Posted: Jan 30, 2006 02:42 am EST
(MountEverest.net) There's been no further word from Jean Christophe Lafaille since Thursday. A small plane is currently on its way to the mountain for a reconnaissance flight. The plane will try to spot Lafaille’s tent.

Home team fearing crevasse fall

“If the tent is still there, that would mean Jean Christophe may have fallen in a crevasse somewhere between his latest bivouac place and the summit,” his home team reported on Jean Christophe’s website.

“Although hopes are scarce, we can’t give up yet,” said Serge Koening, mountain advisor with the French Ministry of Youth and Sports and climbing instructor at ENSA School, Chamonix.

Possible communication problems

Lafaille last called home to his wife Katia on Thursday 26th, from 7600m. He hoped to leave his bivouac place by 5:00 am local time the following morning (Friday), in order to reach the summit by midday. He also mentioned he was running low on batteries.

The French climber is soloing the mountain in winter. A cook and a kitchen helper are waiting for him in BC. However, apparently his BC staff has no means of communication – only Lafaille had a sat-phone with him, and he would always report straight to Katia.

Out of sight from BC

A helicopter has been requested to reach BC (5300m) as soon as possible - the pilots could then ask for details to Lafaille’s staff. However, the route on Makalu can’t be spotted from BC, according to Kairn.com. In addition, from Makalu La (at 7400m) the route follows a summit ridge located on the Tibetan side of the mountain, and thus out of sight from lower camps.

French Jean Christophe Lafaille is reported missing on Makalu. Lafaille, who has already summited 11 8000ers, was attempting Makalu the hardest way: Solo and in winter.

Jean Christophe left Base Camp on Tuesday, January 24th on his definitive summit bid. Katia Lafaille, his wife and supporting manager, last had contact with the climber on Thursday, over satellite telephone. Jean Christophe was at 7600 meters, and planned to leave for the final summit push on Thursday night, hoping to reach the summit on Friday and be back at BC Saturday. The climber has not been heard from since.

All first winter ascents of 8000ers were made by Polish climbers - in what is known as 'Calendar winter'. The first ascent was on Everest in 1980 and the latest on Shisha Pangma in 2005.

Simone Moro changed the Polish monopoly on winter climbs when he and Piotr Morawski summited Shisha Pangma last year on January 14 at 1.15 pm (local) after a fast 5 hour climb in very strong winds. This was the first calendar winter virgin climb of a 8000+ mountain since 1988, and the first ever made by a non-Polish climber. In 1988, Fernando Garrido made another historic winter climb - by completing the first solo winter climb on an 8,000er - Cho Oyu.

Up until now, only 8 out of all 14 eight-thousanders have been climbed in winter. Except for Makalu, Pakistan holds the remaining five big dares, since none of the country's 8000ers has been climbed in winter.

Frenchman Jean Christophe Lafaille has accomplished some remarkable climbs in the Alps and the Himalaya, frequently alone. He has summited eleven 8000ers – the latest Shisha Pangma last fall. If he succeeds on Makalu, he will only have Kangchenjunga and Everest to finish all fourteen 8000ers.

Lafaille is not new to Makalu: He attempted to solo a new route on the peak in the Spring of 2004, reaching the summit of Makalu’s secondary peak, Makalu II.

At 8485 meters high, Makalu is the fifth highest mountain on Earth. Its name means ‘The Great Black’. It is a four-faced pyramid, with a secondary peak - Kangchungtse or Makalu II (7678 m) - separated from the main summit by a narrow saddle, known as Makalu La.

Makalu was first climbed 51 years ago. Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray, two climbing celebrities from the 20th century, members of a French team led by Jean Franco, stood on Makalu’s sharp summit on May 15, 1955.

The first solo of Makalu was made in 1980. American John Roskelley’s other team members aborted their expedition due to lack of high altitude porters. But Roskelley refused to leave. Left alone, he completed the first repetition of the West Pillar. In 1982, Polish climber Czok soloed the West face-NW ridge. In 1989, Pierre Beghin soloed the South face.

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