Climbing participants
Commercial expedition "Mountain Madness"
For the necessary acclimatization in the mountains, members of the Mountain Madness expedition were supposed to fly from Los Angeles on March 23 to Kathmandu, and fly to Lukla (2850 m) on March 28. On April 8, the entire group was already in Base Camp. Unexpectedly for everyone, the group's guide, Neil Bidleman, developed a so-called “high altitude cough”. After Biddleman, other members of the expedition began to have health problems. Nevertheless, everyone carefully followed the “acclimatization schedule.” However, as it turned out later, Scott Fisher was in poor physical shape and was taking 125 mg of Diamox (Acetazolamide) daily.
Commercial expedition "Adventure Consultants"
Chronology of events
Belated rise
Climbing without the use of oxygen, Anatoly Boukreev reached the top first, at approximately 13:07. A few minutes later Jon Krakauer appeared at the top. After some time, Harris and Biddleman. Many of the remaining climbers did not reach the summit before 14:00 - the critical time when they must begin their descent to safely return to Camp IV and spend the night.
Anatoly Boukreev began to descend to Camp IV only at 14:30. By then, Martin Adams and Cleve Schoening had reached the summit, while Biddleman and the other members of the Mountain Madness expedition had not yet reached the summit. Soon, according to the observations of the climbers, the weather began to deteriorate; at approximately 15:00 it began to snow and it became dark. Makalu Go reached the summit at early 16:00 and immediately noticed worsening weather conditions.
The senior Sherpa in Hall's group, Ang Dorje, and the other Sherpas remained to wait for the other climbers at the summit. After about 15:00 they began their descent. On the way down, Ang Dorje spotted one of the clients, Doug Hansen, in the Hillary Steps area. Dorje ordered him to come down, but Hansen did not answer him. When Hall arrived on scene, he sent Sherpas down to help other clients while he stayed behind to help Hansen, who had run out of supplemental oxygen.
Scott Fisher did not reach the summit until 15:45, being in poor physical condition: possibly due to altitude sickness, pulmonary edema and exhaustion from fatigue. It is unknown when Rob Hall and Doug Hansen reached the top.
Descent during a storm
According to Boukreev, he reached Camp IV by 17:00. Anatoly was heavily criticized for his decision to go down before his clients. Krakauer accused Boukreev of being “confused, unable to assess the situation, and showing irresponsibility.” He responded to the accusations by saying that he was going to help the descending clients with further descent, preparing additional oxygen and hot drinks. Critics also claimed that, according to Boukreev himself, he descended with client Martin Adams, however, as it turned out later, Boukreev himself descended faster and left Adams far behind.
Bad weather made it difficult for the expedition members to descend. By this time, due to a snowstorm on the southwestern slope of Everest, visibility had deteriorated significantly, and the markers that had been installed during the ascent and indicated the path to Camp IV disappeared under the snow.
Fischer, who was helped by Sherpa Lopsang Jangbu, could not descend from the Balcony (at 8230 m) in a snowstorm. As Go later said, his Sherpas left him at an altitude of 8230 m along with Fischer and Lopsang, who also could no longer descend. In the end, Fischer convinced Lopsang to go down alone, leaving him and Go behind.
Hall radioed for help, reporting that Hansen had lost consciousness but was still alive. Adventure Consultants guide Andy Harris began the climb to the Hillary Steps at approximately 5:30 p.m., carrying a supply of water and oxygen.
Several climbers got lost in the South Col area. Mountain Madness members guide Biddleman, Schoening, Fox, Madsen, Pittman and Gammelgard, along with Adventure Consultants members guide Groom, Beck Withers and Yasuko Namba, were lost in the snowstorm until midnight. When they could no longer continue their journey from fatigue, they huddled together just 20 meters from the abyss at the Kanshung wall. Kangshung Face). Pittman soon began to experience symptoms of altitude sickness. Fox gave her dexamethasone.
Around midnight, the storm subsided, and the climbers were able to see Camp IV, which was located 200 m away. Biddleman, Groom, Schöning and Gammelgard went for help. Madsen and Fox remained with the group and called for help. Boukreev located the climbers and was able to bring out Pittman, Fox and Madsen. He was also criticized by other climbers because he gave preference to his clients Pittman, Fox and Madsen, while it was argued that Namba was already in a dying state. Boukreev didn’t notice Withers at all. In total, Boukreev made two trips to bring these three climbers to safety. As a result, neither he nor the other participants who were in Camp IV had any strength left to go after Namba.
However, Withers regained consciousness later that day and made it back to camp alone, much to the surprise of everyone in the camp as he suffered from hypothermia and severe frostbite. Withers was given oxygen and tried to warm him up, settling him in a tent for the night. Despite all this, Withers had to face the elements again when a gust of wind blew his tent away one night and he had to spend the night in the cold. Once again he was mistaken for dead, but Krakauer discovered that Withers was conscious and on May 12 he was prepared for emergency evacuation from Camp IV. Over the next two days, Withers was lowered to Camp II, part of the journey, however, he made on his own, and was later evacuated by rescue helicopter. Withers underwent a long course of treatment, but due to severe frostbite, his nose, right hand and all the fingers of his left hand were amputated. In total, he underwent more than 15 operations, his thumb was reconstructed from his back muscles, and plastic surgeons reconstructed his nose.
Scott Fisher and Makalu Go were discovered on May 11 by Sherpas. Fischer's condition was so serious that they had no choice but to make him comfortable and devote most of their efforts to saving Go. Anatoly Boukreev made another attempt to save Fischer, but only discovered his frozen body at approximately 19:00.
North slope of Everest
Indo-Tibetan Border Guard
Less known, but no less tragic, are 3 more accidents that occurred on the same day with climbers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Service climbing the Northern Slope. The expedition was led by Lieutenant Colonel Mohinder Singh. Commandant Mohinder Singh, who is considered to be the first Indian climber to conquer Everest from the North Face.
