원정 개요

International Makalu, led by Joao Garcia - 27 May 2008

Both members went to 7900m and established C4 there on 18 May. They made their summit bids separately on the 19th. Garcia left C4 at 2:00 am, while Fohal, who was dehydrated from the climb to C4, stayed longer in camp and didn't leave until 6:00 am.

Fohal was not strong. He got to just above 8000m alone at 7:00 am and then turned around and descended to C3 for the night.

Garcia thinks he was the first to reach the summit on the 19th when he got there at about 11:00 am, having passed Kazakhstani Denis Urubko, Australian Blair Fahaley and his Sherpa, Frenchman Francois Marsigny and his Sherpa on his (Garcia's) way up. He spent the night in C4. In his descent on the 20th, he joined Fohal at C3 at 7:00 am, and they both went all the way down to BC that day.

Garcia's nose got frostbitten on the 19th on his way to the summit, so he asked for helicopter evacuation. On the 24th he left BC and went to Hillary BC, and on the 25th to Yangri Kharka, where a helicopter picked him up on the 27th and flew him to Kathmandu.