Sunday, hopefully with the help of the fixed rope, and providing they found gas and supplies there, chances are that they are still alive and might make it down on their own. The chance is however very slim, and diminishing by every hour.
The climbers arrived Camp 4 Thursday July 28th. Their absence was not reported until Sunday, August 1, when the Magic Line climbers learned about it from fellow climbers leaving Base Camp and the radio call.
After learning about he situation, The Magic line climbers quickly assembled a rescue team of the remaining climbers on the mountain, including Japanese Sherpas and a doctor from the Andalusian team. The rescue team tried to reach camp 2, but the effort was unsuccessful due to severe weather on the mountain.
Davoud Khadem Asl is the second most accomplished Iranian alpinist with Cho Oyu (2000), Shisha Pangma (Central summit?), Makalu (2001) and Lhotse (2002). Sergey Sokolov is also an accomplished climber according to Mountain.ru
Image compiled by ExplorersWeb, courtesy of Montagna.org
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