원정 개요

C1 at North Col
C2 at North Ridge
C3 on North Face.

One month of waiting because of bad weather; it was terrible. 1st summit bid from C3 at 3:00 am Chinese by Foigt, Uteshev, Kozhemyako and Zoev, but Zoev turned back at 8500m because oxygen not working and down to C2. Other 3 to top and down to C2 except Foigt who went to C3.

2nd summit group left C3 for top at 5:30 am, one member of this group. Nikiforov was not feeling well and, as he started up, was told by others not to go up but went saying he would stay back and turned back after 4 hours; he went 8700m at top of snow; at 4:30 pm 2 summiters met him while he was descending and went down with him now as oxygen finished and he very slow; 2 members gave him oxygen and helped him down but before dark reached only 8600m between 1st and 2nd Steps. All three spent night at 8600m; now other 2 had no oxygen, gave old bottles found there there to him; 24 May Simonson team cared for them with water, tea and oxygen, and went on up, 3 Russians resumed descent very slowly, reached 200m from C3 at 5:00 pm Nikiforov collapsed and died; party moved body. [Novitski and Provatorov assisted in the rescue of the surviving summiters.]

3rd group of 2 members left C3 2:30 am and on top 1:30 pm 26 May. Only summiters from north that day and returned to C3 at 7:00 pm and Bochkov at 7:30 pm.

Source of above information: Bochkov