Found Deceased Spain - Esther Dingley, from UK, missing in the Pyrenees, November 2020 #5

[fridaybaker]

This may have been covered earlier -I apologize, if so. However, I'm wondering how common it is for solo hikers to be out and about without any kind of locating device? It seems like that is one of the many items available these days that would really mitigate the risks involved in hiking solo.

I believe that they can be expensive, but what about having even just an old fashioned flare on one's person? I know, I know: WEIGHT. But, also.....LIFE.

Any thoughts here?

 

[annpats]

but what about having even just an old fashioned flare on one's person? I know, I know: WEIGHT. But, also.....LIFE. Any thoughts here?

Yes.
Sadly, she didn't even have enough food or charge in her powerbank, let alone thought about anything else - like equipment that may have been needed.

 

[NoSI]

From the dossier ... perhaps a light dusting of snow was all that was needed to obscure Esther.

"The search for Esther commenced at first light on Thursday 26th November, the morning after she was due to return to the motorhome in Benasque, with search teams deployed in both France and Spain, some walking with dogs and some in helicopters flying over the area. These are highly trained, highly proficient experts who have been working in this specific area of the mountains for many years. They know the terrain and locations that are likely to cause difficult for hikers.

For the first two days of the search, visibility on Pic de Sauvegarde was hampered slightly by a light dusting of snow and some cloud, although nothing that prevented the search teams ascending the routes from both sides of the mountain and the helicopters could still see most of the mountainside.

From Saturday 27th – Tuesday 1st December, the sunny weather returned, the light dusting of snow mostly melted and visibility was excellent. In addition to continued search teams retracing Esther’s planned route and other nearby trails, helicopter search teams continued to fly up and down the slopes."
​

p.17
https://42cc80b7-be3b-41e3-a85b-18b...d/4addd9_d8c55b489c6f445b96d6324dd882f5a1.pdf

Thank you, @otto! I live outside Rocky Mtn National Park and hike quite a bit. Love Fall most of all. A light dusting of snow can turn easy hike into treacherous situation... Add wind etc. and it can be recipe disaster... I continue to believe that this is a tragic accident if this is indeed ED. It can happen so fast to the most experienced... Look at Ueli Steck and many others... He perished on a route that was way below what he was capable. An accident is way more likely than foul play IMO.

 

[NoSI]

From the dossier ... perhaps a light dusting of snow was all that was needed to obscure Esther.

"The search for Esther commenced at first light on Thursday 26th November, the morning after she was due to return to the motorhome in Benasque, with search teams deployed in both France and Spain, some walking with dogs and some in helicopters flying over the area. These are highly trained, highly proficient experts who have been working in this specific area of the mountains for many years. They know the terrain and locations that are likely to cause difficult for hikers.

For the first two days of the search, visibility on Pic de Sauvegarde was hampered slightly by a light dusting of snow and some cloud, although nothing that prevented the search teams ascending the routes from both sides of the mountain and the helicopters could still see most of the mountainside.

From Saturday 27th – Tuesday 1st December, the sunny weather returned, the light dusting of snow mostly melted and visibility was excellent. In addition to continued search teams retracing Esther’s planned route and other nearby trails, helicopter search teams continued to fly up and down the slopes."
​

p.17
https://42cc80b7-be3b-41e3-a85b-18b...d/4addd9_d8c55b489c6f445b96d6324dd882f5a1.pdf

Thank you, @otto! I live outside Rocky Mtn National Park and hike quite a bit. Love Fall most of all. A light dusting of snow can turn easy hike into treacherous situation... Add wind etc. and it can be recipe disaster... I continue to believe that this is a tragic accident if this is indeed ED. It can happen so fast to the most experienced... Look at Ueli Steck and many others... He perished on a route that was way below what he was capable. An accident is way more likely than foul play IMO.

 

[RedHaus]

BBM @ZaZara, thank you. You have a terrific knack at finding news. This is a striking statement and I am sure anyone who reads it will have the same questions - what does "been in a cavity" mean - cave, crevasse, hole dug in the ground, covered with rocks or scree? And how would that be known - coloration, amount of decay, amount of tissue? Are there any forensics experts among us? If so please chime in!

