Fay Manners had been attempting to summit a mountain in India with a friend
Here is the chilling message a British climber sent after finding herself stuck on an icy ledge in the Himalayan mountains.
Professional mountaineer Fay Manners had been attempting to summit Chaukhamba III in northern India alongside US climber Michelle Dvorak when a terrifying turn of events left the pair stranded on an icy ledge for 55 hours.
The two climbers were ascending with the goal of becoming the first people to summit the 23,000ft mountain when they were hit by a heavy snowstorm which sent a rucksack filled with Fay’s hiking supplies and warm clothing tumbling into a ravine.
With only a single sleeping bag to share, the women spent the next two days stranded on the ledge and exposed to temperatures as low as -15°C as they watched helicopters fly past without spotting them.
Fay shared the footage on Instagram after being rescued (Instagram/faymanners)
Freezing cold and running out of hope for being rescued, Fay recorded a video of the two of them on her phone revealing the dire situation they were in.
In the clip Fay can be heard faintly saying into the camera ‘No sign of a rescue and we’re really f***ing cold’ as she waits on the ledge, with the skin on her face appearing to turn purple in the cold.
“One bag down and now it’s snowing,” she added in another clip. “No food and water. At the moment we can’t get off of the mountain.”
The women’s ordeal would finally come to an end on Saturday, 5 October when a group of French climbers came across Fay and Michelle and alerted the Indian Air Force to their location, who were able to send out a helicopter the following day.
Recalling the ordeal in an interview with The Telegraph, Fay revealed that she had ‘cried’ after learning the group had been looking for her and Michelle.
“They said they were there to help us and I cried with relief knowing we might survive,” she said.
“They gave us their tent and sleeping bags, gave us water and food and finally told the helicopter where to come and collect us.”
After being airlifted to safety the two women were taken to a local town, with a representative for the Indian Mountaineering Foundation telling the outlet both women were ‘exhausted’ but in ‘perfectly fine’ health.
The Brit is a professional climber who regularly shares updates on her excursions (Instagram/faymanners)
Reflecting on what would’ve likely happened if they hadn’t crossed paths with the French climbers, she added: “What would have happened if those climbers had not come to rescue us?
“We would have either frozen to death or attempted to cross the steep glaciers without the right equipment and slipped to our peril.”
Despite the ordeal, Fay has since added to the BBC that the experience has not deterred her from future climbs, adding that she is currently planning her next expedition to Morocco.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Fay Manners
