UKH

Not much known at the moment, but last comms were from Camp IV (above 6300m in memory Ridge)  on the 24 Feb. A rescue team is waiting to fly out in Skardu. 

In reply to Ramon Marin:

Its just been reported on the BBC, oh dear.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

Report from Daniele Nardi's FB profile:

Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard are on Nanga Parbat. Since Sunday afternoon they have not been giving news either by satellite phone or by radio connected to their base camp where there are a liaison officer and two cooks.

Since yesterday morning the alert has been increasing and all the systems have been activated in case of intervention.

This morning at 6.30 a.m. there was the first connection with the base camp which, after having carefully observed the route and the possible escape routes, such as the descent from the Kinshofer route, excluded the presence of mountaineers in movement, the observations are kept constant.

The Pakistani rescue system was activated by asking for a helicopter for an exploration of the mountain. The agency of Nardi in collaboration with Evk2CNR Pk has activated the company Askari, which has the government concession for the use of military helicopters for civil rescue, and in a few hours all the bureaucratic procedures were concerted so that at 9.30 am, Italian time, the helicopter was ready to take off from the heliport of Skardu, 40 minutes flight from the base camp of Nanga Parbat on the Diamir side. The Pakistani agency had also obtained the consent of Ali Sadpara, a Pakistani mountaineer who climbed the Nanga in winter two years ago, to support the pilots in the reconnaissance and any rescue action.

Unfortunately, after a short time, due to a national emergency linked to the conflict between Pakistan and India, of which all the press agencies have reported, the Pakistani airspace was closed and the helicopter on standby in Skardu could not take off.

Finally, the Pakistani mountaineer Karim Hayat, the expedition companion of Nardi and Ballard until the end of January, was sent from Islamad by land. He will presumably be able to reach the base tomorrow evening.

Ambassador Pontecorvo, who has been working positively since last night, has also alerted the British embassy and together they are asking the Government of Pakistan to exceptionally send the helicopter to base camp.

What we read about the Russian expedition's social workers regarding a request for their intervention refers to a possible hypothesis, but not pursued and now decidedly impossible given that the base camp of K2 is in Restricted Area compared to the areas of possible practicability granted by the military jurisdiction that in these hours have all been closed.

We are waiting for news from the base camp about possible movements on the mountain that is monitored minute by minute with the hope that the Pakistani military emergency can return and allow Ali Sadpara to reach the base camp before it gets dark.

Every official news item is managed by Daniele Nardi's Facebook profile.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

This is horrifically worrying, especially given the difficulties brought about by the unrest in the region.  

In reply to Ramon Marin:

I personally can not believe the lack of attention UKC have given this. It is national news and a potential tradgedy onfolding. Instead news of Adam Ondra climbing another bit of rock and some merino wool garments supersede it. Pull your finger out UKC and do some real journalism

In reply to Neil Amos: Over 10,000 views between the two threads alongside getting fairly comprehensive reports direct from Pakistan seems reasonable coverage to me for what is still an unfolding story.

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/expedition+alpine/tom_ballard+daniele_nar...

In reply to Neil Amos:

How will that help anyone, other than keeping the ghouls informed? I imagine ukc is a small operation and might not even have anyone working today. And/or quite possibly there is no news to report. Do you want this to be rolling news with reports desperately trying to find new ways to re-state old information?

News will come out, why does it matter to us if it is today or in a few days? I'm sure those personally involved in this have other sources of information other than ukc.

In reply to mountain.martin:

I agree... the threads are enough. Sticking  big news article up seems wrong to me. The team are doing what they need to do... leave them be.

If media pressure as needed to kick start stuff it would be differnet, but that isnt the case it would seem.

In reply to Neil Amos:

I agree Neil. There is more information on Facebook than UKC. 

In reply to Neil Amos:

You can guarantee newspapers will be trawling here for a snippets etc..  for obvious reasons. Better to just let those who knew the individuals talk privately and not feed the press. 

In reply to Neil Amos:

That's harsh. What little information there is is being posted here, particularly by Natalie. UKC is not a News Media Organisation clamouring to publish false information.

