Updates From Everest Tumpach The Last Chance Monday, October 6, 1997 (Everest North Face advance base camp, Tibet) The ADVANCE BASE CAMP -ABC- is getting deserted; it looks like before a demolition. The CATALONIANS, four members, came back from BC with four Sherpas and yesterday and today they managed to remove the most expensive supplies from NORTH COL, like OXYGEN, tents, etc.. The latest weather is — VERY UNSTABLE. During the night the sky is clear, but very windy, 50 to 70 mph. In the morning the mountain is clear, windy; by noon, the clouds move in and it gets very cold. It is very frustrating to see the clear weather yesterday and today and you know that it is impossible to reach the summit if you want to return alive. On the 3rd of October, after a two day snowstorm in ABC, I decided to make one more ATTEMPT for SUMMIT ATTACK. The forecast from SPAIN and BRITAIN was favorable for the next three to four days, long enough to go to the SUMMIT when you have everything ready and when you are 100% acclimatized. All the other EXPEDITIONS have given up because of the weather. OUR TEAM WAS THE ONLY ONE LEFT and secretly hoping for the break. We did not talk about it, but you could see it in my Sherpas' eyes, they were feeling the same way as me - TO GO FOR IT THE NEXT DAY before we have to start moving our supplies down. When you make that decision, then you know- IT IS OVER! Well, we went for it. It was beautiful, sunny and cool day. We waited until 11 pm to make sure the weather would not change. By 2:30, me and my Sherpa -SHERA- were half way on NORTH COL when all of a sudden the clouds moved in over our heads from the other side of NORTH COL. When we looked up, we knew we had a storm over our heads. The clouds were moving like a JET STREAM, more than 100mph. We were past the most dangerous avalanche place — a route you have to cross which is the most active AVALANCHE route. It is the same place the KOREAN climber lost his life. When you are in a place like that you always think that this time "IT WILL NOT BE ME." The sky above us got instantly dark. It got windy within seconds. We had approximately 20 to 30 minutes to the nearest flat, protected, place which we could not see, but we knew our location from previous climbs to NORTH COL. We had to make the instant choice: STOP WHERE WE WERE and put our EXPEDITION clothes on or continue to the nearest flat spot. The decisions was quick and simple — WE HAD TO STOP! The wind was so cold that within a few minutes we would get frostbite and our body temperature would drop quick; to recover on the side of NORTH COL is impossible and to reach the top where we had our tents and supplies was another hour away in normal conditions. We knew we could not get lost because of the fix rope we were hooked onto, but the instant change of weather took us by surprise. We barely had the time to put on our EXPEDITION jackets and pants; a very difficult thing to do when you are on a FIX rope and the wind is blowing 50 to 60mph. My Sherpa was a few feet below me, so I had to make sure I did not slip or both of us would go down on the SUPER EXPRESS HIGHWAY. It seems like it took us a minute to take our backpacks off and put our clothes on. We continued to climb against the wind at 6800m. We had 200m to go. When we reached the flat spot, we knew about where it was; there just before the curve to the last steep section before the traverse, which was the sign that we were near our destination — THE TENTS. We stopped under a big overhang which protected us from the severe wind and had a HOT TEA. The cold was going down my spine so good, hot tea was the only solution to get warm and regain more ENERGY. When you stop in a place like that, you know you cannot stop for too long because your mind starts to play tricks on you. We both had two cups and kept climbing. The other problem we encountered after we resumed the climb was the fix rope, which was supposed to be there, had DISAPPEARED. It got buried under the snow and was very hard to pull it up. So I got my Sherpa to go first because they can work much easier than us. We got to the traverse faster than I anticipated and we encountered another problem- WIND. The wind was coming from our right side and the downhill was on our LEFT. Even though we were on the rope, the traverse was very dangerous. It is the place where the AVALANCHE starts, 50 meters before the top of NORTH COL. The severe wind covered any old trails and accumulated more snow for us to pass through. IT IS A DANGEROUS spot in normal times and, with the wind, it was SCARY. Us climbers, we do not think in those terms, but for me to EXPLAIN how it was - well- it was scary. You cannot see below you, how much snow has accumulated and how solid it is. All you know is that you have to cross it to get to a safe place and it is the place where, if you're unlucky, you can get the avalanche started. In situations like this, you always go in single; you don't dare to go behind each other. SHERA, the Sherpa, went first. I wanted to go first because many times the first has it SAFER; the one who goes first breaks the trail and sometimes CUTS the avalanche. The second climber is always in more DANGER. The Sherpa was first on the rope since the tea time 200m below and there was no room or any way to change