원정 개요

BC near Bawa Khola north of mountain
C1 on border ridge close to pt 5843 on HMG map.

The expedition approached Bhrikuti [Sail] from the north and made their BC on 16 March at 5450m near the Bawa Khola and very near pt. 5430 on HMG map. They moved south-southeast to Bhrikuti's North Ridge, which forms the border with China, and which Grobel considers the easiest route on Bhrikuti. They placed their high camp on the 17th on the ridge at 5800m close to pt 5843 on HMG map.

From this camp, the entire team set out for the summit at 5:30 am on 18th March. Their route to the top was along the north of camp. But when they had gone only 50 meters in ten minutes out of camp, Chevalier and Duchateau turned back because they were not feeling well. The remaining eight members and their three Sherpas (who were officially members of the expedition, according to the Nepalese government's requirement for Bhrikuti teams) continued on towards the top.

While most of the team reached the top at 8:00 am, Filippucci, who was a slow climber, suddenly had a neurological episode, a stroke, when he was at 6300m, very near the summit, at 9:00 am. This affected the right side of his body. He was helped down to high camp by Grobel, who met him on Grobel's descent from the top, and by Tashi Temba.

The summit party of Bonodeau, Cruon, Grobel, Mathey, Montanari, Princip, Rubichon, Pasang Gyalzen and Chhotemba moved down through their high camp at 12:00 noon and arrived in BC at 2:30 pm. Filippucci descended to BC on horseback and also reached there at 2:30; he recovered that afternoon and was evacuated to Kathmandu by helicopter from Gami village in Manang. (He had another stroke a week later, but still survived. He had another stroke a week later but still survived. He expected to leave Nepal on 2 May, one day after the other member and two days before Grobel was scheduled to leave for Tibet to climb a small mountain near Lhasa.)

Sherpas:
Chhotemba Sherpa, 29/9/74 he says, Makalu-9, no 8000ers
Pasang Gyalzen, 30/7/81, Walung, Makalu-9, no 8000ers
Tashi Temba, 18/5/66 (5/2/2023), Makalu-9, no 8000ers