BBM

Feels weird to bump my own post, but me thinks folks may have missed this new article @ZaZara posted this morning... I think the questions it raises are pretty key.

Disparition d'Esther Dingley : des os a priori humains, déplacés par des animaux, retrouvés dans les Pyrénées | Actu Toulouse

 

[otto]

Disparition d'Esther Dingley : des os a priori humains, déplacés par des animaux, retrouvés dans les Pyrénées | Actu Toulouse

Spanish hikers raised the alarm on Friday afternoon after discovering what they believed to be the remains of a body near the spot where Esther Dingley last made contact with her partner. The Spanish Civil Guard initially attended the scene, but later alerted the French Gendarmerie, after discovering that the location was just across the border.

"This is indeed in the sector that Esther Dingley was supposed to walk when she disappeared", Jean-Marc Bordinaro told Actu Toulouse. The second-in-command of the Saint-Gaudens gendarmerie company is cautious about these "a priori human" bones found on the spot, which are "being examined". He specifies the context in which they were discovered:

"The hikers saw this at an altitude of about 2,200 metres, on the French side of the Port de la Gléré, a few hundred metres from the Spanish side."

This area is close to the summit where the young Englishwoman, who was hiking alone, last made contact with her partner of 20 years, Dan Colegate, at around 4pm on 22 November 2020. She sent a selfie to her partner and has not been heard from since. The area was thoroughly combed by the police during the various search operations on site.

Although they were discovered at an altitude covered by snow for a good part of the winter, these bones were not there a few weeks ago.

According to the first findings of the investigation, they have "certainly been in a cavity", and have probably been "moved recently by animals."

BBM

Does "cavity" mean crevice?

 

[Herat]

Satellite trackers, like SPOT devices run about $200-$350 and require a subscription. In the US you can rent them.

I think the emphasis on lightweight makes one turn to their phone for the GPS and map information, rather than go through the expense and weight of carrying another device. And some people feel like it somehow diminishes the adventure ( !) .

When you have success in prior trips, it can be hard to yourself justify carrying more weight and "overcautious" gear. You really should prepare for what could be the worst conditions on the trip. She was more prepared for a late autumn hike from shelter to shelter.

 

[Hatty]

These don't go over the ankle and I don't see that she carried gaiters, so any snow over her ankle is going to get her legs and feet wet. The soles are a light plastic composite with what appears to be a hiking pattern, but not true lug soles and I agree that snow and ice would render them slippery, despite the minispikes.

The shoes are not winter hiking boots and minispikes are not crampons. The photos of the descent from Port de la Glere has rocky areas where a line of wire is present to hold on to. This area, especially would be daunting with light gear and areas of new or untrodden snow , or perhaps a difficult path to follow. It sounds like the remains were found 200 m from the peak, so the person whose remains these are seems likely to have suffered some accident in the most difficult part of this trek.

The lightness of her gear seems to be fine for light weather conditions, but not prepared for snow, ice, wind. Alone, in an area where no one is supposed to be because of the quarantines. No one around to see her tracks or evidence of a fall or slip.

So true about the shoes. I’ve just looked at her last FB posts on the Esther and Dan page. They look wholly inadequate for mountain hiking. No ankle support at all by the looks of it. She must have been banking on good weather conditions and if she encountered snow, I can’t see them being sufficiently robust.

 

[Herat]

Does "cavity" mean crevice?

View attachment 305982

I just think cavity refers in general to the body not being exposed on an open flat surface.

I think is could be a crevice, or a hollow, behind rocks, or trees, just somewhere there is a deviation from the flat surface where a body might not be totally exposed to view or to the elements. I don't really attach a specific meaning to it in the translation.