the LEAD, so the Sherpa went first. It is a section, 300 to 350 meters long, where the visibility was only 50m and that created another situation- to know when he would reach the other side of the traverse. I counted until he DISAPPEARED from my sight and I multiplied it by six times and then some. After 10 minutes, it was my turn to go. Standing there made me even colder, but if you choose to wait or go together, you always, AT LEAST I DO, choose to wait for your partner to cross first. This is one of the rules where many climbers get in trouble and many are no longer with us. I crossed the traverse without any problem as did my partner SHERA. If you're looking for the answer to WHY, you will never find it. Only mother nature KNOWS. Within minutes after the traverse, we spotted our tents. Before we got to our tents we both had the same question in our minds without talking to one another; we talked about it after, in the tent. The QUESTION that was in our minds, ARE THE TENTS STILL THERE? Fortunately for us, they were. By the time we reached the tents, we were very cold and the next question was HOW TO GET INSIDE. The wind covered the tents half way. One other tent, I think it was the Spanish one, collapsed under the weight of the snow. Lucky for us, SHERA remembered where he left the snow shovel, so we were inside within a few minutes, both very, very cold. Shera got the stove going and it seems like it took forever to melt the snow and to make a good soup. At that time we did not know that we would not sleep all night. The wind did not stop. Now we were at the top of NORTH COL and we were getting the full power of the wind coming from the NORTH WEST, NEPAL side. One side of our tent was buried by a snow drift and protected. The other was not and when we opened the ENTRY, we made it worse for ourselves and easier for the wind to hammer our tent. We did not sleep all night; we had to lie on the unprotected side because it was lifting when the strong gusts of wind hit our tent. It was a very interesting situation. We thought we would get shelter in the tent; we did not anticipate "BABY SITTING" the tent from blowing away. Sometimes the wind came so strong that we thought we would be blown off with it. Do not laugh. As we were baby sitting the tent, my Sherpa told me that two of his friends -SHERPAS- were blown off from 7800m a couple of years ago. Let me tell you, after that story, I held onto the tent twice as strong when the gusts came and they kept coming until 6 am and were stronger each time. The next morning, the winds calmed down just long enough for us to assess the damage. Lucky for us we are using one of the best tents, "NUNATAK"; I bought in Mt. COOP in Vancouver. The wind did not stop and we were stuck there for all the next day and we did not sleep the following night either, but it was a little easier. The question arises, what we will do next? We knew that the guys -my other two Sherpas- would have to come from the ABC to tell us how the situation looked on NORTH COL for us to be able to go down SAFELY. Yesterday, during the night, the winds stopped and in the early morning I thought I heard voices calling my name from the distance. I was not sure if it was true or if I was dreaming. It was very quiet outside and then I heard it again -this time much stronger. I kicked SHERA with my feet and asked him if he heard what I heard. The poor guy was sleeping so hard that before I had the chance to ask him or kick him one more time, Jangbu, our lead Sherpa, was shaking our tent and asking if we were there. He was not sure himself until the moment I answered. It was 6am when we opened our tent; it was sunny and little windy, but very cold. I asked him what time he left ABC and he said the moment the winds stopped. He was worried about us because, from ABC, the situation looked very dangerous and no one was sure if we reached the NORTH COL and the tents. Jangbu said he was not sure if he would find us there. The food and gas was not the problem, the very strong winds were. From ABC, they estimated the wind speed at over 80 to 100mph. So it is like a story with a good ending on one side and bad ending on the other because the EXPEDITION IS F I N I S H E D ! The dream to reach the SUMMIT was over because of this storm. I knew it but until now I DID not want to come to terms with it. We spent a lot of time here, since last spring. NO ONE SUMMITED from this route or the NORTH EAST RIDGE either. Five climbers lost their lives and when you think about that -you know you do not want to be left behind by your teammates. Like my father always taught me, "SON, LETS GO BACK. THE DAMN MOUNTAIN ALWAYS WILL BE THERE." Oct. 6/97 — 5pm, the latest of the latest from ABC is THE YAKS arrived and that is good news because for a few hours last night we were of the opinion that the YAKS were not on the way. My two Sherpas left at 9pm with headlights for a six hour night trip to BC to find out what was wrong. They must have done a good job because the YAKS came even though they were one day late. The weather turned nasty again at 3pm. It is cold and snowy; I cannot see Mt. EVEREST at all. Tomorrow we are on the way, with the BRITISH and CATALONIANS, to BC. That is all from ABC. — George Tumpach PREVIOUS UPDATE | UPDATES HOME | NEXT UPDATE