Mountaineering: Tragedy on the Western Face of Makalu. Chronicle of events according to the Japanese expedition

Climbing participants

Commercial expedition “Mountain Madness”

For the necessary acclimatization in the mountains, members of the Mountain Madness expedition were supposed to fly from Los Angeles on March 23 to Kathmandu, and fly to Lukla (2850 m) on March 28. On April 8, the entire group was already in Base Camp. Unexpectedly for everyone, the group's guide, Neil Bidleman, developed a so-called “high altitude cough”. After Biddleman, other members of the expedition began to have health problems. Nevertheless, everyone carefully followed the “acclimatization schedule.” However, as it turned out later, Scott Fischer was in bad shape. physical fitness and took 125 mg of Diamox (Acetazolamide) daily.

Commercial expedition "Adventure Consultants"

Chronology of events

Belated rise

Climbing without the use of oxygen, Anatoly Boukreev reached the top first, at approximately 13:07. A few minutes later Jon Krakauer appeared at the top. After some time, Harris and Biddleman. Many of the remaining climbers did not reach the summit before 14:00 - the critical time when they must begin their descent to safely return to Camp IV and spend the night.

Anatoly Boukreev began to descend to Camp IV only at 14:30. By then, Martin Adams and Cleve Schoening had reached the summit, while Biddleman and the other members of the Mountain Madness expedition had not yet reached the summit. Soon, according to the observations of the climbers, the weather began to deteriorate; at approximately 15:00 it began to snow and it became dark. Makalu Go reached the summit at early 16:00 and immediately noticed worsening weather conditions.

The senior Sherpa in Hall's group, Ang Dorje, and the other Sherpas remained to wait for the other climbers at the summit. After about 15:00 they began their descent. On the way down, Ang Dorje spotted one of the clients, Doug Hansen, in the Hillary Steps area. Dorje ordered him to come down, but Hansen did not answer him. When Hall arrived on scene, he sent Sherpas down to help other clients while he stayed behind to help Hansen, who had run out of supplemental oxygen.

Scott Fisher did not reach the summit until 15:45, being in poor physical condition: possibly due to altitude sickness, pulmonary edema and exhaustion from fatigue. It is unknown when Rob Hall and Doug Hansen reached the top.

Descent during a storm

According to Boukreev, he reached Camp IV by 17:00. Anatoly was heavily criticized for his decision to go down before his clients. Krakauer accused Boukreev of being “confused, unable to assess the situation, and showing irresponsibility.” He responded to the accusations by saying that he was going to help the descending clients with further descent, preparing additional oxygen and hot drinks. Critics also claimed that, according to Boukreev himself, he descended with client Martin Adams, however, as it turned out later, Boukreev himself descended faster and left Adams far behind.

Bad weather made it difficult for the expedition members to descend. By this time, due to a snowstorm on the southwestern slope of Everest, visibility had deteriorated significantly, and the markers that had been installed during the ascent and indicated the path to Camp IV disappeared under the snow.

Fischer, who was helped by Sherpa Lopsang Jangbu, could not descend from the Balcony (at 8230 m) in a snowstorm. As Go later said, his Sherpas left him at an altitude of 8230 m along with Fischer and Lopsang, who also could no longer descend. In the end, Fischer convinced Lopsang to go down alone, leaving him and Go behind.

Hall radioed for help, reporting that Hansen had lost consciousness but was still alive. Adventure Consultants guide Andy Harris began the climb to the Hillary Steps at approximately 5:30 p.m., carrying a supply of water and oxygen.

Several climbers got lost in the South Col area. Mountain Madness members guide Biddleman, Schoening, Fox, Madsen, Pittman and Gammelgard, along with Adventure Consultants members guide Groom, Beck Withers and Yasuko Namba, were lost in the snowstorm until midnight. When they could no longer continue their journey from fatigue, they huddled together just 20 meters from the abyss at the Kanshung wall. Kangshung Face). Pittman soon began to experience symptoms of altitude sickness. Fox gave her dexamethasone.

Around midnight, the storm subsided, and the climbers were able to see Camp IV, which was located 200 m away. Biddleman, Groom, Schöning and Gammelgard went for help. Madsen and Fox remained with the group and called for help. Boukreev located the climbers and was able to bring out Pittman, Fox and Madsen. He was also criticized by other climbers because he gave preference to his clients Pittman, Fox and Madsen, while it was argued that Namba was already in a dying state. Boukreev didn’t notice Withers at all. In total, Boukreev made two trips to bring these three climbers to safety. As a result, neither he nor the other participants who were in Camp IV had the strength left to go after Namba.

