Francys Arsentiev
Francys Arsentiev | |
|---|---|
| Born | Francys Yarbro January 18, 1958 Mountaineer |
| Known for | First U.S. woman to climb Mount Everest without help of oxygen; died on the descent. |
| Spouses | John Abel (m. 1977; div. 1978), Sergei Arsentiev (m. 1992; both died 1998) |
Francys Arsentiev (January 18, 1958 – May 24, 1998) became the first woman from the United States to reach the summit of Mount Everest without the aid of bottled oxygen, on May 22, 1998.[1] She then died during the descent.
Early life, education and career
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Francys Yarbro Distefano-Arsentiev was born Francys Yarbro, on January 18, 1958, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to John Yarbro and his wife Marina Garrett. At age six, her father took her to the Colorado mountains. Growing up, she attended
Climbing
In 1992, Francys married Sergei Arsentiev. Together, they climbed many Russian peaks, including the first ascent of Peak 5800m, which they named Peak Goodwill, as well as
Everest
Initial attempts
In May 1998, Francys and Sergei Arsentiev arrived at base camp, Mount Everest. On May 17, they ascended from Advance Base Camp to the North Col, and the following day they reached 7700 m (25,262 ft) as 21 other climbers reached the summit of Everest from the North. On May 19, they climbed to 8,203 meters (27,000') (Camp 6). Sergei reported by radio that they were in good shape and were going to start their summit attempt on May 20 at 1:00am. On May 20, after spending the night at Camp 4, they started their summit attempt but turned around at the First Step when their headlamps failed. On May 21, they again stayed at Camp 6, after ascending only 50–100 meters (200' to 300') before turning around.[2]
Summit and aftermath
After these two aborted attempts on the summit, they began their final ascent on May 22. Due to the absence of oxygen supplementation at such high altitude, the two moved slowly and summitted dangerously late in the day. As a result, they were forced to spend yet another night above 8,000 meters (26,000'). During the course of the evening, the two became separated. Sergei made his way down to camp the following morning, only to find that his wife had not yet arrived. Realizing she had to be somewhere dangerously high upon the mountain, he set off to find her, carrying an oxygen tank and medicine.
Details of what happened next are uncertain, but the most plausible accounts suggest that on the morning of May 23, Francys Arsentiev was encountered by an
Death
On the morning of May 24, Briton Ian Woodall, South African Cathy O'Dowd, and several more Uzbeks encountered Francys Arsentiev while on their way to the summit. She was found where she had been left the evening before. Sergei Arsentiev's ice axe and rope were identified nearby, but he was nowhere to be found. Both Woodall and O'Dowd called off their own summit attempts and tried to help Francys for more than an hour, but because of her poor condition, the perilous location, and freezing weather, they were forced to abandon her and descend to camp. She died as they found her, lying on her side, still clipped onto the guide rope. She was aged 40, with one son.[2] Her corpse had the nickname "Sleeping Beauty".[1]
The mysterious disappearance of her husband was solved the following year when
"The Tao of Everest"
Woodall initiated and led an expedition in 2007, "The Tao of Everest", with the purpose of returning to the mountain to bury the bodies of Francys Arsentiev and an unidentified climber ("Green Boots"), both of whom were plainly visible from the nearby climbing route. Francys Arsentiev's body was visible to climbers for nine years, from her death, May 24, 1998, to May 23, 2007. On May 23, 2007, Woodall was able to locate Arsentiev's body, and after a brief ritual, dropped her to a lower location on the face, removing the body from view.[4] In 2014, "Green Boots" was moved to a less conspicuous location by a Chinese team.[5]
See also
- List of people who died climbing Mount Everest
- Timeline of climbing Mount Everest
- Junko Tabei (Japan), the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest (16 May 1975).
- Wanda Rutkiewicz (Poland), the first European woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest (16 October 1978).
- Hannelore Schmatz (Germany), the first woman to die on Mount Everest (2 October 1979).
- Sharon Wood (Canada), the first North American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest (20 May 1986).
- Stacy Allison (U.S.), the first U.S. woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest (29 September 1988).
- Melissa Arnot (U.S.), the first U.S. woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and survive the descent without bottled oxygen (2016).
Notes
- ^ a b Tweedie, Neil (May 6, 2007). "Peace at last for Sleeping Beauty". The Age. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Everest 2007: Before David Sharp there was Fran..." EverestNews.com. 2012. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ SK (2012). "Serguey Arsentiev's body, probably, found on Mt.Everest". cetneva.spb.ru. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ "Everest: Sorry Melissa Arnot, but It's Been Done". Gripped Magazine. 2015-04-24. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ^ Alan Arnette (23 April 2019). "What's Being Done About Trash (and Bodies) on Everest This Year". Outside Online. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
