원정 개요

Ganner left C4 at about 23:40 hours on May 23. According to Juan Benegas, another independent climber (who was climbing together with Ganner) that near South Summit suddenly weather became bad - clouds and wind. Benegas told Ganner that he will be going back and not going for summit. Ganner told Benegas that he will continue. Benegas at his C4 tent later was told by his Sherpa that Ganner slipped down and was dead as Ganner's Sherpa told him. Since the Sherpa said he was dead, no attempt was made for search.

According to Pasang Gelu Sherpa of Indian Army Expedition: while returning from summit on May 24, he saw Ganner moving his hand. That was between 07:00-08:00 hours. Pasang Gelu went down to Ganner to help him leaving rucksack on the ridge. Gelu picked up a rope and fixed it on a snow bar near main fixed rope. When got to Ganner he was moving his body, hands were without gloves. Fingers were bent towards cheeks, nose and lips were frostbitten. Apparently there was not my external injury. He could not speak - just making some sound. Pasang Gelu lifted him from the ground and made him sit and tied the rope onto Ganner's harness. About 20 minutes he had reached Ganner the Austrian became motionless and died. Pasang Gelu said he was shocked, stunned and felt dizzy. Felt hungry, thirsty. Somehow he climbed up to the place where he left his rucksack. He asked somebody passing him to give him something to eat and he was given a chocolate. Pasang Gelu managed to climb down to his expedition's camp.

The place where Ganner was is about 150 to 200m down the ridge. Pasang Gelu did not see any oxygen bottle with Ganner or around his place. His rucksack was away from Ganner about 15-20m, above Ganner.

Many people saw him with Ganner but nobody bothered to join him. It was really sad about the attitude or other climbers.

Gelu met Mrs. Ganner at Kathmandu guest house on June 1, the day Gelu returned to Kathmandu.

According to Pasang Gelu the place where he found Ganner was not difficult to reach and not far from ridge.


To Mrs. Ganner from Elizabeth Hawley (comments of Phinzo Sherpa)

Today I met the Sherpa who had been with Mr. Ganner, Phinzo Sherpa, who is an experienced climber, having been to the summit of Everest in 2000. He said that when they had climbed to a point just below the South Summit, the weather had become bad -- clouds were all around them, it was very windy and snow was being blown into their faces. It was now 2:30-3:00 pm, and they discussed the fact that it would take at least two more hours to reach the summit -- and then they would still have to descend all the way to Camp 4. Mr Ganner's oxygen bottle was now empty, so Phinzo gave Mr. Ganner his own bottle to replace it, but Mr. Ganner was not weak.

Because of the bad weather and the lack of daylight time left, Mr. Ganner said they should go down. (In addition to the weather and the time, there now was the fact that they had only one useable oxygen bottle left). They sat down to the rest briefly, Mr. Ganner about 3 meters below Phinzo. Phinzo covered his head and face to protect them from the strong cold wind. Then he heard a noise like that of a crampon scraping on a rock, and when he looked around, he could not see Mr. Ganner anywhere in the cloudy, snow-filled air driven by wind. So he went down to Camp 4 alone and saw no sign of Mr. Ganner on the way. He made no attempt to go to the summit that day or any day that season.

When he reached Camp 4, he met Juan Benegas and reported to him about Mr. Ganner's disappearance. He was sure that Mr. Ganner had fallen down the very steep, long East Face of Everest into Tibet and died. Because of his report, no one went up to look for Mr. Ganner. (In any case, I myself know that a search would have been very difficult under those bad weather conditions and with sunset approaching - EAH.)