Initially, the indifference of the Japanese climbers stunned the Indians. According to the leader of the Indian expedition, “at first the Japanese offered to help in the search for the missing Indians. But a few hours later they continued to climb to the top, despite the deteriorating weather." The Japanese team continued climbing until 11:45. By the time the Japanese climbers began their descent, one of the two Indians was already dead, and the second was on the verge of life and death. They lost sight of the traces of the third descending climber. However, Japanese climbers denied that they had ever seen any dying climbers on the climb.
Captain Kohli, representative of the Indian Mountaineering Federation Indian Mountaineering Federation ), who initially blamed the Japanese, later retracted his claim that the Japanese had claimed to have met Indian climbers on May 10.
“The Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Service (ITBS) confirms the statement of members of the Fukuoka expedition that they did not leave Indian climbers without assistance and did not refuse to help in the search for the missing.” The managing director of ITPS stated that “the misunderstanding occurred due to communication interference between the Indian climbers and their base camp.”
Shortly after the incident, the twisted and frozen body of Tsewang Poljor was discovered near a small limestone cave at an altitude of 8500 m. Due to technical difficulties in evacuating the bodies of the dead, the body of the Indian climber still lies where it was first discovered. Climbers climbing the North Face can see the outline of the body and the bright green boots the climber wore. The term "Green Shoes" Green Boots ) soon became firmly established in the vocabulary of Everest conquerors. This is how the 8500 m mark on the North Slope of Everest is designated.
| I was lucky to survive the storm of 1996 and lucky to move on with my life. The Indian climber was unlucky. But it could have been different. If this happened, I would want a fellow climber to work hard remove my body from the sight of other climbers, and protect me from birds... Original text(English) "I survived the big storm of 1996 and was fortunate enough to be able to get on with the rest of my life," the British climber told TNN. "The Indian climber was not. The roles could have so easily been reversed. If that had happened I would like to think that a fellow climber would take it upon themselves to move me away from the sight of passing climbers and to protect me from the birds." |
Victims of the tragedy
| Name | Citizenship | Expedition | A place of death | Cause of death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Hansen (Client) | USA | Adventure Consultants | Southern slope | |
| Andrew Harris (Tour Guide) | New Zealand | Southeast ridge, 8800 m |
Unknown; presumably a fall on the descent | |
| Yasuko Nambo (Client) | Japan | South Col | External influences (hypothermia, radiation, frostbite) | |
| Rob Hall (Tour Guide) | New Zealand | Southern slope | ||
| Scott Fisher (Tour Guide) | USA | Mountain Madness | Southeast Ridge | |
| Sergeant Tsewang Samanla | Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Force | Northeast Ridge | ||
| Corporal Dorje Morup | ||||
| Senior Constable Tsewang Paljor |
Event Analysis
Commercialization of Everest
The first commercial expeditions to Everest began to be organized in the early 1990s. Guides appear, ready to make any client’s dream come true. They take care of everything: delivering participants to the base camp, organizing the route and intermediate camps, accompanying the client and securing him all the way up and down. At the same time, conquering the summit was not guaranteed. In pursuit of profit, some guides take on clients who are not able to climb to the top at all. In particular, Henry Todd from the Himalayan Guides company argued that, “... without blinking an eye, these leaders pocket a lot of money, knowing full well that their charges have no chance.” Neil Biddleman, a guide for the Mountain Madness group, admitted to Anatoly Boukreev even before the ascent began that “...half of the clients have no chance of reaching the summit; for most of them the ascent will end at the South Col (7900 m)."
The famous New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary had an extremely negative attitude towards commercial expeditions. In his opinion, the commercialization of Everest "offended the dignity of the mountains."
- American climber and writer Galen Rovell, in an article for the Wall Street Journal, called the operation carried out by Boukreev to rescue the three climbers “unique”:
On December 6, 1997, the American Alpine Club awarded Anatoly Boukreev the David Souls Prize, awarded to climbers who saved people in the mountains at risk to their own lives.
Literature
- Jon Krakauer In thin air = Into thin air. - M: Sofia, 2004. - 320 p. - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-9550-0457-2
- Bukreev A.N., G. Weston De Walt Climbing. Tragic ambitions on Everest = The Climb: Tragic ambitions on Everest. - M: MTsNMO, 2002. - 376 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-94057-039-9
- David Breashears"High Exposure, Epilogue". - Simon & Schuster, 1999.
- Nick Heil„Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season“. - Holt Paperbacks, 2007. -
Two commercial groups - "Mountain Madness" and "Adventure Consultants" consisting of 30 people, including 6 high-quality guides, 8 Sherpas and 16 commercial clients, led by their leaders - American Scott Fisher and New Zealander Rob Hall - went on the assault Everest summit before dawn on May 10th. By the evening of May 11, five of them were already dead, including Fischer and Hall.
Why didn’t the climbers pay attention to the fact that weather conditions were clearly getting worse?
Why didn't experienced guides who were familiar with these mountains stop the ascent of relatively inexperienced amateur climbers who paid them sixty-five thousand dollars per person to help them reach the summit of Everest safely?
Why did the guides continue to lead people upward, leading them into a deadly trap?
Anatoly Bukreev was the first to reach the top of Everest at about one o'clock in the afternoon, having climbed without the use of additional oxygen. Hall's client Jon Krakauer followed him to the summit, followed by Adventure Consultants guide Andy Harris. But all subsequent climbers were greatly delayed. By 14:00, when the descent had to begin in any case, not all clients had reached the top, and having reached it, they spent an unacceptably long time taking photographs and rejoicing.
At 15:45, Fischer reported to base camp that all clients had summited the mountain. The time to return was critically missed.
