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October 1-10th,1999 Daily Reports
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Daily News: 10/9/99 Report
Everest Autumn 99 South Side:
The EXPEDITION EVEREST99 OF
CASTILLA and LEON, has decided, unanimously between all the members of the expedition and
with previous consultation with our sirdar (head of Sherpas) to abandon the attempt to
ascend Everest. This is because of the persistent bad weather that has exhausted our
working days and to the avalanche danger by the just fallen snow.
Source: EXPEDICIΣN CASTELLANO LEONESA AL EVEREST 1999 Expediciσn
Samuel Rubio http://server3.servicios.retecal.es/everest99/
The days happen slowly but
inexorably.While the hard climatic conditions make
any attempt unfruitful work on the mountain. This
condemns us to the hard wait on desolate moraines of the Khumbu glacier of the where our
Base Camp is installed. Our initial plans are crumbled every day. The snow continues to
fall in the tracks of our passages through the Khumbu Icefall, the valley of Silence and
the Lhotse face. The path has been buried our
fixed ropes and stairs, by nearly a meter of snow
At this moment, with almost the
impossibility to ascend, the latent danger of the crevasses is added whose mouths are
hidden by the recent snow, They have become mortal traps.
Still we have two weeks left in
which our will of fight continues.Our
physical conditions are good (although we have to two Sherpas outside combat) and our
acclimatization is ready (the seven of the nine expedition members have passed 7,100
meters of altitude).But, there is something
against which we cannot fight, and is against the adverse atmospheric conditions that are
present at the moment. Life in Base Camp becomes monotonous and exasperating.Only the great comradeship that reigns
between the expedition members makes these lengths and times moderately bearable.
We are conscious that there are
many people supporting us, who trust that we will arrive at the top of the Everest. At the
moment the situation is not good, but we will always follow try even if a small
possibility exists of reaching our dreams.We
will do so considering the necessary prudence that allows the one that we return all to
our houses.
Isidoro
Source: EXPEDICIΣN CASTELLANO LEONESA AL EVEREST 1999 Expediciσn
Samuel Rubio http://server3.servicios.retecal.es/everest99/
Alex and Dave were caught in an avalanche
Tuesday on Shishapangma. They are presently "lost" and presumed dead.
Dave was a cameraman on the NBC/North Face high
profile expedition filming for the upcoming NBC TV series which was to feature Alex Lowe
along with other climbers. Dave was 29.
Alex, respected as one of the best US climbers,
had summitted Everest twice and had significant previous 8000 meter experience. He was 40.
The irony of their deaths is that, apparently,
a summit bid was called off a few days earlier due to Avalanche danger.... Reportedly they
were around 19,000 feet when they were lost.
Alex's deaths highlights again the great danger
of climbing 8000 meters peaks. One can fall when rock climbing, but Alex is not the first
strong, exuberant, seemingly untouchable climber who has died on an 8000 meters peak. Due
to Alex being an American, the press on his death will unquestionably be at a very high
level. The press, apparently did hold the news, as EverestNews.com did, until the families
were notified...
Alex Lowe will be remembered as a legendary
mountaineer who was a master of technique and endurance. He will also be remembered as
another who died while climbing in the Himalayans.
This is a VERY DANGEROUS SPORT. As we have said
before, there are no easy 8000 meter peaks... Don't let anyone tell you anything
different...
Everest Autumn 99 continues with Summit
attempts expected soon....
http://www.barrabes.com/web_eng/revista/esquishisha.htm
AMERICAN DESCENT OF SHISHAPANGMA (8046M) ON SKIS; Andrew is a great
friend of ours... it looks like they made the right decision...
Everest Spring 97: The Fran and Sergi story will be told on EverestNews.com in detail after
Everest Autumn 99 concludes. We had hoped to start the story before Autumn, but it did not
happen and our friends from risk were out. We hope go
slow and in detail day by day. It will be hard, but it must be told.
Gary Pfisterer and Ginette Harrison's
DHAULAGIRI expedition is On ! However, EverestNews.com does not expect
to receive report from them as they still have bugs to work out in the sat. phone
system...
