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25 July 2022, 18:21

Exploration on Broad Peak, Pakistan. Days 19-23. July 19-23. Part 3
About 2-3 nights (when Alex and I were trying to get out) at an altitude of 7800-7900, Canadian Andy, going to the assault, met a Romanian who had already spent the second night at this altitude. Andy gave him all his water and food and stopped his own ascent. Around 4 am, almost at the same height, the Romanian was discovered by Israfil Ashurli and a Chilean couple. As a result, Israfil decided to lower the Romanian and stop his attempt to climb. Israfil has long impressed me with his amazing human qualities - willingness to help, deep decency and correctness in everything. As a result, Israfil quite successfully lowered the Romanian alone to a height of 7300-7400. At 10 in the morning, he informed us that he was letting George down, but when Sasha asked if he needed help, he said that he didn't and that they would be at the camp in an hour or two. Then the connection disappeared.
At about 15.00, an exhausted Israfil came to Camp 3 and said that he had been fighting with a Romanian for the last 5-6 hours - he tried to give oxygen, which was brought from below, but he refused. I tried to lower the victim further, but he fell into an inadequate state. In general, the story began to look a little like the "Miracle on Everest" - the case of Lincoln Hall in 2006 in our Everest expedition.
At this point, Jorge from Chile stayed with George, but he, too, is already at the limit. I need help.
Alex and I said we were ready to go. To be honest, I thought that a group of high-altitude porters and strong climbers would gather now. But in the end it turned out that only three people were ready to go - Alex, Magda and I (a Polish climber, by the way, who attempted an assault that night and therefore tired). The rest were absolutely nothing after the assault attempt
Magda delighted me - she ran ahead to help an unknown climber, although she was very tired herself. I ran after her, or rather we crawled down the slope like snails. But stubbornly. Alex followed me out a little later. An hour later, the weather suddenly deteriorated sharply - a strong cold wind blew, a blizzard began. I realized that I had taken the rescue lightly - I dressed lightly (we went out at 16.00, when it was still hot).
Days 19-23. July 19-23. Part 4
Two hours later, two figures appeared on the slope. The closest to me was Jorge, who had already spent 5-6 hours with a Romanian and was very tired. When I got to the Romanian, I gave him some water and talked to him for a while. Soon Alex came up and we somehow lifted George to his feet and began to lead him down, he walked a little and sat down. Okay, Jorge came over and started helping too. Together with Alex, they very slowly pulled off the Romanian. Soon another Chilean came up from below. The three of them descended a little faster. I walked ahead and helped with fixed ropes, sometimes gave George tea. He refused Dex and oxygen …
In general, this story with the descent lasted for 3 hours. Already in the dark we came to the camp, where other Chileans warmly welcomed us, put the Romanian in a tent and thanked us for a long time for the descent of their comrade…
In this story, I was struck by the behavior of Chileans. In principle, George was not their friend, but they bought a tour from the same company and sat at the same table with him in BC. However, they did everything to save him.
By the way, the story didn't end there.
It is clear that we did not go on any ascent that night. And going to the rescue, I already understood that I was unlikely to have the strength to storm. In the morning Israfil came to us to talk about plans. He was determined to try again. We, after a little consultation, refused. I definitely did not feel the strength in myself, and the motivation somehow disappeared… We gave Israfil the leftovers of food and snacks, deciding that we would descend in a few hours and without food, and around 11 a.m. we began the descent.
And at the same time, a group of Chileans undertook to lower the Romanian further - the helicopter does not fly at such a height.
After seeing that the Romanian was being lowered by 5-6 men, I decided that I had nothing to push there and went ahead. After 2 hours I was already in Camp 2. I had a timid hope that Alex would not become a hero again - yesterday's rescues are enough, and he will soon catch up with me. But, of course, this did not happen. 2 hours passed, I heated the water, then two more, three more ... all hopes for a descent to the BC and a comfortable overnight melted.