Boukreev, who was the first to reach the summit, could not stay there for long without a supply of oxygen and began the descent first in order to return to Camp IV, take a break and go back up again to help the descending clients with additional oxygen and hot tea. He reached camp by 17:00. After some time, some of the clients begin to descend and at this moment the weather begins to deteriorate greatly.
Bad weather made it difficult for the expedition members to descend. Visibility deteriorated significantly; the markers that were installed during the ascent and indicated the path to Camp IV disappeared under the snow.
Fischer could not descend from the Balcony (at 8230 m) in a snowstorm.
Hall radioed for help, reporting that Hansen had lost consciousness but was still alive. Adventure Consultants guide Andy Harris began the climb to the Hillary Steps at approximately 5:30 p.m., carrying a supply of water and oxygen. By this time the weather had worsened to a full-blown snowstorm.
Several climbers got lost in the South Col area and were lost in the snowstorm until midnight. When they could no longer continue their journey from fatigue, they huddled together just 20 meters from the abyss at the Kanshung wall. When the storm subsided, the climbers were able to see Camp IV. Biddleman, Groom, Schöning and Gammelgard went for help. Madsen and Fox remained with the group and called for help.
At this time, Bukreev went out alone to search. He found freezing clients, practically unable to move on their own, and single-handedly pulled out three of them one by one - Pittman, Fox and Madsen. Boukreev could not find Withers in the darkness, and Namba was already in an agonizing state, and Anatoly no longer had enough strength to make another rush to her. Nevertheless, Bukreev saved three, making a total of two more walks in inhumane conditions (snowstorm, night, frost, almost zero visibility and a two-kilometer abyss nearby) and reducing the list of victims of the tragedy by three names.
On the morning of May 11, Stuart Hutchinson, who went in search of his comrades, found Withers and Nambu severely frostbitten and already unconscious and decided that it would not be possible to save them. No matter how hard it was to make such a decision, he went back to camp. But a few hours later Withers reached the camp on his own. Only on May 14, in critical condition after a difficult descent to Camp II, he was sent by helicopter to Kathmandu, where doctors managed to save his life. Withers lost his right hand and all the fingers on his left, lost his nose, but remained alive.
Rob Hall and Doug Hansen were the last to descend from the summit. On May 11, at approximately 4:43 a.m., Hall radioed and reported that he was on the South Slope. He also reported that Harris had reached them, but that Hansen, with whom Hall had stayed the previous day, had died.
By 9:00 a.m., Hall had been able to get his oxygen supply back up, but was already suffering from extreme frostbite. He got in touch again and asked to speak to his wife Jan Arnold in New Zealand. This was the last person he spoke to; Hall never contacted him again.
In Scott Fisher's Mountain Madness expedition, everyone survived except Fisher himself, who suffered from severe stress during the expedition and died during the descent from the summit. Six clients, two instructors - Beidleman and Boukreev - and four Sherpas summited and returned alive.
Rob Hall's "Adventure Consultants" expedition suffered heavy losses: Hall himself and his old client Doug Hansen, who froze during the descent, died, instructor Andy Harris, who came to their aid from below, and Japanese Yasuko Namba, who got lost along with other climbers on the approach to the mountain. fourth camp.
Climbing participants
Commercial expedition "Mountain Madness"
For the necessary acclimatization in the mountains, members of the Mountain Madness expedition were supposed to fly from Los Angeles on March 23 to Kathmandu, and fly to Lukla (2850 m) on March 28. On April 8, the entire group was already in Base Camp. Unexpectedly for everyone, the group's guide, Neil Bidleman, developed a so-called “high altitude cough”. After Biddleman, other members of the expedition began to have health problems. Nevertheless, everyone carefully followed the “acclimatization schedule.” However, as it turned out later, Scott Fisher was in poor physical shape and was taking 125 mg of Diamox (Acetazolamide) daily.
Commercial expedition "Adventure Consultants"
Chronology of events
Belated rise
Climbing without the use of oxygen, Anatoly Boukreev reached the top first, at approximately 13:07. A few minutes later Jon Krakauer appeared at the top. After some time, Harris and Biddleman. Many of the remaining climbers did not reach the summit before 14:00 - the critical time when they must begin their descent to safely return to Camp IV and spend the night.
Anatoly Boukreev began to descend to Camp IV only at 14:30. By then, Martin Adams and Cleve Schoening had reached the summit, while Biddleman and the other members of the Mountain Madness expedition had not yet reached the summit. Soon, according to the observations of the climbers, the weather began to deteriorate; at approximately 15:00 it began to snow and it became dark. Makalu Go reached the summit at early 16:00 and immediately noticed worsening weather conditions.
The senior Sherpa in Hall's group, Ang Dorje, and the other Sherpas remained to wait for the other climbers at the summit. After about 15:00 they began their descent. On the way down, Ang Dorje spotted one of the clients, Doug Hansen, in the Hillary Steps area. Dorje ordered him to come down, but Hansen did not answer him. When Hall arrived on scene, he sent Sherpas down to help other clients while he stayed behind to help Hansen, who had run out of supplemental oxygen.
Scott Fisher did not reach the summit until 15:45, being in poor physical condition: possibly due to altitude sickness, pulmonary edema and exhaustion from fatigue. It is unknown when Rob Hall and Doug Hansen reached the top.
Descent during a storm
According to Boukreev, he reached Camp IV by 17:00. Anatoly was heavily criticized for his decision to go down before his clients. Krakauer accused Boukreev of being “confused, unable to assess the situation, and showing irresponsibility.” He responded to the accusations by saying that he was going to help the descending clients with further descent, preparing additional oxygen and hot drinks. Critics also claimed that, according to Boukreev himself, he descended with client Martin Adams, however, as it turned out later, Boukreev himself descended faster and left Adams far behind.
