MOUNT BABKHA DISASTER: 17 Lives Lost, only 2 Survived…
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- čas přidán 10. 11. 2022
- What happened on Soviet Russia's mount Babkha in the spring of 1985? Could this disaster that took 17 lives have been prevented?
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Khamar-Daban Incident mentioned in the video: • WORSE THAN DYATLOV PAS...
Another Mountaineering Disaster in Buryatia: • Deadly Spring of 2021 ...
Other similar cases: • Recent cases
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Sounds like it would be a fun hike if you skipped on the avalanches and the dying. Very scenic.
Yes so long as you bring a machete, a short barreled, high capacity, shotgun along with a 7.62x51 caliber rifle of some sort. Without having ensured my safety, or at least given myself a fighting chance against wildlife you can forget me taking any further chance with Mother Nature.
Imagine hearing several wolves howl in the distance at around sunset knowing that they are most likely on your heel and will hunt you down without issue and thereafter tear you to shreds.
Hell even being in that scenario armed is terrifying in itself but unarmed and at the mercy of the heavens and a pack of hungry apex predators? Sing me the fuck out.
@@chairmanm7686 What kind of fool goes off hiking like that without guns? People that do that kind of deserve to be mauled and eaten. It's merely natural selection at work.
I laughed way harder at your comment than I should have.
Yeah it would be sweet LOL 😂
@@chairmanm7686 LOL 😂
It's widely known that mild temps contribute to avalanche risk as well as "cutting" a track across the fall line. Experienced mountaineers will start their ascent in the dark to traverse the snow at it's most dense (usually around midnight. If it warms too much during the day when the descent is to be done they will wait till dark again when the snow has a chance to consolidate. Bottom line is these folks were in over their heads. Great story!!
Yep. Usually is the case. As for the global warming issue, I’d prob skip any mountain where avalanche is possible...really sucks.
"...in over their heads." Tragic pun.
I didnt know about this, but then I am not a hiker.
This is such a sad story. It seems like the whole thing was caused by inexperience and lack of knowledge; not just that the hikers didn't know how to descend in a way that minimized avalanche danger, but that they were so inexperienced, they maybe didn't even realize there was anything to know about it.
I think it's very easy, when you're on a hike with guides, to think to yourself "Well, during the hike, the guides never had to do anything to rescue anyone" and think that means the hike would have been safe without the guide, that they are just there for emergency situations. But you're not seeing all of the knowledge, planning, and research that happens. Often there was no need for rescue because those with knowledge made informed choices that avoided danger in the first place.
Almost like they didnt get chosen for the summit for a reason...
I am not a mountaineer, so I can only take a guess. But to me, the greatest risk is overestimating oneself and underestimating nature and all other factors. Because we usually experience that worst things do not happen to us, we think that we can get by with being a little careless or daring. But that is a false sense of safety. Mountains have their own set of rules, and if somebody happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, disaster will strike for them, no matter how strong or how prepared they might be.
You also wanna trek in well established places that have camps and other mountaineers.. like in the Himilaya you’ll run into buddies from Colorado.
In Siberia? You’re on your own. The only living thing near you for a thousand miles are wild animals that wanna eat you cause food is scarce.
Nope. 👎
Here in Colorado, we use Mason jars with notebooks, so you don't have to bring/take anything, and you can see who climbed before you! One time, I had reached a summit in the Mosquito Range, and some other hikers saw me writing and came over to ask what I was doing. They had climbed five different 14er peaks without realizing there is a place to mark your ascent! Climbing mountains will give you secrets that only other climbers have.
So why are you leaking the secrets, brah? 😜
Thing about taking/leaving notes is for those who do mountain tourism/ alpinism as a sport. You need them as a proof you completed your root for it to count as officially registered.
Kinda like a visitors log or something...I have seen and done this, but at a state park in texas. No mountains. Just a hike with a bird viewing area. It was neat! At the end, we swam in a lovely, cool river. What a way to end a hike! It was a great day, minus the weather reaching into over 100° F...lol..but we were almost finished by the time it became very hot.
On Everest all the discarded O tanks make it obvious people make it often. That and poop.. yeah literal poop. People will shit anywhere if they think they are gonna die.
im so fascinated by asian russia. Its one of the most beautiful places in the world, and the folklore and history and peoples are all so fascinating.
Seeing a dead body sit up would creep me out forever.
The production quality of your videos just gets better and better.
I have a strong stomach & scientific detachment, but if I was one of those rescuers - already stressed & exhausted, trying to avoid setting off another avalanche - and there were corpses _moving_ as they defrosted & rigor mortis set in...??! They'd better have _a lot_ of vodka on hand!