Unfortunately very little is known, the area is caught up in tensions between India and Pakistan, and the bad weather isn't helping. 

Of course everyone is worried sick by all this, but would you prefer to read false reports or speculation?

If you know better then why aren't you contributing by posting what you know rather than moaning about the lack of information on UKC?

In reply to Trangia:

So what makes you think I know more? 

When the tradegy of uli steck unfolded there was far more information coming out of UKC in headline form. I noticed the difference in saturation that’s all. Just a simple observation.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see this getting whipped up. On UKC there are people who understand mountaineering and can communicate to us in ways that make sense and we understand. Not the regular BBC hyperbole and sensationalism.

I still think your observation against UKC was harsh.

It wasn't a simple observation, you told them "to pull their finger out and do some real journalism", hence my sarcasm. 

In reply to Neil Amos:

Simple observation. Tom Ballard is a brit, with lots of friends and family here. The UK press are a nasty bunch and will do anything to get a headline. That probably includes joining forums or using the contact the ukc member option here if they get a sniff of a story. 

The reasons to keep traffic to a minimum on a public forum are glaringly obvious. 

In reply to summo:

At no point have I said about whipping up on forums. My comments was about the headline UKC news. Please be factual in replying.

trangia, my comment about pulling the finger out was purely a comment that I believe that factual and well reasoned news on Tom might be more important that the new developments in merino wool technology. Clearly My opinion differs from others and apologise if I have upset any of you, it was not my intention. I am expressing an opinion that I stand by.

to reiterate, I DO NOT think that forums are the best vehicle for information like this but it is the world we live in. The fact that there are two threads in here dedicated to this story emphasises this. I just think that UKC could do a better job of reporting this or at least explaining why they don’t.

In reply to Neil Amos:

I would guess that UKC probably does not have a Himalayan- based correspondent and therefore would rather let those who are in proximity to the events unfolding comment in first person. What benefit would a speculative article serve for anybody? I feel it'd be worse than uninformed forum noise... 

In reply to Wee Davie:

One benefit of slightly more coverage could be making sure people know about the gofundme page that's been set up: https://www.gofundme.com/friends-of-daniele-and-tom-nanga-parbat-rescue

In reply to Neil Amos:

There is no outcome of the story yet. Unlike some other outdoor websites, I do not see this as an opportunity to generate clicks and speculate when not all facts are known and there is no outcome. I am in regular contact with Shamyl who is equally keen to set the record straight and not spread misinformation. I have been contacted by the mainstream media multiple times (as often happens in these situations) for comment and I am simply pointing journalists in Shamyl's direction rather than, as some have mentioned, fuelling the ghoulish stories that can appear out of this kind of situation. I know that the press keep a close eye on UKC and I don't want to add fuel to the fire. I have added two journalists from major outlets to Shamyl's press list in the last day or so and sent our UKC piece detailing the protocol of heli rescues in Pakistan to keep people as informed as possible.

I am disappointed in the way some outlets are seemingly capitalising on the situation by sharing minor updates, attention-grabbing videos of avalanches and reposting articles about Alison Hargreaves. 

I have a report written with each stage of the process so far. I'm just waiting for the right moment. Truth be told I don't know when that might be. My thoughts go out to family and friends. Also, perhaps consider that the people whose difficulties and deaths we have to write about are frequently friends or acquaintances.

In reply to Natalie Berry - UKC:

Well done Natalie. Given that pretty much all relevant information seems to be coming from one single Facebook source anyway, I can't see any value in padding that info out with superfluous background info and/or speculation.

Fingers still crossed for a positive outcome.

In reply to Natalie Berry - UKC:

Well said Natalie.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

As others have replied, well said Natalie.

@Ramon, I have asked for this thread to be pulled, so there is a single line of info. No offence intended to yourself.

To others posting, well, what to say. How about 'imagine it's was your brother/son/cousin/friend up there'.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

Please see this thread for updates: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/expedition+alpine/tom_ballard+daniele_nar...

This one will be closed for further comments now.