The Alpine Club of Pakistan has published records of this year’s expeditions in the country. 2008 will probably be remembered most for the 11 deaths on K2, but the season also saw one first ascent.
Seventy-six expeditions were given permission to climb one or more Pakistani peaks in 2008. Two expeditions were not allowed to climb peaks close to the Siachen Glacier because of the military presence there.
2008 proved a very bleak year for K2, as 11 climbers died on the mountain on August 1. Attempting to summit the peak were 74 climbers from 10 expeditions, but only 17 of them from six expeditions were successful.
Another five climbers died on Pakistan’s mountains this year: one on Broad Peak, two on Nanga Parbat, one on Gasherbrum I and one on Muztagh Tower.
However, 2008 also saw a first ascent; Italians Simone Moro and Hervè Barmasse were able to make the top of Bekka Brakai Chhok (6,940m).
On Broad Peak, seven out of 12 expeditions were successful, with 29 climbers reaching the summit. On Gasherbrum II, 11 out of 17 expeditions reached the peak, while on Gasherbrum-I only four out of 12 expeditions managed to put climbers on the summit.
Reaching the peak of Nanga Parbat, (8,125m), proved difficult for the nine expeditions who attempted the ascent this season, as only three teams were successful. One of the climbers was Pakistani Nisar Hussain, who now has climbed all five mountains above 8,000 meters in the country.
Spantik Peak turned out to be an even bigger challenge as only one expedition – from Italy – reached the 7,027m summit, while 12 other expeditions were stopped by bad weather.
In total, 92 attempts were made on 24 peaks by 634 members of 76 expeditions. Out of these, 132 climbers reached the summits of 12 peaks.
The UIAA is pursuing disciplinary proceedings against French Ski Mountaineering athlete Patrick Blanc, who tested positive after the 2008 Patrouille des Glaciers, the long distance teams’ world championship.
The UIAA Disciplinary Commission started its work on October 6. It is chaired by the British legal expert Ian Alderson, and includes a representative from the newly formed International Ski Mountaineering Federation (IFSM) and a medical doctor. The commission must deal with the case after Blanc’s A and B samples both tested positive for recombinant EPO.
The Disciplinary Panel decided to suspend Blanc from all UIAA competitions until the disciplinary procedures against him are completed.
Blanc made an appeal against this decision on October 21, claiming that the results of the test are not fully reliable.
The UIAA Appeals Commission ruled on November 5 against the appeal. It stated that the normal course of action is to suspend athletes who have given a positive sample, and that a suspension can only be cancelled in case of exceptional circumstances, none of which were found in this case.
Blanc will therefore remain suspended until the disciplinary action against him has been completed. The UIAA is a signatory to the WADA. Therefore under Articles 10.9 and 15.4 of the WADA Code, a person who is subject to a period of ineligibility (this means being banned or suspended) cannot participate in any competition that is authorised or organised by a “signatory”. This term refers to any organisation that has signed up to the WADA Code.
The UIAA will report on the outcome of the disciplinary process as it proceeds.
The Eco Everest Expedition 2008, led by Dawa Steven Sherpa, has successfully field tested new equipment for environmentally friendly mountaineering. The expedition members and Sherpas tried out systems for disposal of human waste and rubbish, purifying water and using renewable energy for cooking and light.
“From my practical experiences on Everest I have developed what I would like to call the Eco Everest Model,” says Dawa Steven. “My aim was to show that with minimal extra expenses, any expedition can have a positive impact.”
One big environmental problem is the lack of facilities for disposing of human waste properly. Therefore the expedition members tested out a portable toilet called the Clean Mountain Can. This worked well, but was only used until Camp 2 as it was too big to be carried further. For the higher altitudes, the group brought Restop® bags, which are toilet bags which are sturdy and sealable and therefore can be carried back down. The group was happy with the system, and found the bags to be hygienic and practical.
Before he set off for the expedition, Dawa Steven met Bill Putnam, UIAA honorary member and past president of the American Alpine Club. Putnam challenged him to find a way of limiting the use of fossil fuel, something Dawa Steven had not considered before. Therefore the expedition tested out a portable parabolic solar cooker and a heat retaining box. The members concluded that the technology was simple and can be used both by expeditions and locals in their homes. According to Dawa Steven, one expedition will use up to twenty LPG cooking gas cylinders of 30 kilos each, representing a significant cost, both for the cylinders themselves and the connected wages for the porters. The solar cooker is therefore not only environmentally friendly, avoiding the release of harmful gases, but also cost effective.
