The Santa Cruz peaks of El Chaltén (Santa Cruz province) add a new victim after the death of Marcos Gorostiaga. The 28-year-old climber lost his life after being struck by a rock that fell from a mountain wall, killing him instantly.
The event occurred on Tuesday morning in the Niponino area, base of Cerro Torre. The victim, who was a doctor based in the city of Bariloche, found himself climbing with a friend when a stone that fell from the wall fell on top of him and dragged it about 50 meters.
Fitz Roy: two climbers disappeared from the base after being hit by an avalanche
His partner, who was 80 meters away, had no chance of rescuing him. However, he communicated via VHF radio (a mountain communications system) for help, which helped the rescue protocol is activated immediately.
As reported The Southern Opinion, Civil Protection requested a rescue helicopter from the Army Aviation Section 11, which took five rescuers to the scene. Although the tasks were facilitated by the favorable conditions and the good weather, when the patrol arrived in the area, it helped the man had no life.
His body was recovered this Wednesday by the Argentine Army helicopter and was made available to the El Calafate Investigating Court to be handed over to his next of kin when so defined.
Gorostiaga had graduated from the Favaloro University in 2017, but he lived in Bariloche and practiced preventive medicine. On his Instagram account, the young man defines himself as an “attempt to climber“.
Deadly Peaks: 5 climbers have died this season
The 22-23 season of El Chaltén is marked by tragedy after the five people would lose their lives in this type of accidentthe most recent case being that of Marcos Gorostiaga.
christoph klein
The first victim was Cristoph Klein, 48 years old. The Swiss national was an experienced climber and died on the night of December 19 while descending from the Standhart Spire.
“Since he was a child, Christoph dreamed of reaching Patagonia”said Irina, the climber’s wife. The man was with his friend Michael and had traveled to the area with the aim of climbing the Exocet route. However, he decides to give up on his mission due to bad weather conditions.
as they went down, Klein slipped on an ice field and fell down a 500-meter slope hitting ice and rocks. His partner, who made emergency calls through a satellite phone, located him thanks to the fact that the light in his helmet was still on. With the help of three Polish men they met on the road, they got to where the Swiss was, but the man had died instantly.
The body has not yet been recovered. Because it is in an area of difficult access, so the main task of air support is through a helicopter. His family and friends decided to carry out a solidarity campaign for 40,000 euros to cover the costs of the rescue. Once he is rescued, his remains will be cremated and transferred to his home country.
The last update on the donation campaign, carried out on January 16, reported that the rescue will be carried out from chile. However, they clarified that “it is not clear when it will be available” since the transport is occupied by a “fire operation”.
Cristoph was a pastor and theologian. He lived in Switzerland with his wife and three daughters aged 22, 19 and 15. In addition, he was a documentary and short filmmaker. Passionate about climbing, he had a mountain equipment company and he had done mountaineering in different countries. They have also worked since 2011 for the international Catholic charity “Kirche in Not”.
Cassandra Doolittle
On Christmas night, 25-year-old Cassandra Dolittle lost her life in the mountains of the northern area of Los Glaciares National Park. The American was descending the Guillaumet Needle alone when the weather rapidly deteriorated and she died of hypothermia.
The woman had lost her ropes and could not continue down in the midst of the bad storm that surprised her on Christmas night. As posted by a user on the climbing website Mountain Projectthat night The girl’s family received an emergency message. from your satellite phone.
The woman’s body was found on December 27. and the rescue was completed on January 1. “We have hired a private team to bring Cassy back from the mountain and I have just received news that their mission was successful. Our prayers have been answered. Cassy has returned to El Chaltén, and the rescue team is safe,” he informed her. mother of the young woman in social networks.
As in the Klein case, his friends created a GoFundMe campaign to collect money due to the “cost of bringing Cassy home”. Her family traveled to Argentina to recover her body and her belongings. Cassandra was a Neuroscience student and an ice hockey player.
Iker Bilbao and Amaia Agirre
The third and fourth victims were Iker Bilbao, 29, and Amaia Agirre, 31. Both, natives of the Basque Country, appeared on January 19 after being swept away by an avalanche that came off the Fitz Roy hill and buried them in a 15-meter crack in the area known as La Brecha de los Italianos.
The youngsters were experienced climbers who had climbed dangerous heights in the past. On their way down the Fritz Roy they found themselves accompanied by Josu Linaza, another athlete.
Linseed survived as she was able to dodge the avalanche. Before the accident, I tried to find his companions in the snow without success, so he reported the incident as soon as he arrived at the base.
It is believed that the avalanche occurred due to high temperatures on the mountain, where the thermal of the summits that day was 0°, which is dangerous since it causes the snow to lose stability. For that reason, The El Chaltén Relief Commission used not to immediately come to the rescue of the young people.
Although the bodies have not yet been recovered, the El Chaltén Relief Commission gave them up for dead. “They have been buried for more than 48 hours and the chances of survival are reduced,” they were considered on January 22.
In addition, they suspended the search due to the danger of it. “The climbers are not missing. They have been buried in a crevasse for 48 hours and we consider that the search for their bodies exposes our volunteer rescuers to very high risks; therefore, the CAX of El Chaltén considers the search to be over,” information to through a statement.
In this sense, Iñigo Urkullu, president of the Basque government, reported that Argentina “medically certified” the death of the climbers. “It is now up to the Argentine Foreign Ministry to proceed with the corresponding procedures,” no.
aguirre was part of the National Women’s Mountaineering Team of the Spanish Federation of Mountain and Climbing Sports (FEDME), while Bilbao he was a firefighter and a well-respected climber in Durango, his place of origin.
His colleagues from the Basque Country sent him off with regret: “Our colleague and friend Iker Bilbao from the Aiara park (Laudio) has disappeared in an avalanche in Patagonia. We join the concern and sentiment of family and friends,” he wrote on Instagram. They further clarified that “Unfortunately he has been presumed deceased.“.
mb/ds
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