The Lenin Peak Tragedy: ELVIRA SHATAYEVA And Her Women-Only Team // Frozen Forever

today i'd like to tell you the story of the chitava group the first all-female mountaineering team they had set out to conquer lenin peak but fate had other things in store for them the story of elvira shitayeva and her team makes one ponder many things not only safety issues and the cost of human life but also the way people took to the fact that the group was women only welcome to archie's archives join me as we investigate this tragic incident this incident took place 15 years after the death of dieflev's group the year was 1974 and the presence of women in many professional areas had come to be seen as the norm owing to soviet culture which since the 1930s had promoted images of women as factory workers scientists air pilots and senior officials sports and especially mountaineering were no exception even though there weren't that many female conquerors of mountains they had successfully gained recognition by the early 1970s elvira chatayeva was among the best-known women mountaineers in the soviet union at the time of their ill-fated ascent she was 35 years old elvira was born in 1938 in moscow she graduated from the moscow academic art school and afterwards worked as a sports committee instructor in the spartak sports society in 1962 she became interested in mountaineering having been introduced to it by her husband vladimir shataiv himself a well-known climber in 1970 alvirah earned the title of master of sport in 1971 alvarez chitava became the third woman to ascend communism peak now ismail simone peak along the buravasnic ridge later on she participated in the first all-female ascent to pique korzynevskaya it was her idea to organize an all-women climb to lenin peak rising to 7134 meters or 23 thousand and four hundred feet seven thousand meters or twenty three thousand feet is the altitude at which the adaption zone ends and the partial adaption zone begins this means that after spending six or seven days at such altitudes the human body cannot supply vital organs with enough oxygen leading to dysfunctions resilience and endurance begin to decrease and the climber needs more and more time to rest because the body starts living off its own energy reserves this condition is further worsened by severe dehydration that occurs at high altitudes but let us return to elvira's story she had first expressed the idea of conquering a peak of over 23 000 feet in 1971 and spent the following winter choosing her teammates in the summer of 1972 elvira joined galena rozelska ilciar muhamedeva in an antonin assan as a test of their strength they ascended peak korjanevskaya which also exceeds 23 000 feet in 1973 elvira headed another all-women team which traversed the legendary double-peaked ushba in the caucasus mountains having reached the first summit the group took a different route for their descent thus conquering both peaks usb is a very challenging mountain that only experienced mountaineers dare to climb thus the preparations for the ascent of lenin peak continued not only did alvarez chitava want to go with an all-female team she wanted to make sure that no man would attempt to help them in any way here's how she described her decision overcoming the physical barrier is one of the main goals of our experimental ascent and the remarks of the skeptics that women cannot survive a single day without an incident occurring sounded like a warning perhaps there may occasionally be some truth to that when she was invited to go to the tianshan as part of the male team she retorted in a conversation with one of the climbers vladimir kavunenko you think we're just playing around and you're the real thing we're not doing it for prizes you know it might sometimes make sense to deceive others but why deceive ourselves keep in mind that it's the women themselves who are the greatest skeptics here do you understand even i don't fully believe in myself though i have climbed ushba and korjanevskaya i argue with myself and will i climb lenin peak to prove my own arguments and here's you a gentleman offering to take me by the hand to hunt angry and so lenin peak was elira's chosen summit for the climbing season of 1974. it was considered to be one of the least dangerous mountains in the 45 years since its first ascent not a single climber had died on it first people had recommended that alvira choose another more dangerous summit but she rejected these suggestions saying she wasn't ready to take the risk whereas lenin peak had never held any surprises yet it was exactly that year that the quiet and harmless mountain was not its usual self its slopes were much snowier than usual and the weather was far from agreeable on the 25th of july an avalanche killed john gary yulin a capable american climber he became the mountain's first victim then in early august the mountain took another person a swiss woman named eva izan schmidt it was for early august that chitava had planned her group's ascent on the 10th of july 1974 chitava's team assembled in the city of ash in modern day in kyrgyzstan the group included ilser mohammed eva nina vasila valentina fatejva irina lubimtseva galina perhaduk tatiana bardasheva and ludmila manjarova elvira had known some of them personally through previous ascents with the others she had only exchanged letters male climbers recounted that the women lived in the base camp like a well-trained ship