"When Natalia saw us, she started crying—she hoped she could come down."

The climbers who climbed Pobedy Peak together with Russian Natalia Nagovitsina did everything possible to ensure that she survived and could wait as long as possible for rescuers to arrive, one of the group members, German Gunther Sigmund, said in an interview with Izvestia. However, the rescue operation for Natalia failed: the helicopter could not climb to an altitude of 7,200 meters, and the weather prevented the rescue climbers from reaching the Russian woman. Experts and specialists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations believe that Nagovitsina is most likely dead — it is impossible to stay alive at such an altitude for more than two weeks. Gunther Sigmund told Izvestia how their ascent to Victory Peak took place, why there was no experienced guide next to the climbers, how Italian Luca Sinigagli died trying to help Natalia, and whether there is still a chance for a miracle.

"Everything went wrong this time"

— How long have you been climbing?

— I am 52 years old now, and I have been actively climbing for the last 8-10 years. In 2025, I went to Kyrgyzstan, to the peak of Victory. This is my second trip to the Tien Shan, but this time absolutely everything went wrong.

— How did you meet Natalia Nagovitsina and the other band members?

— In 2023, I went to Korzhenevskaya Peak and Communism Peak (the highest peaks of the Pamirs, 7,105 and 7,495 m high, respectively, are located in Tajikistan. There I met an American named Paul and invited him to climb Victory Peak, which would be our fifth seven—thousandth peak (the height of the mountain peak is 7,439 meters). We have planned a trip for 2025.

Later, I learned from Paul that Russian mountaineer Natalia Nagovitsina was gathering a group of people to get a discount from a tour operator. I contacted her. We didn't know each other personally before the trip, and neither did anyone else in this group. We just teamed up for a discount.

In early July, our group decided to go on an acclimatization tour to Lenin Peak (7134 m high, located on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. That's where I met Natalia. We chose this peak because it is ideal for acclimatization — it is also a seven-thousand-meter peak, but less dangerous.

— What dangers did the group face on the way to the peak of Victory?

— We went to Victory Peak in early August. There were five of us—me, Natalia Nagovitsina, Roman Mokrinsky, Luca Sinigagli, and that American, Paul. However, on the way to the first camp, Paul decided to leave the route. Then the road turned out to be much more dangerous: there was an icefall on the slope, in front of us was an ice wall ten meters high without fixed ropes.

The group in front of us included experienced ice climbers. One of them walked through this wall, set up a rope and helped us up. Ropes were already secured throughout the entire route: a week ago, other climbers installed them when they lowered the body of the deceased on the way to Victory Peak. Now we could use these fasteners.

The wind was picking up. Caves were dug in the snowfields for overnight stays. The fourth camp was located at an altitude of approximately 6400 meters, and the fifth — at 6900 meters.

Luka was sure that there would be a snow cave in the next camp, so he asked me to leave our tents so that the backpack would become lighter. The next day, the radio said that the weather conditions would soon deteriorate significantly. There were two options left: to go on the road at night or to abandon the ascent, and we decided to continue on our way.

"She was calm, in a normal state"

— How did you know that Natalia was in trouble?

— I wanted to go at my own pace, as I was moving faster than the others. The journey to the top took about five hours, I took some photos and started going down the same route. On the way back, I met Natalia and Roman, they continued to climb to the top. The weather has deteriorated dramatically. Luka and I were at the camp closest to the top, a day passed, but Natalia and Roman did not return.

The next morning, Luka and I decided to go down, as we were left without communication — only Natalia and Roman had a working walkie-talkie. As we were about to leave, we ran into Roman. Pure chance! He was without a backpack or any equipment. He told us that Natalia had broken her ankle during the descent and we had to help her.

We collected everything we found in the cave: food, warm clothes, a sleeping bag, a mat, two burners, gas cans for melting snow, and everything we needed. Natasha sat in the cold and waited for help. She was in a more or less normal condition.

Luka and I fixed her ankle with a piece of trekking pole and set up a tent. Digging and pitching a tent at such a height is incredibly exhausting. In the evening, we were able to contact the camp using Natasha's walkie-talkie. The base replied that it was better for us to take a walkie-talkie with us to stay in touch. Natalia gave it to us without question.

— And you took the last photo with Natalia...

— At that time, we didn't know how badly Natalia had injured her leg and what we could do. Luka asked me to take a picture of the moment when Natalia realized that we had come to her rescue. At first she started crying — she was glad to see us and hoped that she would be able to come down. She was sitting on the ground in the cold, but she remained calm. We were happy that she was okay. They supported her and said that everything would be fine.

"We left Natalia enough food and gas"

— Under what circumstances did your colleague Luka die?

— At night, we received a call from the base and were told that we had to go down. The weather was getting worse — the roof of the tent under which Natalia was staying was torn by the wind. But we couldn't fix anything. We had to leave her in the ruined tent and return to the cave, where Roman was waiting for us. Because of the wind, the entrance to the cave was covered with snow: we had to clean it every ten minutes, and we realized that we could no longer stay there.

I said that we should go to the next camp, despite the bad weather. Then Luka lost his temper — he shouted at us to go without him. He had frostbite on his hand, and he was worried that the doctors would want to amputate it. And then Luke's condition began to deteriorate rapidly, and half an hour later he died in my arms.

— Were there any chances to save Natalia?

— When we left, Natalia was fine, we left her enough food and gas. She could have been alive for another 4-5 days, but after that, the situation is critical. The rescue operation was complicated by bad weather, the helicopter made an emergency landing, and only three crew members were unharmed. I found out that [on the seventh day] rescuers sent a drone to check if Natasha was alive. The drone recorded that she was giving signs.

Helping your friends in the mountains is, first of all, a matter of character, because your own life is at stake. When I read the comments of other climbers on social media, it seems that it was impossible to help. But you don't know for sure, and you have to try, no matter what.

— Who was your guide in the mountains?

— We didn't have a guide, we went to the mountains on our own. Roman probably worked as a tour guide in the past, but he was at the same level of training as us. Ak-Sai Travel arranged for us to travel from the airport to the base and back, and also provided supplies at the base. They had a manager and a doctor, but then we went on our own.

I don't blame anyone for what happened, it was just an accident. If you take one wrong step in the mountains, something irreparable can happen.

— How do you feel now?

— I got frostbite on my fingers and toes because we lost our tent and were sleeping in the woods. At first, I didn't notice that there was anything wrong with my arms and legs because I couldn't feel anything. I think it will take one or two months for treatment, I hope everything will recover. Roman, I've heard, has more serious frostbite.