Bad weather made it difficult for the expedition members to descend. By this time, due to a snowstorm on the southwestern slope of Everest, visibility had deteriorated significantly, and the markers that had been installed during the ascent and indicated the path to Camp IV disappeared under the snow.
Fischer, who was helped by Sherpa Lopsang Jangbu, could not descend from the Balcony (at 8230 m) in a snowstorm. As Go later said, his Sherpas left him at an altitude of 8230 m along with Fischer and Lopsang, who also could no longer descend. In the end, Fischer convinced Lopsang to go down alone, leaving him and Go behind.
Hall radioed for help, reporting that Hansen had lost consciousness but was still alive. Adventure Consultants guide Andy Harris began the climb to the Hillary Steps at approximately 5:30 p.m., carrying a supply of water and oxygen.
Several climbers got lost in the South Col area. Mountain Madness members guide Biddleman, Schoening, Fox, Madsen, Pittman and Gammelgard, along with Adventure Consultants members guide Groom, Beck Withers and Yasuko Namba, were lost in the snowstorm until midnight. When they could no longer continue their journey from fatigue, they huddled together just 20 meters from the abyss at the Kanshung wall. Kangshung Face). Pittman soon began to experience symptoms of altitude sickness. Fox gave her dexamethasone.
Around midnight, the storm subsided, and the climbers were able to see Camp IV, which was located 200 m away. Biddleman, Groom, Schöning and Gammelgard went for help. Madsen and Fox remained with the group and called for help. Boukreev located the climbers and was able to bring out Pittman, Fox and Madsen. He was also criticized by other climbers because he gave preference to his clients Pittman, Fox and Madsen, while it was argued that Namba was already in a dying state. Boukreev didn’t notice Withers at all. In total, Boukreev made two trips to bring these three climbers to safety. As a result, neither he nor the other participants who were in Camp IV had any strength left to go after Namba.
However, Withers regained consciousness later that day and made it back to camp alone, much to the surprise of everyone in the camp as he suffered from hypothermia and severe frostbite. Withers was given oxygen and tried to warm him up, settling him in a tent for the night. Despite all this, Withers had to face the elements again when a gust of wind blew his tent away one night and he had to spend the night in the cold. Once again he was mistaken for dead, but Krakauer discovered that Withers was conscious and on May 12 he was prepared for emergency evacuation from Camp IV. Over the next two days, Withers was lowered to Camp II, part of the journey, however, he made on his own, and was later evacuated by rescue helicopter. Withers underwent a long course of treatment, but due to severe frostbite, his nose, right hand and all the fingers of his left hand were amputated. In total, he underwent more than 15 operations, his thumb was reconstructed from his back muscles, and plastic surgeons reconstructed his nose.
Scott Fisher and Makalu Go were discovered on May 11 by Sherpas. Fischer's condition was so serious that they had no choice but to make him comfortable and devote most of their efforts to saving Go. Anatoly Boukreev made another attempt to save Fischer, but only discovered his frozen body at approximately 19:00.
North slope of Everest
Indo-Tibetan Border Guard
Less known, but no less tragic, are 3 more accidents that occurred on the same day with climbers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Service climbing the Northern Slope. The expedition was led by Lieutenant Colonel Mohinder Singh. Commandant Mohinder Singh, who is considered to be the first Indian climber to conquer Everest from the North Face.
Initially, the indifference of the Japanese climbers stunned the Indians. According to the leader of the Indian expedition, “at first the Japanese offered to help in the search for the missing Indians. But a few hours later they continued to climb to the top, despite the deteriorating weather." The Japanese team continued climbing until 11:45. By the time the Japanese climbers began their descent, one of the two Indians was already dead, and the second was on the verge of life and death. They lost sight of the traces of the third descending climber. However, Japanese climbers denied that they had ever seen any dying climbers on the climb.
Captain Kohli, representative of the Indian Mountaineering Federation Indian Mountaineering Federation ), who initially blamed the Japanese, later retracted his claim that the Japanese had claimed to have met Indian climbers on May 10.
“The Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Service (ITBS) confirms the statement of members of the Fukuoka expedition that they did not leave Indian climbers without assistance and did not refuse to help in the search for the missing.” The managing director of ITPS stated that “the misunderstanding occurred due to communication interference between the Indian climbers and their base camp.”
Shortly after the incident, the twisted and frozen body of Tsewang Poljor was discovered near a small limestone cave at an altitude of 8500 m. Due to technical difficulties in evacuating the bodies of the dead, the body of the Indian climber still lies where it was first discovered. Climbers climbing the North Face can see the outline of the body and the bright green boots the climber wore. The term "Green Shoes" Green Boots ) soon became firmly established in the vocabulary of Everest conquerors. This is how the 8500 m mark on the North Slope of Everest is designated.
