원정 개요

ABC as same as others
C1 at North Col
C2 just below North Ridge on face
C3 on North Face, a little before ridge.

26 Sept 1:00 am Clara and 5 Sherpas left last camp for summit. 2 Sherpas [Dawa and Chuwang] stopped at 8600-8700m together to await Clara's return. Clara and [other] 3 Sherpas went to top at 11 am. Kazi, Gyalzen and Ang Gyalzen returned to camp at 7900m to sleep at 2:00-3:00 pm. 27th to ABC. Clara got no sleep for 3 nights in ABC because body very tired. Climb difficult at Steps I & II and above because steep-ladder is there at 2nd Step - snow deep. Maybe Clara had edema in lungs on descent in ABC and BC. Basuki's oxygen finished at C2 so he did not go higher. 2 more Sherpas [Dawa and Chuwang] later same day to top.

Sherpas:
Kaji, Beding, Everest X3 before
Gyalzen, Annapurna May 96
Ang Gyalzen, Thami, Everest
Dawa Tshering, Thami, Everest X2
Chuwang Nima, Thami, Everest X3 (arrived at top very soon afterwards)

Clara reportedly used extremely heavy flow of oxygen (as much as 10 litres per minutes) and consumed one bottle in one hour; was seen staggering in a daze even so and had to be dragged by unhappy Sherpas to summit.

26 Oct 1996 - South Africans have no doubt Clara and Sherpas reached summit; saw them above Second Step and no sudden descent.

10 Jan 1997 - Clara very elusive, produced photo of summit that could have been taken anywhere.


Letter from Ambar Corbridge - 27 October 2009

In post monsoon, 26th September 1996 a young woman climber Miss Sumarwati from Indonesia is said to have achieved the summit of Mount Everest from North Col/North Ridge along with Sherpa Kaji, Sherpa Gyalzen, Sherpa Ang Gyalzen, Dawa Tshering and Sherpa Chuwang Nima. She has been recorded under the Indonesian expedition of which she was the leader.

On her return to Indonesia, she was faced with critics and doubt, since she wasn't able to produce summit photographs. She alleges that Indonesia's regime (the President's son-in-law was a key person of official Indonesian Everest expedition under military and civilians climbers south side spring 1997) did burn negative photos and her collections. In effect she was unable to give a fully documented personal account of her climbing adventure and achievements.

Spring 26th April 1997, the official Indonesian team finally put two men on top, Misirin and Asmujiono through South Col/South-east Ridge under Indonesian/
Kazakhstan or Russian/Polish Expedition with guide Anatoli Boukreev, Sherpa Apa, Sherpa Dawa Nuru and Vladimir Bashkirov under the leader Edhie Wibowo.

This created a media frenzy about who was actually the first summiter of Everest for Indonesian. Miss Sumarwati subsequently became withdrawn from public appearances due allegedly to possible intimidation from military regime in Indonesia. She was also in hiding during the uncertain political situation in the late 90's which led the fall of General Suharto. Throughout those periods and up to the present time, Miss Sumarwati has suffered depression and has been submitted into mental hospital at her home town, Jogjakarta, Central Java, Indonesia.


Email from Ambar Corbridge - 27 Dec 2009

The only claims from outside Indonesia that tell the doubt about Clara Sumarwati's 1996 North Col summit I have found from the All Women Philippines team 2007. They aimed to put the first ASEAN women on top of Everest actually over-ruled Miss Clara Sumarwati's claim as her nationality in fact from one of the countries on ASEAN.