원정 개요

Mexican for Everest, Leonardo Fernandez, the only member - 24 Oct 2008

Fernandez was rather vague, forgetful and confused about the events of his climb. For example: when did he first sleep in C1? Same date as the French independent climber Francisco Bon, whenever that was. Sleep in C2? A week after sleeping in C1.

He first slept in C2 on 12 Sept and spent just one night there, then back to BC. On the 15th he went directly from BC to C2 with another independent Frenchman Antoine Bonfils and stayed there two nights.

On the 17th he climbed up to the site for C3 and spent one hour there before returning to C2. He was descending alone when at about 3:00 pm, he thinks, a snow and ice avalanche came down the West Face of Lhotse, where the site for C3 was located. He believes he was at about 7000m when he was hit by the avalanche. But he remembers nothing from the moment he shouted the warning "Avalanche" until the morning of the 18th at about 11:00 am, when he found himself in C2 with Bon, Bonfils and their two Sherpas.

One of the Sherpas now said that the wind was not abating and all of them must descend immediately. And so they did and reached BC just after nightfall.

Fernandez said he doesn't know when three fingers on each hand became frostbitten. But later he said he had lost his gloves in the avalanche, so he then agreed that it was logical to conclude that his fingers became frostbitten in the avalanche. He got a cut above his right eye and a swollen right ankle that hurts when he walks (after about four days following his return to Kathmandu, he may seek medical advice if it is still swollen).

One of the Frenchmen told him that they had to tie his hands together in order to put him on a bottle of his oxygen, which they managed to do in C2 while he was unconscious, but he soon took it off while still unconscious; he estimates by looking at the indicator, he had been using the oxygen for only half an hour. He doesn't know why he felt strongly against oxygen; he had taken a supply with him for just such an emergency, but could not explain this inconsistency. He used none while conscious.