 

[NoSI]

Disparition d'Esther Dingley : des os a priori humains, déplacés par des animaux, retrouvés dans les Pyrénées | Actu Toulouse

Spanish hikers raised the alarm on Friday afternoon after discovering what they believed to be the remains of a body near the spot where Esther Dingley last made contact with her partner. The Spanish Civil Guard initially attended the scene, but later alerted the French Gendarmerie, after discovering that the location was just across the border.

"This is indeed in the sector that Esther Dingley was supposed to walk when she disappeared", Jean-Marc Bordinaro told Actu Toulouse. The second-in-command of the Saint-Gaudens gendarmerie company is cautious about these "a priori human" bones found on the spot, which are "being examined". He specifies the context in which they were discovered:

"The hikers saw this at an altitude of about 2,200 metres, on the French side of the Port de la Gléré, a few hundred metres from the Spanish side."

This area is close to the summit where the young Englishwoman, who was hiking alone, last made contact with her partner of 20 years, Dan Colegate, at around 4pm on 22 November 2020. She sent a selfie to her partner and has not been heard from since. The area was thoroughly combed by the police during the various search operations on site.

Although they were discovered at an altitude covered by snow for a good part of the winter, these bones were not there a few weeks ago.

According to the first findings of the investigation, they have "certainly been in a cavity", and have probably been "moved recently by animals."



BBM

Thank you for this translation @ZaZara! That is very interesting information that I had not seen before. Got to think on that for a bit.

 

[yddraigfach]

I wonder if more bones and/or equipment will eventually be found lower down the scree slope in Cirque de la Glere? If they are, it would suggest a fall. The body could have been hidden amongst the scree/obscured by snow when French LE were searching in Nov/Dec 2020, and some of the bones recently separated and relocated by animals. When the news first broke that bones had been found, I had wondered whether French LE might not have searched the Port de la Glere area as thoroughly, especially given the information DC provided about her probable route. However, the ActuToulouse article ZaZara posted above suggests otherwise - "the area was thoroughly combed by the police during the various search operations on site" and the "bones were not there a few weeks ago".

If more isn't found, it adds further weight to the bearded vulture theory...

I like Otto's thoughts (post 627) about her last messages. Why would you say that you "might dip into France" if that was where you were headed immediately? If she didn't go to the Refuge de Venasque on 22/11, the only feasible way between Pic de Sauvegarde and Port de la Glere would be to descend back to the road on the Spanish side. I wonder if she descended on 22/11, climbed up to Port de la Glere on 23/11, and then intended to possibly walk the Chemin de Imperatrice round to Refuge de Venasque (where she was hoping there might be an open winter room to spend the night of 24/11), crossing back over into Spain at Port de Venasque. It would explain her comments about not being sure whether she'd have signal - she already knew the situation down in the valley on the Spanish side, having stayed at Cabane de Besurtas on 21/11. However, why wasn't she seen? Did anyone stay at the Cabane on 22/11, who could help rule out whether she stayed there again? Did anyone see a lone female walker on the way up to Port de la Glere on 23/11, who perhaps hadn't made the connection that she was ED because she was headed in the 'wrong direction'?

Something struck me today (enough to make me finally register rather than just lurk), about why she might have reversed her route... On the French IGN map (available online at www.geoportail.gouv.fr), the descent into Cirque de la Glere looks steeper and much longer than the one to Refuge de Venasque. She would have seen that the descent from Port de Venasque to Refuge de Venasque was passable on 22/11, on her way up Pic de Sauvegarde. You can't see the Port de la Glere from the summit of Pic de Sauvegarde (it is hidden behind Pic de Montagnette). If she had continued anti-clockwise around the Chemin de Imperatrice, she wouldn't have known until the last minute whether Port de la Glere was passable. However, if she had descended and then walked the route in the opposite direction, starting with Port de la Glere, it removes that uncertainty. She would then know if she could "dip into France", or not. She already knew she could definitely cross back into Spain at the other end...

 

[NoSI]

BBM

@ZaZara, thank you. You have a terrific knack at finding news.

This is a striking statement and I am sure anyone who reads it will have the same questions - what does "been in a cavity" mean - cave, crevasse, hole dug in the ground, covered with rocks or scree? And how would that be known - coloration, amount of decay, amount of tissue?