However, Withers regained consciousness later that day and made it back to camp alone, much to the surprise of everyone at the camp, as he was suffering from hypothermia and severe frostbite. Withers was given oxygen and tried to warm him up, settling him in a tent for the night. Despite all this, Withers had to face the elements again when a gust of wind blew his tent away one night and he had to spend the night in the cold. Once again he was mistaken for dead, but Krakauer discovered that Withers was conscious and on May 12 he was prepared for emergency evacuation from Camp IV. Over the next two days, Withers was lowered to Camp II, part of the journey, however, he made on his own, and was later evacuated by rescue helicopter. Withers underwent a long course of treatment, but due to severe frostbite his nose was amputated. right hand and all the fingers of the left hand. In total, he underwent more than 15 operations, his back muscles were reconstructed thumb, and plastic surgeons restored the nose.

Scott Fisher and Makalu Go were discovered on May 11 by Sherpas. Fischer's condition was so serious that they had no choice but to make him comfortable and devote most of their efforts to saving Go. Anatoly Boukreev made another attempt to save Fischer, but only discovered his frozen body at approximately 19:00.

North slope of Everest

Indo-Tibetan Border Guard

Less known, but no less tragic, are 3 more accidents that occurred on the same day with climbers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Service climbing the Northern Slope. The expedition was led by Lieutenant Colonel Mohinder Singh. Commandant Mohinder Singh, who is considered to be the first Indian climber to conquer Everest from the North Face.

Initially, the indifference of the Japanese climbers stunned the Indians. According to the leader of the Indian expedition, “at first the Japanese offered to help in the search for the missing Indians. But a few hours later they continued to climb to the top, despite the deteriorating weather." The Japanese team continued climbing until 11:45. By the time the Japanese climbers began their descent, one of the two Indians was already dead, and the second was on the verge of life and death. They lost sight of the traces of the third descending climber. However, Japanese climbers denied that they had ever seen any dying climbers on the climb.

Captain Kohli, representative of the Indian Mountaineering Federation Indian Mountaineering Federation ), who initially blamed the Japanese, later retracted his claim that the Japanese had claimed to have met Indian climbers on May 10.

“The Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Service (ITBS) confirms the statement of members of the Fukuoka expedition that they did not leave Indian climbers without help and did not refuse to help in the search for the missing.” The managing director of ITPS stated that “the misunderstanding occurred due to communication interference between the Indian climbers and their base camp.”

Shortly after the incident, the twisted and frozen body of Tsewang Poljor was discovered near a small limestone cave at an altitude of 8500 m. Due to technical difficulties in evacuating the bodies of the dead, the body of the Indian climber still lies where it was first discovered. Climbers climbing the North Face can see the outline of the body and the bright green boots the climber wore. The term "Green Shoes" Green Boots ) soon became firmly established in the vocabulary of Everest conquerors. This is how the 8500 m mark on the North Slope of Everest is designated.

I was lucky to survive the storm of 1996 and lucky to move on with my life. The Indian climber was unlucky. But it could have been different. If this happened, I would want a fellow climber to work hard remove my body from the sight of other climbers, and protect me from birds... Original text(English) "I survived the big storm of 1996 and was fortunate enough to be able to get on with the rest of my life," the British climber told TNN. "The Indian climber was not. The roles could have so easily been reversed. If that had happened I would like to think that a fellow climber would take it upon themselves to move me away from the sight of passing climbers and to protect me from the birds."

Victims of the tragedy

Name	Citizenship	Expedition	Place of death	Cause of death
Doug Hansen (Client)	USA	Adventure Consultants	Southern slope
Andrew Harris (Tour Guide)	New Zealand		Southeast ridge, 8800 m	Unknown; presumably a fall on the descent
Yasuko Nambo (Client)	Japan		South Col	External influences (hypothermia, radiation, frostbite)
Rob Hall (Tour Guide)	New Zealand		Southern slope
Scott Fisher (Tour Guide)	USA	Mountain Madness	Southeast Ridge
Sergeant Tsewang Samanla		Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Force	Northeast Ridge
Corporal Dorje Morup
Senior Constable Tsewang Paljor

Event Analysis

Commercialization of Everest

The first commercial expeditions to Everest began to be organized in the early 1990s. Guides appear, ready to make any client’s dream come true. They take care of everything: delivering participants to the base camp, organizing the route and intermediate camps, accompanying the client and securing him all the way up and down. At the same time, conquering the summit was not guaranteed. In pursuit of profit, some guides take on clients who are not able to climb to the top at all. In particular, Henry Todd from the Himalayan Guides company argued that “...without blinking an eye, these leaders pocket a lot of money, knowing full well that their charges have no chance.” Neil Biddleman, a guide for the Mountain Madness group, admitted to Anatoly Boukreev even before the ascent began that “...half of the clients have no chance of reaching the summit; for most of them the ascent will end at the South Col (7900 m)."