Really appreciate all the details, photos & footage you always provide about the local people, their history, the environment, etc as it really helps paint a more vivid picture of events. You get a greater appreciation for why these inexperienced hikers would be so determined to go, and how they could so tragically get caught up in the beauty & adventure without recognising the dangers. Excellent video. 👌
There's a saying in the medical field.. You can't pronounce (dead) a cold body. Always have to defrost. :/
Kinda like that Ray Stevens song "they say the dead can't hurt you because they've already left - but what they left can sure make you hurt yourself."
I believe I'd be terrified of moving corpses..
That (the moving bodies) would be wild to witness...wow!
@@ladyweasellou3367 I love Ray Stevens...
“Luckily they had brought enough vodka”
That’s the most Russian sentence ever
Really? I'm Russian, nobody drink any alcohol in my family🤢🤢🤢, now I live in S.Korea and I see really how Koreans more alcoholics then Russians! 😵 It sound kind of odd
@@user-hv9vn4fi4w It's a stereotype. Just like you stereotyped the Koreans. Sheesh
@@user-hv9vn4fi4w I’m Russian, we are not alcoholics, but..
Vodka is used in Russia as anti fever and cold medicine, as anti dispersant and in pretty much any bad situation..
Да ты и сам знаешь ))
What a silly statement.
Alcohol has been used in nearly every culture that lives in a cold climate to keep warm during such situations. Vodka just happens to be a Russian favorite (or it used to be....). Not to mention they are in Russia.
So.......... yeah, your comment makes no logical sense
You produce these videos really well with the film, in depth research and great narration - can really imagine taking these hikes and the awful haunting tradegy that hawks them. Great work!
thanks so much for watching!
The narrator calls it senseless deaths. But the hikers made their choice and discounted risks. You tube is full of mountain climbing deaths and disasters. Of course it is tragic. Yet some people opt for extreme risk while they pursue thrilling adventure. They take their chances and live--or die with the natural consequences.
The way you tell the story, the respect. Great content, my man.
I really love your videos. They have such a distinctive atmosphere and the stories are captivating.
thank you!
I always think in most tragedies its a number of particlar errors that seals the fate. Its very rarely one thing that causes accidents to happen. I've watched many mountain disasters and this is usually the case. Quite often people trust other people and forget about their own common sense. Lack of experience is the number one factor in deaths occurring, even though a lot of experienced climbers do die, if you lack experience you are more likely to.
The big one is people wanting to break records. They get blinded by some perceived status upgrade and die.
The ones who climb these mountains and survive are the ones you never hear from that just love climbing and learning new safe ways to get up hard mountains.
Great job on the animation and editing to show the geography of the area
This is so informative! Great job, fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝 Keep it up 🙌
One consistent thread I'm getting from all of these videos is to stay the hell out of Siberia and off of mountains.
Ok so far we had:
Himalayas
Pamir
Urals
Alps
Altai
Alaska range
I was just looking at your videos wondering when you would post. Let’s go!! About to watch this really enjoy the channel by the way!great work
Great video, nice to see events covered that I wouldn't know about otherwise.
WELL MADE SHORT DOCUMENTARY I LOVE HOW YOUR VIDS ARE ALWAYS THRILLING AND EXCITING MUCH LOVE
Glad you enjoy it!
I love the way you tell stories as well as the atmosphere in your videos :)
It looks like a fairly accessible area during the summer months...why climb it at all during the avalanche season?
Its extreme speed and stealth suggest little could have been done to survive; each victim suffering a crushed chest from initial impact; not even a moment to turn away :(
I found your channel a couple of months ago. I love your content especially of mountain disasters in Russia and the surrounding areas. I know this disaster wasn't reported on in the US. I really hope Lake Baikal remains intact as it is.
thanks for watching!
Love your channel, you find some great disasters that ive never seen before, its refreshing! Keep up the good work!
I know exactly what you mean, but “great disasters” 😂 lol
Disasters are always so refreshing. Huh
Excellent video. You have a very good channel.
thanks for watching!
After thawing the dead people started moving under their own weight!! Are you kidding? I never heard of such a thing! First time I saw one move I would have taken off and run all the way down the mountain and never looked back!
Thank you, Archie's Archives.
Russia is insane, I've been there, you cant comprehend how massive and cold its wilderness is, and I was on in Sevastopol on the black sea in Summer! 🤣
My thoughts..... going down a different way.... they atleast knew the way up and it's conditions
Being a highly experienced paramedic who has been involved in countless rescues, I don't know that the bodies moving as they thawed would bother me because I've seen such things before, but seeing dead young women has bothered me in the past because I tend to think of my daughter.