1 October - Seven on the Summit! :Today seven
members from the Adventure Consultants Cho Oyu Expedition 1999 reached the summit of Mt
Cho Oyu in Tibet- at 8201m, the sixth highest mountain in the world. After receiving a
favorable forecast on Monday 27 September they started moving up the mountain from ABC on
Tuesday by climbing to Camp I (6400m) and then to Camp II (7000m) on Wednesday. They then
encountered bad weather conditions that prevented them from going any higher so they
stayed put at Camp II for 36 hours and decided to mount a summit attempt from there,
leaving at Midnight on Friday 1 October. Hence they missed out sleeping overnight at Camp
III (7500m) and settled for a long summit day from Camp II to Camp II instead. The weather
forecast had been for a relatively calm day with less snowfall for Friday and this proved
to be the case. From ABC the watchers lost sight of the climbers as they ascended into
cloud but at 1.00pm the group called in by radio from above the clouds reporting that they
were on the summit with blue skies and little wind. The team members who made the summit
of Cho Oyu today were Karl Tucker, and Takao Arayama, Sherpa Guides Ang Dorje and Lhakpa
Chhiri and Guides Jim Litch, Dean Staples and Andy Lapkass. Peter Pappas had also climbed
on summit day to some distance above Camp III height before turning around and descending
with Chuldim Sherpa and Peter Choi had descended from Camp II on Thursday, happy with
7000m as his personal summit. Our current report at 3.00pm Tibet time from Dr. Rachel
Bishop at ABC had Karl, Andy and the Sherpas nearly back at Camp II and Mr. Takao moving
very slowly with Jim and Dean on the shoulder below the summit slopes. They thought they
would be another 3-4 hours with Mr. Takao before they got down to Camp II to overnight.
Three other team members - Teri Elniski, Andy
Hebson and Greg Cravatas had already departed for home from Base Camp last Sunday. After
weighing up the pros and cons of waiting around for a possible summit attempt, they made
the difficult decision to leave with other groups who were on their way home. Of interest
is that from the whole group of climbers, Karl Tucker was the youngest in the group at 31
and Mr. Takao the oldest at 64! Congratulations go out to the seven summiters, a wonderful
achievement, and to everyone else for their great efforts.
The climbers should arrive back down to ABC
later on Saturday and they are then planning to possibly be back in Kathmandu by as early
as Wednesday evening (Oct 6). Adventure Consultants Ltd - High Altitude Expeditions PO Box
97, Lake Wanaka 9192, New Zealand. Ph +64 3 443 8711
Fax +64 3 443 8733 Email mailto:info@adventure.co.nz
Website http://www.adventure.co.nz
Planning, strategy and guidance are our
specialties, success is what you give yourself !
Everest Autumn 99 continues
!!!
At BC, 5,000m above sea level, clouds are
coming in as usual. In a little it will start to snow, as it does every day. The monotony
of life "downstairs" is in sharp contrast with life 2,000 m higher. At this same
instant Isidoro, M. Angel, Nando, Pura Dorje, Nima Dawa, and Onchu Sherpa are just
about reaching the Yellow Band. To overcome this rock band means to have fixed the exposed
Lhotse face. The Lhotse face is the main obstacle we have to negotiate before being able
to set CIV, on the South Col, at 8,000m. From here we can launch the final attack to the
roof of the world.
But we also had to delay things, due to
unfavorable snow conditions near CIII. Sept. 24, we reached CIII at 7300m, only having
fixed the route to approx. 6,800m. The fact of having reached this point after only 2 days
after the definitive installation of CII, in spite of the deep snow, certainly has given
us good hopes. It is not too much longer to the top.
A small snowstorm , not more than 5 cm of
new snow at CII really, has though deposited a lot of snow above 7,000m, and everywhere
else due to the winds. Fixed ropes and trials are covered, and we have been able to
advance only 100m in 4 days.