crew they observed strict discipline trained rigorously and did two preliminary hikes in order to adapt to the altitudes they were dedicated hard-working got unwell with each other and understood the purpose of their being there they were wary of men who tried to help the women set up their tents at a distance from the main camp and were careful about who they let in elvira's husband vladimir shataiv was present in the same camp at the time and could observe how his wife and her team prepared for the ascent soon however he had to leave and when saying his goodbyes he asked alvirah not to overexert herself and turn back should anything go wrong [Music] by the beginning of august chitava's team was fully ready they started their climb at the planned time leaving the base camp and setting off for the peak on the 2nd of august alvirah chitava sent the following radio message to the base camp around one hour left before we reach the ridge everything is okay the weather is good the wind is mild and the way is easy everyone is feeling well so far everything is so good that we're even disappointed in the route it's interesting to note that at the same time there were several male teams on the ascension route and climber vitaly abalakov back at the base camp had asked them to wait a little so that they could have the females group back chitava's team however did not accept the men's assistance finding that it would diminish the significance of their own ascent the women decide to rest a bit in order to postpone the climb and get the male teams off their tail elvirian formed the base camp of their plans at 8am on the 3rd of august she added that they planned to approach the summit the next day in a reply message obelokov reported that the weather forecast was positive the women were determined in their endeavor but it seemed as if the mountain didn't want them to come close on august the 4th at around 5 p.m elvira chitava reported over the radio the weather is getting worse it's snowing that's good it will cover the tracks so that no one accuses us of following tracks at that point one of the man's teams was close to where the women were and they asked the base camp about further directions they were told that chitava's group was doing fine and that they could descend the rest of the story is known only from communications over the radio on the 5th of august the women successfully reached the summit at 5 pm chitava reported over the comms where on the summit base camp replied with the message of congratulations and wish them a successful descent the journey seemed almost over but already in the following communication elvira revealed warring news visibility is poor 20 to 30 meters we're unsure of the direction of the sand we've decided to put up tents set them up in tandem hoping to discern the descent path once the weather improves base camp i agree with your decision if there is zero visibility then it's best to wait it out and perhaps even spend the night on the summit if possible the conditions are bearable though the weather isn't kind visibility is zero it's always windy here just as we were told don't think we'll freeze hopefully the night won't be too challenging we're feeling well it is indeed cold and unpleasant at the summit it's possible that the wind will continue unabated might even grow stronger try to wake up early and find the descent path and if possible start the descent immediately good night and good luck the 6th of august 10 a.m the weather hasn't changed at all there's no visibility we got up at 7am and have been monitoring the weather constantly waiting for a glimpse of anything through the fog to find our way through the descent it's 10 o'clock now and there is nothing no improvement visibility is still poor about 20 meters what will the base camp recommend abu lakov let's talk at 1pm have a snack in the meantime 1pm no change nothing's cleared up the wind has suddenly started growing stronger visibility is still poor and we don't know which direction to go in we're ready to move out at any moment but time has passed we're making lunch now we're planning to eat and then pick up to be ready to leave in 10 to 15 minutes tops please inform us if there's anyone going in our direction the worsening weather is noticeable on the ridge and below individual climbers are going up today but looks like reaching the summit wouldn't be possible if anyone has left their bivouac shelters they will likely return because of the weather so which direction do we go in if facing the obelisk face the obelisk and start descending to your left it's very difficult to give directions on the radio there is no discernible descent there anyway it's more like intermediate fields you can descend if there are tracks from previous groups if these are absent and there is zero visibility then it's better to wait till the weather improves the descent path in the direction of resdell near peak isn't well defined with bad weather and visibility it's best to stay put we'll discuss it and come to a decision 5 pm no improvement in the weather it's only getting worse and worse we're fed up with being here it's so cold we would like to leave the summit we've already lost all hope of any improvement in visibility we just want to start the descent if possible the wind is very very strong before descending we'll listen to you what do you think of our plan and now please invite a doctor to the comms we have a