Mountain Madness Everest Expedition 2002
by Charlie Fowler
I arrived in Kathmandu March 24th, ahead of most of the team. The next few days were spent organizing our expedition and working with the staff at the Mountain Madness office there. Most of our team members, including expedition leader Hector Ponce de Leon of Mexico, arrived a few days later, on March 27th.
We were a large and diverse group of people: Ten trekkers led by veteran guide Raleigh Coburn would accompany us to basecamp, four climbers planned to be led by me through the Khumbu Icefall up to Camp 2 (at 6400 m in the heart of the Western Cwm), and four more climbers would attempt the summit with Hector and myself.
After orientation meetings and more paperwork in Kathmandu, we all flew to Lukla on March 29th. Ascending slowly to acclimate well and stay healthy, we arrived at basecamp on April 7th, after a leisurely but very scenic hike.
Our basecamp, which was already established by our team of Sherpas, was at 5300m on the Khumbu glacier, adjacent to the notorious Khumbu Icefall. The congenial group of trekkers departed after a few days at camp. The remaining group rested and reviewed skills at the base of the icefall.
Unfortunately, one of the climbers, Gary Ponder, severely twisted his knee in the Icefall will practicing his skills. Unable to walk very well, he was evacuated by helicopter. Recovering just fine after surgery, Gary vows to return again in 2004.
Climbing through the Khumbu Icefall to Camp 2 is an attractive alternative for folks without the time to attempt the summit. Indeed it is a great way to experience the mountain. On our trip we had a team of four - Chris Smith, Derek Dean and Tom and Carol Hart (on their honeymoon, no less).
Our summit team (alas, now minus Gary) was Andy Colyer from New York City, Julio Bird from Wisconsin (originally from Puerto Rico) and Matthew Holt, an Englishman living in South Africa.
After our review session we spent the next day climbing up towards Camp 1 to assess conditions and further acclimate. The icefall itself is engineered by a team of Sherpas known as "the icefall doctors" whose job it is to rig and maintain a route up this complex maze of ice. The route is fixed by them with ropes up slopes and ladders across crevasses. Climbers need skill and self -sufficient at navigating up and down fixed lines to do this section safely.
Back at basecamp after this exercise, we rest. The plan is for the icefall group to go towards Camp 2, with the summit climbers following a day later. When the time comes, only Derek is ready to go the distance. Chris is satisfied to go part way up the icefall, and the Harts are not prepared to safely go beyond basecamp.
Derek and I climb to Camp 1 (at 6000 m) and spend the night there. Next day we leave our bivy gear at camp and climb up the spectacular Western Cwm. Derek, an avid photographer, frequently stops to take pictures in this most amazing mountain cirque. We arrived at Camp 2 (6400 m) mid-day, then descend back to Camp 1, where we spend another night before heading down to basecamp. There, we met the summit climbers on there way to Camp 2.
Back at Basecamp, the icefall trekkers headed home, while the summit climbers got down to business. We sorted gear, organized food and talk strategy. Our plan was to rest and eat a lot, and climb progressively higher till camps are established, the weather is stable and we are acclimated, a process that will take several weeks. At Basecamp we had a relatively comfortable setup, with a cook, Maila Tamang, and his three helpers.
Meanwhile, our team of high-altitude Sherpas were hard at work, setting up our camps: They erected tents, brought up food and fuel, and higher up, oxygen bottles. Our three Sherpas were exceptionally strong and experienced - led by Lakpa Gelu, who is one of the most experienced and respected climbers in Nepal (9 Everest summits). With him was his older brother Lama Jangbu (8 Everest summits) and Chongba (2 Everest summits). We also had a cook at camp 2, Lakpa. Camp 2 serves as an advanced basecamp for establishing camps higher on the mountain, and was in a relative comfortable spot below the southwest face, on glacial moraine.
After everyone spent the night at camp 1, we rested back at basecamp for a few days. Then the team climbed back there for another night. Next day we climbed to Camp 2 and spent the night there. After that, it's up to 7000 m then back to basecamp for more rest. Next time, we go up to camp 1, but rather than sleep there we continue on to Camp 2 and spend the night. The plan is to go to Camp 3 and spend a night there, but the weather was not favorable, so we spent another night at Camp 2 and descended once again to basecamp.
We'd been at basecamp for about a month, and our fitness and acclimatization were coming along well. It was almost time to make a summit bid. Before we did this, however, we descended to the village of Dingboche for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Dingboche is about a 1000 meters lower than basecamp. We booked rooms in a lodge and spent 4 night down there, lounging around, going for short hikes and eating ALOT. Rejuvenated from this, we hiked back to basecamp and spent the next day packing for our summit climb.
As before, we left basecamp at 6 am and headed directly to Camp 2. Once more, the weather was unsettled, with very high winds blowing off the top. The time was not right to try for the top, so we retreated back to basecamp for a couple of days.
May 13 - the weather improved so it's back through the icefall and across the Western Cwm to Camp 2. We arrived early and spent the afternoon relaxing and preparing our oxygen equipment.
May 14 - after a leisurely breakfast, we head up the cwm to the Lhotse face, and climbed snow and ice slopes to Camp 3 at 7200 meters. The climbers slept on bottled oxygen this night, as well as using it the next day to assist the climb to the South Col.
The route from Camp 3 continues up the Lhotse face for several hundred meters, then cuts diagonally up and left, across a layer of rock and mixed terrain known as the Yellow Band. Above there, it's across another snow slope to the Geneva Spur; a rocky buttress that is traversed to the South Col. We arrived at the South Col in the late afternoon, and began preparing for the summit push.
The route to the top had not yet been fixed, so a small team of Sherpas and western guides left Camp 4 at 9 pm to complete the task, including our team member Lama Jongbu. Not long afterwards, climbers from many teams set out for the top. Our group waited, leaving just before midnight. Unfortunately, Matthew did not join us, as his leg was bothering him from an injury suffered in the icefall on the way up. He remained at Camp 4 with Lakpa. Lakpa Gelu led the way, followed by Julio, myself, Hector and Andy. Chongba brought up the rear.
The route rises gradually from the South Col, ascending the flank of the southeast ridge till it crests at a flat spot, the 'balcony'. We arrived there not long after daybreak. Switching to a fresh oxygen bottle, we continued up the ridge, over some mixed ground, eventually arriving at the South Summit. The route drops down just a bit from there, then continues over more snow and mixed terrain to the Hillary Step - the last obstacle before the top. The step itself is short but steep - fixed lines allowed easy passage, though.
Above, the route followed the corniced but low angle summit ridge. Most of the team arrived on top just before 11 am on May 16! The weather was extraordinarily nice - very warm and calm. Indeed, many climbers took advantage of this fine day; a record number reached the summit from the south (over 60). We took some photos, chatted with other climbers, then began the descent down the way we had come up. Despite the large number of people on the mountain this day, there were few problems and the retreat back to Camp 4 was an orderly affair. Back on the South Summit, we meet Andy and Chongba, who had decided to call that their highpoint. By late afternoon everyone was back at the South Col, where we crashed for the night.
On the morning of the 17th we headed down to Camp 3 where we picked up some of our gear, then continued to Camp 2. Although we arrived early in the afternoon, we elected to spend the night here, as conditions in the icefall were by now too warm and soft to pass safely. Early next morning we hit the trail, arriving back at basecamp in time for lunch and a small celebration.
Without any delay, we packed our things and headed down towards Lukla early the next morning; in a few days we were all back in Kathmandu, after the adventure of a lifetime.
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