The famous New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary had an extremely negative attitude towards commercial expeditions. In his opinion, the commercialization of Everest "offended the dignity of the mountains."

• American climber and writer Galen Rovell, in an article for the Wall Street Journal, called the operation carried out by Boukreev to rescue the three climbers “unique”:

On December 6, 1997, the American Alpine Club awarded Anatoly Boukreev the David Souls Prize, awarded to climbers who saved people in the mountains at risk to their own lives.

Literature

• Jon Krakauer In thin air = Into thin air. - M: Sofia, 2004. - 320 p. - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-9550-0457-2
• Bukreev A.N., G. Weston De Walt Climbing. Tragic ambitions on Everest = The Climb: Tragic ambitions on Everest. - M: MTsNMO, 2002. - 376 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-94057-039-9
• David Breashears"High Exposure, Epilogue". - Simon & Schuster, 1999.
• Nick Heil„Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season“. - Holt Paperbacks, 2007. - ISBN 978-0805089912- Nick Hale's book is dedicated to another tragically famous season on Everest, 2006

Makalu (Chinese: 马卡鲁山, Mǎkǎlǔ Shān - “Black Giant”) (8485 m) is the fifth highest eight-thousander in the world. Located in the eastern part of the Mahalangur Himal range, in the central Himalayas, on the border of Nepal with China (Tibet Autonomous Region), 22 km southeast of Everest.

It is one of the most difficult eight-thousanders to climb; less than 30% of expeditions achieve success.

Despite the fact that Mount Makalu was well known to Europeans since the second half of the 19th century, the first attempts to climb it only date back to the mid-1950s. This fact is largely explained by the fact that the vast majority of expeditions visiting the Mahalangur Himal mountain region, in which the eight-thousanders Qomolungma, Lhotse and Makalu are located, had as their goal the conquest of the highest peak of the world, while its less famous neighbors were for a long time “in the shadows” and Until a certain time, they did not attract wide attention from the world mountaineering community.

The massif consists of 2 peaks exceeding 8 km in height:

From Everest and Lhotse, the northwestern peak of Kangchungtse (7678 m), also known as Makalu II, is also clearly visible.

Chronology of ascents to the Makalu mountain peak

To date (2015), 17 different routes have been laid to the top of Makalu:

1954 - In the spring, the American expedition of the California Mountaineering Club makes its first attempt to climb the summit along the Southeast Ridge. The height of 7060 m was reached. In the autumn of the same year, a group of French climbers visited the Makalu area, whose goal was to explore the northern slopes of the mountain in order to organize a serious expedition next year. The height of 7880 m was reached on the Northern ridge.

1955 - In the spring, a strong French expedition led by Jean Franco achieves success, reaching the summit along the northern route explored in the fall of the previous year. On May 15-17, in three groups, a total of 9 people climb to the top - all members of the expedition and the sirdar (leader of the Sherpa group).

1970 - The Japanese expedition makes the second ascent of Makalu, climbing the Southeast Ridge through the Southeast Summit (following the route of the 1954 American expedition).

1971 - A French expedition led by R. Parago climbs to the top along a technically very difficult route - the Western Ridge. The ascent took place in extremely unfavorable weather conditions.

1975 - The Yugoslav expedition in the fall lays out a new route to the top, climbing a route that has never been climbed by anyone before South wall. One of the expedition's climbers: Marjan Manfreda climbed to the top for the first time without using oxygen cylinders.

1976 - The Czechoslovak expedition climbs the Southwestern ridge through the Southeastern peak.

1986 - Reinhold Messner reaches the summit of Makalu.

1997 - Russian expedition reaches the summit via the Western Face for the first time. This is technically the most difficult of all the routes currently constructed to the top of Makalu.

Participants:

• team captain - Salavat Khabibullin (died near the summit),
• Igor Bugachevsky (died on the descent),
• Alexey Bolotov,
• Nikolay Zhilin,
• Yuri Ermachek,
• Dmitry Pavlenko,
• expedition leader - Sergey Efimov,
• coach - Alexander Mikhailov.

