NORTHERN PAKISTAN, Sept. 4, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Search efforts have been called off for two Utah climbers who were more than one week overdue in descending from a mountain in northern Pakistan.
The news comes after Pakistani military helicopters joined the search for Utahns Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson in response to an expected small window of good weather that opened up in the area of the Ogre II mountain Friday evening.
Sandy-based outdoor equipment store Liberty Mountain posted on Facebook Saturday evening:
“Given the time that has elapsed and the nearly continuous stormy weather since they were last seen, and the substantial risks that such high-altitude missions entail, Kyle and Scott’s families have made the extremely difficult decision to end the search efforts.”
Dempster and Adamson started up the North Face of the Ogre II, just off the Choktoi Glacier in Northern Pakistan, early on Aug. 21, says a GoFundMe page that was set up to assist with the emergency rescue of the two.
“They planned on five days for the climb and descent,” wrote friend Savannah Cummins, who started the fundraising page.
“On Monday evening, their Pakistani cook, Ghafoor Abdul, spotted their headlamps roughly halfway up the peak. The weather remained good until Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 23, when a storm moved in. Snowfall and cloudy conditions have persisted in the region since then.
“Kyle and Scott have not been seen since Monday, Aug. 22, no surprise given the complexity and scale of the terrain and the vagaries of the weather.”
On Aug. 28, family and friends initiated a search and rescue effort, assisted by local authorities and another climbing team on the Choktoi.
Liberty Mountain posted on Friday morning that there was a confirmed weather window opening up at approximately 6 p.m. Friday mountain time, which is 5 a.m. Saturday Pakistan standard time.
“This is the first break in weather in 10 days, since Kyle and Scott were last seen,” said the update. “We have been in communication with the Pakistan military and they assure us that two Pakistani military helicopters will be starting the search tomorrow morning.”
The update posted Sunday continues: “Early on Saturday, Sept. 3, two Pakistani military helicopters left Skardu in clear weather. They landed at basecamp on the Choktoi Glacier and picked up climber Thomas Huber, from Austria, who would assist as an observer/spotter.
“An exhaustive and close-proximity initial search of the north face of the Ogre II (where Kyle and Scott were last seen on Aug. 22), the northeast ridge (their planned descent route), and the glacial basin between the Ogre II and Ogre I, yielded no sign of the pair. After refueling, the two helicopters made a second sweep of all sides of the mountain, from an even higher altitude, and again found no sign of Kyle and Scott. In light of those extensive yet unsuccessful efforts, the search team and knowledgeable observers in Pakistan, the US, and Europe, assessed that there remained a very slim chance that any evidence of their passage would be revealed in subsequent sweeps of the mountain.
“We owe a huge amount of gratitude to the Pakistan government for scrambling all of their available assets and their commitment to finding Scott and Kyle.”
The GoFundMe page was aiming initially to raise $100,000 for the emergency rescue of Dempster and Adamson. That goal was reached by Wednesday afternoon and was increased to $250,000. As of Sunday at 11 a.m., the campaign was trending and had raised $194,662 in four days, and 4,909 people had donated.
Don’t risk you life doing …..lets say not so smart things! If you have a family have some common sense. This type of risk is not necessary.