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Presents Everest Autumn 2000 !

Dispatch 10/13/2000:

Grega Lacen, who left Nepal earlier than the rest of the expedition because of his frostbitten toes, arrived at Ljubljana yesterday evening.

Grega's frostbitten toes will be from today on treated at Barotech Institute, Ljubljana, by means of a hyperbaric chamber.

This morning the expedition set out for Namche Bazar. Today the team members will sleep in Periche. Ang Dorje will stay at the base camp until enough yaks are available for transporting the rest of the equipment.

Interview with Davo after arrival to base camp

The whole ascent to Mount Everest took us four days, which is very normal, I think. We made a night summit bid because I wanted to ski when there is the least wind. So we started towards the summit on Friday at around 10 p.m. We were on top on Saturday between six and seven in the morning. We were very much surprised there was so much snow there! The Hillary step, the steep crest and huge amounts of snow which threatened to avalanche - these are the main characteristics of this first uninterrupted skiing from the top of the tallest mountain on this planet.

Davo, what about the Hillary step and the Icefall?

Well, the Hillary step was a problem already for the first climbers. For me, it turned out to be less dangerous than the pointed crest from the Hillary step to the Icefall. The Icefall is, of course, a huge sliding ground which can be avoided if approached from the left side, skiing along the main line leading into the serac, which is all the time falling from the Lho La saddle. 15 minutes before I skied there one major fall took place, so I knew it would take some time before another one. Somewhere faster, somewhere slower I in the end made it through the icefall.

Were you happy with the equipment you chose - skis, boots etc.?

Yes, very much so. All the gear was tested before, there weren't any problems at all. The Elan skis turned very adequate - light enough to bring them to the top and very functional in all sorts of snow that you come across when you ski down 4,000 vertical meters.

What about the camera on the helmet, did you use it from Camp IV?

Yes, I even managed to see a few shots, they are very good; we are also waiting for Ang Dorjee who filmed arrival to the top and the first meters of skiing. Quite a few shots were made from a distance through a telelens.

Davo, how are you feeling, what are your plans for the following days?

At this moment - to regain strength. Slowly, slowly I'm also becoming aware of the whole thing. It is something that was in my head for a long long time - I had it over in my thoughts so many times. Now it came true - it came true what I came here for. I've got no frostbites, rather fine.

Update: 10/13/2000

To Summary the Korean Summits of Everest that have been reported so far this Autumn 2000 by the Ministry of Tourism in Nepal:

Kim Hwan Koo & Kim Seong Cheol both on 10/4/2000; Members of the Korean Lhotse Expedition. 

On the Other Korean Expedition, Kim Woong Sik, Hong Sun Dok and Cho Cheol Hee all of the Chung-Buk Korean Expedition reached the Summit on 10/4/2000.

Kim Hong Bin, the climber with no hands was a member of this Chung Buk Korean Expedition. Kim's hands were amputated after he attempted to summit McKinley in 1991. Kim failed to Summit Everest...

Summary of the Slovenia Summits:

Davo Karnicar, Franc Oderlap, Sherpas Ang Dorjee Sherpa (again !!! He is a famous Sherpa climber.) and Pasang Tenzing.

Second group - Matej Flis, Grega Lacen and Tadej Golob also summited Everest.

Grega Lacen to return to Slovenia today. 12th October, 9.00 CEST.

Arrangements have been made that Grega Lacen flies from Kathmandu via Vienna to Klagenfurt, Austria, already today. Grega is to reach Slovenia late tonight.

Tomorrow, medical treatment of his frostbitten toes will continue at Barotech Institute in Ljubljana under the supervision of Professor Igor Mekjavic. We all hope for the best for Grega's toes.

Other Everest News: The Korean climber with "no hands" has given up...

Dispatches 10/11/2000:

Members of SI.MOBIL Ski Everest 2000 expedition began to clean up the base camp. Sherpas will take care for the rest of the equipment.

Grega Lacen, Tadej Golob and doctor Jurij Gorjanc arrived at Kathmandu. Grega's feet slightly swelled during the flight. Apart from that, everybody is OK.