In my opinion- the snow played the most dangerous role in this situation
Interesting to learn that Khamar Daban either means "nose ridge" or "nut pass." Even more interesting to learn that their language gives words multiple meanings that have absolutely nothing to do with one another. I imagine that makes for some pretty confusing conversations. For example:
Patient: "Hey Doc, my khamar really hurts."
Doctor: "Did you get punched in the face or kicked in the balls?"
😂😂😂😂
English does same thing.... synonyms
@@peterguirguess853 Synonyms are separate words with same and/or similar meanings.
Homonym?
English also has 'homonyms'... like the _bank_ of a river versus a _bank_ that you store your money in. Or a _pen_ that you write with versus an animal's enclosure, a pig _pen._
great documentary
This guy have some very intriguing videos. I'm all into it!
Hiking contest in Russia! I'd rather do SAS training; It sounds, easier, warmer n more fun! 😳🙏
I'm not sure even the 'legal' climbers cld have prevented an avalanche. I mean there was snow everywhere and it was very sunny. Perfect climate for one. Perhaps, they stayed too long on the summit is all. As a once climber, I was taught to descend from the summit quickly-atleast not 3 hours. R.i.p. Forever with Mother
Gotta say, Archie, Your subtitles are often hilariously mal-translated!
Great Content!
Keep up the EXCELLENT work...
How terrifying. I would've been drinking vodka also. I appreciate the person organizing the rescue/recovery mission, demanding that everyone participate in the search.... That's what has to be done in that situation.
3 hours on the summit, could have been a bad idea
Mt Babkha is at about the same elevation as Mt Washington, New Hampshire.
Different climate and geology, though.
It irks me when comparisons are made so lightly.
It definitely boils down to the time of year. Terrible time for inexperienced climbers to take on an unregulated 6.7k meter peak
That's the first time I've ever heard of somebody drinking vodka to "come to their senses."
They died because they thought they new better. The didn't get their way so they forced it. It all was 100% avoidable. But they felt entitled and didn't care about their safety or the safety of others. This is what caused their deaths.
It's a tragic but really there's no one or nothing to blame. Death had came swiftly for them instead of it being a painful, gruesome and prolonged process ...
Its the fact that the inexperienced climbers didn’t follow the same steps back down the hill. Always follow your steps back
Dude. Avalanches happen. You can't prevent them.
Exactly.
Also wind, snowfall and even the sun can easily make foot steps disappear.
I'm pretty sure I'd need a drink or two also..or maybe even the entire bottle( sipping slowly) after the sight of the bodies moving. 😳🍾🥃...S.I.P to the lives lost 🙏
I think everything they did was a safety issue, no wonder in spite of all their safety disregard they still managed to summit. But their total non- compliance due their sheer ignorance of the safety issues and also their youthful nonchalance, inexperience and naiveté greatly contributed to their death, a really harsh and cruel price which these defiant youngsters paid !!
Wow! Lake Baikal: World's largest freshwater lake. More fresh water than all the N. American Great Lakes combined. A precious source of water. I hope it can be saved. It sounds like a very serious situation. 💓🌊💓
It's an ever-growing lake, so I doubt it can ever become something even close to a swamp even with higher temperatures.
@@melodi996 The plague of the climate warriors! It used to be called Global warming, but that was proved wrong, now it's climate change. The climate does change, easily seen in historic records. Man made climate change is unproven. Peace be unto you.
@@martinwarner1178 whatever you're smoking, quit it.
@@melodi996 Only experience my friend. NO MAN MADE CLIMATE CHANGE, HAS BEEN PROVEN. Peace be unto you.
“Hike the Khamar daban! No deaths since yeste...since 5 minutes ago! If you find a body, bring it down for 10% off your hotel cost!”
Such a tragedy
Dying in the mountains doesn’t scare me because I have no intention, ever, of climbing a mountain. It must be the ‘challenge’ but it doesn’t interest me in the slightest. And I have an insanely irrational fear of snow that I was born with and has stopped me from ever going near snow.
My great gran thinks I’m a reincarnation of her mother who died in an avalanche whilst on holiday in Switzerland.
Yeah. It’s proper weird…
Fears are passed down in the genes. There are some very good papers published and studies on it 👍
Stop, you mean snow on mountains or just snow? Are you staying at home for the whole winter or just don't climb such peaks? I also don't get why people like those challenges (rationally), mountains are looking great when you look on them from a reltively safe place. Sadly, anywhere ner mountains you can die without climbing anything, but you have greater chances of dying if you visit danger zone.
