Gabriel Filippi still hopes to launch a summit push on Everest north side before the monsoon arrives. Image of Gabriel courtesy of his website (click to enlarge).
Ben Clark will return to Baruntse next year. File image of Ben courtesy of his website (click to enlarge).
Image of Zerain and Lasa being treated in a Kathmandu hospital last week, courtesy of El Correo Digital.
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Everest and Himalaya wrap-up: Last men on Everest North side still battling - Kangch, Dhaula, Lothse and Baruntse teams back home
Posted: Jun 01, 2009 02:32 pm EDT
(MountEverest.net) A bunch of eight climbers are clinging to a possible last chance - namely a weather window – to launch a summit push on Everest’s North side.
Other teams are returning home with no cake and, in some cases, a number of injuries to nurse. The Kazakh LET team, mourning the loss of mate Sergei; Spanish Zerain’s expedition, with several men injured on Kangchenjunga; the German DAV skiers, left with no chance to carve turns from Dhaula’s summit; and Ben Clark, who promises to return to Baruntse next year.
Kazakh survivors coming home
The LET Kazakh team flew from Lukla to Kathmandu earlier today. They are expected back in Almaty on Wednesday. A detailed debrief report is expected on the dramatic summit push, the descent and Sergei Samoilov’s death.
Gabriel Filippi: No surrender...yet
After two failed attempts to reach C1 and waiting out 80km/h winds, the remaining climbers retreated back to ABC yesterday. The battle is far from over though. Gabriel Fillipi still hopes for a weather window forecasted to open up from June 1st, in order to launch yet another summit push together with his Canadian mate, a Peruvian climber (Richard Hidalgo?), two Czechs and 3 Sherpas.
Final reports from Kangchenjunga and Dhaulagiri
Taking advantage of seemingly improving conditions, Louis and Rupert set off from Dhaula’s BC on a summit push on May 24th. The weather turned back for the worse that same evening though, thus thwarting the Germans’ hope to achieve a complete ski descent from the summit.
Spaniards Alberto Zerain and Koke Lasa were finally airlifted from Kangchenjunga’s BC on May 27th. Both were frostbitten and ill: Alberto with some kind of infection, Koke showing symptoms of HAPE. Team mate Oscar Cadiach was caught after a failed summit attempt in C3 by a storm last week. He needed two days to descend - a Sherpa team was sent from BC in order to break trail until they met Oscar.
Ben Clark: We’ll be back to Baruntse
“We're coming back to finish the climb - Baruntse 2010,” American Ben reported once back in Kathmandu, after an attempt to climb and sky-ski down Baruntse - thwarted by a four days-long storm. “This route is incredible and something we're committed to working toward and completing,” Ben stated.
Mountain.kz - LET expedition's official website
RussianClimb
Maxut Zhumayev's Mount.kz
Gabriel Filippi's Everest North side posts
Luis Stitzinger - Dhaulagiri news
Ben Clark - Baruntse updates
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