Found Deceased Spain - Esther Dingley, from UK, missing in the Pyrenees, November 2020 #2

[sundaaaay]

Yes, someone suggested it as a possibility. At this time, I doubt she made it to the refuge.

The reason I suggested ED may have walked past the refuge is mainly because she wasn’t found around the Pic de Sauvegarde and had time to continue hiking onwards, also her seemingly not wanting to stay at the refuge.

Currently I think ED had an accident while searching for an appropriate place to bivouac at dusk. Being a lone female she would naturally want to find a safe place to spend the night which meant wandering off the path a bit.

 

[otto]

I hadn't seen this article (Dec 17). The icy stretch is near the Port de Venasque on the Spanish side of the border. Glaciers have crevasses and people can be alive and injured if they slip into a crevasse, but it's basically a hopeless situation.

"They suspect she tumbled while crossing an icy stretch of Mount Maladeta, which straddles France and Spain.

Guide Patrick Lagleize told The Sun: ''Without doubt for me this was an accident, she almost certainly fell possibly while on the glacier.

''My theory is that she probably fell while on the glacier and that means it could take five years for her to be found as we have to wait for it to melt and descend."​

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13511...-for-five-years-if-she-fell-while-on-glacier/

 

[RickshawFan]

Here's a report that it took 2 hours 15 minutes to hike from Hospice de France to Port de Venasque, bypassing the refuge. If that's true, then Esther may have thought that she could hike down the mountain in less time.

If she was at the Port de Venaque at 3:30 PM with 2 hours of daylight and another 20 minutes of dusk - maybe she thought it was doable.

Pic de Sauvegarde, 2738m, en boucle depuis l'Hospice de France.

I have been taking this whole Hospice scenario seriously. ED seems like the kind of person who would like company, and I'm thinking they even have internet there, since it's a big place.

And she likely thought she could "book" the trail, especially since looking at it from above, it would look easy.

ED was carrying a pack, though judging from the way it sat on her back it wasn't that heavy. A lot heavier than a daypack, though. Maybe 22-25 pounds max with water. She only needed 3 days of food (typically, x2 pounds), a spare meal, her ultralight sleeping bag, tarp/ground cloth, ultralight mattress (a design that was going to make her sleep freezing cold, by the way), micro pot and stove (in photos), a lighter, raingear (top and bottoms) long undewear, a layer or two if she wasn't wearing everything, the weight of her pack.... This would have slowed her down, and might have caused her to underestimate how much time she'd take to get to somewhere like the Hospice. And it's steep out of the bowl where the Refuge is.

I am not convinced she took the tent. I think she'd established for herself that she could bivouac if necessary a few days before. Otherwise, she'd be in a building like the Refuge.

Also, if she didn't take more layers for her legs than those skimpy lycra yoga pants, she'd get very cold. She could have fallen and ripped them. Yoga pants have no reinforcement anywhere. They're for indoor yoga, not hiking. (You can get leggings for hiking, but that's not what she had. ) Then what?

 

[RickshawFan]

2017, nearby accident

"The couple, followers of mountain outings, were on the western ridge of the Pic de la Mine, which rises to 2,708 meters above sea level in the town of Bagnères-de-Luchon, on the border between Haute-Garonne and Spain, when the accident happened. According to the high mountain gendarmerie platoon (PGHM) of Bagnères-de-Luchon, the accident was unfortunately due to a lack of luck, and not to an error. The hiker was on a downhill route when the rock she was clinging to came loose under the pressure of her right hand. She was then unbalanced and fell about a hundred meters."

It was other hikers, witnesses of the accident, who gave the alert by going to warn the guard of the Venasque refuge, located 400 meters below the scene of the accident.​

Une jeune Haut-garonnaise de 30 ans se tue lors d'une randonnée dans les Pyrénées

Wow. That was fatal.

 

[RickshawFan]

I hadn't seen this article (Dec 17). The icy stretch is near the Port de Venasque on the Spanish side of the border. Glaciers have crevasses and people can be alive and injured if they slip into a crevasse, but it's basically a hopeless situation.

"They suspect she tumbled while crossing an icy stretch of Mount Maladeta, which straddles France and Spain.