Today we will talk with the people working up
high about the possibility of a summit push. We are all hoping we can make it, but we are
also know that everything will depends on the wind, the cold, the altitude, nature.
Source: EXPEDICIΣN CASTELLANO LEONESA AL EVEREST 1999 Expediciσn
Samuel Rubio http://server3.servicios.retecal.es/everest99/
Daily News: 10/1/99 Report
Everest Autumn 99:
The Spanish North Side Everest expedition has
abandoned their attempt due to avalanches.
Cho Oyu Advanced Base Camp: We've
limped back to base after summiting the big hill. A day later, big grins are painted on
our faces: we're pretty darned pleased with our climb.
The climb to the top was spectacular.
We left Camp 2 (23,400 ft.) at 11:30 at night. The moon was full two days earlier and it
still lighted the peak. I never turned my headlamp on. The hardest part of the climb was
the ascent to Camp 3. The trail in the snow had been blown full of snow, it climbed
straight up for 1500 ft., and my body wasn't yet awake.
Eight of us made the climb that night,
Brad and I the last to leave camp. We quickly passed two Frenchmen and a Sherpa. Two other
French climbers and our friend Patrick Kenny were a half hour ahead of us. The route was
in excellent shape. The Korean-Japanese-Sherpa that had summited the day before did a
great job. The hot sun and no wind of their summit day, combined with the sub zero
temperatures of our summit day left the trail in great shape.
We climbed quickly, reaching Camp 3 in
about 2.5 hours. Above this, through the rock band, the route was fixed with rope. I used
this as a handline and made fast progress through the rocks and onto the slope everyone
thought suspect of avalanching. I dug about a dozen hasty pits and did some quick shear
tests. My tests confirmed what yesterday's summiters had proven. The slope was safe.
This was a good thing, because at this
point we caught up to the French climbers and Patrick. Above this slope the mountain
became less steep. None of us were using supplemental oxygen and our progress slowed with
the altitude and the hours of exertion. It was just short of dawn and the cold was
incredible. My core was toasty warm, inside my down suit, but my fingers were freezing. I
had to stop at least a dozen times to warm my hands. The lack of oxygen was most obvious
when it came to staying warm. I don't really think it affected my speed or mental capacity
as much as my thumb's circulation. It is easy to see how people get bad frostbite on 8,000
meter peaks. I certainly wouldn't want to get trapped above 8,000 meters. I'm certain
I'd lose some fingers.
Dawn was amazing, a wonderful
distraction from the climb. Behind and below us (everything was below us), the peaks were
turning shades of pink and orange. Brad and I stopped to shoot some video. It was a good
excuse to catch our breath and revel in the beauty of the high mountains.
It really was beautiful on Cho Oyu.
The summit was among the most spectacular that I've visited. The views were breathtaking:
Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Kanchenjunga, Jannu, Ama Dablam and the whole Khumbu to the east
and Shishapangma, Manaslu and Annapurna to the west. We summited at 8 a.m. and there
wasn't a cloud in the sky. The whole world was laying there, waiting for us to drink it in
with our eyes.
The climb to the summit was fantastic,
the descent was torturous. We felt so good up top, we decided to return to ABC the same
day. It took us 8.5 hours to reach the summit (a climb of 3,500 vertical feet), we spent
one hour on the top. It took us 8.5 hours to get back to base. On the descent, already
hard enough on the knees, I tried to slide down a long snow slope, lost control, whacked
my forehead with my ski pole, twisted my right ankle and knee and came to a sudden and
violent stop feet away from a Japanese women. I tried to laugh it off, embarrassed as I
was. My knee is still killing me.
Brad and I were warmly welcomed back
at base. Most of the big groups were heading home, without giving the summit a shot. Folks
were busy packing and 50 or more yaks were tethered about. Everyone dropped what they were
doing to hear our tales. We ended every story with our admiration for the
Korean-Japanese-Sherpa team that preceded us to the top. We would have never made it if
they hadn't put in the amazing effort of breaking trail from Camp 3 to the summit. Brad
and I are honored to have followed in their footsteps.
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