Found Deceased PAKISTAN - Tom Ballard, 30, & Daniele Nardi, 42, British/Italian climbers, Nanga Parbat, 24 Feb 2019

[cybervampira]

Brit climber missing with rescue delayed amid Pakistan crisis

The son of the legendary late climber Alison Hargreaves has gone missing in Pakistan while trying to find a new route up the country’s infamous “killer mountain” in bad weather.

As tensions continued to mount last night between Pakistan and India, the operation to find British climber Tom Ballard - who grew up in the Highlands - was subject to delay.

The 30-year-old - who has been living in Italy's Dolomites mountain range with his father for the last few years, spent his childhood in Spean Bridge, near Fort William.

He and his Italian counterpart, Daniele Nardi, 42, last made contact with relatives at the weekend.

On Sunday, Mr Nardi made contact via satellite phone they had reached an altitude of about 6,300 meters, but the ground team has not heard from the experienced climbers since.

Desperate hunt for Scottish climber missing on Pakistan's 'Killer Mountain'

Tom Ballard (@tom.ballard) • Instagram photos and videos

 

[moonriverfarm]

How tragic. The mountains are unforgiving.

 

[cybervampira]

UK climber missing on Pakistan peak known as 'Killer Mountain'

A search is under way for a British climber and his Italian climbing partner who have gone missing on a peak in Pakistan known as “Killer Mountain”.

Tom Ballard, whose mother died climbing K2, and Daniele Nardi were last heard from on Sunday as they went above 6,300m on Nanga Parbat in the western Himalayas. At 8,126m, it is the ninth-highest mountain in the world.

Tensions between Pakistan and India over the disputed region of Kashmir have made the search for the pair difficult, as Pakistani airspace was closed after India launched airstrikes on Tuesday in retaliation for a 14 February attack on an army convoy that it blames on Islamabad.

Pakistani rescue teams have been involved in the search and had recruited the help of Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who climbed the mountain two years ago, Nardi’s team reported. A helicopter search of the mountain was rescheduled on Wednesday night for daylight, they said.

[...]

 

[cybervampira]

Drone search for missing climbers delayed

A fresh search for a British climber who went missing on a peak in Pakistan has been delayed until Saturday.

Tom Ballard and Italian climber Daniele Nardi last made contact on Sunday, from an altitude of about 20,500ft (6,250m) on Nanga Parbat.

High altitude drones were due to be operated from close to the mountain's base camp and an army helicopter was also set to search for the pair.

However, heavy snow and a payment dispute has led to the postponement.

It is not known whether a tent "invaded by snow" on the mountain belongs to the climbers

On Friday, three drones were due to be flown by Spanish mountaineer Alex Txikon in an area known as the Mummery Spur.

This was the route Mr Ballard and Mr Nardi had reportedly been taking in their attempt to reach the summit.

However, Stefano Pontecorvo, the Italian ambassador in Pakistan, tweeted the search was not possible "for a number of reasons including poor weather".

Tom Ballard's mother Alison Hargreaves reached the top of Mount Everest on 13 May 1995

Temperatures on the mountain are said to be about -40C, with winds ranging between 120mph (193km/h) to 200mph (321.8km/h).

According to Mr Nardi's Facebook page, which is updated by his support team, the delay was also due to a row over payment for the army helicopter.

[...]

 

[cybervampira]

Missing climber Tom Ballard's father says disappearance brings back memories of wife's 1995 death on K2

he father of climber Tom Ballard, who went missing in the Himalayas five days ago, has said his son's disappearance is bringing back painful memories of his wife's death on K2 in 1995.

Helicopters have been scouring Pakistan's perilous Nanga Parbat for Tom, 30, and his Italian climbing partner Daniele Nardi, 42, who have not been heard from since Sunday.

The pair had been scaling the so-called "Killer Mountain", the ninth highest in the world, but disappeared at about 6,300 metres during fog, sleet and heavy winds.

Tom's father Jim Ballard said today that he still holds out hope that his son will return home, even though finding him will be "like finding a green beer mat on the pitch at Twickenham".

His wife, Alison Hargreaves, was the first woman to reach the top of Everest unaided. She died in 1995 aged just 33 during a descent from the peak of K2 in the Himalayas and her body has never been found.

“This takes me back to those days,” Mr Ballard told The Times.

[...]

 

[Hatfield]

Drone search for missing climbers delayed

A fresh search for a British climber who went missing on a peak in Pakistan has been delayed until Saturday.

Tom Ballard and Italian climber Daniele Nardi last made contact on Sunday, from an altitude of about 20,500ft (6,250m) on Nanga Parbat.

High altitude drones were due to be operated from close to the mountain's base camp and an army helicopter was also set to search for the pair.

However, heavy snow and a payment dispute has led to the postponement.

It is not known whether a tent "invaded by snow" on the mountain belongs to the climbers

On Friday, three drones were due to be flown by Spanish mountaineer Alex Txikon in an area known as the Mummery Spur.

This was the route Mr Ballard and Mr Nardi had reportedly been taking in their attempt to reach the summit.