Guide Patrick Lagleize told The Sun: ''Without doubt for me this was an accident, she almost certainly fell possibly while on the glacier.

''My theory is that she probably fell while on the glacier and that means it could take five years for her to be found as we have to wait for it to melt and descend."​

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13511...-for-five-years-if-she-fell-while-on-glacier/

Where is this glacier with reference to the trail(s) we're looking at?

 

[otto]

Where is this glacier with reference to the trail(s) we're looking at?

The guide seems to be suggesting that somewhere near the Port de Venasque she slid onto the Maladeta glacier and into a crevasse.

Ignore the 46 hr marker

 

[Andreee]

Great description of the route by the way, and the possible places where Esther might've slipped. Just a question as to whether or not these areas are places where there should've been more searching for her or were they far from where she had planned to hike?

 

[otto]

Great description of the route by the way, and the possible places where Esther might've slipped. Just a question as to whether or not these areas are places where there should've been more searching for her or were they far from where she had planned to hike?

The glacier is on the path she planned to take. Searches were done by helicopter and I assume ground searches as well. If she slipped into a glacier crevasse, there's no way to find her without a witness or a body in a few years.

 

[RickshawFan]

The guide seems to be suggesting that somewhere near the Port de Venasque she slid onto the Maladeta glacier and into a crevasse.

Ignore the 46 hr marker

View attachment 276948

View attachment 276949

View attachment 276950

You lost me here.

In photos of the valley where the Refuge is, I don’t see any glacier.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Maladeta glacier is not on her intended trail. She would have had to descend and cross a road to get to it, she wouldn’t have wandered into it by accident.

The only way, in my opinion, she could have ended up on Maladeta is if she’d decided to curtail her planned hike and walk back to the campervan cross-country, but I’m certain she wouldn’t have attempted it in the dark on 22nd when she could have used the road. Next day perhaps? But why?

 

[sundaaaay]

It certainly would be a strange thing to wander on to a glacier alone before nightfall. When crossing a glacier it’s recommended to do it in a group with ropes in case one person falls into a crevasse. Especially without telling anyone.

 

[ZaZara]

I have been taking this whole Hospice scenario seriously. ED seems like the kind of person who would like company, and I'm thinking they even have internet there, since it's a big place.

And she likely thought she could "book" the trail, especially since looking at it from above, it would look easy.

ED was carrying a pack, though judging from the way it sat on her back it wasn't that heavy. A lot heavier than a daypack, though. Maybe 22-25 pounds max with water. She only needed 3 days of food (typically, x2 pounds), a spare meal, her ultralight sleeping bag, tarp/ground cloth, ultralight mattress (a design that was going to make her sleep freezing cold, by the way), micro pot and stove (in photos), a lighter, raingear (top and bottoms) long undewear, a layer or two if she wasn't wearing everything, the weight of her pack.... This would have slowed her down, and might have caused her to underestimate how much time she'd take to get to somewhere like the Hospice. And it's steep out of the bowl where the Refuge is.

I am not convinced she took the tent. I think she'd established for herself that she could bivouac if necessary a few days before. Otherwise, she'd be in a building like the Refuge.

Also, if she didn't take more layers for her legs than those skimpy lycra yoga pants, she'd get very cold. She could have fallen and ripped them. Yoga pants have no reinforcement anywhere. They're for indoor yoga, not hiking. (You can get leggings for hiking, but that's not what she had. ) Then what?

Hospice de France is closed until May 2021.

Hospice de France, auberge, restaurant, refuge, Bagnères de Luchon, hospice,randonner,

 

[jsoap]

Having hiked many trails in the Pyrenees and French Alps over the last few years, I think I can add a little insight.

The trails are typically very well established - more so than say Scotland or New Zealand. Also the higher latitudes in those locations, IMO are more dangerous even at much lower altitudes. The route from Hospital de France is classed a difficult because it is a 1500m climb, which is not for a casual hiker - but not difficult if you have built up stamina. The hiking season is all but over in the second week in September, so there will be few hikers after this period. I've hiked this route (although not to the top of the peak). It's long but I would not consider it particularly. dangerous. There are steel ropes near the top of the Pic de Sauvegarde, but this is a common feature at this altitude. They are there to assist, usually on short sections of exposed rocks. This is not climbing or via feratta.
Timing hikes is fairly straight forward approx 300m/hr up and 500m/hr down, depending on fitness and terrain. So from Pic de Sauvegarde to the Venasque refuge is 500m and could be done in an hour. I would also say that seeing solo female hikers in the mountains is not unusual.

