Dave Hahn

As we labored to get harnessed up, spikes on and good to go, I thought about the summit team, now apparently moving quite fast for the top. As it was nearing 9am, they'd already been on the go for seven hours. I hoped they were climbing together, able to help each other, but I knew what loners the NE Ridge makes of people.

Craig was with two guys nearly half his age who weren't exactly skilled in English. We'd found though, that Danuru and Lhakpa had hearts big enough to overcome a lot of language difficulties. I must admit also that I thought it unfair that the world had only a 29,000' mountain for Danuru to test himself on. He'd almost certainly be a pro-athlete of some sort in the States, but then he'd miss out on what looked to be his first Everest summit.

They weren't getting an easy one from what I could see; the wind was blowing up there. And they weren't getting it to themselves either. I could see other climbers and knew that Russell Brice was trying to guide the top on that day too. A couple of Uzbekistan climbers were going for it as well. I knew that the day before had seen only a few get to the top as a dying climber had been discovered and the futile rescue attempt that had ensued had resulted in tears of tradgedy rather than joy for several climbers, particularly the South Africans I'd spoken to. I hoped for just good climbing without moral dilemmas and trauma for our first team.

I put it off as long as my companions would allow me, but eventually I had to hoist my pack and set off for Camp VI. Pinzo and I had the big packs for the day, we were both trying to get extra O2 bottles to Camp VI and I was still carrying a lot of things that one only brings for guiding. Even so, Heather's pack did not look small and light, neither did Jim's. Things do weigh more at altitude, a little known scientific gem for you... 50 pounds at 26,000' is like about 100 pounds at 10,000' If you heard it here first, don't question it publicly, you'll just be embarrassed, but believe me, it is true. This is before embellishment also... so I set out that morning with a 200 lb pack for Camp VI.

Heather and Pinzo pulled a bit ahead as Jim and I set to our steady work. Before long we were on an elegant little snow ramp traversing a cliff band. This takes some time and one is careful to get the ascender quickly back on the rope after each anchor change. The big exposure of the North Face starts in this area. We trudged upward for a few hours, knowing that we were missing out on some hooting and hollering for summit climbers in some other places.

Sure enough, Craig, Danuru, and Lhakpa had hit the top at 9:30am, a fine time for summits that I figured I'd like to emulate with our team. As we finished traversing and got out on the North Face proper, I marveled at the scenery. After all, that had been one of my prime desires in returning to the North Ridge route. In 1991, I'd been trying the mountain without oxygen and consequently remember little of the scenery, being young at the time and preoccupied with little things like mortality.

In 1994, I'd climbed this stretch by headlight on the way up, learning a four foot square swath of it incredibly well, but missing the rest of the world entirely. Now, although technically I was hard at work guiding Jim, Jim was climbing quite well, and I could let my eyes wander to the incredible geometry of the North Face.

I marveled at the size of the walls containing the upper Great Couloir. I sized up the angles of the lower Hornbein. I tried to figure if a person could get from A to B... I was probably on S to T before I forced myself back to work. We were making good progress. I guess it took about four hours to get to Camp VI that day. Four hours of two liters per minute with a cough every minute and a half. A break on one of those crazy little ledges about half way along for some water and M&M's. But then we were coming in sight of Camp VI.

— Dave Hahn, International Mountain Guides' Expedition Leader

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