| I was lucky to survive the storm of 1996 and lucky to move on with my life. The Indian climber was unlucky. But it could have been different. If this happened, I would want a fellow climber to work hard remove my body from the sight of other climbers, and protect me from birds... Original text(English) "I survived the big storm of 1996 and was fortunate enough to be able to get on with the rest of my life," the British climber told TNN. "The Indian climber was not. The roles could have so easily been reversed. If that had happened I would like to think that a fellow climber would take it upon themselves to move me away from the sight of passing climbers and to protect me from the birds." |
Victims of the tragedy
| Name | Citizenship | Expedition | A place of death | Cause of death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Hansen (Client) | USA | Adventure Consultants | Southern slope | |
| Andrew Harris (Tour Guide) | New Zealand | Southeast ridge, 8800 m |
Unknown; presumably a fall on the descent | |
| Yasuko Nambo (Client) | Japan | South Col | External influences (hypothermia, radiation, frostbite) | |
| Rob Hall (Tour Guide) | New Zealand | Southern slope | ||
| Scott Fisher (Tour Guide) | USA | Mountain Madness | Southeast Ridge | |
| Sergeant Tsewang Samanla | Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Force | Northeast Ridge | ||
| Corporal Dorje Morup | ||||
| Senior Constable Tsewang Paljor |
Event Analysis
Commercialization of Everest
The first commercial expeditions to Everest began to be organized in the early 1990s. Guides appear, ready to make any client’s dream come true. They take care of everything: delivering participants to the base camp, organizing the route and intermediate camps, accompanying the client and securing him all the way up and down. At the same time, conquering the summit was not guaranteed. In pursuit of profit, some guides take on clients who are not able to climb to the top at all. In particular, Henry Todd from the Himalayan Guides company argued that, “... without blinking an eye, these leaders pocket a lot of money, knowing full well that their charges have no chance.” Neil Biddleman, a guide for the Mountain Madness group, admitted to Anatoly Boukreev even before the ascent began that “...half of the clients have no chance of reaching the summit; for most of them the ascent will end at the South Col (7900 m)."
The famous New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary had an extremely negative attitude towards commercial expeditions. In his opinion, the commercialization of Everest "offended the dignity of the mountains."
- American climber and writer Galen Rovell, in an article for the Wall Street Journal, called the operation carried out by Boukreev to rescue the three climbers “unique”:
On December 6, 1997, the American Alpine Club awarded Anatoly Boukreev the David Souls Prize, awarded to climbers who saved people in the mountains at risk to their own lives.
Literature
- Jon Krakauer In thin air = Into thin air. - M: Sofia, 2004. - 320 p. - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-9550-0457-2
- Bukreev A.N., G. Weston De Walt Climbing. Tragic ambitions on Everest = The Climb: Tragic ambitions on Everest. - M: MTsNMO, 2002. - 376 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-94057-039-9
- David Breashears"High Exposure, Epilogue". - Simon & Schuster, 1999.
- Nick Heil„Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season“. - Holt Paperbacks, 2007. -
The ascent to the highest point on the planet in the spring of 1996 for eight people was the last in their lives. Tragedies on Everest have happened before. However, the story of 1996 set a record at that time for the number of one-time victims.
Popular Everest
A lot has changed since the heroic rise of Norgay and Hillary in 1953, when these brave guys stood on top of the world together. By the end of the twentieth century. Those who want to climb Everest line up. Due to meteorological conditions, the climb is only possible in May or September. But even during these months, days periodically occur that make movement difficult or impossible. This leads to denser traffic of climbers and the presence of several groups on the climb (and summit). This is exactly what happened in May 1996: more than 400 people were at one stage or another of the conquest of Chomolungma.
Among them in the final phase:
- South African group (21 people);
- European climbers (9 people);
- American expedition (6 people);
- Taiwanese expedition (13 people);
- Mountain Madness group (16 people);
- Adventure Consultants group (15 people);
- Indo-Tibetan expedition (6 people).
The last three groups were at the center of events in the spring of 1996.
- Mountain Madness was led by Scott Fisher.
- Adventure Consultants was run by Rob Hall.
- The Indo-Tibetan group was led by Mohinder Singh.
Fischer and Hall are mountaineering professionals who have climbed many eight-thousanders and Everest several times. Both climbers knew each other and decided to climb the peak on the same day – the 10th. The Taiwanese group was walking closely: in total, more than 50 people were on the ascent path at the same time. And this is despite the existing rule not to create a crowd, which was deliberately violated by the leaders of all the teams that were at that moment in Camp III at an altitude of 7315 m.
The decision to join forces had its own logic: to get through, you need to lay a road of cables, and it’s faster to do it together. In addition, this made it possible to remove the question of which team would do this. After all, it turned out that the rest would follow the beaten path, spend less effort and expose themselves to less danger.
Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants
Both groups carried out commercial ascents. By such an ascent we mean a tourist expedition, the participants of which pay for the services of instructors, assistants, and bear organizational expenses.
Each team consisted of:
- three professional climbers, one of whom led the group;
- eight “clients” - those people at whose request the lifting is carried out;
- four to six Sherpa assistants - professional climbers - who were responsible for laying the path and carrying some of the things.
Among the clients were the most ordinary people: doctors, journalists, photographers, athletes, office workers. One of the participants, Dale Cruz, was a beginner and had no climbing experience. His case is atypical: Everest is the last frontier, the peak for those who have already visited five-, six-, seven-, and eight-thousanders. Most had mountaineering experience, some were engaged in conquering peaks professionally.
Mountain Madness was more significant in terms of the professionalism of the participants. One of the guides was the famous Soviet mountaineer Anatoly Boukreev, a master of his craft who devoted a significant part of his life to the mountains. The entire “client” composition, in addition to the already mentioned Dale Cruz, was represented by experienced climbers. But by a strange coincidence, it was the Mountain Madness group that faced problems from the very beginning, as if fully justifying its name (translated from English as “Go Crazy in the Mountains”).
Acclimatization climb
Before climbing Everest, climbers spend several days at the base camp at an altitude of 5364 m (from the Nepal side). This is required for gradual acclimatization to high mountain conditions. In addition to the fact that at an altitude of 5-8 km it is very cold (below -15°C), there is also low pressure and thin air. The last two factors cause various deviations in physiological processes, which are united under the common name “mountain sickness”.
While still at base camp in early April, the third guide, Neil Bidleman, began to cough due to increased sputum production due to decreased atmospheric pressure. Team leader Scott Fischer also felt unwell. It was suggested that this could be a consequence of some kind of fever that he had suffered in Nepal. According to Boukreev, Fischer showed signs of altitude sickness, despite the fact that he was a very trained climber. One way or another, the head of Mountain Madness was not in good health, periodically experiencing chills and taking some kind of medication.
