원정 개요

17 Oct Kathmandu/Pokhara, 18 Oct Pokhara/Jomsom to Marpha. 19 Oct to Tukuche village to meet kitchen staff and expedition loads. 20th northwest along ridge to 3800m north ridge. 21st left camp and walked up to 4400m to acclimatize. 22nd took up camp to 4900m east of Dhampus Pass and camped there. 23rd now had snowed in night and deep snow, so turned then back to Marpha for the night. 24th decided to abandon idea of climbing Tashi Kang with no improvement in weather and to trek to Muktinath and then back to Jomsom for plane to Pokhara and Kathmandu.

Went to Kagbeni to sleep. 25th to Muktinath; camped at 5100m between Muktinath and Thorang La. 26th went up onto a ridge above Thorung La for plan to make film; in this party was 2 Nikles cousins, Serap Jangbu and Kancha Nuru Sherpa; just below ridge was area of windblown unstable snow and this snow avalanched on top of them at 5700m and carried them down 300m on to mixed snow and rock. Alain got broken left leg, torn ligament in ankle and broken jaw; Thomas also broken leg and damaged head, Serap broken left coccyx 'tail'; Kancha Nuru broken bone in thigh. Alain and Serap managed to get down to valley and Israeli and German trekkers came along with their Sherpas and porters who brought down Thomas and Kancha. Thomas showing increasing signs of mental problems; foreign trekkers went to Muktinath to call Swiss insurance company for rescue but in meantime Thomas died that afternoon. Alain asked people in Muktinath to bring team's tent up to them and spent night where they were. Next day army helicopter brought them to Kathmandu in clear and windless weather.

Sherpas:
Kancha Nuru, 6/9/63, Khumjung, Cho Oyu X2
Serap Jangbu, 25/7/69, Khumjung, Annapurna X1, Everest X2, etc, etc