A British mountaineer, who may have captured her final moments on video, has shared why her near-death experience hasn’t deterred her from climbing. Fay Manners, 37, set out on an expedition to Chaukhamba mountain in northern India on September 27 with her climbing partner, 31-year-old Michelle Dvorak from the U.S. What began as a challenging climb quickly turned perilous when they became stranded on an icy ledge for 55 hours.
Stuck at an altitude of 20,000 feet, the pair had to use a rope to haul up their food and tent as temperatures plummeted to -15°C. After their supplies fell into a ravine, they felt they had “no hope.” In a video recorded on her phone, Fay said, “No sign of a rescue and we’re really f***ing cold,” and in another clip added, “One bag down and now it’s snowing. No food and water. At the moment, we can’t get off the mountain.”
Fortunately, a group of French climbers spotted them and alerted the Indian Air Force, which sent a helicopter to rescue them on Sunday, October 6. Despite the terrifying ordeal, Fay remains undeterred and says it won’t stop her from climbing.
“I think I’ll just opt for a more relaxed climbing holiday,” she told the BBC.
While the experience was frightening, mountaineering remains her passion, and she stressed that such situations, where loose rocks get tangled in ropes, are rare.
With over 10 years of experience on extreme routes, Fay has pioneered new paths without facing similar challenges before. She described feeling dehydrated and physically drained from trying to keep warm.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Fay recounted feeling hypothermic, constantly shivering, and too weak to stay warm due to lack of food. “Saturday morning came, and we had barely made it through the night. The helicopter flew by again but couldn’t spot us.
We were devastated and losing hope. As we abseiled down on Saturday, we saw a group of climbers approaching. When we reached them, they said they were there to help, and I cried with relief, realizing we might survive. They led us across a steep glacier, which we couldn’t have navigated without their equipment—crampons and ice axes. They gave us their tent, sleeping bags, water, and food, and finally directed the helicopter to rescue us.”