원정 개요

BC at west side of lake southwest of Dingboche
C1 at North Col of NW Ridge
C2 on NW Ridge.

From BC climbed grassy spur leading to rocky couloir and then to col on NW Ridge and then up ridge or on north side of it. Stopped on gendarme because of deep loose sugar snow. Had to dig to get to rock in some spots. "We had to tunnel our way." Elsewhere, on north side of ridge, there was a couloir of hard ice. 5 Nov reached gendarme; 6 Nov reached their highest point on it; and 7 Nov decided to abandon it. Cold "pretty intense" since were on northern side and some members got frostnip. Route same as Ed Webster's USA-Canada team in autumn 1994.

11 Nov Hey and Armstrong went route North Face via Japanese 1980 route to 5500m and stopped because avalanching ice chunks, one of which hit Hey on elbow; snow and ice conditions good, but objective danger too great.