Five days in a snow trap at an altitude of 5700 meters - the rescue of a tourist in Nepal
In late October 2025, a Spanish hiker found himself stranded near the Sherpani Col pass at an altitude of about 5,700 meters. Due to a sudden deterioration in weather conditions, the high-altitude terrain became impassable, so on October 28, the man activated an SOS signal using a Garmin satellite tracker.
The coordinates of the disaster were passed on to the operator Easy Heli Charter Service in Nepal, which organized a helicopter on duty in Lukla and sent three rescue Sherpas with food and equipment from the Makalu area. However, heavy snowfall continued in the mountains on October 30 and 31, causing zero visibility and a sharp increase in avalanche danger. Through a two-way satellite communication, the tourist contacted the coordinators and insisted that the ground team of Sherpas not risk their lives on the dangerous slope, noting that he had arranged a reliable shelter and would wait for the weather to allow the board to go.
Rescue teams remained on standby until November 2, when a suitable weather window finally appeared in the area. A helicopter with Sherpas managed to ascend the glacier, picked up the hiker at approximately 8:40 AM local time, and safely transported him to Lukla.
Source: Beyond the signal: a five-day rescue in the high Himalayas - ITIJ
Context
In the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas, it is almost impossible to estimate the distance in the usual kilometers, since the speed of movement depends entirely on the condition of the slopes, the thickness of the snow cover and the availability of bypass routes. The complex topography and the lack of the usual transport infrastructure force rescue services to rely on duty at special safe points and the specific selection of weather windows for lifting equipment.