원정 개요

Party believed that that were on Dhaulagiri IV when actually they were on Dhaulagiri VI - 14 Nov 65

Chose West Ridge; any subsequent expedition would do well; most direct, probably also least technical difficulty and in good season probably offers best snow condition.

Summit party:
Mann
Wilkinson
Addis
Sims
Mingma Tsering
Nima Tenzing

On Oct 14 C3 established 20,400 ft and from this 6-man team to make summit assault [after establishing C4,] but very next day the 2 Sherpas had their avalanche and decision taken not to press on. Descent on Oct 20th, Mann started avalanche, but holding on fixed rope and was roped to another member and no disaster, but from then on descent "rather desperate" and took 2 days instead of normal 4-1/2 hours; during this period Mann hit by snowblindess.

"Its a mountain that will most certainly be climbed, not difficult at all really, ... and West Face route is the way up."


Swiss radio - 10:00, 29 Oct 65

Camp 3 established on moraine 15th Oct up above 21,000 ft. Snow condition and bad weather. All members well hope arrive Pokhara by 15th Nov. Report force by runner to Pokhara and by next Swiss flight.


22 Oct 65

3 feet snow down to 10,500 ft; had terrible time to Dhorpatan ex-base camp, so says Schlatten to Spohr on radio this morning; no members in base camp when Schlatten there, but he was told all were waiting in higher camps for weather to clear and peak attempt must be postponed.


Swiss - 2 Sept 65

"Won't be easy; there will be a few technical difficulties, but aside from these, the difficulty will be organization on five-mile high mountain."

Will take oxygen, 24 cylinders in 6 sets; 25,000 feet not high enough to need it except as emergency medical safeguard or perhaps for good nights sleep.

Base camp just above tree line on snout of Ghustang Khola Glacier; 5 or 6 camps above base Swiss thinks; (JOM) Roberts thinks 4. Start moving up mountain Sept 20 or 21 (based on expectation re monsoon end). 6 weeks to establish camps and stock them; assault any time thereafter depending on weather and fitness within 2 more weeks.


Gustang Himal North Peak
Route: north side

Ascent:
17 Oct - Peter Addis
John Hinde
18 Oct - Trevor Mann
Robin Wilkinson


Letter from John (BC) - 28 Oct

But apart from three avalanches: Mingma Tsering (sirdar) and Nima Tenzing on 15 Oct at 20,500 ft on way up: Trevor and Pete Addis at 19,000 ft and 18,500 ft on 20 Oct between C2 and C1 on way down held by fixed ropes and Trevor Mann snow blind 21/22nd Oct, and frostbite to toes of several: Mingma, Nima Tenzing, Nima Dorje and Robin W and slightly to Pete A and one or two others between 15th and 21st. None of these troubles led to anything permanent or serious. Apart from these we escaped.

The storm up to 3 ft snow; that made our journey difficult, also hit Jak Schlatten and sister Margaret, etc, who had come to our BC. They were on these way home.


Letter from JOMR - 20 Oct

I am sending you John Sims letter of 16 Oct announcing failure on Dhaulagiri 6. I shall fill in some gaps in this letter. The radio message will hope have received before this. It's snowing hard here at Base and has been for about last 24 hours. There is about 2 feet of snow on the ground and it is out of question sending a runner to Dhorpatan in these conditions. I fear they will be having a tough time getting off the mountain. More probably they are staying but for the time being in Camp 2 (but it does snow less on the mountain than down here - strangely enough). 25 Sept Sims and others - actually occupied glacier Base - 15,500 ft which had been stocked during past week.

26 Sept: This has been a mighty queer "post monsoon." But from this day there was an improvement in weather that had never been really bad (apart from 2/3 days) since early September. The fine spell lasted (and never quite so fine as the traditional "post monsoon.") We seldom saw the afternoon sun for about 12 days. After this afternoon storms began to blur up and the weather has steadily deteriorated since into a season higher remniscent of winter. I have a doubt another fine spell will yet occur. It will have to if we are to extricate ourselves back to Ktm.

But it will be too late - for our purpose of climbing D6 (unless the conditions are much better on the mountain than here in the Base which I doubt.

So much for the seasons weather. Normally the whole of October is a fine, good month for the climbing. There are of course cold winds.

29 Sep - first carry to near site of camp following making of route
through 500-foot icefall above glacier base. Some difficult
pitches. Route made by Mann, Wilkinson and Sims.
30 Sep - site of C1 - 17,600 reached steep glacier route from the top
of the icefall initially involving much step-cutting in hard ice.
3 Oct - Mann and Wilkinson to near site of C2 - much steep snow and
ice slope - but easier going than below.
3 Oct - Bennett, Addis and Hinde occupied C1.
4 Oct - Ward and Roberts and 3 Sherpas joined the above trio who had
made first carry to C2, 19,000 ft - same mornings
5 Oct - the above 5 and 3 Sherpas occupied C2 = Advance Camp.
6 Oct - Bennett not feeling well and descended to glacier Base.
7 Oct - Addis and Hinde started making trail across the glacier basin
towards C3.