The ascent was recognized as the best mountaineering climb of the year and was awarded the international Golden Ice Ax award.

2001 - Southeast ridge, Ukrainian pioneer Terzyul, Vladislav Alexandrovich; in 2004 he died while descending from Makalu.

2009 - February 9, the team of Simone Moro (Italy) and Denis Urubko (Kazakhstan) conquers Makalu in winter for the first time. This is the last of the nine Himalayan eight-thousanders climbed in winter.

2010 - On May 24, three climbers, members of the mountaineering club of the city of Sumy (Ukraine), Sergei Bublik, Vladimir Roshko and Dmitry Venslavovsky, as part of the national expedition “Ukraine-Makalu 2010” climbed Makalu. Their journey to the top took almost 2 months; the expedition arrived in Nepal on March 28, 2010. The ascent of the Sumy residents to Makalu is a first ascent, since no one has ever climbed this mountain along the South-Western ridge before them.

2014 - May 25, 16-year-old American Matt Moniz became the world's youngest climber to climb Makalu.

March-May 1997

This climb was awarded a prize
"GOLDEN ICE AX-1997"
for the best climb of the year in the world.

Some details about the death of the guys:

On May 21, at 6 a.m., the guys reported on the radio that they were going to storm the summit. I asked them how the night went and how you were feeling? Salavat was in touch and replied that it was normal, but he really wanted to sleep. The climbers spent the night, three people each, in two tents at a distance of 50 meters from each other at an altitude of 8150 m. Salavat went to the top tent and found out if they were going out, then returned to his tent.

At 7 o'clock in the morning the first people began to leave the tents. Salavat was the first to get out, but then returned to the tent and said that he would come out later, since his feet were frozen and he wanted to rest a little more. The remaining route was quite simple, so the climbers left when they were ready and moved upward at their own pace. Alexey Bolotov later noted that when he reached 8350m. (rocky step of the pre-summit ridge), he looked down and saw that Salavat had left the tent. Nikolai Zhilin was the first to descend from the top. It was he who found Salavat dead, leaning against a stone in the pose of a resting man who was climbing up, about 150 meters from the tent. He no longer had any signs of life. It was not possible to transport the body, given physical condition climbers and altitude. Having contacted the base camp by radio, they decided to bury Salavat where he died. The guys lifted it two meters higher onto a shelf, covered it with snow and covered it with stones. This took about 2.5 hours. Already in the dark they reached their tents.

In the morning next day The climbers managed to get ready and leave the tents only around 11 o’clock in the afternoon. Taking one tent with them, they moved down. We watched their descent from ABC through binoculars and saw that one pair was far behind. On the radio station, Bolotov said that Igor Bugachevsky fell on a rock while descending and injured his rib. He began to move with difficulty. The group had one oxygen cylinder and Igor was given a chance to breathe, after which he walked faster. On that day, May 22, the five descended to an altitude of 6650m. and got up for the night. Igor breathed oxygen all night and felt quite well in the morning.

On May 23, Nikolai Zhilin was the first to go down and by 4 o’clock in the evening he went down to the bergschrund, where he was met by A. Mikhailov and A. Belkov, who had gone up there the day before to help the guys go down. Kolya was sure, as he later said, that all the guys would go down to the Bergschrund, but by that time Yura Ermachek and Igor had only reached a height of 7300 (Camp 5), and Pavlenko and Bolotov were even higher. At this moment, Yura Ermachek drops his backpack, which contained a sleeping bag, a down jacket, gas cylinders and some food. Then he decides not to stop at 7300m, but to try to descend to 6500m. to Bergschrund (there were two tents there, protected by a large snow cornice from rockfalls and avalanches, there was food there, they were waiting there). Yura descended to 6500 at 10 pm. Troika Bugachevsky - Bolotov - Pavlenko spent the night at 7300m.

On May 24, at 8 o’clock in the morning they had already begun to move downwards. Pavlenko and Bugachevsky moved very slowly. When Bolotov descended to 6500m. Andrei Belkov began to climb up the wall to give Pavlenko and Bugachevsky hot tea. There were stones from above and he decided to wait for the guys, taking cover under the overhanging rocky cornices. Pavlenko had already descended into the bergschrund, but Igor still remained in one place and did not move. Andrei then decided to go up to him and find out what happened. When Andrei reached Igor, he saw that he was hanging dead on the ropes. The left temporal part was pierced by a stone. Apparently, the stone hit him in the head when he was unfastening one of his fixed rope at the other and did not look up. He was not wearing a helmet, although the guys claimed that he went down wearing a helmet. Stones continued to fall from above, and Andrei realized that he too could stay there forever. All he managed to do was lower the body to the nearest rock shelf and secure the body with a rope. The warming of recent days has caused heavy rockfalls along the entire wall. It became extremely dangerous to stay there. We had to go down.

