Posted: Oct 23, 2006 09:50 pm EDT
(MountEverest.net) "I knew at that time that all 14 climbers of our team were standing on the summit of Everest together,” reported Dave Hahn at 10:54 am local time on Wednesday October 18. Dave was celebrating his 8th Everest summit together with Berg Adventures stellar team of 9 summiting Sherpas and climbers: Dave Hahn, Kit DesLauriers, Rob DesLauriers, Bryce Brown and Jimmy Chin. Moreover, theirs was the first Everest autumn summit since 2002 and the first autumn South side summit since 2000.

Summiteers spent that night in C4. The following day Jimmy Chin, Kit DesLauriers and her husband Rob skied a large part of the way down, including the Lhotse Face.

Rob and Kit DesLauriers have reported on those intense 48 hours. Rob's account focuses on the climb to the summit, and Kit recalls the feeling of skiing down the Lhotse Face.

Rob’s report: The summit day

I lie awake at 11pm in my sleeping bag freezing and nervous. I knew it was time to start getting ready. We had moved to the South Col in the afternoon, trying to eat and drink as much as we could, not an easy task at 26,000ft. The winds had died down and it seemed that the weather window we had been praying for was opening for us. I began my preparations. Getting everything together for a summit bid on Everest requires tedious amounts of time and effort.

Eventually, we departed for our summit bid at 1:45am. At 3:30am, Dave Hahn stopped us all and pointed to the east. We stopped to watch in awe as the moon rose from below us over Tibet. It was a beautiful orange crescent smile. A light wind from the west forced Kit to put her goggles on in the dark to keep her eyeballs from freezing… It was bone chilling cold. The glow of morning sun caught up with us at the Balcony at 27,500ft which we reached at 5:15am.

Views from the top

Three hours later we arrived at the South Summit where we waited an hour and a half as we watched Pasang Sherpa lead through steep loose snow on the Hillary Step to the final summit ridge. It was an amazing display of difficult and dangerous route fixing at almost 29,000ft. The winds were picking up and a banner plume flowed off the summit to the north. Eventually, the rest of the team crossed the knife edge ridge and moved through the Hillary Step.

The entire 14 person team shared the summit by 11:00am. Views were spectacular. It was a beautiful moment for all of us.

The real challenge: First ski turns right off the summit

As many people say, the summit is only half way. Now the real challenge began… getting down from the summit of Mount Everest safely. On the summit, Kit, Jimmy and I stepped into our ski bindings. It was a dream come true for all of us as we carved our first turns off the summit. We were all excited for Kit, as we all knew she now held the honor of being the first person to have skied from the summit of each of the “Seven Summits.”

Our intention of a complete ski descent of Everest meant that we were hoping to ski the Hillary Step. Unfortunately, the Hillary Step was not in condition to be skied with a lot less snow than we expected. We decided to rappel the Step with skis on.

Out of O2 at the Hillary Step!

The plan was for me to go first so I could film Kit from below. Dave gave me a back up belay, as I began the descent of the Hillary Step. My oxygen ran out half way down the Step, at the crux of the rappel. My world began closing in. The team above was unaware of the situation. Fortunately, Sherpa Mingma Ongell stepped over Kit (with her permission!) and came around the corner to help me finish the descent down the Step.

At this point, Kit checked her own oxygen supply, saw it about on zero, turned the flow down and decided to get down to the cache of fresh oxygen bottles at the South Summit. She wanted to keep the train moving, which meant changing out from skis to crampons at the uphill corner on the Hillary Step while letting Sherpas step around her.

Riding the line

Jimmy negotiated the Step with his skis on, but also ran out of O’s mid way through the final rappel. He eventually worked his way to the South Summit after getting resupplied with O’s from Kami Sherpa. In this manner the entire team – after two hours of effort - kept climbing toward the South Summit as the weather closed in.

The time was getting late as it began to snow. The weather was clearly changing. The margin between life and death is thin at 29,000ft. Dave, our guide who has climbed Everest 8 times, had been diligent about hammering this point into us throughout the trip. We all knew we were riding the line. The weather change, the time, issues with oxygen and a potential wind loaded slab below the South Summit pointed to one decision, the complete ski descent was shelved in favor of safety.

