원정 개요

BC on west side of Lhotse Glacier
ABC on west side of Lhotse Glacier
C1 on South Face
C2 on South Face
C3 on South Face.

The expedition's progress was severely hampered in the last half of September into early October by heavy snowfall, and it came to a halt in early November partly because of fierce winds.

They followed the direct route pioneered by Russians in 1990. "It was very long and very difficult technically," Kim Nam-Il said. For example, the route between C1 and C2 was a long one, although C2 was only 600m higher than C1, and it was difficult to find a campsite on the face here. Their original plan was to place C1 at 6000m and C2 1000m higher, but this was impossible.

The team's high point at 7600m was reached on 5 November; that day it was decided to abandon the effort. By now it was very cold at minus 40-50 degrees Celcius, the wind was very strong, and from mid-October there were dangerous rock falls. Four members and one Sherpa were struck by falling rock:

Lhakpa Tshering's arm was broken, and he left on 23 October.
Cha's arm was also hit, but only badly bruised.
Kang and Kim Suk-Woo were hit in the ribs; Kim's rib was broken on
15 October and he left on the 27th; Kang was bruised.
Kim Hyun-Jung was hit on the side of his forehead, which was bruised,
but no bones broken.

Their original plan called for the expedition to separate into two groups of climbers, one to ascend the South Face and the others to go up the normal West Face route, paving the way for the South Face summiters to descend an easier line. But the climbers for the West Face were to begin their ascent only after C3 had been set up on the south side. It never was, and no attempt was made from the west.

Sherpas:
Lhakpa Tshering, 15/6/75 (1/3/2032), Khumjung, Annapurna I X1, Cho Oyu X1,
Everest X4, Manaslu X2
Bir Kazi Tamang, 10/12/78 (25/8/2035), Gorakhami-4, Solu
Pasang Namgyal, 25/11/72, Khumjung, Cho Oyu X1, Everest X2, Lhotse X1