Early this morning, a rescue helicopter airlifted Grega Lacen, Tadej Golob and doctor Jurij Gorjanc from the base camp to Lukla. From a plane is to be taken to Kathmandu. They should arrive at Nepal's capital this afternoon local time.

Grega Lacen is to fly to Vienna, Austria, on Friday. His parents will then immediately take him to Ljubljana Central Hospital for frostbite treatment. Doctor Jurij Gorjanc says that there is a good chance that Grega's toes will be OK: Tadej is feeling relatively well, though still exhausted and dehydrated. It was therefore decided that he should stay in Kathmandu together with doctor Jurij Gorjanc till the rest of the team joins them. In Kathmandu, Tadej is to start to write a book about the expedition and a feature stories for a special edition of the Grif climbing and outdoor magazine of which Tadej is editor. The special Grif edition is to come out in mid-November, while the book is planned for mid-December. Both Grif and the book will contain a wealth of photographs taken by the expedition's official photographer, Urban Golob.

Dispatch 10/10/2000:

The whole SI.MOBIL Ski Everest 2000 team is at base camp. Alive, in good health, yet very exhausted, Tadej Golob also returned to the base camp. Party can now begin.

Good news has come from doctor Jurij Gorjanc: Grega's toes are in better condition than expected. Most likely no amputation will be needed. Tomorrow, Grega, Tadej and Jure will be airlifted to Kathmandu. Grega is to return to Ljubljana, Slovenia, already on Wednesday, to get the best health care possible. Exact time of Grega's arrival will be announced on the internet.

We received a message from Davo Karnicar that Matej Flis and Grega Lacen just arrived at BC. Tadej Golob arrived at C2 where he would rest for a while and try to drink as much as possible.

He dehydrated heavily on the way back from the top to C4 and C3. He will continue towards BC ASAP. We're worried for Grega Lacen because of frostbites on toes. The expedition doc Jurij Gorjanc is doing the medical examination. The results will be within an hour available on the web. Grega is getting an infusion and a helicopter evacuation would be done ASAP.

Dispatches (several) 10/9/2000:

Tadej Golob and one of the Sherpas arrived on C3 and will spend the night there. Matej Flis and Grega Lacen will proceed to C2, where they will stay overnight. They all feel well despite some troubles with dehydration.

Tadej Golob, Matej Flis and Grega Lacen arrived on C4 at 11.45 local time (8.00 CEST). After short rest they will continue to C3 or maybe to C2. We expect them in base camp tomorrow.

Tadej Golob, Matej Flis and Grega Lacen reached the summit at 7.07 local time. After a short rest on the top of Mount Everest they immediately start towards C4

Dispatches (several) 10/8/2000:

Tadej Golob, Matej Flis and Grega Lacen started towards summit at 22.15 local time (18.30 CEST) from C4.

The weather is OK but extremely cold. They are climbing without help of the Sherpas. They will be in contact with base camp and Davo Karnicar permanently via VHF to avoid orientation problems during the night climb. They feel all right.

Tadej Golob, Matej Flis and Grega Lacen reached Camp 4 at 12.45 local time (9.00 CEST). They will start towards the summit at midnight local time. 

Franc Oderlap who reached the summit yesterday together with Davo Karnicar came back from C2 to base camp at 11.15 local time. Urban Golob and doctor Jurij Gurjanc, who were waiting for Franc at C2, came back as well.

Tadej Golob, Matej Flis and Grega Lacen started from C3 towards C4 at 7.45 local time (4.00 CEST). They will try to reach the summit tomorrow. 

Dispatches (several) 10/7/2000:

Davo Karnicar accomplished a full top to bottom ski descent from Everest!

Franc Oderlap, who summited Everest together with Davo Karnicar, safely returned to Camp II.

The atmosphere at the base camp is slowly getting back to normal after immense joy at BC and numerous interviews given to Slovenian and international media. Over 1,000 congratulations were e-mailed to the base camp from all over the world. Davo is feeling extremely well.

