원정 개요

Schubert - 26 May 76

[Schubert] looks drawn, walks only with effort using ski poles left route; reached top 18 May 13:15 hours and stayed 20 minutes very good weather; could see N and S.

In Germany calculated last day 18th, but then feet frozen and took long time to go down; from 18th no food; came down same route as up.

Carried tent with them; found 1 tent but C2 broken, but little food on 20th.

18th no food and no drink and nothing until C2.

Biv 7150m in snowhole 17/18; next day to top after C2; no food until Siklis where gave food and help.

South side route not dangerous: only when new snow causes avalanches.

I think it was no problem except painful feet. Baumann little frostbite, but Schubert more because had frozen feet 2 times before.

2 days of storm during ascent.

Glad he did it? "I think so."


MT staffer at Pokhara to JOM Roberts - 25 May 76

Schubert and Baumann arrived Pokhara today am perfectly Ok; claim reached summit 18 May.

[later tel. call: they have slight frost bite; will arrive KTM tomorrow's flight].


Goltzsche - 24 May 76

10 May Schubert and Baumann.
5 am Gotzsche woke them and 6 am they left C2 5030m.

Day before they had carried tent and food for 6/8 days and fuel to 5350m; way was very dangerous from ice avalanche [prone]; for us others, too dangerous and we not going there.

2 routes: left and right (right was rock difficult but safer). Schubert and Baumann said too late and we next go on top; why too late? don't know. Went left route. Walkie-talkies not working and on 11th Goltzsche went 4700m rock and saw whole route: could see them 9:15 am at 5800m and they moving up; each day Goltzsche went up to this rock despite each day weather not so good with little snow fall.

10 May left C1 to BC, but left supplied tent at C1 till 19 May. Hope they have gone down to Marshyangdi and Pisang (10 days to Pokhara).

Goltzsche and all members left BC 18 May.

Others arrive Tuesday by minibus.

Litte hope they went down north side to Marshyangdi; most probably in crevasse or because ill from altitude.

Schubert had only one thing in his head: to go top; same with Baumann and they had not much time because took longer than expected to reach BC and all had to be back at work next Monday.


MB Pandey, MFA - 20 May 76

Baumann and Schubert missing since 10 May after went up from C2 and was intensive search not found; all returning base camp and expedition unsuccessful.


May 1, 1976

Reached transit BC on 24th of April in jungle beyond Hogo BC established after 6 days on altitude 3460m under difficult conditions.

A climb through glacier impossible. Try to by-pass Icefall from left. Hope to make C1 on mountain after three days 4020m.

Time for ascent very short. Summit must be reached before 10th of May.

All members are in good condition. Sherpas and liaison officer excellent.


Pit Schubert - 20 April 76

Leave Pokhara 21 April and arrive BC 26 April at about 3500m above Hoga village.

Route directly North to little bit of East Ridge and then west (left) to summit; thus entirely new route.

4 high camps; highest on glacier below ridge but what altitude impossible to say; all other expeditions who looked at this route said it impossible; very bad at lower part.

Summit 15-17 May, possibility for all members, but we will see.
1 Sirdar and 3 Sherpas, etc.


Letter from Pit Schubert

Since the time, when we reached Germany I am ill with my feets. Half a year I had been in hospital. Now I am in hospital too. Eight toes had been cut.

Some years ago frozen feets were always cut directly. Now there is a therapy to wait a long time (half a year and more) with cutting. So they can save more of the feets as when they cut directly.

Mr. Roberts suppositions why we need such a long time to reach the top were not correct. But he couldn't know it better, because the time when we spoke to him after expedition in KTM was so short, that we couldn't tell him the reason. It was storm (one day in tent), one day avalanches, one day a wrong way couldn't recognise the top. Then we had nothing to eat and to drink (only snow) and than we started to the top. So we need for this distance (if we had food and drink, I think only one day) two days, we slept in a small snow cave, sitting the whole night, nothing to eat and nothing to drink, no sleeping bag, only one pair of crampons.


Letter from James O. Roberts

The bizarre conduct and events of this expedition tend to obscure the importance of this first ascent of one of the great snow and ice faces of Nepal ("great" in extent rather connecting AIV to AII, from 7317m to about 6000m.). The face is better described as a vast basin of snow and ice, west by smaller peaks descending south from Annapurna IV and on the East by the lower bulk of Annapurna II and the flanks of Lamjung Himal.

The upper slopes may not be so very difficult, but the trouble is that all that snow and ice drain down into a narrow gorge or funnel at the top of the Madi River, seemingly in the past, a death trap of avalanches. (The writer long had ideas of getting into the basin above the dangerous part by a long detour, up, over and down, from the west thus solving this very interesting and important problem himself. But he seems to have left it too late). The DAV party took the direct line and survived.

The long time - 9 days to the summit (7526m) from C2 at 5220m may be explained, possibly by soft snow on the South facing slopes. That the summit was reached there seems no doubt. Some may call for photographic evidence, but most will trust Schubert's integrity as a fine mountaineer.

However the point is, was the lower route taken the action of a blind man crossing a crowded city street at a peak traffic hour, and surviving, or a safe and sound way up the face? I refer to the portion between about 5220m and 6000m.

The story is that at Camp 2 the remaining members refused to follow Schubert and his companion up the "left hand way" although they would have agreed to a route on the right (east the side on which Lamjung Himal discharges enormous ice avalanches into the gorge). Schubert described his route as "quite safe." In view of the contrary opinion held by the deputy leader and others some further evidence of this, together with photographs if possible, would be of great interest.