“We still don’t believe it”: Russian ice climbing champion Vlasova died from the consequences of a tick bite

Russian ice climbing champion Alena Vlasova died at the age of 36. The country's Mountaineering Federation named her the leader of last season's team and promised to provide all necessary support to the family of the deceased. The athlete is survived by her husband and ten-year-old daughter. The cause of death was complications from a tick bite in June. She spent three months on a ventilator in a state close to a coma.

“Three months on a ventilator in a state close to a coma”

The beginning of October turned out to be dark for domestic mountaineering, because two tragedies happened almost simultaneously. Five people died while attempting to climb to the top of Mount Dhaulagiri. And a little earlier, the current champion of Russia in ice climbing, Alena Vlasova, passed away. Her death was announced by the country's Mountaineering Federation.

“We still don’t believe it. We mourn and express our sincere condolences to family and friends,” says the organization’s official website.

Farewell to the athlete will take place on Wednesday, October 9. She will be buried in her native Kirov at the Novomakarevskoye cemetery. She is survived by her husband and ten-year-old daughter.

At the same time, the federation noted that what happened was in no way connected with an accident or participation in competitions and the cause was named as a disease that Vlasova had been struggling with for a long time. And the vice-president of the FAR, Pavel Shabalin, promised to provide the relatives of the ice climber with all the necessary support.

“Alena was the leader of the team last season. She won the championship and the Russian Cup and could well continue to compete… Of course, we intend to help her family,” the head of Sport-Express quotes.

A little more details were revealed by the Mountaineering Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region. According to the organization, in early June the woman was bitten by an encephalitis tick.

“By the end of the month, complications began (meningeal encephalitis), intensive care, coma, three months on mechanical ventilation, pneumonia with 70% lung damage,” the federation says on social networks.

The SHOT Telegram channel confirmed this information. It is noted that in the summer Vlasova was actually bitten by a tick while staying at her friends’ dacha. The very next day she went to see a doctor, but this did not protect her from severe consequences. The athlete developed encephalitis, and later complications.

“Vlasova spent three months on a ventilator in a state close to a coma. 70% of her lungs were affected. According to her husband, the athlete heard her interlocutors and even tried to answer, and also opened and closed her eyes. She died on October 5,” the post notes.

The husband touchingly said goodbye to his wife on social networks, publishing her photo.

“She is no longer with us. May she remain in our hearts as she is in this photo: cheerful, kind, open to everyone. Beloved mother, wife, daughter, friend,” the man wrote.

A native of Kirov was one of the strongest ice climbers in the country. Back in 2017, she was awarded the title of Master of Sports of Russia. Subsequently, she repeatedly won major national competitions, for example, the Russian Cup at the end of the 2018/19 season.

And in February of this year, Vlasova won the gold medal at the national championship in the speed pair race. She took the lead together with another representative of the Sverdlovsk region, Nikita Glazyrin. The husband then thanked Alena on social networks – the victory came on his birthday.

“The best gift made with your own hands! Thanks to my wife and Nikita for the gold at the Russian Championship on my birthday,” Vlasov emphasized.

“The bodies were discovered at an altitude of 7.1 thousand meters”

And on October 6, five domestic climbers passed away: Alexander Dusheiko, Oleg Kruglov, Vladimir Chistikov, Mikhail Nosenko and Dmitry Shpilev. They tried to conquer the seventh peak of the planet, Mount Dhaulagiri with a height of 8167 m. Nepalese media were the first to report the death of the men.

“Five Russian climbers who disappeared on October 6 while attempting to climb the Dhaulagiri peak have been found dead. The bodies were discovered at an altitude of 7.1 thousand meters with the help of a rescue helicopter… It is assumed that the climbers fell from a height of 7.6 thousand meters,” reports The Himalayan Times.

A little later the information was confirmed by the Russian Mountaineering Federation. They said that on the morning of October 6, the dead began to storm the mountain, but then stopped communicating.

At the same time, the helicopter cannot land at the crash site, so rescuers will have to winch down there. It is noted that the cause of death of the group was a breakdown. One of the dead fell and flew into the abyss, and the rest did not have time to unhook from the bundle.

Only one member of the group, Valery Shamalo, managed to survive, who voluntarily abandoned the climb due to poor health and was later evacuated from the base camp. He also considered it risky to descend back at night.

“During the day, you can carefully do everything without rushing, somehow nothing else. And at night you rush automatically, because there are gusts of wind, it’s cold, you’re tired. That is, a completely different state of both man and mountain. And the likelihood of a breakdown increases greatly,” Shamalo explained in a conversation with RT.

According to the man, he offered to return to Chistikov, with whom he was walking in the same group, but he still decided to try to make the climb.

“Maybe I made the wrong (decision. – RT ). Maybe, on the contrary, it was necessary to go and prevent something,” added Shamalo.