One year to the day that Russian mountaineer Alexander Gukov was rescued after spending a week stranded at over 6,000 metres on Latok 1 following the death of his partner Sergey Glazunov, Ash Routen tells the story of one of the most dramatic rescues in mountaineering history...
The marooned Russian hurriedly hit the SOS button and punched out a message to Anna Piunova and a few family members and friends. There was two percent battery remaining on his satellite messenger. "I NEED HELP. EVACUATION REQUIRED. Sergey fell. I'm hanging without any gear."
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