원정 개요

C1 on West Ridge
High point at West Summit.

The team approached Ganchempo via the Langtang Khola eastward to Kyanjin Kharka, where they camped for nights three while they climed two small mountains in the immediate area: Kyanjin Ri, on 18 October and Tsergi the next day. On the 20th they moved to BC at 4600m on bare moraine which formerly was under glacier at the mouth of the Nyangsa Chu rivulet.

On the 21st, the two Britons stayed in BC while their one Sherpa, Pemba Chhuti, and a 28-29 year old local man from Langtang village, Sing Tamang, went up to a completely hidden couloir which is crucial for access to the West Ridge. Tamang, a former cow-herd turned porter, knew where to find the couloir from his cow-herding days. Pemba Chhuti pitched a camp which he called high tent just below the entrance to this couloir at 5150m and rejoined the members in BC that day.

Tamang, no climber, returned to his village on the 22nd while Desroy, Smith and Pemba Chhuti occupied occupied high camp. On the 23rd, Pemba Chhuti put a tent at the site for their C1 on the West Ridge at 5700m while the members acclimatized by climbing above high camp: Desroy went up to 5360m, Smith to 5500m.

The three men occupied C1 on the 24th. The next day, the 25th, Pemba Chhuti remained in C1 while Desroy and Smith made a bid for the summit. But the snow looked potentially unstable; they stopped at 5970m and returned to C1 very slowly because of the uncertain snow conditions.

However on 26 Oct the members went up again. They left C1 at 6:45 am (it was too cold to move earlier) and at 3:15 pm they stood on the West Summit. Now it was too late in the day to continue along the West Ridge to the main summit, one kilometer away. In any case, they would have needed another tent for another camp, more food and more time. They got back to C1 at 7:00 pm in the dark.

The three men returned to BC on the 27th.

Desroy and Smith believe this route had been climbed before: they found about 10 meters of old rope frozen in ice on the West Ridge 200m below the West Summit.

Sherpa:
Pemba Chhuti/Chhoti, 21/12/1973, Yaphu, Makalu-Barun, Everest X4