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Pumori winter attempt halted at crevasse
Jan 19, 2005 03: 56 EST
The beautiful - and often deadly – daughter of Everest has had a recent winter visit from Russia. A team of five climbers made a winter attempt on Pumori (7165m), in the Khumbu valley last week. The guys weren’t after an extreme winter challenge though. Much like Annapurna, the avalanche-prone Pumori could be safer in the coldest months and that was also the plan.
Winter conditions almost ideal for Pumori
Said the climbers prior to departure: “Winter weather conditions are almost ideal for climbing there. Clear weather usually holds until January, 18-20. It’s warm enough in the valleys and not terribly cold up at 7000m. The ascent routes are not too overloaded with snow and the strongest winds usually blow above 7000 m during winter in Himalaya.”
The Southeast ridge – easy when not dangerous
The climbers were clever when they chose their route: “The Southeast ridge is the easiest route on Pumori, but also very dangerous during the post-monsoon season, when ice tends to collapse from a cornice over the southeast ridge. We have chosen this route having in mind we will climb in winter. The risk of ice fall will be minimal due to low temperatures and a long absence of snowfalls during this period.”
The plan proved good. The weather remained stable while they fixed ropes and set a high camp at 6100 last week, and there were no reports of avalanches. They decided to set another camp at about 6500m and push to the summit.
3000 ft long crevasse
But unfortunately, the moody maid had other aces’ up her sleeve to chase away climbers from her slopes: A wide-open crevasse field forced the Russians to surrender.
Expedition leader Vladimir Belousov reported: “Somewhere around 6300 meters we were halted by a crevasse about one kilometer long and failed to get over it. Usually this crevasse is tight, but now it looked freshly open. Besides, Pavel was ill, and all of us were very tired. So we decided to descend.”
The team is already heading back home, while Vladimir intends to stay a while in the area to do some trekking. Team members were Vladimir Belousov, Pavel Dobrinsky, Ilya Rylsky, Dmitry Paramonov, and Vyacheslav Glebov.
"Unmarried Daughter" in Sherpa language, Pumori got her name by George Mallory, due to her location in the shade of Big E - eight km west, to be accurate. Since then, climbers sometimes refer to Pumori as "Everest's Daughter". It was first climbed in 1962 by Gerhard Lenser, member of a German-Swiss expedition.
Pumori stands at the top of the Khumbu valley, on the border between Nepal and Tibet. White and sweet as an ice cream cone, she poses a striking image before trekkers’ cameras, and a beautiful temptation to climbers’ ambitions.
The views from the summit are amazing: The high Tibetan plateau to one side, and the rugged shining peaks of Nepal to the other, plus perhaps the best panorama of Everest Western Cwm. In addition, the altitude of 7121 meters should make Pumori a good peak to climb as training for the big Eighthousanders. Some outfitter websites refer to Pumori as ‘The Easiest 7000er in Nepal’.
Sadly enough, Pumori's climbing history offers much less confidence. Although not technically difficult, Pumori is a dangerous mountain prone to avalanche, especially in the post-monsoon season.
Image of the route planned on Pumori, courtesy of Mountain.ru
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