It is with great sadness that we have heard of the tragic deaths of seven climbers in the Caucasus two of whom were very successful participants in our 1996 Virgin Summit expedition to the Pamir. The following report has been put together at the request of the families of the three dead British climbers by Andrew Wielochowski.

Abstract
A private expedition of seven climbers (three British, four Russian) attempted to climb Mount Ushba in the Caucasus in February 2000. An ice fall claimed the lives of the entire party and attempts to recover the bodies have so far been unsuccessful, hampered by inclement weather and the hazardous position of the recovery area.

Geography
Mount Ushba (4,710m) lies in the Pri-Elbrusie ("by Elbrus") region of the Caucasus range, just to the Georgian side of the border with the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic of Russia. In recent years this area of the Caucasus, has been very popular amongst "western climbers" as it has the best infrastructure of roads, hotels, ski lifts and rescue services in the whole of the Caucasus. It is readily easily accessible from Moscow via the international airport of Mineralnye Vody which lies about 200 km. north west of Pri-Elbrusie. Elbrus, 5642m, the highest mountain in Europe, attracts thousands of visitors throughout the year - skiers and mountaineers from all over the world. Kabardino-Balkaria is politically stable and separated from the troubled republic of Chechnya by another republic - Ossetia.

The Mountain
The ascent of either of Mount Ushba's peaks (North or South) ranks in mountaineering circles as a major and high quality achievement as the mountain is remote and physically and technically demanding. It is also exceptionally beautiful and is regarded as the Matterhorn of the Caucasus, though a much harder climb.

The route
It is believed that the proposed (and usual) route of the expedition was to approach Ushba from the Russian side up the long and gentle Shkhelda Glacier. This leads to a steep ice fall (the Ushba Ice Fall) below the Ushba Plateau, a glacial plateau located at 4000m on the Russian/Georgian border. From the plateau steep ice faces and corniced ridges lead to the slightly lower north summit of Ushba.

The expedition
The privately financed expedition consisted of seven climbers. Four of these were Russians from Piatigorsk (very close to the Elbrus region). They were:

Mikhail Zaporozhski (expedition leader)
Gennady Ashurov
Sergei Berezhnoi
Igor Terekhov

The three British climbers, from London, were:
Mark Richard (age 37)
Vincent Diamond (age 32)
Marc Payne (age 36)

The group followed all the correct procedures and signed in with the Rescue Services in Shkhelda under the name of the expedition leader "Zaporozhski + 6". They commenced the climb on February 5th and proceeded up the Shkhelda Glacier to a bivouac site below the Ushba Icefall. Here they left some equipment to be collected on the return journey. It was later found by other climbers. The next day they tackled the icefall and established their next (third bivouac) near the top of the ice fall at about 4,000m. This is known to be a very dangerous area.

On the 9th February two Russian mountaineers from Norilsk met the expedition, on the Ushba Icefall, whilst attempting their own ascent of Ushba. The two group and spoke briefly to each other. On 13th February these two climbers passed the same spot on their way back down after a successful ascent and found the camp buried by ice blocks. Most likely the ice fall happened on 10th February.

Although the ice was such that nothing beneath was visible, the two climbers concluded that they had been camping there when an ice fall occurred which buried their camp in ice. They based this conclusion on the smell of gas in the area - the result of camping gas leaking.

The British climbers
Mark Richard was an Architect involved in building projects worldwide. He was a joint prize winner in an international competition to design a bioclimatic house to be built in Tenerife from recyclable materials, had worked for Santiago Calatrava and with artist/sculptor Frank Stella on the construction of large, strong lightweight sculptures. With Operation Raleigh he moved and rebuilt a small school in Chile and he led the Operation Nellie team. Mark was currently working with London-based KPF Architects on a project in Fenchurch Street.

Marc Payne ran his own industrial pipe freezing business, based in London. He travelled extensively and was a qualified pilot. Marc was involved in diverse projects, from elephant conservation in Uganda and glacier studies in Alaska to the Camel Trophy (a 1,000 mile Land Rover rally) in 1989, for which he was awarded the Seagrove Medal for achievement on land, sea and air - the only year to date that it has been won by a British team. He had been married for five years and leaves a wife, Claire.

Vincent Diamond had worked as a Technical and Logistics Officer in numerous humanitarian organisations since his first project in Tanzania with Health Project Abroad in 1992. Vincent worked with MERLIN in Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire / Congo (1994, 1997), Chechyna (1995), Sierra Leone (1997), Albania, Kosovo, Sudan, Afghanistan and Kenya (1998, 1999). He was also employed with Médecins Sans Frontières in Angola (1996), and Health Project Abroad in Tanzania (1993). Vincent had just returned from Sierra Leone where he assisted the British Government Department for International Development and the United Nations running Disarmament, Demobilisation and Rehabilitation camps for child soldiers from the recent civil war.

The rescue
Approximately 70 people took part in the rescue operation. As yet no bodies have been recovered and attempts are hindered by the hazardous nature of the site and bad weather conditions. Huge ice blocks still hang over the area and the search has now been postponed indefinitely. If the weather improves the search may resume but it is possible that this will have to wait until summer, a comparatively safe time. It could also be that the bodies are swept into a crevasse and permanently entombed in ice.