The focus has now shifted to Camp III. Tadej Golob, Grega Lacen and Matej Flis are getting ready to ascend to Camp IV tomorrow, to summit on Monday. This summit bid is to round off the great accomplishment made today by the SI.MOBIL Extreme Ski Everest 2000 expedition. 

Urban Golob and doctor Jurij Gorjanc will spend this night at Camp II.

And Dorjee Sherpa, who accompanied Davo during summiting, brought to the base camp video shots of Davo starting to ski from the top of Everest

Davo Karnicar is expected to ski down to the base camp at around 9 a.m. CEST. Thus he is to be the first person on Earth to accomplish a full top to bottom ski descent from Mount Everest.

Davo Karnicar just called from the 3rd camp. The most dangerous part of the ski descent is over.

Davo Karnicar and Franc Oderlap summited Mount Everest at 7.00 local time (3.15 CEST). They started immediate preparation for the downhill. They decided not to rest under the Hillary step because of the extreme cold.

Latest news. 2.30 CEST (6.15. local time)

Davo successfully climbed to the Hillary step. He would rest for app. half an hour. Under our estimations he would reach the summit approximately between 4.30 and 5.00 CEST (8.15-8.45 local time). He feels well but he is complaining of extreme cold.

We were deeply worried when there was no response from him at appointed time. There's huge trouble with the batteries of his VHF, probably caused by extreme cold. We can not know for sure what these extreme cold conditions mean for the digital and helmet cameras.

Dispatches (several) 10/6/2000:

Davo Karnicar and Franc Oderlap just left camp 4 and are climbing  towards the summit. It is very cold. Climbing to the top of Mount Everest could take longer than they expected...

"We had three hours of a relatively good sleep. We're starting the final preparations immediately. We're leaving towards the summit at 21.45 (18.00 CEST). I hope that we will be there within 8-10 hours. The weather is OK."

The second group of climbers (Tadej Golob, Matej Flis, Grega Lacen) will attack the summit on Monday, 9th of Oct.

Andrej Kmet (internet) and Janez Stucin (cameraman) already left the BC for Kala Patar to ensure filming and live streaming of Davo's downhill.

Decisive Davo Karnicar's ascent to begin today 6 p.m. CEST (GMT+2)

This morning at 7.30 a.m. Nepalese time (3.35 a.m. CEST), Davo Karnicar and his teammate Franc Oderlap left Camp III for Camp IV. The fourth advance camp was reached at noon local time (8.15 a.m. CEST).

Davo is feeling well, the weather at the time being is favorable. The Ski descent is expected to take place in this first attempt.

Ang Dorjee Sherpa and Passang Tenzing Sherpa are also already at Camp IV (7,950m), setting up tents.

The schedule of the ascent and descent has been slightly altered due to conditions on the mountain.

The new schedule (CEST, GMT +2; local time on the mountain: CEST +3.45) is as follows:

Friday, 6 October, 2000-10-06
Camp IV:
13 - 16: rest
16 - 18: preparations for ascent
at 18 hrs: begin summit bid

Duration of ascent: 10-12 hrs, if conditions favorable.
One hour's rest on top.

Saturday, 7 October, 2000
Between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. CEST (GMT+2), the historical ski descent is to begin (the first and the most dangerous section, Hillary step, will be covered live on this website. After filming this section, the cameras and the satellite equipment will be transported to a new location which takes four hours.

Duration of ski descent: 5-7 hours.

Davo is thus expected to reach the base camp between 10 and 14 hrs CEST (GMT +2). His arrival to the base camp will be covered live on the internet too.

The second team (Tadej Golob, Matej Flis and Grega Lacen) are presently at Camp II. The summit bid is planned for Saturday.

Davo Karnicar and Franc Oderlap set for Camp IV, which will be set up on the South Col by the Sherpas today.

All four high-altitude porters are today, with the help of Davo and Franc, setting up two tents at an altitude of 7,950m. They reached the spot at around noon. Davo reported to the base camp via radio station, in a very good mood, shouting of joy and happiness because it was so easy for him to ascend to this elevation. Franc is also feeling very well. More news to follow after an hour.

Early this morning, Tadej Golob, Grega Lacen and Matej Flis set for the mountain.

