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The
Everest-Lhotse
Traverse 2001
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Update
5/24/2001:
Denis decided to quit the Traverse: "We are a
team, we will do together next time". Source: www.acerbis.it
Update:
Simone Moro is back to the Base Camp, he did not
Summit Lhotse. Denis
Urubko did reach the Summit of Lhotse and is now back
at camp 4. Denis changed the line at which he crossed
to the South Col, avoiding the climbing of the North
Ridge and lowering his position to the end of the
channel and then crossing it. Source: www.acerbis.it
[So
it this a Traverse?]
May
22nd 5.30pm Italian Time 11:30am Et
Simone
is at the South Col. We are receiving information with
extreme difficulties, but we learn from our latest
message from Nima Sherpa that Simone and Denis already
has spent one night at the South Col. The latest news
said that they scheduled the summit of Everest for
today, but the attempt has been postponed to tomorrow
probably to regain energies before the final assault.
It is obvious that the original program has been
changed, most likely because the climb to various
camps has been modified by Simone and Denis. The
latest dispatch from Nima told us the two climbers
were at 8200meters towards the Lhotse Summit. We are
yet to learn if the two reached the summit of Lhotse
before descending for the North Ridge and then move to
the South Col. We are waiting for our next dispatch
with Nima and as soon as possible we will update the
website. In the meantime, cross your fingers!!
Source: Emilio Previtali www.acerbis.it
May
13th 10pm Italian Time No News-Good News
We
could not reach Simone Moro today for our daily phone
conversation. It is a sign that Simone and Denis are
climbing the Lhotse. The radio contact with the
Pyramid is also unavailable due to technical
difficulties. As we agreed with Simone, we called
Nayaran at 1.15pm Italian time. Nayaran is our Sherpa
friend in the Kumbu Valley and he's always in contact
with Simone and he gives us updates when the satellite
telephone is not operating. Unfortunately, after
several tentatives, we were unable to speak with him
due to the damaged phone line. The latest news that we
were able to gather show excellent weather conditions,
and it seems that tomorrow several teams will attempt
the summit of Everest, which remained unclimbed on
both sides so far this season. According to Simone's
agenda, he will climb the Lhotse tomorrow and then
descend to the South Col towards the untouched North
Ridge. We are now awaiting our next phone call
scheduled for tomorrow at 1.15pm Italian time. Our
next Internet update is tomorrow at 2pm.
Source: Emilio Previtali www.acerbis.it
Monday,
May 14th 10pm Italian Time
"The
wind brought us the smell of the summit..."
With
these words Simone Moro comments their first attempt
of their Lhotse-Everest traverse that due to the deep
snow failed at 8100 meters. "Yesterday we climbed
from Base Camp at 5300meters to Camp 3 at 7300 meters.
This morning the weather conditions we excellent to
climb to the summit of Lhotse, and we climbed to
Camp 4 very fast in only 2 hours and 20 minutes. There
we had the first problems, because the snow above 7800
meters is very deep and it takes a lot of energy to
climb. I started vomiting and I lost precious liquids
to stay at this elevation for our required time to
complete the traverse. I insisted, the summit seemed
within our reach, but things were getting worse and
the snow was very deep. It was impossible to keep on
going. Thus Denis and I decided to descend. It would
have been reckless to keep climbing. We descended in 3
1/2 hours from 8100 meters to Camp 2. It is
unfortunate because we were in excellent shape and the
weather was ideal for the traverse, except the deep
snow up high." The weather is finally fair after
4 days of snow and wind.
"Silvio
Mondinelli and Mario Merelli are currently at Camp 3
at 7300 meters, tomorrow they will climb to the South
Col. and they will try the summit without oxygen if
everything goes as planned. I wish the weather will
remain fair, although the forecast from base camp
shows contradictory news for the next three days. Some
say fair weather while others forecast storms. The
only thing is to wait and see what happens."
Simone and Denis will recuperate in the next few days
"Tomorrow we will descend to the valley to regain
our energies for 2 days. The good thing about this
first attempt is that we once again reached 8000
meters and that is good
to further acclimatize our bodies. We hope our next
attempt will be successful. Talk to you soon,
Simone."
Source: Emilio Previtali www.acerbis.it
Older
Update:
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Simone
Moro and Denis Urubko have returned from their
attempt to acclimatize towards the Lhotse
Summit. They originally planned to reach the
summit of Lhotse on April 30, but they changed
their program. "We decided to climb to the
South Col rather than the summit of Lhotse
because the weather conditions on the passage
that takes you up the mountain were dangerous.
To reach the summit we need to set up more route
and that will only cost us more time and
energies. The lack of snow causes us to act
extremely careful. Denis and I decided to divert
towards the South Col where we set up a tent and
camped while Silvio Mondinelli and Mario Merelli,
who came along with us, stopped at Camp 3.
Obviously, going towards Everest was a wise
choice because we were able to make difference
in altitude without wasting precious energies
that we will need in the "true"
attempt. We spent a good night at 8000 meters,
besides the wind and the cold. We will now
descend to the valley for a week, and then we
will be ready for the traverse. We are glad to
leave the camp, since there is sorrow in the air
due to the death of Babu. It makes us reflect
the fact that a man who slept on the summit of
Everest without oxygen and a 10 time submitter
died falling into a crevasse while taking
pictures around camp 2. Talk to you soon.
Simone"
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Source: Emilio Previtali www.acerbis.it
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