원정 개요

Junctions of Rongbuk Glaciers
Biv1 on Rongbuk Glacier at bottom of Changtse West Ridge.

The three-member team without Sherpas established BC on 12 September at the junction of the Rongbuk and East Rongbuk Glaciers. Their plan was to ski down the Hornbein Couloir on the North Face. They made a camp on the 14th on the Rongbuk Glacier at the bottom of Changtse's West Ridge, from which they had a good view of the face. As they obvserved conditions on the face, which was then avalanching all across the mountain westward from the Great Couloir.

They abandoned the idea of climbing the North Face and decided to go the normal North Col route instead. They tried to rush the Col, and on their way there on 21 September at 6400m, Marra developed cerebral edema. They all returned to BC on 22 September and put Marra on oxygen. The next day he was driven to Nyalam enroute to Kathmandu.

The remaining two, Joyeusaz and Civra, now decided to climb a nameless 6535m mountain just north of Mt. Lingtren, which is north-northeast of Pumori on the border with Nepal. They summited the mountain in one day, 30 September, via its North Ridge to East Face and skied down their ascent route from 40 meters below the top.

They returned to BC on 1 October. Four days later they moved up the East Rongbuk Glacier and camped at 6088m for a 6910m summit on the North-South Ridge between Changzheng (6977m) and Changtse. Their camp was east of the peak, and from here on the 6th Civra climbed the East Face alone. He stopped at 6800m on this steep (60-degree) snow face and skied down it to the bottom of the face. Both members then returned to BC that day.

Their climbing was now over. They rested in BC on the 7th and left on the 8th for Nyalam.