While still dark, the next Slovenian team left the base camp for a summit bid. After a five hours' hike, the team reached Camp II (6,490m) where they met doctor Jurij Gorjanc and Urban Golob. The three mountaineers will proceed to Camp III tomorrow. Jurij and Urban, who have ascended to an elevation higher then Camp II and are both feeling excellently, will stay at Camp II and wait for Davo, who shall reach Camp II early in the afternoon tomorrow, skiing from the top of the mountain.

Jesus Martinez of Spain was today finally airlifted to the Kathmandu hospital.

The doctor of the Slovenian expedition, Jurij Gorjanc, suggested Jesus be immediately transported to the valley after treating the frostbites on his feet with vacuum bag for extremities. The Spaniard could not walk; the only way to be transported to the valley was thus with yaks or rescue helicopter. The Spanish mountaineer decided for the helicopter lift, which costs USD 5,000. He will then soon be transported to Spain, which hosts one of the best hospitals for frostbite treatment in the world.

Update: The Spanish climber Jesus Martinez has been airlifted from base camp and he is leaving for home tomorrow. 

The two Sherpas reported to have reached the summit have in fact not made it all the way to the summit. They returned from the Hillary Step while the 3 Koreans continued for the summit.  The successful summiters are now safe and sound at Camp II. They are descending to BC tomorrow. 

Ang Karma Sherpa
Windhorse Trekking (P) Ltd.

Dispatch 10/5/2000:

Davo and Franc arrived at Camp III at an altitude of 7,300m. Tomorrow Grega, Matej and Tadej are to set for the mountain.

At 9 a.m., Davo and Franc left Camp II and ascended 800 vertical meters within three (Davo) and four (Franc) hours. The walk with the heavy load masks, valves, and pretty much exhausted the two. However, they report to have regained strength after taking in some drink and refreshments.

As agreed with sirdar Ang Dorjee, the rest of the climbing team, who are now still at the base camp, will tackle the mountain tomorrow. Doctor Jurij and Urban today reached Camp II, where they plan to stay for a while. Tomorrow, Tadej, Grega and Matej are to join them at the second advance camp.

Newsflash  10/5/2000:

On the Korean Summit Everest, please find the following:

Three members of the 2000 Chung-Buk, Korea Everest ( 8,848m) team were able to reach the summit of Mt. Everest from the South Co - SE Ridge route at 1.43pm on the 04 October 2000.  The successful climbers are: Kim Woong Sik,34, Hong Sun Dok 30 and Cho-Cheol-Hee 31.  The expedition is led by Mr. Kim Young Sik, 36. 

Kim Hong Bin, 36, who lost his both hands to frostbite during a climb of Mt. McKinley few years ago is one of the climber of this team.  He is planning for a summit bid in few days time. 

2 Sherpas have also reported to reach the summit with the 3 Koreans but their names have not yet received to us. [Correction, as earlier reported by EverestNews.com the Sherpa climbers turned around...]

Ang Karma Sherpa ( Kathmandu agent for 2000 Chung-Buk, Korean Everest -Lhotse Expedition)
Windhorse Trekking (P) Ltd.

Dispatch 10/5/2000:

After a good night's sleep, Davo and Franc set for Camp III at 9 a.m. Sherpa assistants resting.

Davo and Franc intend to ascend 800 vertical meters today from Camp II (6,490m) to Camp III cut into the Lhotse face. Davo reported this morning that the weather is very fine, sunny and no winds. It will be the first time that Franc will spend the night at an altitude of 7,300m. For Davo, this is to be the second night at this altitude.

The Sherpa assistants are today resting at Camp II, after coming back exhausted from the South Col yesterday. Pasang Yella feels fine today, after taking two aspirins. Apparently his was not a severe case of altitude sickness. Tomorrow the gear will be further transported to Camp IV which is to be fashioned at 7,950m.

Previous Updates 9/24/2000 to 10/4/2000

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Previous Updates 9/13/2000 to 9/17/2000

Previous Updates 9/8/2000 to 9/12/2000

Previous Updates 8/30/2000 to 9/7/2000

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