Run for safety towards the South Col

I was proud that every climbing member and each climbing Sherpa made every possible correct decision. The hearts of the whole team were as one in the effort to make sure that everyone got down safely. A post monsoon season can go by without a summit window on Mount Everest, and I knew we had already threaded the needle and we had gotten to ski off the summit. I also knew that the most technical and serious skiing was still ahead on the Lhotse Face. But at that point, we needed to get back to the South Col.

We all eventually made it back to the South Col and the shelter of our tents at 5:00pm. Exhausted and humbled, I crawled in and crashed.

Sherpas – climbers for a living

Once again it is with deep respect that we express our gratitude for the incredible hard work of the first class Sherpa team we have had during this expedition. During the descent nearly each member was lucky enough to climb down at different times with the companionship of the Sherpas that we had befriended over the last 6 weeks. We all have a special story and memory of their strength and selflessness during that day. It is obvious on the superficial level that they climb Mount Everest, and other mountains in the Himalaya, for a living. Yet, on the human side they climb for the same love of life, sense of accomplishment and mountaineering camaraderie that we westerners experience.

Kit’s report: The Lhotse Face ski descent

The morning of October 19th was windy and miserable. I was feeling the cumulative exhaustion of a long summit day and my brutal second sleepless night at 8000m. Ang Namgay blew us all away by poking his head in our tent around 6:30am with bottles of hot water and a smile. The wind gusting in with his unzipping of the tents actually blew us away just as much, but it woke us up to the reality of having to get down from 26,000ft. Everything was frosted over or frozen solid. It was a harsh reality, but it was time to deal.

We were unable to speak between the tents due to wind, so out came the radios and we started to make a plan. When I called Dave and Jimmy, he joked that Jimmy and him were ready to go in ten minutes. I called bullshit and thankfully I was right.

Astronauts on skis in a frozen world

With a frozen GU and a cup of tea for breakfast, we packed up slowly and headed out into the wind and cold. Rob, Jimmy and I crawled out of our tents at about 9:00am. Dave Hahn gracefully helped us with our ski gear. We were again wearing our complete summit gear of Himalayan Down Suits, oxygen masks, goggles, harnesses, etc. The Sherpas, Bryce Brown, and Dave Hahn all wished us good luck as they headed back down on foot via the climbing route to CIII and then CII.

We three skiers “dropped in” on the Lhotse Face around 9:15am. We had always planned to ski the Lhotse Face, but having climbed to the summit of Everest the day before, we knew that what lay ahead was going to be difficult.

The Lhotse Face: Where has the snow gone?

Skiing the Lhotse Face was a large part of what we came here for. We had scoped the route out over the past 6 weeks, but Mother Nature and Chomolungma had changed the conditions on us quite a bit. The snow was now largely gone and left behind was 5,000 vertical feet of 45 to 50 degree mostly shimmering blue and white ice. Rob, Jimmy and I picked our way down by linking up patches of acceptable snow among the other shiny options.

It was some of the most serious skiing I’ve ever done in my life. I couldn’t even penetrate my ice axe more than an inch into most of the Lhotse Face. I knew it was serious when I looked over at Jimmy and asked “Are you shooting?” and he simply replied, “No.”

“Like your life depends upon it”

I developed a mantra during the descent that came to me from somewhere unknown… before each turn I would say to myself “like your life depends upon it” and then make a turn. “Like your life depends upon it”, turn. All the while we kept tabs on each other knowing that if anyone made a single mistake, they would be unrecognizable at the bottom of the Lhotse Face. Blowing an edge was not an option. We were like three climbers free soloing at a high level side by side, but in reality we were just three friends from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, doing what we love to do. The trust among us was palpable. When we finally crossed over the bergschrund after 2 hours, we screamed with joy and adrenaline. We all agreed that it was the most serious ski descent of our lives.

After cruising into Camp II, we had a quick lunch and continued on to Base Camp via a combo of skis and crampons through a growing snowstorm accurately predicted by Lama Geshe. Wally Berg and the base camp team greeted us with a bottle of champagne as we arrived at home away from home.

Kit DesLauriers is the reigning women’s world freeskiing champion, winning the title for two consecutive years. She was the first American woman to climb and ski from the summit of Denali, the first woman to ski the north side of Elbrus in Russia, the first woman to ski Mount Aspiring in New Zealand and the third woman to climb and ski the Grand Teton. Most recently Kit has added a successful ascent and ski of Mount Vinson and Aconcagua. Kit has an extensive search and rescue background; is certified Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, Professional Ski Patroller, Search and Rescue volunteer, Rescue 3 International low to high angle rope rescue instructor and Helicopter Rescue Technician.