Are there any forensics experts among us? If so please chime in!

Yes, I have same questions. Did she fall, get hurt, got herself out of the elements for shelter? Have to look at pics of area again.

 

[NoSI]

The difficulty just isn't easing - One Woman Walks

I read this account of an extremely experienced lone female hiker in the Pyrenees last November. As the refugio man said, things can change very suddenly in the mountains. On one turn of a path everything is snow free and sunny, the next it can be an iced mess.

Thank you @Kazibar for sharing this link! Provides a lot of insight into what ED faced and at an incresed frequency/intensity as later in season.

 

[NoSI]

BBM

Feels weird to bump my own post, but me thinks folks may have missed this new article @ZaZara posted this morning... I think the questions it raises are pretty key.

Disparition d'Esther Dingley : des os a priori humains, déplacés par des animaux, retrouvés dans les Pyrénées | Actu Toulouse

Agree 100%!

 

[NoSI]

Does "cavity" mean crevice?

View attachment 305982

Crevice would make sense. Other definitions include:

"Space"
"Chamber"
"Hollow"
"Hole"
"Gap"
"Pit"

 

[otto]

Satellite trackers, like SPOT devices run about $200-$350 and require a subscription. In the US you can rent them.

I think the emphasis on lightweight makes one turn to their phone for the GPS and map information, rather than go through the expense and weight of carrying another device. And some people feel like it somehow diminishes the adventure ( !) .

When you have success in prior trips, it can be hard to yourself justify carrying more weight and "overcautious" gear. You really should prepare for what could be the worst conditions on the trip. She was more prepared for a late autumn hike from shelter to shelter.

I think they were short on funds after 6 years of travel, and they were confident that no mountain trail was too difficult regardless of weather conditions.

 

[yddraigfach]

I'm wondering how common it is for solo hikers to be out and about without any kind of locating device?

PLBs were illegal in the UK (apart from at sea or by aircraft crews) until 2012. It is still not common for UK hillwalkers to carry them. They usually require a subscription (£££), plus an additional bolt on if you want to use them outside of the UK. You can hire them, and I have done so when walking alone in Scotland...

 

[Hatty]

I wonder if more bones and/or equipment will eventually be found lower down the scree slope in Cirque de la Glere? If they are, it would suggest a fall. The body could have been hidden amongst the scree/obscured by snow when French LE were searching in Nov/Dec 2020, and some of the bones recently separated and relocated by animals. When the news first broke that bones had been found, I had wondered whether French LE might not have searched the Port de la Glere area as thoroughly, especially given the information DC provided about her probable route. However, the ActuToulouse article ZaZara posted above suggests otherwise - "the area was thoroughly combed by the police during the various search operations on site" and the "bones were not there a few weeks ago".

If more isn't found, it adds further weight to the bearded vulture theory...

I like Otto's thoughts (post 627) about her last messages. Why would you say that you "might dip into France" if that was where you were headed immediately? If she didn't go to the Refuge de Venasque on 22/11, the only feasible way between Pic de Sauvegarde and Port de la Glere would be to descend back to the road on the Spanish side. I wonder if she descended on 22/11, climbed up to Port de la Glere on 23/11, and then intended to possibly walk the Chemin de Imperatrice round to Refuge de Venasque (where she was hoping there might be an open winter room to spend the night of 24/11), crossing back over into Spain at Port de Venasque. It would explain her comments about not being sure whether she'd have signal - she already knew the situation down in the valley on the Spanish side, having stayed at Cabane de Besurtas on 21/11. However, why wasn't she seen? Did anyone stay at the Cabane on 22/11, who could help rule out whether she stayed there again? Did anyone see a lone female walker on the way up to Port de la Glere on 23/11, who perhaps hadn't made the connection that she was ED because she was headed in the 'wrong direction'?

