Climber is saved from icy death at 25,000f t... by a drone
Lost for two days after fall – but then mini-aircraft spotted him
A SCOTTISH climber was saved by a drone after being left close to death on one of the world’s most dangerous mountains.
Rick Allen, 63, spent almost two days without food, sleep or water in freezing conditions after plummeting off an ice cliff near the Himalayan mountain’s ‘death zone’.
Last night the veteran climber told of the terrifying moment he plunged into the darkness through a crevasse on Broad Peak, near the world’s second highest mountain K2.
He only survived after an expedition of Polish climbers at base camp sent up the £700 piece of kit to about 25,000ft, in what is thought to be the highest drone rescue ever attempted.
Speaking at his home in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Mr Allen said: ‘I’m
‘I knew it meant my toil was over’
extremely grateful to the team who came up to help me and to the skill of the drone pilot. I used to think drones were intrusive and it was the last thing I would want to see when in the middle of nowhere hiking, but my opinion has been changed.
‘I had been alone for two days and this machine just popped up over my shoulder. I remember trying to talk to it. At that moment I knew I wasn’t alone any more and the people at base camp knew I was alive.’
Mr Allen had begun his ascent with long-time climbing partner and fellow Scot Sandy Allan, 62, on Monday, July 9, but stopped 21,000ft up at Camp 3 due to high winds. Mr Allen continued with his bid to reach the summit alone after his companions decided to turn back. He reached the top before returning.
Only a few metres below the ‘death zone’, where climbers can die through lack of oxygen, he slipped on an icy rock and fell, then lay unconscious and bleeding. Mr Allen eventually came to and managed to work his way down the mountain in pitch black, disoriented after losing his head torch and rucksack.
But as the icy winds blasted the already bruised and battered climber, he discovered at first light that he was lost.
Suffering frostbite, dehydration and hallucinations, Mr Allen climbed up a snowy crevasse where he was amazingly spotted by the drone sent up by his worried colleagues. Using the machine as a guide, a party of rescuers met him on the cliff face and escorted him down to a safe altitude.
Recalling the accident, Mr Allen said: ‘I was descending and my foot just gave way. I don’t know what happened but I remember free-falling and I must have blacked out on impact, because I just remember waking up surrounded by snow and blood which was coming from my nose and my right eyebrow.
‘I checked myself and nothing was broken so I tried to descend, which, given that I had lost my head torch, was in retrospect not that great an idea.
‘At dawn the next day I realised that I was too low so started to climb back up to the trail leading back to camp but I hadn’t eaten or slept for two days so every time I fell down I drifted into this dreamlike state, a serene lack of consciousness.
‘I thought I was being rescued by a helicopter – I’d then snap out of it and carry on plodding.
‘But I remember the cold. I kept taking my mitten off to try to find my head torch but every time I did I couldn’t feel my fingers.’
Polish brothers Andrej and Bartek Berdel responded to emergency calls sent out by Mr Allen by flying the DJI Mavik Pro drone they had been using to document their own climb up K2 on the border of Pakistan and China.
Piloting the machine from the K2 base camp, Bartek scanned Broad Peak for signs of life before spotting Mr Allen. He said: ‘We were at the right place in the right time and happy to help.’
Guided by the drone, a team of other climbers who had been sleeping at Camp 3, just below where the victim had been spotted, then headed up to the site with food and water and rescued Mr Allen.
He added: ‘It was brilliant to see the men heading towards me. I knew straightaway it meant my toil was over.
‘I’m now at home in Scotland and being treated for frostbite to my feet, and I’ve been told I will make a full recovery.’