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Independents on Lhotse, co-leaders Mario Merelli & Marco Zaffaroni - 28 May 2008

The two-man team began their summit push from BC on 17 May when they climbed to C2. On the 18th they were in C3 and on the 20th in C4. They had to stay an extra day in C3 because the wind was too strong to climb on the 18th.

On the 21st they left C4 for the top at 1:00 am. Zaffaroni turned back at about 8300-8400m midway up the couloir and descended to C2; he doesn't remember why he turned around or at what time he turned back and reached C2. At C2 three members of a Spanish army expedition put him in a tent of Silvio Mondinelli's Italian team and gave him some medication -- for cerebral edema?

Merelli continued on up; from the top of the couloir he moved to the left of the usual line in an area of loose rock, which most climbers don't like but which he is very much used to where he climbs in Italy. He reached the summit at 7:50 am and in his descent he took the normal line, where ropes had been fixed by other expeditions. He descended to C3, bringing with him C4's gear; he expected to find Zaffaroni there. He slept there alone and on the next day, the 22nd, he found Zaffaroni in Mondinelli's tent in C2, and they descended together to BC. (Zaffaroni's memory resumed from about 10:00 pm on the 21st).

On the 23rd, when they were in BC, Zaffaroni realized he had badly frostbitten toes; he thinks he will probably lose parts of the toes and possibly a bit more. They left BC on the 24th and went to Lobuche, Zaffaroni on horseback; on the 25th they went to Namche Bazar, and on the 26th to Lukla, Zaffaroni still on horseback. They flew to Kathmandu on the 27th.

Fixed rope: gave 100m to Sherpas to fix last bit just below the top.