원정 개요

C3 on Lhotse Face
C4 at South Col
High point at below Hillary Step.

1st summit bid from C4 on 2 May 4 members [Kulkarni, Jacob, Patel] & Anit Sah. From C3 1st May left to S Col; one member and Sah reached col about 5 pm; other 3 at last radio contact between 3 to 4 pm said were coming slowly but were well below col. 6 pm weather getting bad and asked ITBP in C4 to check in this expedition's tent of other arrived but had not. By 8 pm weather very bad. 2nd May early morning ITBP man found body 30-40 yards short of col camp and Miss Yadav recognized it as Jacob. 2 members of this team gave oxygen and little water but then he totally collapsed. Near yellow band ITBP people descending found another man hanging on rope; almost no life appeared in him (this was Kulkarni). Patel had dug out small cave and bivouacked there, 20 minutes below yellow band) and came out "hail and hearty." Time to reach bodies but bad weather continued for a week. Jacob buried under stones at col and Kulkarni's rope cut, body fell into crevasse. Now sent half of team home because they disturbed by death.

Made summit bid: 3 members and a press reporter. From C4 on 12th Mudarris, Sah & Nepali Nima Lama at 3:30 am with ITBP team for summit. At 11:30 am were at S Summit with ITBP party. 1 pm they reported Mudarris's oxygen finished and 2 hrs more to reach the top and he quite tired and risky for him to descend alone so Puri ordered retreat and they did bring him safely to C4 where they spent that night and all of them to C1 on 13th. Thought would make another attempt on 20th with ITBP & others, but sponsoring committee sent message to abandon climb, so they did.


Hukam Singh - 2 June 1992

I was all the time worried about Indian civilians and they did not have good communication. Their members at C4 thought Kulkarni and Sangay had turned back to C3. When Khem Raj and Miss Yadav at 7:00 am left tent to descend and found man (Jacob) lying on snow with one hand bare but mouth making some noise and eyes open, recognized 2 ITBP people and he smiled - tried to save him (he was 15m from Dutch tent). Dutch not receptive to idea of saving him: took oxygen and glucose water but he immediately died. Khem Raj and Yadav then descended to just above Geneva Spur where found Kulkarni hanging by jumar to fixed rope, face swollen, body stiff in place exposed to wind (presumably dead).

Jacob's body "buried" at Col with stoves on top - about six other bodies (Sherpas) lying there in sleeping bags.

"Very ill equipped and ill prepared," but whatever help I gave was voluntary and not because they were Indian (helped rescue NZ Sherpa badly injured in fall into crevasse and brought him out of it and carried him down when other NZ Sherpas didn't want to).