But, hiking by yourself and at 2700m and the end of November, is not a great idea. My general rule is to to be off the mountain by 4pm, and I always worry when I see someone on the way up when we are descending. Asking for food is not a good sign either.

One other thing, despite the name, The Sun, is not really a newspaper.

 

[RickshawFan]

Maladeta glacier is not on her intended trail. She would have had to descend and cross a road to get to it, she wouldn’t have wandered into it by accident.

The only way, in my opinion, she could have ended up on Maladeta is if she’d decided to curtail her planned hike and walk back to the campervan cross-country, but I’m certain she wouldn’t have attempted it in the dark on 22nd when she could have used the road. Next day perhaps? But why?

This seems so unlikely, since there are trails all around, and if she needed to bail, she could just go out the way she came: she'd know the route and could retreat quickly.

 

[otto]

You lost me here.

In photos of the valley where the Refuge is, I don’t see any glacier.

Other side of the mountain.

 

[otto]

Maladeta glacier is not on her intended trail. She would have had to descend and cross a road to get to it, she wouldn’t have wandered into it by accident.

The only way, in my opinion, she could have ended up on Maladeta is if she’d decided to curtail her planned hike and walk back to the campervan cross-country, but I’m certain she wouldn’t have attempted it in the dark on 22nd when she could have used the road. Next day perhaps? But why?

I see what you mean. I wonder why the guide thinks she's in that area.

 

[otto]

Having hiked many trails in the Pyrenees and French Alps over the last few years, I think I can add a little insight.

The trails are typically very well established - more so than say Scotland or New Zealand. Also the higher latitudes in those locations, IMO are more dangerous even at much lower altitudes. The route from Hospital de France is classed a difficult because it is a 1500m climb, which is not for a casual hiker - but not difficult if you have built up stamina. The hiking season is all but over in the second week in September, so there will be few hikers after this period. I've hiked this route (although not to the top of the peak). It's long but I would not consider it particularly. dangerous. There are steel ropes near the top of the Pic de Sauvegarde, but this is a common feature at this altitude. They are there to assist, usually on short sections of exposed rocks. This is not climbing or via feratta.
Timing hikes is fairly straight forward approx 300m/hr up and 500m/hr down, depending on fitness and terrain. So from Pic de Sauvegarde to the Venasque refuge is 500m and could be done in an hour. I would also say that seeing solo female hikers in the mountains is not unusual.

But, hiking by yourself and at 2700m and the end of November, is not a great idea. My general rule is to to be off the mountain by 4pm, and I always worry when I see someone on the way up when we are descending. Asking for food is not a good sign either.

One other thing, despite the name, The Sun, is not really a newspaper.

The quote may not be accurate. That makes sense. The same guide is quoted in this article. Can anyone access the full Dec 26 article:

Disappearance of an English hiker in the Pyrenees: "The hypothesis of an accident is the most credible"

Disparition d'une randonneuse anglaise dans les Pyrénées : "L’hypothèse d’un accident est la plus crédible"

 

[stmarysmead]

From Esther’s introduction about herself on EstherandDan.com blog...”I can't explain it but I really love spending time near glaciers; there just something so mystical about them....”

 

[beckyonsea]

Scary News About the Danger of Chia Seeds I'm really sorry if posted before. If you swig chia seeds with water they can set in your throat.

 

[jsoap]

The quote may not be accurate. That makes sense. The same guide is quoted in this article. Can anyone access the full Dec 26 article:

Disappearance of an English hiker in the Pyrenees: "The hypothesis of an accident is the most credible"

Disparition d'une randonneuse anglaise dans les Pyrénées : "L’hypothèse d’un accident est la plus crédible"

It was an interview with Sud Radio - the Sun made up the rest
Disparition d'Esther Dingley dans les Pyrénées - "Dans 99,9 % des cas, c'est un accident" - Sud Radio