Nagovitsyna climbed despite an earlier leg fracture from a hike a year and a half ago. Her late husband, Sergey, who died of a stroke on Khan Tengri in 2021 as she stayed by his side, had warned her against Pobeda, citing its extreme physical demands. According to some sources, Luca Sinigaglia met the Russian couple at Khan Tengri in 2021, and they became friends.