Kit's partner extreme skier Rob DesLauriers has early connections with Warren Miller. In the 80’s Rob appeared in several of Warren’s films, afterwards starting his own production company. The couple resides in Teton Village, Wyoming.

Previous Everest fall summits and ski descents

The last to step on Everest top in fall was Marco Siffredi. On September 8, 2002, Marco summited through the N Col-NE Ridge with Sherpas Da Tenzing, Panuru and Phurba Tashi. (Tragically, Marco perished when he tried to snowboard down the steep Hornbein Couloir.)

The last time Everest south side had a summit was in 2000, when Slovenian extreme-skier Davo Karnicar achieved the first (and only) complete ski-descent of Everest. In fact, two different teams topped out via the South Col ridge that year. First up were 5 south Koreans led by Kim Hwan-koo, who summited on October 4.

3 days later, Slovenians Davo Karnicar and Franc Oderlap followed, together with Sherpas Ang Dorje II and Pasang Tenzing. On October 7 at 7 am, Davo reached the top and one hour later, he clicked into his bindings and began to ski down the mountain. He would not remove his skis until 4 and half hours later, near BC at 5360m. His was the first, and remains the only complete ski descent from the Top of the World.

2 days after Davo's amazing feat, on October 9, the circle was closed by the Slovenian expedition's team mates Tadej Golob, Matej Flis and Gregor Lacen who became the last to summit Everest south side in 6 years.

Fall climbing takes very skilled and self-sufficient leadership, Sherpas and mountaineers. The challenge of logistics and weather turn Everest into a completely different mountain compared to the spring's packed slopes.

Few climbers attempt routes outside the normal lines on Everest these days; and off-season attempts are on decline as well:

Between 1987 and 1996 there were autumn summits every single year on Everest; in the beginning of the nineties almost as many climbers summited during autumn as during spring. Since the new millenium however; Everest suffers overcrowded slopes in spring - while remaining deserted in fall.

About BAI team members:

Veteran mountain guide and expedition leader Wally Berg has led many expeditions on Everest but when the peak became a bit too crowded for him, Wally decided to lead Everest climbs in off season only. His small, mostly American crew have met a mountain very different from a few months back. The expedition had a tough task in terms of weather and logistics - but also an Everest experience hard to come by these days: They had the walls and high camps all to themselves.

Wally Berg is a veteran expedition leader and four times Everest summiteer. With over 25 years of experience in this field, Wally is one of America’s foremost international guides. In the Himalaya, Wally has organized and guided more than 30 trips and expeditions over the past 20 years.

Dave Hahn is another professional mountaineer and expedition leader bigwig. With 20 years climbing experience, Dave now has eight Everest ascents; three on the North Side and five on the South.

Photographer Jimmy Chin is a well known face at ExWeb since his Hornbein Couloir attempt with snowboarder Stephen Koch a few years back. Since then, Jimmy has climbed with Ed Viesturs and Conrad Anker among other.

Bryce Brown; on his third assignment as an Everest expedition doctor - went for the summit this time.

BC manager Leila Silveira is a veteran of many BAI expeditions. She works with Ang Temba Sherpa at Base Camp, sending daily dispatches and leading the outfit's Base Camp trekking expeditions.

Sirdar Ang Temba Sherpa was in charge of all Sherpa logistics and has been a member of numerous BAI expeditions over the years. Pasang Tenzing, who was first on the summit this fall, Sonam Galygen, and Da Tsering were recommended to Wally by Conrad Anker as being top students from his Khumbu Climbing School. Danuru and Pemba Dorjee are two of Wally's older friends. Wally first climbed with Danuru in 1990; he is a veteran of the first Canadian Expedition in 1982, and long time friend of many people in Alberta and B.C. where his has visited on several occasions. Pemba Dorjee is Wally's friend since Wally's first Everest expedition in 1989.

The Berg Adventures International Everest 2006 Expedition is climbing Everest South side, normal route.

Berg Adventures International is a trekking, traveling and expedition outfitting company based in Canmore, Alberta, Canada.

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