Seasonal Stories for the Nepalese Himalaya 1985-2014 by Elizabeth Hawley © 1985-2014 by Elizabeth Hawley 3 Contents Spring 1985: A Very Successful Season ......................................................................... 5 Autumn 1985: An Unpropitious Mountaineering Season ............................................ 8 Winter 1985-86: Several First Winter Ascents ........................................................... 11 Spring 1986: A Season of Mixed Results ..................................................................... 14 Autumn 1986: The Himalayan Race Is Won ............................................................... 17 Winter 1986-87: First Winter Ascent of Annapurna I ................................................ 22 Spring 1987: High Tension on Cho Oyu ...................................................................... 25 Autumn 1987: “It Was Either Snowing or Blowing” ................................................... 29 Winter 1987-88: Some Historic Ascents ...................................................................... 33 Spring 1988: A Contrast in Everest Climbing Styles ................................................. 36 Autumn 1988: Dramas in the Highest Himalaya ....................................................... 44 Winter 1988-89: Two Notable Achievements, ............................................................. 51 Spring 1989: A Dramatic Soviet Conquest .................................................................. 56 Autumn 1989: A Tragic Death on Lhotse .................................................................... 66 Winter 1989-90: An Unlucky Season ........................................................................... 69 Spring 1990: A New Star Shines in the Himalayan Climbing World ........................ 73 Autumn 1990: Unprecedented Numbers Attack Nepalese Peaks .............................. 79 Winter 1990-91: An Unexciting Climbing Season ....................................................... 84 Spring 1991: Personal Tragedies and First-Rate Ascents .......................................... 86 Autumn 1991: One-Man Teams, Speed-Climbing Everest ......................................... 94 Winter 1991-92: Perseverance on Everest ................................................................. 104 Spring 1992: Some Have to Queue Patiently for Everest’s Summit ........................ 107 Autumn 1992: A Noted French Climber Plunges to His Death ............................... 116 Winter 1992-93: Both a Soloist and a Big Expedition Fail on Everest .................... 123 Spring 1993: Everest Dominates Nepal’s Climbing Scene ....................................... 128 Autumn 1993: Everest’s Newly Increased Permit Fee ............................................. 140 Winter of 1993-94: The First Winter Ascent of Everest’s ......................................... 146 Spring 1994: More Success on Everest from Nepal .................................................. 150 Autumn 1994: Ninety Teams Produce Handful of Noteworthy Climbs ................... 155 Winter of 1994-95: Russians Again Pioneer a New Route ........................................ 162 Spring 1995: The Jinx is Broken on the Tibetan Side of Everest ............................ 167 Autumn 1995: Tragedy and Quiet Triumph on Kangchenjunga .............................. 177 Spring 1996: Disastrous Storm over Everest ............................................................ 186 Autumn 1996: Despite Unusually Heavy Snowfall, ................................................. 200 Spring 1997: Snow, Wind and Human Frailty Thwart Ambitious Plans ................ 211 Autumn 1997: Slovenes Make Impressive Face Ascent on Nuptse ......................... 221 Spring 1998: Chantal Mauduit Found Dead on Dhaulagiri I in May ...................... 229 Autumn 1998: Speed Ascent Claimed on Everest ..................................................... 241 Spring 1999: 75 Years Ago on Everest: The Discovery of Mallory’s Body ............... 250 Autumn 1999: Slovenian Climbers Forge Historic New Face Routes ...................... 261 Winter 1999-Spring 2000: Russians Make 1st Everest Ascent of Millennium ....... 266 Summer-Autumn 2000: Slovenian Makes 1st Ski Descent of Everest .................... 278 Winter 2000-Spring 2001: Unprecedented Numbers Attempt Everest ................... 286 Autumn 2001: Scarcely Anyone Attempted Everest ................................................. 294 Winter 2001-Spring 2002: A French-Spanish Traverse of Annapurna I ................. 301 Summer-Autumn 2002: A Noted French Snowboarder’s Death .............................. 308 Spring 2003: Everest Dominates the Climbing Scene .............................................. 315 Summer-Autumn 2003: 1st Ascents Made of Recently Opened Mountains ............ 