Until the end of April, i.e. within three weeks, both groups undergo the so-called acclimatization ascent from base camp to camp III (7315 m). During it, the participants came across the remains of the lower part of the climber’s body. The consequences of tragic attempts to conquer Everest sometimes manifest themselves and always have a depressing effect. According to evidence, the group did not attach much importance to what they saw.
Then one of the Sherpas from the Mountain Madness team suffered from pulmonary edema: he was hastily evacuated in a comatose state. Soon, pioneer Dale Cruz's health deteriorated. For a beginner, a 7-kilometer altitude is a huge achievement, but without proper training, even with gradual acclimatization, you cannot escape from altitude sickness. Its symptoms are dizziness, vestibular disorders, nausea, “wobbly legs”, breathing problems, surges in blood pressure, arrhythmia, etc. Fischer decides to lower Cruise down several hundred meters. However, Cruz is not getting better, and he leaves the race.
Experienced mountaineer A. Boukreev, who for 38 years saw the earth from many peaks of the world, admitted in his book that he had never encountered worse conditions, and characterized the South Col that day as “a truly hellish place.”
All these troubles occurred even before the ascent, which starts from Camp IV, located in the South Col at an altitude of 7925 m. On May 9, more than 50 people gathered at this place. According to the recollections of the participants, the weather conditions were terrible: severe frost combined with hurricane winds, which made it impossible to breathe or speak normally.
By evening the wind calmed down. Team leaders Fischer and Hall considered this a good sign to begin their “assault” on the summit at night. Meanwhile, the client core of both expeditions (which also included experienced climbers) expressed doubts about the advisability of climbing under such unstable meteorological conditions. However, an altitude of almost 8 km is not a place where the principles of democracy apply. The leaders insisted on their decision.
Climbing
Between 23.30 and 0.00 the teams started from Camp IV - first Adventure Consultants, followed by Mountain Madness. Climbers must reach the summit by noon and begin their descent no later than 2 p.m. By evening, the weather usually deteriorates greatly: in order not only to climb Everest, but also to safely descend back, it is necessary to meet this time frame. In general, the 12+2 hours that the expeditions had was quite enough to meet the deadline.
More than 30 people started the climb at the same time. It soon turned out that the work of stringing the cables, which should have been completed by the expedition assistants the day before, was not fully completed. Without installed railings, a safe climb is impossible. In total, about 2 hours were lost on the construction of the route. This means that the groups were motionless and at the same time losing precious strength. The condition of some participants worsened. Many of them were already middle-aged people who had crossed the 40-year mark:
- A 49-year-old doctor from the Adventure Consultants team began to experience vision problems and practically stopped seeing (due to previous eye surgery).
- The 41-year-old Mountain Madness reporter became so weak that she had to be literally carried by one of her assistants.
- The Sherpa leader of the Mountain Madness group was physically exhausted (he was the one carrying the reporter) and, in addition, was experiencing symptoms of mountain sickness. The senior Sherpa, as well as the group leader, is a person on whom the coherence of the work of the other assistants and the success of the ascent largely depend.
- Instructor-leader Fischer is so exhausted that he not only does not lead the process, but is one of the last to go.
Slowly but surely, by 10.00 the participants gradually climb to the southern peak (8748 m), from which it is still about 100 m to the main peak. Some clients decide to turn back without reaching the peak.
At 13.07 Anatoly Boukreev is the first to reach the top of Everest. The rest of the instructors and clients are gradually joining in - no more than 10 people in total. The rest at 14.00 are still in the ascent stage, including both leaders. Although this is the time when it is time to begin the descent.
The top of Everest is far from a resort place. For safety reasons and to save energy, the descent begins from there as quickly as possible. But some participants in this expedition stayed at the top for 2 hours and began their journey back only closer to 16.00. Part of the expedition continued to climb even at 16.00-17.30, including Fisher. Due to delays on the route, some participants ran out of oxygen: there were spare cylinders, but replacing them required time, which was no longer available. A snowstorm began, visibility deteriorated, and the markers indicating the direction to the nearest camp were covered with snow.
Those who lingered at the summit had a hard time. Mountain Madness, led by one of the instructors (8 people), join forces with the remnants of Adventure Consultants (3 people, including one instructor). This group of 11 lost people makes their way catastrophically slowly in the darkness, ice shards whipping into their faces, visibility is almost zero. It is impossible to navigate, and it is unknown in which direction to move. By 19.00 they are already in the South Col, but cannot find the camp, which is 300 m away. Frost -45°C, squally wind. Tired and hopeless climbers hide from the wind behind a small ledge and, apparently, are preparing to die.
Closer to midnight, the hurricane wind subsides a little, and the instructor decides to continue the journey with those who can still move. 6 people come out of hiding and after 20 minutes find themselves in camp IV. Bukreev, who had been in the camp since 17.00 and made unsuccessful rescue attempts, with the arrival of the group, makes several exits and rescues 3 people from the survivors in the shelter.
In total, out of 31 participants in two expeditions in 1996, 5 people died: three instructors (including two leaders) and two clients.
Indo-Tibetan group
Mohinder Singh, a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Border Security Force, led his team of fellow border guards from the North Slope. Unlike expeditions climbing from the south side, this group carried out a non-commercial ascent and walked without Sherpa assistants. In addition, they were the first in 1996 on the northern route. They had to carry equipment, secure cables and pave the way without additional help.
The final phase of the ascent was performed by 3 out of 6 participants. They never reached the top of Everest, although they radioed to the contrary. One way or another, the Indian expedition did not meet with the groups ascending from the South Col. All three climbers were unable to descend and died.
Reasons for failure
Thus, the total number of deaths on this spring day in 1996 on Everest was 8 people.
