원정 개요

C1 at North Col.

Spent nights of 2nd to 5th April at ABC, then BC for a week to rest, then to ABC 13th April stayed there till 16th when all except Lakpa went to bottom of NW Face, up a couloir of NE Ridge and started climbing the face fixing rope. Plan was to scale NE Ridge to junctions of East and NE Ridges, leave gear cache and have look at East Ridge's upper part and icefall at bottom of ridge; climbed one day to almost 6000m and then started to snow, which brought heavy snow into their prominent couloir, which could mean avalanching, so same day back to ABC till 20th when walking in deep snow around foot of NE Ridge to Rapha La to see snow conditions on East Ridge, expecting okay conditions but actually in worse conditions with leaning towers of snow and ice (looked like back of dinosaur) and top part of ridge heavily crevassed; decided ridge too dangerous and out of condition and back to ABC having abandoned any plan to climb East Ridge.

So started ferrying oxygen to North Col on 23rd. Watson and John Bagnulo of Mazur's expedition left C3 at midnight of 10/11th May and on top 7:00 am (Watson) and 7:20 am (Bagnulo) and down to ABC at 4:00 pm, Gheorghe, Lakpa and Dawa Nuru left C3 at 0:30 hours of 11th and caught up with Watson and Bagnolo at mushroom rock because Watson and Bagnolo had to break trail (Bagnolo C3 to First Step and Watson First Step to top). Gheorghe, Lakpa and Dawa Nuru also to ABC (all 4 members together from North Col to ABC).

Oxygen used by all 4 members in C2 on 9th May to sleep, up to top (in C3 and climbing) and down, Watson down to ABC, other 3 to North Col.

Rope fixed: 300m on face of NE Ridge; none elsewhere.