Chilling SOS message before climbers vanished on mountain trek

Fears are growing for a top British climber and her American friend who are missing up a 7000m mountain after their equipment fell down a gorge.

A top British climber and her American friend are missing up a 7000 metre-tall mountain in treacherous conditions as fears grow over their safety.

British woman Fay Manners, 37, and American Michelle Dvorak, 31, have been missing for more 48 hours after trekking up the looming Chaukhamba mountain in northern India.

Manners, an alpine climber who works with brands like North Face, sent a frantic message with Dvorak back to the base camp on Thursday saying they were in trouble after their equipment plunged down a steep gorge, The Sun reported.

Top British climber Fay Manners is one of two women missing on the 7000m Mt Chaukhamba in India.

American climber Michelle Dvorak is also missing. Picture: Facebook/mtdvorak

A desperate search for the two experienced climbers has been launched with helicopter scouring the snow-capped mountainous region for any sign of them.

But on Friday the search had to be suspended due to the arctic weather conditions and the high altitude that helicopters couldn’t reach, a source told The Sun.

The head of the rescue operation told the newspaper his team were planning to trek the same route up the mountain tomorrow morning and trace their steps in the hope of finding them.

“There are so many agencies working here,” he said. “They are all working in co-ordination with each other.

“The Indian Army, Indian Air Force, the District Administration, State Administration, along with my team, the State Disaster Response Force.

“We hope to evacuate these two ladies as soon as possible.”

They have been missing for days on the 7000m-tall Mt Chaukhamba in northern India. Picture: Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Fay Manners is an experienced alpinist. Picture: Facebook/Fay Manners

Michelle Dorvak (pictured) and Manners have trekked together before. Picture: Instagram

Local government officials said Manners and Dvorak’s bags – containing essentials like food, their tent and climbing equipment – had fallen down a ravine on Thursday.

The climbers then used devices, believed to be pagers, to contact the mountain rescuers to say they were in trouble and needed help.

According to the head of the rescue operation, the pair made the SOS alert at around 20,350 feet (6202m).

They have not been heard from since.

Manners, from Bedford in England, is an pro alpinist who looks to “inspire women to pursue their interest” in mounteneering.

She moved from the UK to the Alps to follow her passion in the outdoor sport.

Her impressive climbing history includes making the first female ascent on the Phantom Direct route on the south face of the Grand Jorasses, according to her website.

A desperate search for the pair is underway. Picture: Instagram

Fay Manners is an avid mountaineer. Picture: Instagram

The athlete works as a data analytics consultant by day, according to her social media.

Dvorak is also a very experienced climber and in 2022 the pair travelled to Alaska and climbed the famous Bacon and Eggs on Mini-Mini-Moonflower.

The 31-year-old is a teaching assistant at the University of Washington, according to her Facebook.

To be able to ascend peaks like the Chaukhamba III, climbers have to obtain permission through the IMF.

Manners and Dvorak had set off from New Delhi and got permission to climb the mountain on September 15, sources claim.

It is not clear when they started their trek, but they had a stationed IMF officer at base camp, who they sent the SOS message to.

A Foreign Office spokesperson told The Sun: “We are supporting the family of a British woman reported missing in India and are in contact with the local authorities.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Chilling SOS message before climbers vanished on mountain trek