After the tragic ascent, the surviving participants spoke about the events and even wrote stories in which they analyzed the reasons for the failure. They can be summarized as follows:
- Unsatisfactory organization of the process:
- managers did not control the rise in the way they should have;
- the final climb route was not properly prepared;
- the leaders were required to set a deadline, after which, regardless of location on the slope, all participants had to begin the descent.
- The commercial component of the ascent prevailed over the qualitative one:
- a large number of people on the rise at the same time;
- poor preparation and advanced age of clients slowed down and further complicated the movement of groups;
- the poor health of one of the instructor leaders and the senior Sherpa, who should not have climbed at all.
- Weather conditions.
A snowstorm with hellish wind and frost played their role, but it was far from the main one. For example, Anatoly Bukreev, having started his descent, as expected, at 14.00, found himself in camp by 17.00 without any problems. Another participant - Jon Krakauer, a journalist who also published his story - went down around 14.30, was caught in a storm, but survived and was able to reach Camp IV by 19.30. And only those who began the descent after 15.00 were unable to return on their own.
The incident of that year became a revealing and instructive example of the fact that discipline in a group and proper organization are the key to a successful and safe mountaineering climb.
Climbing participants
Commercial expedition "Mountain Madness"
For the necessary acclimatization in the mountains, members of the Mountain Madness expedition were supposed to fly from Los Angeles on March 23 to Kathmandu, and fly to Lukla (2850 m) on March 28. On April 8, the entire group was already in Base Camp. Unexpectedly for everyone, the group's guide, Neil Bidleman, developed a so-called “high altitude cough”. After Biddleman, other members of the expedition began to have health problems. Nevertheless, everyone carefully followed the “acclimatization schedule.” However, as it turned out later, Scott Fisher was in poor physical shape and was taking 125 mg of Diamox (Acetazolamide) daily.
Commercial expedition "Adventure Consultants"
Chronology of events
Belated rise
Climbing without the use of oxygen, Anatoly Boukreev reached the top first, at approximately 13:07. A few minutes later Jon Krakauer appeared at the top. After some time, Harris and Biddleman. Many of the remaining climbers did not reach the summit before 14:00 - the critical time when they must begin their descent to safely return to Camp IV and spend the night.
Anatoly Boukreev began to descend to Camp IV only at 14:30. By then, Martin Adams and Cleve Schoening had reached the summit, while Biddleman and the other members of the Mountain Madness expedition had not yet reached the summit. Soon, according to the observations of the climbers, the weather began to deteriorate; at approximately 15:00 it began to snow and it became dark. Makalu Go reached the summit at early 16:00 and immediately noticed worsening weather conditions.
The senior Sherpa in Hall's group, Ang Dorje, and the other Sherpas remained to wait for the other climbers at the summit. After about 15:00 they began their descent. On the way down, Ang Dorje spotted one of the clients, Doug Hansen, in the Hillary Steps area. Dorje ordered him to come down, but Hansen did not answer him. When Hall arrived on scene, he sent Sherpas down to help other clients while he stayed behind to help Hansen, who had run out of supplemental oxygen.
Scott Fisher did not reach the summit until 15:45, being in poor physical condition: possibly due to altitude sickness, pulmonary edema and exhaustion from fatigue. It is unknown when Rob Hall and Doug Hansen reached the top.
Descent during a storm
According to Boukreev, he reached Camp IV by 17:00. Anatoly was heavily criticized for his decision to go down before his clients. Krakauer accused Boukreev of being “confused, unable to assess the situation, and showing irresponsibility.” He responded to the accusations by saying that he was going to help the descending clients with further descent, preparing additional oxygen and hot drinks. Critics also claimed that, according to Boukreev himself, he descended with client Martin Adams, however, as it turned out later, Boukreev himself descended faster and left Adams far behind.
Bad weather made it difficult for the expedition members to descend. By this time, due to a snowstorm on the southwestern slope of Everest, visibility had deteriorated significantly, and the markers that had been installed during the ascent and indicated the path to Camp IV disappeared under the snow.
Fischer, who was helped by Sherpa Lopsang Jangbu, could not descend from the Balcony (at 8230 m) in a snowstorm. As Go later said, his Sherpas left him at an altitude of 8230 m along with Fischer and Lopsang, who also could no longer descend. In the end, Fischer convinced Lopsang to go down alone, leaving him and Go behind.
Hall radioed for help, reporting that Hansen had lost consciousness but was still alive. Adventure Consultants guide Andy Harris began the climb to the Hillary Steps at approximately 5:30 p.m., carrying a supply of water and oxygen.
Several climbers got lost in the South Col area. Mountain Madness members guide Biddleman, Schoening, Fox, Madsen, Pittman and Gammelgard, along with Adventure Consultants members guide Groom, Beck Withers and Yasuko Namba, were lost in the snowstorm until midnight. When they could no longer continue their journey from fatigue, they huddled together just 20 meters from the abyss at the Kanshung wall. Kangshung Face). Pittman soon began to experience symptoms of altitude sickness. Fox gave her dexamethasone.
Around midnight, the storm subsided, and the climbers were able to see Camp IV, which was located 200 m away. Biddleman, Groom, Schöning and Gammelgard went for help. Madsen and Fox remained with the group and called for help. Boukreev located the climbers and was able to bring out Pittman, Fox and Madsen. He was also criticized by other climbers because he gave preference to his clients Pittman, Fox and Madsen, while it was argued that Namba was already in a dying state. Boukreev didn’t notice Withers at all. In total, Boukreev made two trips to bring these three climbers to safety. As a result, neither he nor the other participants who were in Camp IV had any strength left to go after Namba.
