Can it really?
Sure, making videos, even taking pictures (if you want to have them as good as possible) is time consuming, but how much of a delay may be explained this way? One hour? Two hours? It would ten times better movie if he turned back and either explained why it was necessary or had that + another attempt, with earlier start and better weather.
What use anyone can really have of a video that shows dangerous, reckless, unnecessary life threatening climbing pushed forward? Other climbers and climbing enthusiasts wouldnt be thrilled seeing that. If anything, they would get angry that he gives them a bad rep.
Even stuff as "crazy" as urban climbing has to have a skill and reasoning withing the crazyness of this activity itself to really catch up with people longtime. Otherwise people are jest getting scared and angry, they dont stick around.
I dont think that they bailed at the Breakfast spot. It wouldnt took them that long to descend from there I think. Unless they werent there as "early" as 1:30 PM, but how many totally crazy climbers we can expect to be there on that day specifically, choosing the longest hardest route in January?
It (IMO of course, all IMO) would have to be people who went up earlier, got stuck and descended from somewhere higher - and maybe not that much higher, but higher nonetheless, or members of same group.
That "head" is a size of a human. Possibly bigger. Its not high res enough to really spot a person, especially that route is mostly hidden behind these stones, on the northern slope.
Shoes are enough to make such difference. Snowboarding shoes arent made to keep feet warm for 12+hours, and experiencing pain (highely expected from climbing in them) would make Kerstin more prone to cold and exhaustion.
I dont think so. That kind of scheme would be too risky. And would require him being not only aware of the surveillance but analyzing and understanding it so well to be able to use that while messing up with lights during the climb...
Not totally, absolutely impossible but a rabbithole without solid reason to consider that it may be the case.
Allegedly they were seen. And they had to be somewhere there cause Kerstin was 100% found 50m below the summit.
Seeing/not seeing the headlights or one of them doesnt mean it wasnt there, too many stones everywhere, some expert level analysis with much better data would be required to really tell.
Im not even trying to do that.
BUT
Thomas's story is that he didnt tried to alert the second heli, which clearly went there FOR them cause the climb was going well.
Surveillance's story disagrees. We can see how they were slowly progressing up... between 18:10 and... basically 21:00.
View attachment 631239
Between 21:00 and 22:00 it doesnt seem like theyve progressed much.
View attachment 631244
And on the second cam we can see - thats same moment, both pics from 22:00 but different cams.
22:30 - next to no progress. But not only compared to 22:00 - also compared to 21:00
View attachment 631245
Thomas claims that he hasnt tried to alert the heli cause they kept climbing.
And maybe they did, maybe that part was super challenging - how THAT makes in unworthy to call for help thats just below them its not that relevant in this context.
He claims that Kerstin started feeling unwell as heli left.
So 23:30? And he doesnt call or try to call for an hour waiting for what?
Impared judgement? Okay, maybe. But then he calls. Not as weather cleared, as weather got worse.
Maybe that was the point when he got scared. Okay, lets consider that for a sec.
He calls and claims that as he learns that they cant send a heli again cause weather is too bad.
I can understand turning phone on silent while climbing, cause in such circumstances the last thing you would want WHILE CLIMBING would be to get distracted by sudden ringtone and to have it use your battery, sure.
BUT.
He claims that they decided to keep moving to not get colder. After the call. But that call was at 00:35
BUT they were barely moving for over 3 hours at this point.
And at another point in time he claims that he, pardon me again, "Kerstin urged him to go" right after that call... to climb up, descend and CALL. While at no point he was trying to call again or waiting for calls, phone on silent right away or all the time.
So basically, with everything that can be even slightly verifiable, his claims are not supported by surveillance.