However, Stefano Pontecorvo, the Italian ambassador in Pakistan, tweeted the search was not possible "for a number of reasons including poor weather".

Tom Ballard's mother Alison Hargreaves reached the top of Mount Everest on 13 May 1995

Temperatures on the mountain are said to be about -40C, with winds ranging between 120mph (193km/h) to 200mph (321.8km/h).

According to Mr Nardi's Facebook page, which is updated by his support team, the delay was also due to a row over payment for the army helicopter.

[...]

Wow. Am I reading that right?

"Temperatures on the mountain are said to be about -40C, with winds ranging between 120mph (193km/h) to 200mph (321.8km/h)."

Holy cow. Super cold and super windy both.
Not good conditions to try to stay warm in the elements.

Hope he is alive.

I used to think it would be neat to try Everest someday but then I saw a documentary about some climbers that ran into trouble. One guy that survived lost a bunch of toes and fingers due to frostbite. It was after that documentary that I decided it is not worth it to risk life and limb.

I do understand though how some want to tackle these amazing mountains.

 

[cybervampira]

Wow. Am I reading that right?

"Temperatures on the mountain are said to be about -40C, with winds ranging between 120mph (193km/h) to 200mph (321.8km/h)."

Holy cow. Super cold and super windy both.
Not good conditions to try to stay warm in the elements.

Hope he is alive.

I used to think it would be neat to try Everest someday but then I saw a documentary about some climbers that ran into trouble. One guy that survived lost a bunch of toes and fingers due to frostbite. It was after that documentary that I decided it is not worth it to risk life and limb.

I do understand though how some want to tackle these amazing mountains.

When I was in Berchtesgaden, I looked up from the valley and saw the Watzmann. And I suddenly felt VERY small and thought NOOOOO WAY JOSÉ!

If I ever go missing, don’t look for me there!

 

[ms_x_to_the_m]

Oh wow, I hope they are both found safe. How scary and cold.

 

[cybervampira]

Father of British climber missing on K2 says he is reliving the wait for his wife who died in 1995 | Daily Mail Online

[...]

Mr Ballard's Italian girlfriend Stefania Pederiva has also been waiting for news of Tom and her mother said that she has been 'crying constantly' since learning that he was missing.

Jim told the Times he would not give up: 'From the last phone call, seven to ten days is not unreasonable, even though he might be cold and not feeling too well.'

Russian mountaineers on K2 offered to support the rescue mission on Friday, with flights scheduled after an agreement was reached with the Italian embassy and the Pakistani air force.

However the weather was deemed too dangerous, but Italian Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo said he is hopeful the search can continue again on Saturday.

[...]

 

[cybervampira]

More delays in search for missing climber

[...]

Pilots had been on standby since 05:30 local time, according to Mr Nardi's Facebook page, but rescuers have been left frustrated.

Mr Pontecorvo tweeted that "weather conditions today [Saturday] do not allow the planned search and rescue op".

He added that conditions on Sunday "should be better".

[...]

 

[cybervampira]

Tom Ballard: search party to be flown in to help find missing British mountaineer

[...]

Pakistani army helicopters are bringing in the Basque climber Alex Txikon and his team from K2, said the Italian ambassador to Pakistan, Stefano Pontecorvo.

Txikon plans to fly high-altitude drones over the area where the two climbers went missing.
Pontecorvo hailed the move as a “big step forward” and said the weather has cleared and should allow the search to begin.

He said both the missing men were “tough guys” and that “we hope for a miracle ... and [will] just try our best to find them”.

[...]

 

[JerseyGirl]

Search for missing climbers resumes

 

[Dizzie]

Virtual no chance of these 2 being alive now and being honest after a couple of days it was more than likely they were dead.

They might as well call it a day, their bodies might be found come the summer season, or they might not.

 

[JerseyGirl]

The Latest: Search for missing European climbers called off

 

[JerseyGirl]

A BBC World Affairs reporter said it was believed the pair had been hit by a "huge avalanche" during the night, the sound of which was apparently heard by villagers miles away, and it "is now assumed they are dead".

Climbers assumed dead as search ends

 

[cybervampira]

'Silhouettes' spotted in climber search

[...]

The search has resumed despite reports the men were "assumed to be dead" following a "huge avalanche".

Earlier, Spanish climber Alex Txikon saw the two "shapes" on the Mummery Spur trail that the men had taken.

According to Mr Nardi's Facebook page, which is updated by his support team, Mr Txikon identified "two silhouettes" on the mountain from the base camp early on Thursday.

It not clear what the shapes are, but the helicopter team will investigate them more closely later, a post said.

Stefano Pontecorvo, the Italian ambassador to Pakistan, who had denied reports the search had ended, also said the development required "further exploring".

[...]

 

[iulia]

Bodies of Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi found in Himalayas

Rescuers have found the bodies of Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi, the British and Italian climbers who went missing almost a fortnight ago on a Himalayan mountain in Pakistan, the Italian ambassador has said.

 

[Lass from Yorkshire]

Two bodies have been found. This is terrible

Bodies of Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi found in Himalayas

 

[Dotta]

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