Meanwhile carries continued Glacier Basin to C1 and C1 to C2.

8 Oct - Ward and Roberts reached 20,200 ft on Ghustang Peak (21,000). Turned
back by bad weather and tiring snow conditions (1, 2 ascents Oct 1962).
11 Oct - Addis and Nima Tenzing followed by Ward and Roberts made route to
within few hundred feet or proposed site for C3. Addis and Nima Tenzing
reached down 20,000 ft. No particular difficulties but long horizontal
traverse from C2 across the glacier began to foot of the west face of D4
through soft snow, very tiring.
11 Oct - Sims and Bull of party came to C2 to stay .
12 Oct - Sims and most Sahibs and Sherpas carried to site of C3. Bird and
Hinde (who had been unfit since about 7 Oct and who had descended to
glacier Base to recuperate). Mail to C2, from C1 and returned to C1.
13 Oct - Sims more food required from Glacier Base, so Roberts went down to
C1 to relieve Hinde who were more recovered and then down to Great Basin
with Bird, to fetch up food.
14 Oct - Sims, Mann, Wilkinson, Addis, Mingma and Nima Tenzing.
16 Oct - support group Ward, Hinde, Russell and 3 Sherpas to C3.
16 Oct - all returned to C2.
17 Oct - Bird and Roberts had been in glacier Base with Bennett (still unfit)
and the kitchen boy, Ang Namgyal. After 2 abortive attempts (earlier
Sherpas failed) B and R. and Ang Namgyal (wearing Bennetts boots and
crampons) got properly started up the glacier above the icefall. At about
12 noon at 16,500 ft they met 17th Oct one Sherpa (Ang Nima). Roberts and
A. Namgyal dumped their load of food and went down with the news to GB.
Bird and Ang Nima went up to Camp to find out what was happening.
18 Oct - Robert and A.N. to Base. Schlatten of SATA Dhorpatan and another Swiss
from there and more Sister Margaret had 10:30 that morning having a 2-night
stop at Base with Captain Nar Bahadur. I fear the snow fall gave them a
tough journey to Dhorpatan. Began to snow like Christmas about 6 pm.
19 Oct - snow all night and all day till 3 pm. No question of sending runner
to Dhorpatan - still night, cloudy, no snow.
20 Oct - had snow again from 10 am - must stay but though I do not dismiss
possibilities of someone coming down here from G.B.


Letter from Dicky - Oct 23 Glacier Camp

The more from BC (13,200 ft) of to Glacier Camp was made on 25th Sept by Sims, Wilkinson and Mann. All members apart from NB were established in Glacier Camp by 29th Sept. In this period we had the last storm of the monsoon, when the night of 27th Sept we had some 3 inches of snow at BC. Since that time the weather had remained good with slight cloud build-up by 16:00 hours. In the early morning we have felt the cold northerly wind from the Tibetan plateau and the nights have been decidedly chilly from Sept.

On the 30th Sept the site of C1 was set up some 2/3 the way up the side glacier. This camp was occupied by Hinde, Addis and Bennett on 3rd October. Also on 3rd Oct Mann and Wilkinson got through to the proposed site of C2 at about 19,000 ft and had the first look at the final now basin that leads directly to the high ridge between D4 and Gurja. A now a few minutes out from the ridge into the basin and with C3 established at its foot, we hope to gain the col at about 22,000 ft on the final ridge.

The site of C4 will be somewhere in this area and it is possible that a C5 will be needed on the final high summit ridge which must be all of 5 miles long from D4 to Gurja.

It is possible that Gurja may also be joined from this ridge by climbing south instead of north, but Trevor Mann has observed that the last 500 ft of Gurja look steep enough to provide quite a problem.

During the next few days C2 to be now as Advanced Base, will be fully stocked in order to mount a 15 day summit attempt. It is hoped that all members will make C1 in the next 3 days and C2 in the next week.

Our Sherpas are 1st class but unfortunately Tenzing has gone down with pneumonia here at Glacier Camp. He is mending well under the good hands of Bill Russell and will go down to Base Camp tomorrow to rest and fully recover.

For our tentative return plans it seems that the week of 22nd Nov is still good for our departure from Kathmandu. The march out will be via Gurjakhani and Lumsum to Pokhara. The question of marching out via Tukuche has not been decided.

We have heard on our radio that the situation between India and Pakistan is slowly improving and the hope is that a stable position will have been reached by the time we want to fly out. I hope the mail and air freight is once again reliable enough for our films to go out. If not, far better to hold them until our return to prevent their being lost.