@@melodi996 I live in Australia. It’s a dedicated journey to find snow.
@@vmm5163 but how would that work in her case, as her great grandmother encountered the avalanche after passing on her genes?
@@kirakaffee9976 agreed. Not genes. I also named my first dog and my first horse after her same animals. And I’m the absolute image of her. Like a twin.
People like to climb mountains. In groups they go. Many groups every day of the year. Every year. Things happen in the mountains. Ankles are sprained. Wrists are broken. Fingers get frozen. Noses get stubbed. And then there is this frightful word. Avalanche. Snow and rock that starts sliding and moving. Looking ever so innocent it represents mass and inertia. Even the smallest avalanche can swallow a person just like that. It is surprising to see. People looking wearily at some moving snow round their feet. And then they fall. They struggle. They dissappear. This was different though. These people got ambushed by a large mass of snow and rock. No time to react. Instant death.
So we look for a reason. Who to blame. What was THE cause. What did they do WRONG? But that is not how causality works. Each event has infinite causes. Not one. Each life is a story with an end. We all die in time. And mostly we do a thing like climbing a mountain. And we get to live another day. But not them. Not then. Not there.
There is no reason for it. No reason at all. It just happened.
After paying and prepping, taking off work, coming all that way and being hyped to do it I'd have joined the illegal group too. The people who set the whole thing up should have canceled the whole thing. If blame is placed anywhere it should first be placed on those who went illegally, but the Group who chose which stayed and went because they couldn't handle it is equally guilty. I don't really think anyone is to 'blame' though, you can't predict avalanches.
Nice video!
I guess I'd have also been too dissapointed not to do it illegally.
Avalanche prediction is a well developed science. The times and places where avalanche danger is the highest is very predictable.
Those who died are to blame for their own deaths due to the often fatal combination of youthful enthusiasm and ignorance. Their decision to stay on the summit for 3 hours is what killed them .
@@ArcFixer if you took all that time, money, prep and then just told to go back home, Is just plain wrong and scummy should’ve been cancelled and replanned
None the less, they made the fatal decision to stay on the summit for 3 hours while the avalanche danger increased with every minute.
It's not about blame, it's about responsibility. Each person who died made the decision that led to their own death.
The circumstances that put them on the summit are irrelevant. That's the brutal truth of mountaineering.
Such things happen to highly competent people, experienced and reasonable
Sometimes, no means no.
Wow!
In my non-professional opinion, I think that the CAUSE of the tragedy may have had something to do with that whole being crushed & buried by snow thing.
Definitely inexperience and arrogance is what lead to their early demise, unfortunately young men will never stop testing their limits of endurance. For what I just don't get?
I think anyone with any sense would have realised that people, having taken time off work and made plans for this ascent, would go anyway regardless of what anyone else said. These people were considered to be the least prepared and therefore at the most risk. Someone in authority should have considered this and made contingency plans for everyone to go up if they wanted to and given experienced winter/snow hikers to each group. They obviously didnt realise the risk of avalanches was high but if an expert had been with them, they would have taken a different route.
That could put experienced hikers in danger. They were not there as guides. That is not what they signed up for. The ones who didn’t make it should realize that the mountain will still be there, they could have tried again. Taking time off of work should not be worth losing your life or risking the life of others. They travelled illegally and they knew that. It was their own risk
Ego with a dash of hubris.
well, they didn't have an experienced guide with them so they probably ignored telltale signs of avalanche conditions.
What are the telltale signs of an avalanche?
great
Babkha means old grumpy grandma in my language. So to me it seems like the mountain was named after a stubborn granny who decided to climb it.
In my language babka simply means grandma. A neutral word with no suggestion of grumpy. Im from Slovakia 😊
They took the wrong trail to avoid being sent back. That's their biggest mistake.
Fate, luck, and circumstance.
Thanks! Fun Video. It's Elk not Elks when talking more than one.
Off topic a bit but I was curious how such a deep lake could become a swamp from climate change. Apparently large algae mats are forming along the shoreline but it is a result of raw sewage being dumped into the lake by coastal communities and not a direct result of climate change. However, the warming waters (relatively speaking) is having an effect on zoology of the lake, which may affect the fisheries the coastal populations depend upon, so it might be a self fixing problem as far as the algae mats since without sewage from humans the algae growth might stop.