321 Spring 2004: Everest Attracts Even More Climbers ................................................. 330 Autumn 2004: East Face of Jannu Still Unclimbed .................................................. 336 Spring 2005: Inaccurate Forecasts Cause Many Failures on Everest ..................... 343 Autumn 2005: Worst Disaster in Wipes Out French Team ...................................... 350 Winter 2005-Spring 2006: A “Dead” Australian Comes to Life on Everest ............. 355 Autumn 2006: Shots are Fired Near Cho Oyu Advanced Base Camp ..................... 363 Spring 2007: Two Men Surmount Everest’s Second Step Without a Ladder .......... 367 Autumn 2007: Prospective Oldest Summiter of Everest Wary of Chinese .............. 372 Spring 2008: International Bid Failed to Save Inaki Ochoa’s Life .......................... 376 Autumn 2008: Climbs in Tibet Continued to Face Uncertain Future ..................... 381 Spring 2009: Climbers Again Frustrated by Tibetan Visa Delays ........................... 386 Autumn 2009: A Towering Figure in Himalayan Face-Climbing Perishes ............. 390 Spring 2010: First Woman to Summit All 8000ers Was Korean or Spanish? ......... 394 Autumn 2010: Don’t Want to Trek to and from BC? Just Hire a Helicopter .......... 399 Spring-Autumn 2011: The Supreme Master God-Angel Prays Atop of Everest? .... 404 Spring 2012: Climbers to Everest’s Summit From Nepal Are Not Alone ................ 406 Autumn 2012: Numerous Victims of One Avalanche on Manaslu ........................... 409 Spring 2013: A Nasty Brawl on Everest Between Sherpas and Europeans ............. 411 Autumn 2013: Ueli Steck Makes a Dramatic Ascent of Annapurna .......................... 416 Spring 2014: The Largest Fatal Disaster on Everest ............................................... 419 5 Spring 1985: A Very Successful Season A more successful mountaineering season than usual has just ended in the Nepalese Himalaya for the spring of 1985, but the price was a somewhat higher than usual death toll, according to results reported by climbers returning to Kathmandu from the mountains. Only 26 expeditions came to climb in Nepal this spring, the lowest number for any springtime since 1979, but 18 of them reached their chosen summits and thus produced a success rate of just over two-thirds. The normal rate of success is roughly 50 percent. Amongst the successes were some particularly notable ascents: • World famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner of Italy and his team-mate Hans Kammerlander, also Italian, accomplished the first successful climb of the seldom-attempted northwest face of Annapurna I. Then, while they were in area, they went on to scale Dhaulagiri I by its normal route in just three days, giving Messner a total bag in his remarkable career of 12 of the world’s 14 mountains that tower more than 8000 meters above the seas. • Japanese alpinist Noae Sakashita and his compatriot Masayuki Ariake made the first ascent of the west face of Ama Dablam in the Everest region, a face that is perhaps equally as difficult and dangerous as the northwest side of Annapurna I but considerably lower. • On Everest itself the first Scandinavians ever to conquer any 8000-meter peak were six Norwegians including their leader Arne Naess. Their highly successful expedition via the standard South Col-southeast ridge route sent the largest number of climbers to the top of the world from any single Everest team, a total of 17, including the oldest person ever to stand on this summit, a 55-year old American, Richard Bass, plus one professional Nepali climber, Sungdare Sherpa, the first person to make his fourth ascent of Everest, and another Nepali professional, Ang Rita Sherpa, the first to scale it three times without the use of any artificial oxygen. • Eleven men from a Swiss team led by Rudolf Meier became the first mountaineer to reach the highest of several summits of Ohmi Kangri, a little known mountain in a remote part of north-eastern Nepal about as high as Ama Dablam, a bit over 6800 meters. • The first Hungarians and the first Romanians ever to come climbing in Nepal succeeded in sending their nationals to their respective summit goals, Hiunchuli and Gurja (Gurja Himal). Both more than 7000 meters high, but both teams suffered fatal accidents. A total of eight men lost their lives on Nepalese mountains this spring – two Hungarians, who are believed to have been blown off their feet by fierce winds on Himalchuli, one Romanian struck by a falling rock or block of ice on Gurja Himal, Spring 1985 Pg 5 one Austrian killed by an avalanche on Manaslu, a Yugoslav who fell while descending from the west summit (called Yalungkang) of Kangchenjunga, and one member of each of the season’s