question we need his consultation what's the matter what sort of consultation do you need one of our teammates is sick for about a day she's been throwing up after meals we suspect it might be her liver i think it's the beginning of pneumonia the group should descend immediately we're in such a situation that we don't know how to distribute our medicine another teammate of ours is not feeling well i'm issuing a reprimand for not reporting the sickness of a teammate sooner you will comply with the doctor's orders give her an ejection and immediately start your descent via the lipkin route understood okay we will do the injections pack our tents and start descending in 15 minutes as far as the reprimand is concerned i'd prefer to receive it at base not at the summit thus the women began their descent the morning of august the 7th shitaiva yesterday at 11 pm irina labimtseva tragically died during the descent 15 minutes after receiving this message a team of soviet mountaineers left the base camp to help the stranded group french british and austrian teams also set out they managed to contact japanese mountaineers who are close to the summit no more than 400 yards away from chitava's group all of them set out to help but a snowstorm blocked all paths finding and saving the female climbers became an impossible mission it was said that an earthquake was also registered around that time the third one that month 2 pm chitava to base camp we've got two dead vasiliva and fatteva belongings have been blown away three sleeping bags left for five people we are very cold four of us have extremely frostbitten hands the descent keep your courage if you cannot walk try to move around always keep yourselves in motion please contact us every hour if possible 3 15 pm we're very cold we cannot dig ourselves in nothing to dig with backpacks have been blown away 5 pm base camp kledsko the japanese found nothing on the ridge got frostbitten from the strong wind no result 7 pm base camp to another group the tragedy on the summit is coming to an end they probably won't last long tomorrow morning at 8 we will inform you of the ensuing actions you'll probably have to climb up 8pm base camp to shitayev's team dig in keep yourselves warm help will come tomorrow hold out till the morning 9 12 p.m communications are now being made by galena pir hadouk the base camp can hear her begin the broadcast but then there's silence after a while she starts crying the words are difficult to make out there's two of us left we can't go on anymore in 15 to 20 minutes will be dead [Music] twice more the base camp noticed the sound of the radio button being pressed feudal attempts to communicate yet only the howling of the wind could be heard it's hard to imagine the nightmare that the women must have lived through words simply failed to describe it let's recap the events after chitava's group reached the peak the weather conditions worsened dramatically and the women decided to make camp for the night on the summit spending in the night on the peak with its strong winds and low temperatures is very dangerous but attempting a descent in zero visibility is even worse evidently the base camp didn't consider the situations to be dire after all shetaiva was an experienced mountaineer and seemed to have everything under control so she was given the right to choose a course of action and in the end her choice was supported then again maybe the team didn't actually have a choice the next morning on the 6th of august the weather became so bad that not a single team would set out towards the summit the tracks of previous climbers had been completely covered by snow but they couldn't stay in the summit much longer especially after it turned out that one of the teammates was vomiting after every meal shativa was reprimanded for not reporting the sooner but her husband vladimir later wrote in his book that elvira likely considered the vomiting to be a symptom of mountain sickness which though unpleasant was only to be expected yet it was at this point that vitaly abalakov decided to issue a reprimand being an experienced climber perhaps he understood better than anyone else the threat that loomed over the women and simply couldn't keep his temper the weather was merciless at around 2am the next day a snowstorm hit the peak that night irina lubinseva died at 7 pm the base camp sent the following message to another group of climbers the tragedy on the summit is coming to an end what did that mean mountaineers were used to hardships and were realistic about their assessment of the situation the women didn't have a chance and indeed at 9 12 pm the base camp received the last message from the team it was over once the snowstorm subsided american and japanese mountaineers were first to reach the scene of the tragedy they made a map that could later be used to find and identify the bodies the climbers reported finding seven bodies and said that the eighth woman was missing for a short while this gave a twinkle of hope that she might be alive though everyone understood how unlikely that would be a member of the japanese team that mapped the area and put up flags to mark the bodies recounted a chilling incident upon his return to the base camp after we went back to the tent we started getting auditory hallucinations jack and i would hear a voice outside it sounded like the pleading of a young woman but every time we left the tent to take a look we would