Nepal Nightmare: Highest Helicopter Mission

Real Survival Stories

NOISER

Society & Culture, Documentary, Sports, Wilderness, History

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two men soar over the majestic Himalayas, risking their lives to save others. Richard Lehner and Daniel Aufdenblatten must extract a group of climbers marooned deep in the Annapurna range. With time and oxygen running out, they’ll employ an audacious rescue technique… dangling Richard on the end of a rope, hanging beneath a helicopter at 23,000 feet… A Noiser production, written by Fiona Ford. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's April 29th, 2010, early morning, high above the white mountain slopes of the Annapurna
0:10.4	massive Nepal. The peaks sparkle, sunlight bouncing off the snow. It's a vast, untouched
0:19.2	landscape of ups and downs which stretches for miles.
0:25.0	The only object in the sky is a lone helicopter,
0:28.3	a lightweight single engine aircraft, a tiny speck buzzing above the mountainous splendour.
0:35.0	At first the scene appears calm, almost peaceful.
0:40.0	But something's wrong.
0:42.0	The helicopter isn't gliding.
0:45.0	It's fighting.
0:47.0	It's spinning blades, battle against the violent winds,
0:51.0	straining with each turn.
0:53.0	Thin air claws at the rotorcraft, causing it to wobble and shake.
0:58.0	Hanging down from the chopper is a huge 90 foot length length of rope and dangling precariously on the end of it
1:06.1	his 38-year-old mountain rescue expert Ritchie Lainer. He grips the rope, knuckles white.
1:15.0	His friend and colleague Daniel is flying the aircraft.
1:19.0	Right now, the pair are on one of the most daring rescue missions ever attempted in the Himalayas.
1:27.0	Ritchie glances down at the barren white and black slopes below.
1:31.8	They blur beneath him as he struggles to keep his focus. The helicopter jerks and he
1:36.8	swings in the air. He glances at his oxygen gauge. It's running low, too low.
1:45.0	We knew that like one of the biggest risks, especially for me hanging underneath the helicopter,
1:50.0	was for sure the leak of oxygen and not being acclimatized at this altitude.
1:58.0	My oxygen bottle was almost empty and I knew I have a big problem.
	...

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