원정 개요

BC near lake
C1 on east side of West Col.

The expedition intended to fly to Lukla on 3 October, but their Lukla flight was cancelled, so instead they flew to Phaphlu the next day. They reached BC a day behind schedule on the 14th.

On the 22nd, Groeger and Faber with Sona Dendu and Tshering Sherpas deposited gear at the site for C2 at the beginning of the SE Ridge at 6400m and then returned to C1 that day. On the next day,the 23rd, Landmann and Leitinger climbed to C2's site and similarly descended to C1 the same day.

Now the weather forecast became unfavourable: 100 km/hr wind was predicted for the following days. The team therefore decided on the 23rd to cancel the climb. The deposit at the C2 site and C1 were brought down to BC on the 24th, and everyone was in BC on the 25th. They left BC by helicopter on the October 27 for Lukla and flew by scheduled flight from Kathmandu that day.

Groeger believes that in good weather, no wind and hard snow under foot, no C2 would be needed: the summit bid could be made directly from C1. The crevasse that had turned away many teams in previous seasons, was no longer a problem since it had been fixed on its right (east) end up a steep (35-40 degrees) slope.

The only serious health problem amongst the members was Arendt's cerebral edema. He went up to C1 with others on 19 September, but on the 20th he had symptoms of serious altitude sickness. He left the team and flew by helicopter to Lukla to return to Kathmandu.

Faber and Groeger reached the team's high point of 6400m on 22 September. All other members got to C1 at 6140m. One member, Hausegger, even went there twice, once on the 17th and again two days later when the camp was established.

Sherpas:
Sona Dendu Sherpa, 5/10/60, Khumjung, Cho Oyu X2, Everest X5
Tshering Sherpa, 20/12/84, Khumjung, Everest X2