원정 개요

Climbing stopped 31st Oct and all but Cleare, Fowler and Howell left mountain.

4 Nov Cleare and Howell scaled Himalchuli NE Peak (6497m).


John Cleare - Nov 78

Cleare and Ian Howell scaled Himalchuli NE Peak (also called Rani Peak) on 4 Nov 1978, same route as Dutch in spring 1970: South Ridge from southeast side climbed to summit from C3 made for Himalchuli attempt.


Nigel Gifford - 8 Nov 78

Route = NE Face

After 23rd, bad weather (high wind) so all went down BC. About 29th on way down between C3 to C2, Stevenson in (slab snow) avalanche but swam out. He went 70 yards but not hurt. Then mail arrived on 30th [bringing news of the death of Alison Chadwick Onyszkiewicz on Annapurna]. She knew 7 of members, some very well. 31st Janusz Onyszkiewicz left. Morale on 29th-30th still pretty good but I felt to put in C4, C5 and biv or snowhole pretty big job still to be done and long way to go and weather colder and windier. On 31st fun had gone out of expedition. O'Connor had to leave for business commitments, Nigel wanted to leave, Janusz left. Decided on 31st not carry on. So departures, Stevenson's avalanche which was 3rd avalanche, snow conditions never good, long way to go, C4 would be lower than C3, find safe route problems ahead and now Nov's winds and cold snow condition really what defeated expedition. If better, other factors would have been overcome.


Shailendra Raj Sharma, Tourism - 26 Oct 78

Himalchuli
C2 - 20 Oct 19,320 ft
C3 - 23 Oct 21,000 ft


Shailendra Raj Sharma, Tourism - 22 Oct 78

BC - 14 Oct 15,200 ft
C1 - 17 Oct 17,800 ft


Cleare - 24 Sept 78

NE Face - long plateau, NE Peak traverse (100m below summit), ridge that fades out to face (where C3 will be) at about 22,000 ft. May go left to ridge above C3.

Leave KTM by about 29 Sept. 2 weeks to BC with 50 porters.
BC at 16,000 ft probably maybe biv above C3, maybe only snowholes.

Sirdar Pemba Tharkey but not above BC - no Sherpas above BC.
1 medical bottle oxygen
Summit bids end 1st week Nov, possibly before; are equipped to stay till late Nov.


Letter from C2 by John Cleare - Oct 23, 1978

We are going like a steam engine right now. Morale is tops and thanks perhaps to Nigel's superb H/A. We eat like kings. Snow is calf deep but weather excellent and no wind yet. Everyone is carrying 50 lbs and loving it because we are acclimatizing well. Sleep low/carry high and its working. Pin, I and Doc and Nig set up C3 at 21,000 yesterday and Pin and I are occupying it today to probe and locate C4 tomorrow. C4 is bottom of North East Face of Big H. And if our momentum continues (its tremendous right now - goo go go before we get too tired) we should have summit bids going in with 7-10 days. How can we fail? (isn't that what Hitler once said?) Anyway - we'll have a damn good try and optimism is very much in the air. We feel wer are breaking new goal by being Sherpa-less on such a big long and "long sticky" ridge.

The views are fantastic. We see deep into Tibet up Ton Khola glen and Gosainthan in distance holds its alpenglow particularly red (appropriately long after the other peaks are dark).


8th Oct

We are still a few days below BC but as Bill reached us 2 days ago and we can't make the radio he bought with him work we are sending back a runner early with the batterys to recharge. And a few letters with them. Hope all is well in KTM. We've had 48 hours continuous rain but sun is shining now and we are drying out nicely. But what a place. The Buri in spite is quite something.