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Everest-Lhotse: The Great Enchainment

	Simone Moro

At 8,850 meters, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, standing out against the clear and ice-cold skies of the Himalayas. Lhotse abuts the great "roof of the world," and, at 8,516 meters, is the world's fourth highest peak.

At 8,000 meters, the South Col of Everest is where the two mountains meet, forming a large terrace over the vast emptiness below. Though many people have summitted these mountains, there are still very few who dare to attempt them without oxygen. The newest dream is the enchainment of both mountains by crossing the South Col that bridges the two. An enchainment requires the summitting of two or more mountains back-to-back without returning to a base camp.

Since the mid-'80s this climb has been seen as one of the ultimate challenges in the sport of mountaineering — no one has ever even attempted this enchainment — not even with the aid of oxygen and Sherpas. It is fitting that fulfilling this goal should be a project of the third millennium and those who attempt it now have at their disposal all the different techniques, knowledge and approaches that have become available.

APRIL—MAY 2000
Now, in the first year of our new century and the new millenium, Italian adventurer Simone Moro will attempt this challenging climb. Moro, without supplemental oxygen, will go from Base Camp in Nepal and solo to the summit of Everest, then go on to Lhotse in the company of Denis Urubko. [click for Moro's sponsors]

Stretching the range of human possibilities, this attempt will mean Moro will spend at least 48 hours without oxygen above 8000 meters, in a place aptly called "the death zone," where biological and physical vital functions degenerate and where no kind of permanent life can be sustained.

The challenge isn't against the mountain (which is always the victor) but instead against the present limits of human endurance. A simple but rigorous athletic approach will be followed: no artificial oxygen, no medicine or stimulants, no help from Sherpas, and with respect for life, the environment and a willingness to deal with the possibility of defeat.

THE MOUNTAINEER
The 32-year-old Moro is a professional climber who has completed 13 climbing expeditions outside of Europe. Moro explains that his choice to pursue solo Himalayan climbing was motivated by the tragic loss of his friend and climbing partner Anatoli Boukreev in 1997, and by the impossibility of finding another companion like him.

Moro's climbing speed and staunch determination will be the two fundamental necessities for the success of this project. Moro will limit the materials and loads he carries to the essential needs of a single person.

He estimates a 20% to 25% possibility of successfully completing his mission.

A satellite telephone communications system, IMMARSAT, will enable Moro to transmit the log of the expedition in real time to MountainZone.com. Moro will be accompanied only to the South Col by cameraman Denis Urubko of Russia. Urubko will use a powerful zoom lens to capture Moro's attempt to reach the Everest peak. Moro then plans to then return to the South Col, at which time he and Urubko will attempt to summit Lhotse via the unclimbed Northeast Ridge.

PREPARATION AND RESEARCH
The 2000 Everest-Lhotse Enchainment will also, and above all, be an opportunity to deepen the understanding of the relationship between athleticism and high altitudes. Contrary to the simple analytic approach to studying the basics of how the human body functions when passively exposed to high altitudes, or even a climber who is immobile at high altitudes, the idea here is to analyze the highest level of an elite athlete's performance (in this case when Moro reaches the peak).

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CLIMB
Moro's initial idea was to begin the Everest-Lhotse Enchainment from a base camp in Tibet and to arrive at a base camp in Nepal. Since it was impossible to obtain permission to enter and exit these border regions on foot from both of these countries, Moro had to create an alternate plan.

Nepal will be the starting point for Moro's climb. After acclimatizing, Moro will attempt to reach the South Col crossing point at 8000 meters in three days. From there Moro will, in one day, climb alone and without supplemental oxygen, to the peak of Everest. He will make camp at the South Col for one night, and will try to gather all his remaining energy to climb Lhotse with Urubko, via the Northeast Ridge. No one has ever attempted the ascent from this direction though Moro has been on the Northeast Peak, the main summit of Lhotse, twice before.

From the summit of Lhotse, Moro will descend directly along the west face of the mountain, but will not arrive at his starting point until he has descended to 6300 meters. The enchainment will then conclude with the descent from 6300 meters, Camp II, down to Base Camp at 5400 meters.

— Translated from Italian by Katie Mondloch Loreto and Andrea Loreto