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Gheorghe
(aka George) Dijmarescu: Everest 2002
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WHAT
PRICE WOULD YOU PAY FOR YOUR OWN LIFE?
Dear
EverestNews.com, After summiting Mt. Everest lots of
climbers go to their respective countries and write
books and articles in climbing magazines and other
publications. I read many of such articles but after
5 Everest Expeditions and witness of many rescues,
most by Sherpa climbers, why? Simple answer, because
they poses strength, stamina and determination but
of course are motivated and lured by an extra pay
check, paycheck which sometime does not come. I
would ask all: WHAT PRICE WOULD YOU PAY FOR YOUR OWN
LIFE? or to ask in a simpler way, so Sherpas can
understand too: How much would you pay so Sherpas
can get you out of the mountain and you can live? I
really think we can go crazy adding zeroes to that
number.
This
season I was part of one of International
expeditions run by Asian Trekking of Nepal, with a
total number of 9 members. Among them were 2 German
nationals, Claudia Bäumler and Hartmut Ulrich.
Claudia was a tenacious and determined 34 year old
woman whom I qualify as a very good climber who
chose to go to the top of Mt. Everest with her
companion Hartmut despite the fact that she had near
tragic experience on Cho Oyu a few years back,
Hartmut got ill and had to be rescued from high on
the mountain and later to be carried by a yak, all
this by her own account. On this trip they hired the
help of a Sherpa, Mingma Sherpa of Thamo but chose
not to have Mingma for the summit push. I remember
advising Claudia to use the skills, experience and
strength of Mingma after all he is a Everest
summiter from the South side but had been high
enough on North side. I met Mingma in 1999, he is a
young 23 years old Sherpa from Thamo in the
Solukhumbu. For wherever reasons they chose not to
take Mingma for the summit but I suspect money play
part in that decision, money for Oxygen, mask with
regulator and a summit bonus. Of course Everest
without Sherpa or without Oxygen can be a higher
personal prize. In my opinion Hartmut was no match
in climbing for Claudia on this trip she was faster
more alert full of life on the other hand Hartmut
was looking tired sometime exhausted. They climbed
ahead of me on the summit day and sometime I can
observed them and, their positions and speeds. I
believed Hartmut was at the end of his physical
powers atop second step, I could see him bending
over his ice ax and panting with rests longer and
longer. At the snow pyramid he was utterly exhausted
but Hartmut had a determination hard to match and I
am sure there was also a man ego, his female partner
was well ahead and going strong. Claudia reached the
summit first and waited for Hartmut. On descent I
could see again the two, order unchanged, Claudia
first Hartmut second. I was about 45 minutes from
camp 3 when I noticed a man in red down jacket
sitting just 10 minutes from the tents of camp 3. I
thought someone is taking photographs of the sunset
and surroundings. As I cam lower down the yellow
band I noticed the person in the same place
virtually unmoved and again several minutes later, I
suspected was something wrong with that person. It
become dark but I didn't bother to put my headlamp.
I was now at the point where that man sat down but I
couldn't see him anymore, well I thought he went
into his tent. As I went lower I noticed 2 climbers
one sitting the other standing with a thermos in his
hands trying to have a conversation with the man
sitting, he was a Sherpa who mention he has given
the man sitting some cold drink but could not
understand why the sitting man don't want to walk
another 5 minutes to his tent. I was tired and since
the man didn't initiate a conversation I kept going
down towards my shelter. A few yards away from my
tent, Claudia and Hartmut had their tents pitched,
she was at the front of her tent and asked me if I
see Hartmut, immediately everything fell in place,
that man was Hartmut and I didn't recognize him. She
was very worry about him and she was calling his
name loud from time to time. I assured her that he
is only 5 minutes away and he will show up soon then
I went inside my tent and started to hydrate, also
making preparation to sleep. Once inside and not
moving my body temperature went down and I felt
cold, Claudia appeared at my door and she was almost
hysterical, she was sick worried now started begging
me: Please George you know many Sherpa we must send
someone and find Hartmut" She went on and
explain that Hartmut might have the same symptoms
like in Cho Oyu when he is at the real end of his
power, to me didn't make sense, he was only 5
minutes away but She was probably right, he must be
at the end of his powers unable to stand up or his
mind has slipped away and lost sense of where he was
therefore making impossible to find the tents. I
started screaming the name of one of the Sherpa from
a Basque team, Thilen, Thilen but I had no answer, I
knew climbers were tired coming from summit and most
unwilling to get out of their sleeping bags, nearby
was couple of tents from a Japanese team but most of
the sherpas went up to rescue an old Japanese man
who was moving very slow and eventually spent the
night on the ridge with 3 sherpas, another
fascinating, Hollywood like story. We were asking
for help and nobody answered the call, then I told
Claudia that we should change the call a bit into:
Please help we have Oxygen and MONEY. A Sherpa from
a Japanese team took the call, he pun on Claudia's
Oxygen and went searching for Hartmut, he found him
sitting and crying for help. He was shaking
violently. Inside the tent Claudia could prepare hot
drinks and care for Hartmut. I the morning the two
started descending ahead of me but I found them
somewhere at 8100-8200m, they both sat down, Claudia
was carrying the heavy pack, perhaps to heavy for
her tired body. Just below was a series of rock
steps, section which Hartmut had no confidence in
descending. He was without Oxygen and I asked
why he is not having the mask on, Claudia replied
that they had no more Oxygen and they left the mask
with regulator at camp 3 in order to save weight.
