Everest Attempt. The Snowbird Everest expedition began with a ...
E verest A ttem pt. The Snow bird E verest expedition began w ith a casual visit to N ep al’s M inistry o f T ourism and then a letter to A ustrian H anns Schell, E verest’s perm it-holder for the post-m onsoon season. K aren Fellerhoff gained from Schell the adm ission o f a cadre of A m ericans to join his group on the classic South-C ol route. O ur clim bing group was com posed o f Fellerhoff, Sally M cC oy, M ary Kay B rew ster, Kelly R hoads, Steve Fossett, Renny Jackson, Robert L ink, C hristopher N oble, Peter W hittaker and me as well as jo urnalist Elizabeth K aufm ann and film -m aker M arjorie Lester. From N am che B azar we quickly m ade our way to 17,800-foot Everest Base C am p, arriving on Septem ber 6. W e were preceded by the A ustrian team , who had agreed to establish the icefall route. F or safety reasons, we traveled through the icefall during the colder periods o f the day, usually arising at three A .M . each day. W ith the assistance o f our able Sherpas, we established C am ps I and II (A dvance Base) at 20,000 and 21,8 0 0 feet. From there we placed Cam p III at 23,500 feet on the Lhotse Face and Cam p IV on the South Col at 26,000 feet. W ith the exception o f one m ajor storm and the odd m orning or afternoon snow , the w eather proved am enable. By S eptem ber 27, we were ready to send our first sum m it team from Base C am p with the hopes o f sum m itting on O ctober 2. T hose plans w ere not to m aterialize; nor were the next series o f sum m it attem pts. H igh w inds above Cam p III w ould prevent us, the A ustrians and all other expeditions on the m ountain, in Tibet as well as N epal, from reaching the top. Finally P eter W hittaker and C hristopher N oble w ere clim bing above C am p IV on O ctober 9, but unfortunately they w ere thw arted by w ind not far from C am p IV . T hey m ade a stalw art attem pt to w ait out the w inds in the cw m , even after the exodus o f the A ustrian team on O ctober 15. E verest adm inistered
the coup de grace on O ctober 19, 20 and 21 with gale-force w inds dow n to 7000 m eters and snow accum ulations o f m ore than a m eter o f snow in Base C am p. C am ps II, III and IV w ere virtually destroyed by burial or w ind. Seven mem bers departed for low er clim es shortly after the storm , leaving Fellerhoff, R hoads, Jackson and me with our Sherpas to continue. W eeks of w ork and illness had taken their toll.T w o Sherpas and I were the last to ascend to C am p II. O ur intention was to clear the m ountain o f valuables other than w hat we m ight need for one last attem pt, w hich was scheduled to begin on O ctober 26. W e began the laborious ascent o f the Lhotse Face with great hopes. The wind seem ed to have abated slightly. From Cam p III on, these hopes were dashed. The plum es on E verest, Lhotse and N uptse were greater than ever and the w ind com ing from T ibet heralded w inter. W e retrieved supplies from Cam p III and turned our back on the m ountain for good. Tw o days later, we had com pleted our clean-up and descended to Base. Everest has now not been clim bed from N epal for tw o years. P eter A thans
the coup de grace on O ctober 19, 20 and 21 with gale-force w inds dow n to 7000 m eters and snow accum ulations o f m ore than a m eter o f snow in Base C am p. C am ps II, III and IV w ere virtually destroyed by burial or w ind. Seven mem bers departed for low er clim es shortly after the storm , leaving Fellerhoff, R hoads, Jackson and me with our Sherpas to continue. W eeks of w ork and illness had taken their toll.T w o Sherpas and I were the last to ascend to C am p II. O ur intention was to clear the m ountain o f valuables other than w hat we m ight need for one last attem pt, w hich was scheduled to begin on O ctober 26. W e began the laborious ascent o f the Lhotse Face with great hopes. The wind seem ed to have abated slightly. From Cam p III on, these hopes were dashed. The plum es on E verest, Lhotse and N uptse were greater than ever and the w ind com ing from T ibet heralded w inter. W e retrieved supplies from Cam p III and turned our back on the m ountain for good. Tw o days later, we had com pleted our clean-up and descended to Base. Everest has now not been clim bed from N epal for tw o years. P eter A thans
