Matterhorn
Based on information from other climbers who encountered the pair on the southwest ridge of the 4,478-metre mountain, rescuers believe the two men had tried and failed to summit the day before and were trying a second time, but turned back too late.
When a helicopter rescue was finally possible 36 hours later, Finance Police Rescue Marshall Massimiliano Giovannini found Peter Rumble and Dennis Robinson buried under a snowdrift, unresponsive and lying on top of one another. Italian authorities said the two men, both age 67, were close friends and resided in France.
Desperate call
They had driven a camper to Cervinia, where Mr. Robinson's companion was waiting anxiously as the two climbed.
Their first desperate call for help came in around 22:30 Thursday night. They were near a high steep corner fixed with chains, called the Grande Corde.
The steep, sloping slabs of exposed rock just below the 4241-metre Pic Tyndall minor summit are a particularly dangerous segment, especially in ice and snow.
"They had called 112 saying they were in a terrible storm, were very cold, completely in the dark and unable to descend further," Marshall Giovannini told the Telegraph.
When they called back again 30 minutes later they were on a small snowfield with bad visibility and sheer drop-offs on either side. Both had crampons, but neither man had winter gear and they were wearing only light pants and windbreakers.
By phone, an Alpine guide in the Cervinia office tried to talk them through the best route down to a bivouac ledge just five or six meters below toward their right, but sub-zero temperatures were already causing psychological strain.
"They said they could not move. They wanted a helicopter, but the storm was terrible, with snow and high winds," said Mr. Giovannini. "It was impossible."With helicopter rescue out of the question, Marshall Giovannini and three others set out on foot Friday morning. They reached the closest refuge, the Carrel hut, around mid-morning but were unable to advance.
Though just 150 metres as the crow flies from where the two men were stranded, the steep, technical route can take an hour to descend in good conditions, and many more in averse conditions.
Rescuers continued to call the mens' phones Friday morning, which were ringing, but with no answer.
At first light Saturday morning a helicopter was able to take off from the Italian city of Aosta, but couldn't land due to high winds.
At 10 a.m. the helicopter was finally able to land at the location, where its hovering rotors exposed a backpack poking through the snow.
"We dug there and found them lying one on top of the other, probably trying to stay warm," Mr. Giovannini said. "Sadly they were not well enough equipped for the winter conditions."
Since the first ascent in 1865, more than 500 people have died on the 4,478-metre mountain between Switzerland and Italy, notorious for its dangerous sudden, strong storms, even in summer.
Two Italian climbers descending earlier exchanged a few words with the British men when they were higher up on the mountain, leading investigators to believe they miscalculated the descent time and turned around too late.
Rescuers found the Mr. Robinson's British companion waiting in the couple's camper at the bottom of the valley after identifying the camper based on photos in a camera found in one of the man's backpacks.
"She is understandably in shock and being aided by embassy staff now."
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