hear only the creaking of robes under the weight of the snow what could that have been the soviet search team was led by ilvira's husband vladimir shative who had left the premier mountains a few days earlier he found out about the tragedy only upon his return when he arrived at the foot of the mountain he noticed that everyone was mourning but soon thereafter you heard the horrible news shativa's whole group had perished in spite of the hard blow that this news must have been shetty found in himself the strength to head the search team and was the first to start the ascent in his book he assiduously describes every detail every step every thought how he fought the hope of seeing his wife alive how he tried to accept the facts ascending the peak not for the conquest but to identify the bodies of eight women when vladimir shative reached the summit before he opened a view that he would never forget under a dazzling blue sky there was a majestic snowy slope on which he could see small dark lines one under another this was the female team elvira laid closest to the descent path feeling weak in his legs vladimir approached the body and began the formal identification procedure he got out his recorder turned it on and started speaking elvira chataiva he paused filling his lungs with air and continued blue anorak vibram shoes crampons on the feet small round mirror broken he described the gruesome image in detail and seven more similar descriptions awaited him vladimir and his group found all eight victims the eighth woman nina vasileva lay in a terror tent under the body of valentina feteva and the japanese team had simply failed to notice her the climbers ducked two graves in the snow they buried nina the silva valentina fattaiwa and arena libinsev in the first grave galena perry hadouk tatiana bardicheva and ludmila manjarova elvira shataiva and ilcr mohammedeva were late in the second grave they had planned to leave the bodies there for good mountaineers seldom bring back down the bodies of their fallen comrades mostly due to the great risk any ascent to the peak is dangerous and not many would be willing to risk it for the sake of the dead however this unspoken law was soon broken for chitava's group the relatives of the victims had pleaded for their bodies to be returned and even their fellow climbers felt bad about leaving eight young women on the mountain forever vladimir shative felt that a return mission was necessary this is why a year later he requested permission to bring the bodies of chataiva's group back from the mountain he admitted to being afraid that his motives would be misunderstood that people would think this was his way of coping with his own grief but the soviet council on sports understood him correctly and granted him permission to embark on this risky endeavor to chataif's surprise mountaineers across the whole country from beginners to professionals wanted to take part in the mission all of them were prepared to ascend the peak of their own free will at the last moment shative made an unexpected decision and included two women in his team ana ananiwa and rano sabirova inspired by what they had written in their letters to him we firmly believe that mountaineering is not only about physical strength the mission lasted 14 days and was a success the women were buried at the foot of lenin peak in the attaways field base camp in his speech during the burial ceremony the demon shetav said our mountaineers were gentle and courageous women they conquered peaks humans will always put themselves to the test including through mountains it will never end not for men not for women i wanted to bury elia here in this land at the foot of the mountains as long as the premier stands people will always be here the premiere will help keep the memory of them forever the tragedy on lenin peak became one of the most harrowing incidents in the history of mountaineering a sudden and heartbreaking end to the lives of eight young women vladimir shative continued his mountaineering career after his wife's death conquering everest in 1995. he is now 84 and married a second time as recently as 2016 he ascended mount kilimanjaro one can only imagine how many peaks alvirah could have conquered but as they say mountains either let you come to them or they don't and sometimes they take climbers with them forever even though the cause of the group's death seems obvious there are rumors in mountaineering circles that aloe vera never told the whole truth that perhaps some of the women got sick even before they reached the summit and that they continued their hike in spite of that however there is little proof for this version which sounds more like a conspiracy theory it is overwhelmingly likely that it was the weather that played the fatal role in their demise thank you everyone for watching don't forget to subscribe please share your thoughts about today's story in the comments and feel free to suggest ideas about other stories for me to cover in future videos [Music]

Channel: Archie's Archive

Views: 1,462,829

Keywords: elvira shatayeva, women only team, lenin peak, lenin peak tragedy, frozen in time, frozen forever, mountaineering, everest, k2, ussr, soviet, mystery, shataeva, korovina, abalakov, dyatlov pass, dyatlov, archies archive, archie's archive, archie's archives, archie's, archive

Id: hPo33ouQWoE

Length: 27min 44sec (1664 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 06 2021