원정 개요

BC at Tulagi Glacier's side
C1 above rock wall on glacier
1st biv
2nd biv at just below summit plateau in crevasse (protected from wind).

From Xmas to 3 Jan prolonged snowfall and BC low so did not get well acclimatized. First had to ferry loads himself from camp at 3800m below glacier because porters feared Glacier and left loads here. Monier and 2 Kitchen boys carried loads (arrived lower camp 17th Dec). 21st Dec Monier began climbing 800m rock wall that required 140m of fixed rope added to ropes already there and usable. Planned to go to C2 on 25th Dec, but lousy weather and did not find good route to C2 site at 6500m so left load at 6200m and down to C1 and 26th to BC. Then long period of really bad weather began 28th and lasted till 2 Jan Monier tried for top; reached C1 on 3rd; 4th to 1st biv at 6500m after collecting load at 6200m. 5th 2nd biv at 7300m in crevasse (out of wind) 100m below summit plateau. 6th started 1:30 am and at daylight (7:00 am) reached about 7950m at begining of climb of last tower (at last plateau). Tower begins as snow with it's last 50m rock. Started climbing this snow slope but took off gloves here for a moment and saw finger freezing and realized in unacclimatized state of hallucination (many people with him, talked with old woman who said she was 100,000 yrs old) since 7700m; "my legs would have taken me to top but I was descending and sleeping"; falling asleep so impossible to stop moving to rest. At 7:00 am -50 degrees and wind 80 km/hr, so turned back and descended to 6000m, which reached at 5:00 pm without problem, but unable to continue to C1 because headlamps batteries frozen; fell into crevasse 3m at 5 pm and made biv outside with 2 sleeping bags; now frozen little fingers had big blister and some problem down fixed ropes but began for biv at 8:00 am. Spent 2 hrs in C1 and reached BC at 5:00 pm. Climb finished because of frostbitten hands and feet also getting frozen from Kangchenjunga 1987 frostbite.

Did not acclimatize by going up to 6500m or so before summit push because felt with moon's change of phase, feared change of weather to the worse, so had no time to do so.

"Summit was not most important thing - most important was experience of loneliness, of achieving my philosophy of loneliness and this I achieved and am satisfied." Plans to bring small team of 3 or 4 members to Kangchenjunga N Face, perhaps in '93. "I reached my limit climbing alone this time."