Three mountaineers from the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs (FFCAM), Louis Pachoud, Gabriel Miloche, and Thomas Arfi from Nice – the group’s coach – have been missing since October 26 in Nepal.
They set out on an expedition on October 24 to climb Mingbo Eiger (6,017m), a Himalayan peak that has never been reached before. The three mountaineers, members of the National Excellence Mountaineering Group (GEAN), have not given any sign of life since October 26.
They had left on October 24 and spent the day of the 25th assessing snow conditions for their route before embarking on the ascent the following day. On the 26th, at 5:11 pm, they “sent an enthusiastic text message from their bivouac on the face via their satellite phone to the other part of the group,” according to the FFCAM. This message would be their last sign of life.
Yesterday morning, a helicopter flew over their route and found their tracks up to 5,900m, on the ridge of the summit. An avalanche had been triggered. The tracks also indicated that the three climbers had given up on reaching the summit and had turned back, taking the same route as the ascent. Rescuers found three backpacks and part of the bivouac at the base of the face, added the FFCAM in a statement.
The hope of finding survivors is now almost nil, announced the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs yesterday.
The searches resumed this morning, Tuesday, November 2.
