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Argentinean Dhaulagiri I Expedition 2008 Spring - Dario Bracali

Bracali, Cura, Glass and Vitry reached C3 on 30 April planning to go to summit on 1 May. On arriving at C3 Cura realized that his last three fingers of right hand became senseless. During the night the frostbitten fingers of Cura started paining and it was unbearable besides it was very uncomfortable in the tent. They were sharing a two-man tent.

On 1 May, Bracali and Vitry left C3 at 2 am for summit. Bracali turned around to C3 from about 7800m due to exhaustion. When Bracali reached C3 at about 11:30 am, Cura left C3 accompanied by Glass. Glass said that they had to descend very slowly due to bad weather and arrived at C2 about 4 pm. Cura's three fingers were already black and other fingers too started getting cold. Then Cura and Glass descended to C1 where they arrived around 8 pm, spent night there and next day to BC where the Polish doctor gave him antibiotics and injections. Cura left BC on 5 May with Spanish (Pasaban) team by helicopter to Kathmandu and left on 7 May.

Vitry reached summit at about 3:30 pm. He stayed on summit about 15 minutes. On the summit there were Spanish woman (Marta), Polish woman (Kinga) Baranowska and once Catalan (Jesus). All four descended together to C3, Vitry reached C3 between 2-3 am of 2 May. Bracali was waiting for Vitry in the tent. The Catalan climber was nervously asking Vitry to help him while descending from the summit. While helping him on rope Vitry lost his right hand glove. The day was very windy and cold. On 3 May, Bracali left C3 at 2 am for summit. He did not return to camp and nobody has seen him. He was alone on the mountain and nobody has gone up on that day. Vitry waiting for Bracali at C3 and he got a message from Spanish expedition leader to leave the camp immediately as weather is going to be very bad. Then Vitry left C3 at about 4 pm. On the way down he had to bivouac between C3 and C2 (about 7100m) because he could not see the route.

Lithuanian expedition leader Saulius Vilius (C1) told that on 5 May he got a call in the evening from Italian expedition leader and asked about two Argentinean climbers missing at C3. Vilius immediately informed his two climbers at C2 to look for the two missing Argentineans. After a while three Sherpas from Italian expedition arrived at C1 to rescue the missing climbers. But they refused to go up and started negotiating through radio for their reward money and that they would not go beyond C2. Vilius further said that they saw somebody coming down from C3 to C2 but the descending person was heading towards wrong direction. Then, Vilius immediatedly asked his two members in C2 to go up and to help the person who was descending. The two Lithuanian climbers, Ernestas Marksaitis and Egidijus Mockus, after two hours of climbing above C2 finally been able to bring the badly exhausted and frostbitten Argentinean climber Vitry back to right trail and to C2 where the Italian expedition Sherpas were waiting for him. On 6 May with the help of two Sherpas Vitry arrived BC. At the BC the Polish Doctor gave him injection and medication. Almost all the fingertips except thumbs of Vitry were frostbitten and also his forehead skin was frostbitten. The team, Glass, and Vitry left BC on 7 May by helicopter to Italian BC. On 8 May they were taken to Pokhara by the returning helicopter on which two member of HRA search team of Bracali arrived in Swiss BC. Glass and Vitry returned Kathmandu on the same day from Pokhara. They were trying to leave on 11 May.

According to Padam Ghale, leader of Dario Bracali search team comprising four members, was sent by HRA on request of Global Rescue, USA through Ace the Himalaya, Kathmandu. The search operation was financed by the insurance company of Bracali. The search taem found lots of foodstuff, some climbing equipments, and clothing and cash Rs 10,500 in C1 on 11 May. Search team leader Ghale made arrangement with Nima Tshiring Sherpa of World Record Trekking, who was in C3, to look for the Argentinean tent and to bring down the things inside it. Nima Tshiring brought down to BC some climbing gears, clothes and walkie-talkie set on 13 May. The search team returned Kathmandu on 14 May. It is not possible to find the missing Argentinean alive due to dangerous mountain ridge, high altitude and strong wind.

The search team (as listed on the Monterosa web site) consisted of 4 Spaniards:
Ruben Jimenez Gomez
Fernando G. Castillo
Carlos S. Pascual
Juan A. L. Lecumberri