Press release: Piece found of missing climber Wilson’s helmet

June 12, 2016 9:50 pm

In the search for Dutch climber Christiaan Wilson, who has been missing since May 16th, a piece of a helmet has been found that is most likely his. It was found near Swiss Camp on the route that Wilson planned to take. The piece is clearly part of a Petzl Sirocco helmet. A traveling companion who was with Wilson earlier on in his trip, has confirmed that he did indeed have one of these helmets.

Not weathered
The piece of the helmet was found in a hard to access spot, at a narrowing of a stream. According to Paul van der Laan, who is searching for the climber together with a group of friends and a group of climbing experts, the material shows no weathering by sun or water. This could indicate that the material had only been there briefly and confirms the assumption that the piece is part of Wilson’s helmet. Paul had to descend with a length of climbing rope to get to the piece.

Time is short, monsoon starting soon
Based on the discovery of the piece of helmet and the location where it was found, the team searching for the Dutchman is drawing up new scenarios. The team will continue its search, with the aid of search and rescue dogs and the support of various climbing experts. However, time is running out since the monsoon is coming, which will greatly hinder their search efforts. Yesterday, one of the friends on the search team reported a landslide in the area. In the coming period, ongoing rain will only increase the likelihood of landslides.

Disappearance
On April 17th, Christiaan departed for a trip of 35 to 40 days to the summit of the 8167 meter high Dhaulagiri in the Himalayas. This mountain is located about 500 kilometers from Mount Everest. He was with Jordan, a climbing friend from the United States. On May 4th, Jordan suspended his ascent and went back down to civilization on his own.

Christiaan last used his satellite phone on May 15th, and didn’t respond to text messages that were sent later. Various eye-witnesses saw him depart in the direction of Italian camp on May 16th. Since then, there’s been no trace of him.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

For more information, please contact the ‘Stichting Red Christiaan Wilson’ via [email protected] or +31 (0)20-760 19 81.

Foto van Christiaan Wilson met de specifieke helm. (Geen grotere resolutie beschikbaar)

Christiaan Wilson met helm

Photo of Christiaan Wilson with the helmet in question. (Higher resolution not available.)

Petzl Sirocco helm

Petzl Sirocco helm

Overview Map Swiss camp related to Italian camp (right above in the corner is Dhaulagiri basecamp)

Overzichtkaart

Update June 11th

June 11, 2016 11:55 pm

Satellite images
The analysis of the satellite images is a time consuming job and is taking some more time still.

Handing out flyers and talking to many people
Felix, John, Ben and Ruben are very busy handing out flyers in various areas where people might live who could have seen Christiaan. They are talking to many people, hoping to gain information about the last sighting of Christiaan. Several people confirm he was headed for the Italian camp.

Felix, John en Ben in Nepal

Canine team
The first period of the hiring of the search dog team is almost over. Further deployment of the team is being considered.

Search is getting harder due to rain

June 9, 2016 6:30 pm

Pemba op zoek

Pemba searching

Paul and Pemba have been searching the area between Basecamp and Italian camp during the last few days. Unfortunately it’s getting more dangerous because of the continuing rain. In the video below you can see how the river has grown.

 

Update search and rescue dogteam

June 8, 2016 11:58 am

The search and rescue dogteam searched intensively during the last few days. The dogs are exhausted and need rest. They got to Bagar. it´snot likely that Christiaan is between Italian camp and Bagar. The team will focus on the area between Basecamp and Italian camp. The dogs need to go up the mountain again. Unfortunately the weather is too cloudy / rainy for a helicopterflight. The dogs need to be picked up and get new supplies of food. it would be best to do this as early as possible in the morning, so the change for clouds is as less as possible. Felix, Ben and John are in Pokhara and willmake further plans with the Nepalese leader of the team.

Search by air, Pemba and Paul together

June 7, 2016 7:49 am

 

This morning a new search by air took place. Ruben flew along with the flight. The extra flight was made possible by (a part) of the generous donations we got. Ruben gives us the following update:

“The weather was good this morning. We flew from Pokhara. Just before we wanted to get up in the air, Paul called that it was too cloudy, but when we got there we could clearly see Paul and Italian camp and landed safely. We’ve had a short contact and decided that Paul and Pemba would fly to Basecamp.

3 man searched the Hidden valley from the helicopter. We landed nearby a tent, but they were climbers who had just arrived.

Paul is making plans with Pemba what they will do the upcomming days. It’s good to know good people are searching on the mountain. I spotted the dogteam by air. I expect them to reach Bogar.”

Paul en Pemba zijn inmiddels samen

Paul and Pemba are together