However, Withers regained consciousness later that day and made it back to camp alone, much to the surprise of everyone in the camp as he suffered from hypothermia and severe frostbite. Withers was given oxygen and tried to warm him up, settling him in a tent for the night. Despite all this, Withers had to face the elements again when a gust of wind blew his tent away one night and he had to spend the night in the cold. Once again he was mistaken for dead, but Krakauer discovered that Withers was conscious and on May 12 he was prepared for emergency evacuation from Camp IV. Over the next two days, Withers was lowered to Camp II, part of the journey, however, he made on his own, and was later evacuated by rescue helicopter. Withers underwent a long course of treatment, but due to severe frostbite, his nose, right hand and all the fingers of his left hand were amputated. In total, he underwent more than 15 operations, his thumb was reconstructed from his back muscles, and plastic surgeons reconstructed his nose.
Scott Fisher and Makalu Go were discovered on May 11 by Sherpas. Fischer's condition was so serious that they had no choice but to make him comfortable and devote most of their efforts to saving Go. Anatoly Boukreev made another attempt to save Fischer, but only discovered his frozen body at approximately 19:00.
North slope of Everest
Indo-Tibetan Border Guard
Less known, but no less tragic, are 3 more accidents that occurred on the same day with climbers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Service climbing the Northern Slope. The expedition was led by Lieutenant Colonel Mohinder Singh. Commandant Mohinder Singh, who is considered to be the first Indian climber to conquer Everest from the North Face.
Initially, the indifference of the Japanese climbers stunned the Indians. According to the leader of the Indian expedition, “at first the Japanese offered to help in the search for the missing Indians. But a few hours later they continued to climb to the top, despite the deteriorating weather." The Japanese team continued climbing until 11:45. By the time the Japanese climbers began their descent, one of the two Indians was already dead, and the second was on the verge of life and death. They lost sight of the traces of the third descending climber. However, Japanese climbers denied that they had ever seen any dying climbers on the climb.
Captain Kohli, representative of the Indian Mountaineering Federation Indian Mountaineering Federation ), who initially blamed the Japanese, later retracted his claim that the Japanese had claimed to have met Indian climbers on May 10.
“The Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Service (ITBS) confirms the statement of members of the Fukuoka expedition that they did not leave Indian climbers without assistance and did not refuse to help in the search for the missing.” The managing director of ITPS stated that “the misunderstanding occurred due to communication interference between the Indian climbers and their base camp.”
Shortly after the incident, the twisted and frozen body of Tsewang Poljor was discovered near a small limestone cave at an altitude of 8500 m. Due to technical difficulties in evacuating the bodies of the dead, the body of the Indian climber still lies where it was first discovered. Climbers climbing the North Face can see the outline of the body and the bright green boots the climber wore. The term "Green Shoes" Green Boots ) soon became firmly established in the vocabulary of Everest conquerors. This is how the 8500 m mark on the North Slope of Everest is designated.
| I was lucky to survive the storm of 1996 and lucky to move on with my life. The Indian climber was unlucky. But it could have been different. If this happened, I would want a fellow climber to work hard remove my body from the sight of other climbers, and protect me from birds... Original text(English) "I survived the big storm of 1996 and was fortunate enough to be able to get on with the rest of my life," the British climber told TNN. "The Indian climber was not. The roles could have so easily been reversed. If that had happened I would like to think that a fellow climber would take it upon themselves to move me away from the sight of passing climbers and to protect me from the birds." |
Victims of the tragedy
| Name | Citizenship | Expedition | A place of death | Cause of death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Hansen (Client) | USA | Adventure Consultants | Southern slope | |
| Andrew Harris (Tour Guide) | New Zealand | Southeast ridge, 8800 m |
Unknown; presumably a fall on the descent | |
| Yasuko Nambo (Client) | Japan | South Col | External influences (hypothermia, radiation, frostbite) | |
| Rob Hall (Tour Guide) | New Zealand | Southern slope | ||
| Scott Fisher (Tour Guide) | USA | Mountain Madness | Southeast Ridge | |
| Sergeant Tsewang Samanla | Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Force | Northeast Ridge | ||
| Corporal Dorje Morup | ||||
| Senior Constable Tsewang Paljor |
Event Analysis
Commercialization of Everest
The first commercial expeditions to Everest began to be organized in the early 1990s. Guides appear, ready to make any client’s dream come true. They take care of everything: delivering participants to the base camp, organizing the route and intermediate camps, accompanying the client and securing him all the way up and down. At the same time, conquering the summit was not guaranteed. In pursuit of profit, some guides take on clients who are not able to climb to the top at all. In particular, Henry Todd from the Himalayan Guides company argued that, “... without blinking an eye, these leaders pocket a lot of money, knowing full well that their charges have no chance.” Neil Biddleman, a guide for the Mountain Madness group, admitted to Anatoly Boukreev even before the ascent began that “...half of the clients have no chance of reaching the summit; for most of them the ascent will end at the South Col (7900 m)."
The famous New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary had an extremely negative attitude towards commercial expeditions. In his opinion, the commercialization of Everest "offended the dignity of the mountains."
- American climber and writer Galen Rovell, in an article for the Wall Street Journal, called the operation carried out by Boukreev to rescue the three climbers “unique”:
On December 6, 1997, the American Alpine Club awarded Anatoly Boukreev the David Souls Prize, awarded to climbers who saved people in the mountains at risk to their own lives.
Literature
- Jon Krakauer In thin air = Into thin air. - M: Sofia, 2004. - 320 p. - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-9550-0457-2
- Bukreev A.N., G. Weston De Walt Climbing. Tragic ambitions on Everest = The Climb: Tragic ambitions on Everest. - M: MTsNMO, 2002. - 376 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-94057-039-9
- David Breashears"High Exposure, Epilogue". - Simon & Schuster, 1999.
- Nick Heil„Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season“. - Holt Paperbacks, 2007. -
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