Top Russian Climber Dies on Himalayan Peak
Nadya Oleneva was climbing on Dhaulagiri when the accident took place
Top Russian climber, Nadya Oleneva, 38, has died while climbing Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), the world’s seventh-highest mountain.
Oleneva, Roman Abildaev and Rasim Kashapov were climbing without guide support or supplemental oxygen when she fell. Abildaev and Kashapov were at camp two when they noticed Oleneva wasn’t behind them. They began to search for her, finding evidence that she had slipped and fallen. They searched for around 200 metres below her last known position until the path led to an area with crevasses. Search and rescue technicians found her body in a crevasse while searching from a helicopter.
Oleneva was a highly experienced alpinist and big wall climber who’d been established difficult routes on remote peaks. In 2019, with Evgeny Glazunov and Pavel Tkachenko, she climbed a new route in Siberia via a 1,000-metre big wall-style route graded 5B UIAA VII+ A3. They named the mountain Pik Ostryi. Just last year, Oleneva, Ratmir Mukhametzyanov and Alexander Parfenov made the first ascent of the north face of a 5,816-metre peak in Kyrgyzstan called Pik Korolyova.
Oleneva had been nominated twice by the Piolets d’Or for her contributions to alpinism. “I want to say pinch me, I’m climbing an eight-thousander!” She wrote on Facebook at the start of the Dhaulagiri expedition. Our condolences go to Oleneva’s family and friends.
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