The group also tried a new way to sterilise drinking water. A device called the SteriPEN uses ultraviolet light to destroy waterborne microbes. The device takes just 90 seconds to sterilise one litre of water and weighs less than 225 g. Another success was a solar lamp, which was charged using a portable solar panel, giving the battery about ten hours worth of good reading light.
One of the main projects of the expedition was to collect rubbish left by other expeditions and locals. “In recent years Himalayan expeditions have had a bad reputation and I wanted to convince everyone that our presence on the mountain can actually benefit them,” says Dawa Steven. A total of 965 kilos of garbage and debris were collected, including parts of the Italian army helicopter that crashed at Camp 1 in 1973 as well as 69 oxygen bottles. About USD 0.75 per kilo was offered to anyone bringing down rubbish left by previous expeditions. Also recovered were the remains of a dead climber at the bottom of the Khumbu Icefall, probably a member of the 1972 British Expedition. The remains were taken off the glacier and given a formal burial.
Dawa Steven’s family business will now be using the Eco Everest model on their other expeditions, and an Eco Everest Expedition 2009 is already planned.
The 11 member climbing team started from Everest Base Camp on April 18. The expedition also aimed to draw attention to climate change and raise funds for research on glacier lake outburst floods.
More information on the expedition can be found in the detailed report and on the EcoEverest website.
he UIAA deeply regrets the death of eleven climbers on K2.
The massive loss of lives was caused by a large wall of ice dislodging from the mountain, taking with it many of the fixed ropes which the climbers were using for the descent.
“The recent K2 tragedy had grieved us all here,” says Nazir Sabir, President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. “Loss of precious lives of our mountaineering community is irreparable.”
A Serb and one Pakistani died on the ascent, but most of the climbers lost their lives trying to get off the mountain. A number of people disappeared when the ice block fell, while other climbers were stranded above the steep gully known as the Bottleneck at more than 8,200 metres.
The names of the dead mountaineers have now been released by the Pakistani authorities. They are Kim Hyo-Gyeong, Park Kyeong-Hyo and Hwang Dong-Jin, Korea; Jumic Bhote and Pasang Bhote, Nepal; Jehan Baig and Meherban Karim, Pakistan, Hugues d’Aubarede, France; Gerard McDonnell, Ireland; Dren Mandic, Republic of Serbia and Rolf Bae, Norway.
“Our deep condolences go to all the families and friends of the climbers who perished,” said Mike Mortimer, UIAA President.
A Pakistani army helicopter rescued two Dutch climbers from base camp at 5,200 metres on August 4, after they had been helped down from a high altitude by Pakistani guides and team members. The last survivor, an Italian, was airlifted from base camp two days later after being brought down by a rescue
team of three Pakistani high altitude porters and one American climber.
“We have admiration for the Pakistan military for such a daring helicopter rescue,” Mortimer said.
Some survivors are being treated in hospital in the northern Pakistani town of Skardu.
A new meteorological station now in place on Mount Everest is providing hourly updates online from its position 8,000 metres above sea level. The station will supply valuable information to climbers and scientists researching climate change.
The world’s highest automatic weather station, installed in May on Everest’s South Col on the Nepali side of the mountain provides data on indicators such as wind direction and speed, temperature and humidity. The information is continuously published online.
The construction of the weather station was part of the mountaineering and scientific expedition, “SHARE Everest 2008”, led by Agostino Da Polenza, President of the Ev-K2-CNR Committee, an Italian association dedicated to research and sustainable development in mountain regions.
The work was carried out by Italian mountaineers and Nepali climbers who did the ascent and work without the use of supplemental oxygen. The team, carrying about 50kg of technical material, completed the installation during a snowstorm.
“It was a tough job, but we did it,” team member Silvio “Gnaro” Mondinelli said on the SHARE Everest 2008 website. “It was freezing, but we set up all the equipment quickly, even if the storm made moving and breathing more difficult than it already was without supplemental oxygen.”
The first data sent from the station at 4pm, Nepali time, on May 15 was: air temperature -17 °C, relative humidity 41,3 %, atmospheric pressure 382,1 hPa, wind direction 262,8°, wind speed 12,8 m/s, global solar radiation 711,9 W/m2, solar UVA radiation 30,4 w/m2.
“I’m really proud of this achievement,” said Da Polenza. “This station will be integrated in the environment monitoring network of our programme SHARE (Stations at High Altitude for Research on the Environment), providing a unique contribution to the international scientific community, given the altitude at which the data is collected. In particular, the international monitoring projects coordinated by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) and WMO (World Meteorological Organization) in which we participate will benefit from this new knowledge.”
Italian scientists say the collected data will improve understanding of atmospheric circulation, particularly regarding the exchange of air masses between the troposphere and stratosphere and the thermal gradient.
