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Russian Everest North Face: Going above 7200
Apr 26, 2004 17: 30 EST
The most exciting expedition on Everest this spring, a crack Russian dream team on the center of the North Face are on a severe, technical climb to the left of the Hornbein/Japanese couloir. The guys are going straight up, on a clean and lofty face. The technical difficulty of the route along with the extreme altitude makes this one of the most difficult challenges in mountaineering.
So far it all has been good. The latest report had them setting a comfortable camp at 7200. The climbers have fixed ropes half up the route, but another 40 ropes are needed.
Past the avalanche prone snow field
They reached the big snow field, and are now facing the next difficult part - rocks starting from 7900 m.
The altitude they have reached is equivalent of Camp 3 on the Everest South side. This is where many climbers start using supplementary oxygen. At this altitude, nothing is easy. Just to get dressed in the morning, clip onto the ropes, or cook at night demands great deal of effort and focus.
That's what makes the Russians challenge so difficult. Their task is not to tie on their climbing boots. They must focus hard on where to fix the rope, the ice screws, and firn hooks. There are very few cracks in the rocks, so they use pickets.
Nowhere to rest
They move slowly and are stationary for long parts on the wall, adding to the risk of hypothermia while rocks are shooting at them from above. If they hit, each and every one of those stones will kill. If they loose their grip for a second, there is a free fall straight down the Face. What's more; they climb in those conditions step by step, for thousands of meters. Not once can they rest on the numerous flat areas between high camps granted the easier routes.
Kidding is over
The guys work hard and play hard. Earlier they said: "..we as the Soviet people will reject any dope preparations. We will have necessary analysis...we will work supported exclusively by a factory, 'Crystal' (the famous Vodka factory in Russia). It is our military secret. Let other people be tormented how much the Russian can drink on the Northern Face of Everest."
But The Russian North Face expedition is no joke anymore.
As for oxygen, the team plans to have it, and the decision hasn’t been made yet whether or not to use. The feeling we get from the team’s comments is that they’d rather not use it, but also realize they might have to use it and if told by the team’s leader to use it, they will.
The absolute highlight of the season
In an phone interview recently, Eugeny Vinogradsky said:
"Our route is via the center of the Wall, little left from the hang icefall. One of the problems is that we need to set Camp 1 about 6900, but there's absolutely no place for it. Another problem are the strong winds, dust and snow avalanches and the stones falling when the sun shines in the midday.
There's a big snow field just above our route, it could become avalanche prone if too much snow falls. So, the winds make our route safer in spite of the fact that it isn’t comfortable. The Wall appears more serious than we had expected..."
Commented Eberhard Jurgalski of AdventureStats:
"If they succeed, it would be the absolute highlight of the season! The two couloirs left and right are difficult enough, but the central pillar... I wish them all the luck they will need! Would be something like the 'North Face Direttissima'."
The 20-member team of Russian climbers is supported by the Russian Mountaineering Federation. Many of the climbers were members of the team that successfully summited the "last unclimbed 8000er" in the world - Lhotse Middle, spring 2001. The crew scouted the North Face already in May 2002, when they planned the line from BC. In a second scouting expedition in 2003 the climbers managed to climb via the center of the North Face up to 6800 meters. This year, it's a full go on the great Everest ascent.
Perhaps the most exciting expedition on Everest this spring will be the Russians. A crack team will be attempting Everest via the center of the North Face. This is a severe, technical climb to the left of the Hornbein/Japanese couloir. The guys are going straight up, on a clean and lofty face. The technical difficulty of the route along with the extreme altitude makes this one of the most difficult challenges in mountaineering.
The expedition is a Russian dream team. There are previous Everest summiteers, Golden Ice Axe winners, and many, many 8000m veterans. Koshelenko, who just made the first summit of Nuptse East will be on the team as well. The Russians also have a young 22 year old – Alexey Bukinich – Koshelenko pulled for him, and he made the team.
Image of the Russian North Face team around Camp 1, courtesy of RussianClimb.com
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