Francys Arsentiev
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Francys Arsentiev (1958 - May 24/25 1998) became the first woman from the U.S.A. to reach the summit of Mount Everest without the aid of bottled oxygen, on May 24, 1998.[1]
On this occasion she climbed together with her husband, Sergei Arsentiev. Francys had problems during the descent and eventually died about 350 metres below the summit. Her husband, who had gone to find help and was returning to her with oxygen and medicine, disappeared and his exact fate is not known.
During Francys last hours she was encountered by two climbers, Ian Woodall and Cathy O'Dowd. They called off their own attempt to reach the summit and tried to help her for more than one hour but because of her condition, the location and the cold weather they at last decided to leave her and to start descending.[2]
Ian Woodall initiated and led an expedition in 2007, "The Tao of Everest", with the purpose of burying the bodies of Francys Arsentiev and another climber nicknamed "Green Boots", who is also visible from the nearby climbing route. Bad weather delayed the attempt, and on May 23, 2007, Woodall was only able to locate, and after a brief ritual, drop Francys off the North Face to join others in their mountain grave, removing her body from view. [3]
