원정 개요

BC at normal site
C1 at NE Col
C2 on NE Ridge
C3 on NE Ridge
High point at least, perhaps summit.

Sherpas established C3 26 Sept but did not sleep there. Summit team of Kotronaros and Tsoupras left BC on 29 Sept and slept in C1; 30th slept in C2; 1 Oct after 10 hours hard effort reached C3 - much wind and quite exhausted by deep snow. Left C3 for top on 2nd Oct at 6:00 am, quite late; Tsoupras was leading by 100m; Kotronaros not feeling up to going to summit and turned back at 7700m at about 9:00 am and back to C3; snow knee deep but visability good; very cold. Tsoupras followed standard route and was last seen at 10:00 am from C3 at about 7800m on traverse on N Face; he signaled he was Ok and going for top - seen moving slowly till 10:30 am at 7850m and then no longer visible (misty and rocks of snowfield obscured vision) to Kotronaros. At about 3:30 pm Japanese saw him just below summit and about same time leader from BC saw him only few minutes from top at bottom of summit couloir; after 4:30 pm wind strong, blowing spindrift snow. During night snowfall and wind blowing strong. Kotronaros waiting for his return.

5th Oct Tsiantos, Mondinelli and Spanish (Aguirre) and 2 Spanish Sherpas reached 7900m and found nothing of missing member and turned back in deep snow (Tsiantos toes frostbitten somewhat). 4th Oct Kotronaros down to base camp; Tsiantos had arrived on 3rd at C3 and spent 4th in camp waiting for other teams men to come up for summit bid and slept in C2 on 5th with others and in base camp 6th and climb finished because of death of friend. "We believe that he reached summit" - was seen by leader about 80m vertically from top and Japanese saw him "some where there" and congratulated Greek on his success. "I think he did summit very late in afternoon and maybe lost his way and slipped maybe he made a snowhole and never left it, or maybe small avalanche hit him." He had been to 7300m and last spring and now he pushed himself very hard this time "to the limit" to get the summit now. Greeks will declare on return home that he reached top.