Nepal’s meteorological services will also be able to use the information to improve weather forecasting for Himalayan mountaineering expeditions.
More information about the construction of the weather station, as well as technical details, can be found on the Ev-K2-CNR web site.
The event, which included a high-speed run to the top of Europe’s highest peak, the 5,642m Mount Elbrus, a snowshoe race and ski-mountaineering competitions (vertical race and rally), took place from May 15-18.
Red Fox Asia team members Andrey Puchinin (Kazakhstan), Sergey Seliverstov (Kyrgyzstan) and Semen Dvornichenko (Kyrgyzstan) took the three top spots in the men’s snowshoe event. The surprise in this race was Russian Roman Gubanov who had the bad luck of breaking his bindings and having to complete the final section carrying the snowshoes in his arms.
The two fastest athletes in the ski-mountaineering vertical race, Kazakov Maksim and Sofin Rinat, were penalised for losing part of their equipment and had to relinquish top spot to Moscow’s Kurchakov Vyacheslav who had the third best time.
The Russian Mountaineering Federation, which co-hosted the event along with the Red Fox company, said participants had to overcome difficult conditions with temperatures of -20°C.
The high-speed run to the Elbrus Peak – the main event – was a race where any form of transport, assistance or skis is not permitted. The winner, Semen Dvornichenko (2hrs58mins), was only 1.5 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Roman Gubanov.
Ekaterina Andreeva of Kyrgyzstan (3hrs33mins) won the women’s competition. The surprise winner of the women’s snowshoe competition, Maria Popova – also of Kyrgyzstan – came second, with third going to Nadezhda Shubina.
The extreme sports festival concluded with a ski-mountaineering rally. The prestigious race was part of the Russian Ski-Mountaineering Cup. Winner Sofin Rinat crossed the finish line only five seconds ahead of Roman Gubanov. Maksim Kazakov came third.
The main festival judge was the legendary Soviet athlete and president of the Kazakhstan Republic Mountaineering Federation, Ervand Ilinsky.
An awards ceremony was held on the Glade Azau near the base of Elbrus. Roman Gubanov received special mention for participating in three separate festival competitions.
The event also brought together representatives from the local municipal administration and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Russian mountaineering veterans, famous athletes and media representatives.
UIAA regrets Mount Everest access decision by China
Statement by Mike Mortimer, President of UIAA (International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation)
The UIAA regrets the recent decision by the government of China to close the north side of Mount Everest to mountaineering expeditions for several weeks during May of this year. This restriction will effectively curtail all expeditions attempting to climb the mountain during the spring of 2008. The only exception appears to be the Chinese expedition that aims to carry the Olympic Torch to the summit as part of the preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing in August. In addition we must express our reservations about the restrictions placed on expeditions on the Nepalese side.
The UIAA is bringing its concerns to the attention of the appropriate authorities and is requesting that there shall be some reconsideration of these closure decisions, which will have a big impact on the many mountaineers hoping to attempt Mount Everest this year.
The UIAA recognises that there may be some security concerns with regard to the transportation of the torch along the approaches to Mount Everest and on the slopes of the mountain. Notwithstanding these concerns the UIAA hopes that a means may be found to maintain appropriate levels of security without preventing access to the mountain by mountaineers who are not involved in the torch expedition but have nevertheless successfully completed the expedition approval processes that are managed by the Chinese and Nepalese authorities and have paid the required fees.
The UIAA supports the efforts of the Chinese Mountaineering Association which is a member of the UIAA, to transport the Olympic Torch to Everest’s summit. This venture will attract worldwide publicity and is an unrivalled opportunity to project the value of the mountain environment as well as its attraction for human endeavour, enjoyment and companionship. Such a venture could not be more timely as people of all nations face the challenge of climate change, not least in the Himalayan mountain ranges, where the snowfields and glaciers provide essential water supplies to millions of people in the surrounding lowlands.
The UIAA cherishes the rights and freedoms for mountaineers to take access to the mountain environment in ways which are sensitive to that environment and to those who live and work in the surrounding areas. We applaud the vigorous efforts of the Chinese and Nepal governments in recent decades to help and support all those mountaineers who have come to tackle the slopes of Everest. The UIAA will continue to work, in friendly and respectful ways, with all who are involved in facilitating access to Mount Everest to ensure that acceptable access arrangements are maintained to this magnificent mountain range into the foreseeable future.
The expeditions planning to ascent Everest this spring are facing problems. Permits are currently not being issued either by Chinese or Nepali authorities.
The UIAA Expedition Commission is using their contacts in Tibet and Nepal to stay updated and we will pass on any information we can to you. However, there is much confusion and contradictory messages from the authorities.