Hartmut face was covered in a white froth. I was
using Oxygen, a bottle which I found in a pile of
empty bottles just below camp 3. This bottle was
less that half full, the regulator indicated 100
pressure, perhaps 3-4 hours of flow at one liter per
minute. I decided that Hartmut will be better of
with Oxygen and I put on his face my mask and
encouraged him to breed deep the precious gas. In
only 5 minutes Hartmut had started to rise and he
had a different mood, the white froth disappeared
and for a moment I thought the gas will push him
down towards ABC. We had a long talk and I assured
him that I will stay with him and help him in any
way I can. Hartmut was still afraid of the difficult
rock steps below and didn't give me confidence that
he can tackle it. Shortly Ang Mingma a Sherpa from
our International Expedition came and was in his way
to carry a load to camp 3 for his member Simone
Moro. Without asking he pulled a full bottle of
Oxygen from his back pack and offered to Hartmut but
mention that will have to be paid for since is not
his bottle. It was agreed. He also encouraged
Hartmut to go slowly down, in the mean time he said
will go fast drop his load and will come as fast as
possible and assist us in going down. A really
generous offer, we desperately needed the help of a
strong Sherpa and Ang Mingma was a symbol of a
perfect Sherpa. He started up with an incredible
speed and a huge load, I estimated he will come back
in aprox. one hour. Mingma was right we had to be on
move slowly every step down counts but Hartmut only
give up on the idea to sit down after I started to
make a few steps down, he finally made a couple of
shaky steps and then went back to his sit. It
started to snow and I could notice the wind
intensifying every moment. Hartmut was shaking, he
wear Gore Tex trousers not down. After at least 10
minutes we try again to go down, this time Hartmut
made crucial few steps then stop again, I took his
left arm strap it around my neck and lift his body
on my back, I had him of the ground and in control,
I made a few steps down through the rock steps and
let him down where was an easy ground , he made
several steps on his own, I was going ahead and
advised him to keep his hands on my shoulders, I had
a good grip on the fixed rope and was no way for him
to fall face down. Hartmut was asking for breaks
every 10 steps, then he will sit down, Claudia was
behind Hartmut carrying that heavy pack, she was
silent so silent that Hartmut was asking if she is
behind, so tired he was he had no energy to
look back behind himself. I start to think of a
strategy which will facilitate a speedy and safely
descent, however nothing realistic came to mind.
With this speed we were going nowhere. The wind was
now strong enough to make me think we will have a
serious problem. I knew that lower on the ridge the
wind is usually stronger only down to North Col is a
finally relief from the stinging snow blasting wind.
Two Sherpa came up and I asked them to give Hartmut
some hot tea, he drank and I didn't hear him say
thank you. Shortly after Ang Mingma came and he had
a short rope in his hand which without permission or
saying a word started to attach it to Hartmut's
harness karabiner. He was sure and confident in his
move, everything he did show routine experience. Ang
Mingma of Thame was at the top of Mt. Everest twice
before and numerous other mountains, he had special
training in rescue and technical climbing. Could we
ask for a better Sherpa?. I was going first with the
rope wrapped twice around my right arm, Hartmut
second keeping his hands on my shoulders, Ang Mingma
behind him short roping Hartmut in case he might
fell down, Claudia behind now without the large pack
who was carried now by Ang Mingma. Every 20 steps or
so Hartmut will ask for rest, which most he will
take sitting, so was the routine for hours that he
will not ask for "pit stops" he will just
pulled the rope and sit down, then will tug the rope
when he was ready do go a few more steps. We were
not making significant progress and now the wind
really worried me. I look down and I could see 7900m
camp perhaps another hour away with our speed from
us. I asked Ang Mingma for a small meeting and
express my concern that we could not possibly go lower than camp 7900m with that speed. He look at me
for a few seconds and he said: "You are
right" we will go to the tents and try to find
one that is empty. Half an hour later the wind was
at least 100Km/hr blasting with rice size icicles making very
difficult to see where we went. Just before the
tents I went ahead and check if the two tents
pitched one next to another were empty and suitable
for us. The answer was positive and I called upon
them to come and see for themselves. Claudia came
first and she entered the tent, then Hartmut crawled
inside, while he was entering the tent I noticed his
butt was naked, the harness has managed somehow to
pull his pants down and one of the reasons he was
shaken so much. End of part one.
Regards,
George Dijmarescu
 Dispatches
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