원정 개요

Approach: Trekking to Kyanjin Gompa via Gosainkunda

BC 07/10 4400m nearby memorial plates, south of Lirung Glacier
ABC 18/10 4700m
Biv1 25/10 5500m
Biv2 26/10 5800m
Biv3 27/10 6300m
Biv4 28/10 6800m
Biv5 29/10 7100m
Smt 30/10 by Holecek, Huserka 11 am
Biv6 30/10 6300m
Biv7 31/10 5500m

Alpine-style ascent, no fixed rope. Some parts had to be climbed without backpacks, hauled them up later. Holecek does not want to rate the climb for its difficulty, but climb was very difficult and dangerous.

Plan was for Holecek, Huserka and Mrklovsky to attempt Langtang Lirung; Pavel Hodek was not a climber and came as BC support. Team climbed Naya Kanga on 14/10 for acclimatization. Climb harder than expected.

On 19/10 Holecek, Huserka and Mrklovsky started first attempt on Langtang Lirung East Face. Reached high-point of approximately 5100m at 11 am. The wall was too hot, there was rock fall and lots of avalanches, and they had to retreat. They stayed at the high-point for the night at bivouac, next day down to BC and on to Kyanjin. Team stayed in Kyanjin for some rest and acclimatization walks, weather turned bad despite positive forecast.

In Kyanjin on 21/10, Mrklovsky decided not to join team for another attempt on Langtang, but try Ganchenpo with Hodek instead.

Holecek and Huserka wanted to start for another attempt on Langtang on 23/10 and 24/10, but bad weather kept them on the ground.

On 25/10 both members started second attempt from ABC at 3 am. To first bivy located at 5500m.

On 26/10 to Bivy 2 at 5800m
On 27/10 to Bivy 3 at 6300m
On 28/10 to Bivy 4 at 6800m
On 29/10 to Bivy 5 at 7100m

Apart from the summit day, all days were very hard and dangerous. Slept in the night, climbed in the day. Members roped up for the whole ascent.

On 30/10, they waited for first light, made food and set off for the top at 9 am. Took them two hours to the top. Straightforward climb, relatively easy climbing. On the summit at 11 am, stayed for 15 minutes. Not much wind, great views, not too cold.

Descent via NE Ridge. They knew that the safest and fastest way down would be via the NE Ridge. Rappelling the same way as ascent was impossible and too dangerous in their view.

After summit descended to sixth bivy at approx. 6300m.

On 31/10 at approx. 5500m at 4 pm they were rappelling from an Abalakov anchor. Holecek went first. He was down and waited for Huserka to arrive, when the anchor broke and Huserka took a fall for about 8m. After hitting a snow shelf, he slid down an ice channel for another 15m into a crevasse.

Holecek didn’t see the fall, but he heard a noise, a scream, and when he turned around, he saw Huserka disappearing into the crevasse. Immediately he climbed down and within a few minutes he was inside the narrow and dark crevasse.

Huserka was in a bad condition, hanging head-first in the crevasse, unable to move or free himself. Holecek tried for two hours to free his partner, turn him around, and pull him out of the crevasse with a tube. He didn’t have his headlamp, but found one in Huserka's backpack, which he cut off from Huserka's back with a knife he was carrying.

Huserka was alive and conscious, but in very bad condition, Holecek assumes he had broken his backbone in the fall but is not sure. Holecek couldn’t get him out of the crevasse alone, and he realized there is not much he could do for him.

Exhausted himself, after struggling to lift his partner, Holecek stayed with him for another two hours, and covered Huserka with a sleeping bag, to protect him from the cold.

At around 8 pm, Huserka breathed his last.

It took Holecek 50 minutes to climb his way out of the crevasse and he bivouacked nearby the accident spot at 5500m.

On 01/11, before setting off, he left his orange sleeping bag next to the crevasse to mark the location of the crevasse for a future rescue attempt. In a long, exhausting day he crossed the vast Lirung Glacier and icefall and descended all the way to Kyanjin, which he reached at 5 pm.

On 02/11 helicopter came, picked up Holecek in Kyanjin, he guided the pilot to the accident location, but landing was not possible on the rugged terrain. On 02/11 Holecek, Hodek and Mrklovsky back to KTM by helicopter.

On 03/11 and 04/11 a Sherpa rescue team wanted to fly to retrieve the body, but weather didn’t allow them to fly.

Addendum, 07/11/2024:

On 06/11 weather improved, and Subin Thakuri, owner of 14 Summits, organized a strong Sherpa team to attempt a long-line retrieval of the body. On 07/11 the helicopter with the rescue team was able to take off in KTM at 6:30 am. Flew to accident location, the orange sleeping bag was partly covered with snow so it took them a while to find the location. Sherpas climbed into crevasse and at 10 am they were able to retrieve the body via long-line. Back to KTM, brought the body to Teaching Hospital for postmortem.

Rescue Coordination: Subin Thakuri
Long=line operator: Lokendra
Rescue guides: Pemba Gelje Sherpa, Chhiring Sherpa, Kusang Sherpa, Prakash Sherpa
Heli captain: Bibek.
Heli company: Altitude Heli

Holecik left BC on 01/11.

Route name: “Ondrej’s Star”

Oxygen: Not taken, not used

Records: 1st complete ascent of East Face

Other peaks: Naya Kanga (14/10); Mrklovsky & Hodek attempted Ganchenpo

Deaths: Ondrej Huserka died at 8 pm on 31/10 at 5500m.