The situation at the time of writing is this:
No mountaineering expeditions will be allowed in Tibet (including Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, Shisa Pangma) this spring.
Everest and Lhotse expeditions from the Nepali side will not be allowed until after May 10th. It is unclear how the situation will be after that date.
Communications systems, such as satellite phones, radios, cameras, lap top computer and other electrical devises will be strictly forbidden in the Everest area until May 10th.
On the 10th March, the Chinese authorities decided to close off Everest for expeditions from the Tibet side. Later they requested Nepali authorities to not allow any expeditions on their side of Everest until May 10th.
On the Nepali side, no decision has been taken on how the situation will be after May 10th. Up to now no permits have been issued for Everest and Lhotse for this season. Because of the upcoming election in Nepal, it is difficult to get hold of government officials. Several expedition teams have arrived in Kathmandu, but are not able to move on, because they cannot get their equipment through customs without a climbing permit. Because of the current situation of unrest in Tibet, all visas for entry into this area have been cancelled.
The Nepal Mountaineering Association and other related associations are trying to solve the problem, and we will try to keep you updated of the situation.
The UIAA congratulates UIAA Ski-Mountaineering and the Swiss Alpine Club on the great success of the 4th Ski-Mountaineering World Championship, organised in Portes du Soleil in Switzerland. Working under difficult meteorological circumstances, a dedicated group of volunteers from the Swiss Alpine Club ran a series of events which concluded on Friday the 29th of February with the long distance race from Morgins to Champéry (24 km, + 3000 vertical meters for the men’s race.) In very harsh weather and snow conditions, the Gold, Silver and Bronze medallists managed to finish within three hours!
In the final Nations Medal ranking, the Italian team took 1st place, followed by the home team, Switzerland, and France. Check the Ski-Mountaineering section for full results.
The UIAA Board was in Portes du Soleil for a Board meeting arranged to co-incide with the World Championship. Mike Mortimer, the UIAA President was impressed with the athletes and with the quality of the organisation. “Congratulations to the ski mountaineers for organising such a tremendous event. I was particularly encouraged to see the truly international character with UIAA federations from all over the world, such as New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Chile and Argentina”, he said.
Given the high quality of the performance of the athletes and the level of organisation Mike believes that this sport is well positioned to meet the high standards of the IOC. “Ski Mountaineering is one of the most interesting of all mountain sports combining both athletic ability and mountaineering skills. It is hard not to be impressed with the vitality and the excitement surrounding the competition. Bravo to both the event host, the Swiss Alpine Club and also to the athletes,” he said.
Dawa Steven Sherpa, mountaineer and mountain guide, is dedicating his Eco Everest Expedition 2008 to “Sir Ed Hillary’s vision for the Khumbu and her people”. The purpose of the expedition is to raise awareness of the impact of climate change and melting glaciers in the Himalayas, with a special focus on glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) risk in the Khumbu region.
“During my successful climb of Mt. Everest in the spring of 2007 I saw and felt the real danger to lives and property posed by glacial lake outburst floods ” says Dawa Steven, managing director of Asian Trekking . “Although Mt. Everest is the highest peak in the world, awesome and imposing, she is still a fragile “Mother Goddess” in terms of global warming and GLOF.”
The Eco-Everest Expedition, which will take place in spring, will study the effects of global warming on the Imja glacier, which is upstream of the Everest Trail. The members will document the high risk to the people and the land in case of a glacial lake flood. Dawa Stephen also aims to raise funds for studies of the glacial lakes. The main partner of the expedition is the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). It also has the support of the United Nations Environment Program.
The Eco-Everest Expedition also wants to promote ethical climbing norms on Mount Everest. In connection with this, Dawa Stephen is inviting fellow mountaineers to make suggestions for “Climbing Codes of Conduct” for eco-friendly Mount Everest expeditions. The expedition members will test them in the field to see if they are possible to follow.
Ang Tshering Sherpa is president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association and founder of Asian Trekking. He has sent us the good news that pioneering Japanese scientists from Keio University, led by Prof. Hiromichi Fukui has set up remote controlled video surveillance equipment that will monitor Imja lake. “This surveillance system allows researchers to monitor changes in the lake in real time, allowing early warning systems in case of dangers and also help to further studies to reduce the dangers. These are the sort of research work that we hope to encourage and fund with the Everest Eco-Expedition in 2008.”, says Ang Tshering
Dawa Steven has been invited by the American Alpine Club to give a presentation as part of the Climatology: Climbers Documenting Climate Change. He will be talking about the Eco Everest Expedition on the 22nd February in Golden, Colorado.