Something struck me today (enough to make me finally register rather than just lurk), about why she might have reversed her route... On the French IGN map (available online at www.geoportail.gouv.fr), the descent into Cirque de la Glere looks steeper and much longer than the one to Refuge de Venasque. She would have seen that the descent from Port de Venasque to Refuge de Venasque was passable on 22/11, on her way up Pic de Sauvegarde. You can't see the Port de la Glere from the summit of Pic de Sauvegarde (it is hidden behind Pic de Montagnette). If she had continued anti-clockwise around the Chemin de Imperatrice, she wouldn't have known until the last minute whether Port de la Glere was passable. However, if she had descended and then walked the route in the opposite direction, starting with Port de la Glere, it removes that uncertainty. She would then know if she could "dip into France", or not. She already knew she could definitely cross back into Spain at the other end...

Your theory seems entirely plausible but if that is the case then she clearly didn’t communicate what she was doing to DC. We have seen the text messages from 22nd (or some of them) but after the texts, they also had a phone conversation. That may or may not have included more discussion about her planned route but if ED was as sensible as we are led to believe and not a “risk taker” surely she would have ensured DC knew her exact plans? He seemed sure she was going to spend the night of 22nd at the Refuge de Venasque and let’s face it she would have presumably headed there more or less straight away after talking to him - so not much time to change her mind. And if she did change her mind, a quick text to let him know?!

 

[RickshawFan]

These don't go over the ankle and I don't see that she carried gaiters, so any snow over her ankle is going to get her legs and feet wet. The soles are a light plastic composite with what appears to be a hiking pattern, but not true lug soles and I agree that snow and ice would render them slippery, despite the minispikes.

The shoes are not winter hiking boots and minispikes are not crampons. The photos of the descent from Port de la Glere has rocky areas where a line of wire is present to hold on to. This area, especially would be daunting with light gear and areas of new or untrodden snow , or perhaps a difficult path to follow. It sounds like the remains were found 200 m from the peak, so the person whose remains these are seems likely to have suffered some accident in the most difficult part of this trek.

The lightness of her gear seems to be fine for light weather conditions, but not prepared for snow, ice, wind. Alone, in an area where no one is supposed to be because of the quarantines. No one around to see her tracks or evidence of a fall or slip.

Yes to all of this. The gear is for summer, as are the "boots". Best practices are in the blog cited ^^^^^, which is full of nuggets of information. You'd need lugged (e.g. Vibram, and not the thinnest Vibram) boots with enough ankle support to minimize sprained/broken ankles if your foot goes in a hole. Even a group Ranger hike in the Grand Canyon requires Vibram soles (or you can't go); that's how necessary boots like this are.
Keep in mind this mountain foray is not about fitness (the trail is only difficult in spots, otherwise very doable--IIRC my favorite blog-photo-guy rates it moderate, and he is SUPER experienced), even though it keeps getting framed that way. It's about safety, preparation, and minimizing risks. Those are the signs of experience, not the ability to walk athletically.

 

[RickshawFan]

This may have been covered earlier -I apologize, if so. However, I'm wondering how common it is for solo hikers to be out and about without any kind of locating device? It seems like that is one of the many items available these days that would really mitigate the risks involved in hiking solo.

I believe that they can be expensive, but what about having even just an old fashioned flare on one's person? I know, I know: WEIGHT. But, also.....LIFE.

Any thoughts here?

If I were doing a lot of hiking now, especially in winter, I'd get a PLB. Weight doesn't matter; they really don't weigh very much in the scheme of things. Maybe you carry 22.5 lbs instead of 22.2 lbs. There are also a lot of other things I would carry that weren't in ED's kit.
The problems with PLB's... They can give a false sense of security. You push a button and someone rescues you. This is not realistic, as sometimes SAR is hours away or the conditions aren't safe for them, so they don't go out.
An illustration of how relaying on a PLB can cause a disaster is: Death in the Presidential Range: The Kate Matrosova Incident The pings on the PBL led SAR to the wrong place. Evidently, you can only press the button once, too. Plus, the PLB can't see the satellites in cloud, fog, or blizzard, or if you're in a nook.