Search For John Snorri Continues, Still No Sign

Two military helicopters began a search for John Snorri Sigurjónsson and his party this morning however nothing has yet to be found, Visir reports.

The helicopters returned after four hours of searching with nothing no sign of the mountaineers on or near K2. Visibility this morning was particularly bad with the mountain being covered in clouds.

According to Chhang Dawa Sherpa on Facebook, searches were being made at around 7,000 metres above sea level. The search and rescue team are currently waiting for the visibility to clear up before making another journey out to the mountain.

The helicopters used by the Pakistani military can fly up to 8,000 metres above sea level, however the summit sits at just over 8,600 metres.

John Snorra Sigurjónsson and his party, Ali Sadpara and JP Mohr, have now been missing for about three days.

Harsh and brutal conditions on the mountain.

Thaneswar Guragai of Seven Summit Treks, the company which organised the expedition, have said that the conditions on the mountain right now are very extreme.

“It’s winter now and the cold is so extreme. It is not uncommon for it to drop to minus 75 degrees when the wind chill factor is added. 50 degrees below is measured, with minus 75 degrees with a wind cooling coefficient,” says Thaneswar Guragai.

He went on to say that “hope has waned. According to information I have from the base camp, the conditions are very difficult. This is K2 and it’s winter.”

The party was last seen just 400 metres from the summit, at what is known as the Bottleneck. This is about 8,200 metres above sea level.

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