Hiking in any mountains in Siberia is nuts. It’s strait up amazing looking but not cutout for humans up there. I’d rather be in the Himilaya tbh.. at least there you have Sherpa who will help you. Siberia maybe a bear would kill you quick so you didn’t have to freeze to death who knows.
Thanks for yet another interesting video. I wonder how long it would've been until someone had found them, if nobody had survived.
Either way, I must admit that there's especially one thing in the rescuers description that I'm sceptical about. But limbs moving after thawing due to being affected by gravity, sounds as if it could be creepy enough to experience, even though most presumably understands that thawing + gravity is the logical explanation behind it.
It sounded like it was not as hard as in some other cases high in a mountains or like a story of Sergey Bodrov when he and his movie crew (as well as a whole village) were killed by Kolka-Karmadon rock ice slide, while place is known, out of 100+ people less than 20 were found as well as parts of the cars, just impossible to find them under tonns of stones.
Their limbs would also be moving _against_ gravity due to rigor mortis setting in as the bodies thawed, which would creep out even the most hardened rescuer.
Awww Man, that’s terrible! 🤭
124,798 micrometers of rainfall every year
No Nose November
Each made the choice that they would live or die with. I would of went. You take time prepare have everything ready and have someone say...no you can not go. I would of gone rather I died or not
Was that a pipe organ cover of The Shining movie theme?
We should always have respect for rules or regulations because they are there to basically save u if u listen n pay attention. A little discipline goes along way!
Any experienced climbers out there? Out of curiosity, is it normal to fabricate stories in the note you leave on top of a mountain? Why did he say they were "19 parachutists who landed on the peak?" Was he just trying to be funny? I assumed it was more of a pride thing, or like an "evidence of accomplishment" notice -- like, you leave the names of the successful climbers along with a date, and perhaps a "Hello/Good luck!" to the next climbers to make it to the top. Apparently, trolling isn't just an internet thing -- even old-school mountain climbing groups were trolling people on mountaintops back in the day.
Mountain climbers (and fishermen) never fabricate stories. Trust me...I am a climber.
No. What they did was an f... you to the official event. This notes are for thoes who do climbing as an official sport. As a proof of summiting. You write time, day of summiting, names if group member, where are you from and what tipe of hike are you on (at least for passes).
@@Sollinare Yeah, that's what I figured. Thanks for clarifying, Sollinare. Appreciate that.
What tragedy they brought upon themselves. The rules & laws are made for a reason most times it’s to protect your @$$.
Clearly they shouldn’t have hiked. That’s what caused the disaster.
I've been trying to find other reports of this event to no avail. Could it be listed in another way? Just peculiar to find no other info on it. Thank you to anyone who can help.
I've just found a couple on Google. I typed in: Khamar Daban incident 👍
There's probably more Russian media reports & websites than English language articles.
probably because of the language barrier, many things don't get translated into other languages
Lake Baikal is also well noted for a pretty famous USO incident where a group of Russian divers ran into some underwater alien creatures. They tried to catch one but a blast shot them up to the surface at a rapid rate killing 3 or 4 divers from the bends...the survivors refuse to talk about it anymore....look it up....ty😂
Just don’t defy rules in dangerous situations. It’s about safety.
The lack of experience was their downfall
It's an easy one., for a thrill, do something safer. Never trust anything to do with nature, because it is unpredictable.
Same is true for women. They are also unpredictable.
I'd lose my shit to if a frozen corpse did an Undertaker sit up in front of me.
Where is the part when the bodies unfroze and started moving?
The impt thing that resulted to the tragedy is stubborness
What a stupid idea to drink alcohol after doing all that exercise it’s a mess. It’s not good for you and it’s poison. Should’ve been drinking water getting rest maybe had some pill for the mental anguish what to think that alcohol will fix. Anything is wrong is always a net loss.
No means no deaths on there own hand's bless you all
Why is everything stranger in soviet Russia?
It's clearly because they didn't fill in the correct forms
So they went up the mountain illegaly and when it goes wrong they expect to be saved.
Through the NUT pass I wander
They were irresponsible spending 3 hours on the summit. The longer you stay high up in the mountains, the higher the likelihood you will get caught in an avalanche. Idiots.
Only plus side is at least their last moments were one hell of a rollercoaster ride! 🤣
Better than fading away drooling, in diapers, staring at a wall all day in a nursing home.
Ah, the "rules don't apply to me" set meets karma.
Somehow I doubt that they died instantly.
"...climate change will turn this unique source of fresh water into a swamp"
Is this before or after Climate Change eats your homework?
The plural of elk is elk, not elks.
02:05 So was Russia.