Pavel Marusov (1983 – September 2026) was a Nizhny Novgorod oncologist and mountaineer who died in September 2026 while climbing Mount Dykhtau in Kabardino-Balkaria. He was 43 years old.[1]

Medical career

Pavel Marusov devoted about twenty years to medicine. For ten years he worked as a thoracic surgeon, specializing in diseases of the chest organs, and later became an oncologist and worked at the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Clinical Oncology Dispensary, holding a first-level qualification category.[5][4] A few years before his death he changed workplaces.[1] According to representatives of the oncology center, his colleagues remembered him as a skilled specialist with professional achievements, and many patients were grateful to him for his kind treatment.[4]

Mountaineering

Pavel Marusov had been mountaineering since 2003 — for 23 years.[4] He was a Candidate Master of Sport, a member of the Mountaineering and Rock Climbing Federation of Nizhny Novgorod Region (FASO), and held the title of instructor-guide as well as the "Mountain Rescue" badge.[5][1] He worked as a professional mountain guide and led groups on routes up to difficulty category 6A.[5]

Among his ascents are more than 30 climbs of Elbrus and Kazbek.[5][4] According to the Telegram channel SHOT, Marusov also climbed the eight-thousanders Annapurna (8,091 m) and Manaslu (8,163 m) without supplemental oxygen.[1]

Death on Dykhtau

On September 20, 2026, Pavel Marusov set out on a Category 4B route on Mount Dykhtau (5,204 m) in the Bezengi Gorge of Kabardino-Balkaria, together with 30-year-old Vladislav Chernyshov from Tolyatti. At an altitude of 3,500 meters, they made their last contact with the Bezengi mountaineering camp; at 3,800 meters, contact could no longer be established. The camp raised the alarm and called in rescuers.[4][1]

The search operation, involving rescuers from the Elbrus High-Altitude Search and Rescue Unit and a Mi-8 helicopter, continued for several days. According to Abdullakh Guliyev, head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) unit, another group on the same route had not encountered the missing climbers.[1] Nizhny Novgorod mountaineers considered the possibility that the pair had strayed from the route.[4]

On September 23, the MChS of Kabardino-Balkaria reported that the bodies of both climbers had been found in the Cherek District. The Mountaineering Federation of Nizhny Novgorod Region refuted this: only Vladislav Chernyshov had been found, in a tent beneath a pile of snow and ice; he was flown by helicopter to the Bezengi mountaineering camp and handed over to law enforcement. Pavel Marusov's whereabouts remained unknown.[2][3]

The Mountaineering Federation of Nizhny Novgorod Region announced a fundraiser to rent a commercial helicopter to continue the search — about one million rubles were needed, and the sum was raised in a short time.[4] The search was suspended because of severe weather conditions and difficult mountain terrain; MChS staff allowed for the possibility of surveying the avalanche zone once the weather improved in October.[6] The Investigative Committee for Kabardino-Balkaria opened a pre-investigation inquiry and ordered forensic medical examinations; oversight was carried out by the republic's prosecutor's office, represented by Cherek District Prosecutor Khasan Erzhibov.[1]

Marusov's colleagues and fellow students from the Nizhny Novgorod Medical Academy followed the progress of the search operation.[1]

Sources

  1. Historical Encyclopedia of Nizhny Novgorod — Deaths of climbers on Dykhtau (2026) (archive)
  2. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Climber from Nizhny Novgorod goes missing in the mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria
  3. Vremya N — Nizhny Novgorod resident missing in the mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria still not found
  4. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — What is known about the Nizhny Novgorod resident missing in the mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria, as of October 1, 2026
  5. Open Nizhny — What is known about the Nizhny Novgorod doctor and climber who died on Dykhtau — Incidents
  6. Living in Nizhny — Missing Nizhny Novgorod climber may be under an avalanche — Living in Nizhny