Three climbers rescued on Fitz Roy

They were trapped at 400 meters high for two days They are Chilean climbers. The details.

Two women and a man, of Chilean nationality, were trapped on February 14, 400 meters high on one of the routes of Fitz Roy. They showed strong signs of hypothermia, dehydration and early frostbite.

It all began last Friday the 14th, on the French-Argentine route of the legendary mountain of El Chaltén, in Patagonia, when the staff of the Commission of Aid (CAX), received an emergency alert call, about three climbers, who were descending that route, and who suffered severe signs of hypothermia.

An operation was immediately deployed involving the CAX of El Chaltén, with support from the Fire, Communications and Emergency Department (ICE) of the Los Glaciares National Park and the Chilean Air Force, which carried out one of the most complex operations in the last 30 years.

The situation became critical due to strong winds of up to 70 km/h and extremely low temperatures. Given the seriousness of the situation, rescue teams were deployed in a race against time.

Four groups participated in the rescue. One of them, made up of specialized climbers, ascended to establish communication with those affected. Another, using drones, managed to confirm that the climbers were alive. The third group of climbers with specialized equipment provided support on the descent. In addition, one was in charge of transporting supplies and equipment to the area.

The rescue began with visual confirmation of the climbers using drones, allowing the situation to be assessed from just 20 meters away. Two CAX rescuers climbed 400 metres up the wall of Fitz Roy in record time to assist those affected.

The rescuers had to face an extreme situation, as the winds were between 50 and 70 km/h at this site. They found that one of the young climbers had frozen hands and the man was going into hypothermia. The third young woman was in good condition, but all were dehydrated and had not eaten for two days. Later, they managed to get them down from the wall in less than three hours, facing extreme conditions.

They finished the descent of the wall at 4.30 in the morning. The people had time to rest and be treated, bringing them out of the state of hypothermia and beginning the treatment of the frozen hands. In charge of caring for the rescued people was Dr. Juan Cruz Adrogué, from the El Chaltén Health Post.

After a brief rest, an air evacuation was activated with a Chilean Air Force helicopter, which traveled from Santiago after obtaining special permission from the Foreign Ministry. The aircraft landed on Fitz Roy on the morning of February 17 and transferred the climbers to a medical center in Puerto Montt.

The rescue was described as one of the most technical and challenging in the history of the CAX volunteer team, who have been helping climbers in the area for more than 30 years.

María de los Ángeles Tapia, one of the rescued climbers, expressed her gratitude on social media: “Incredibly strong and excellent people. Thank you so much. Thank you for not abandoning us and doing everything you could to rescue us. Infinitely grateful. Amazed that there are people like you in the mountains.”

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