American climber Scott Fisher, who was the first to conquer the fourth highest peak in the world, Lhotse, founded the Mountain Madness company back in the 1980s, which offered its clients climbs to the highest mountains in the world. In the 1990s, Fischer's company began offering tourists the conquest of the world's highest peak, Everest.
Among the high-altitude guides who worked with Fischer was his friend, Soviet mountaineer Anatoly Boukreev.
A native of the Chelyabinsk region, Bukreev became interested in conquering mountains in his youth. During his student years, he exchanged the low mountains of the Urals for the “four thousand meters” of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
After graduating from the Chelyabinsk Pedagogical University, Bukreev, for whom mountaineering becomes his life’s work, moved closer to the mountains, settling on the “Mountain Gardener” state farm near Alma-Ata.
In 1987, 29-year-old Anatoly Boukreev made a high-speed solo ascent to Lenin Peak and was one of the most promising young Soviet climbers.
In 1989, he successfully passed the selection for the Second Soviet Himalayan Expedition. On April 15, 1989, in the group of Valery Khrishchaty, Bukreev conquered his first eight-thousander - Kanchedzhanga Middle. A few days later, for the first time in the world, he makes a traverse of the four peaks of the eight-thousander Kanchenjunga in a group. After this expedition, Anatoly Bukreev was awarded the Order “For Personal Courage”.
From 1989 to 1997, Boukreev made 21 successful ascents of the eight-thousanders of the Himalayas, conquering 11 of the 14 mountains existing on the planet with a height of over 8000 meters. He will climb to the top of Everest three times.
After the collapse of the USSR, a native of the Urals accepted the citizenship of Kazakhstan - not for political reasons, but out of the same desire to be closer to the mountains.
His professional authority is growing rapidly. In 1995, a mass ascent to the 4010-meter Abai peak took place in Kazakhstan. Among the participants in the ascent was the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. Bukreev became the personal guide of the head of state - only to the professional himself high level could be trusted with the life of the president.
Anatoly Boukreev belonged to the elite club of eight-thousander climbers who climbed without the use of oxygen cylinders.
Scott Fisher, inviting Boukreev to work at Mountain Madness, knew that he could rely on this man.
Bukreev's only drawback was that he had poor command of English. However, this did not frighten Fischer - he believed that he could cope with all the conversations himself.
Journey to the “roof of the world”
In addition to Fischer and Boukreev, the Mountain Madness expedition that set off to conquer Everest in 1996 also included the less experienced high-altitude guide Neil Bidleman, a group of Sherpas who acted as porters and guides, and eight clients ranging in age from 33 to 68 years.
At the same time as Mountain Madness, an expedition from the Adventure Consultants company, led by New Zealand climber Rob Hall, was preparing to conquer Everest. His group included two guides, Sherpas, as well as eight clients, including the American journalist Jon Krakauer, who would play a rather unsavory role in this story.
In both groups, among the clients there were those who had fairly serious mountaineering training, and those whose experience was minimal.
On April 8, the Mountain Madness expedition arrived at the base camp at the foot of Everest. Many members of the group developed various ailments, including Fischer himself and guide Nick Bidleman. Nevertheless, preparations for the ascent continued.
“I don’t like the way things are going.”
On April 13, members of the expedition set up the first high-altitude camp at an altitude of 6100 meters. Preparations for further advancement went on as usual, but on April 19, members of the expedition discovered the remains of a deceased climber on the mountainside. Experienced professionals are accustomed to such a spectacle, but the clients of Mountain Madness were very embarrassed by this.
On April 26, the leaders of several expeditions at once - Scott Fisher (Mountain Madness), Rob Hall (Adventure Consultants), Todd Burleson (Alpine Climbing), Ian Woodall (Sunday Times Expeditions from Johannesburg) and Makalu Go ( Taiwan Expedition) - decided to combine their climbing efforts and jointly hang ropes from “Camp 3” to “Camp 4”.
On the way to Camp 3, Mountain Madness suffered its first loss in its lineup. 45-year-old Dale Cruz, a friend of Scott Fischer who had no experience in high-altitude climbing, felt unwell and was sent back. Cruz made another attempt to continue the ascent, but after another deterioration in his health, he was finally sent down.
Fischer was alarmed - the preparation and well-being of his clients turned out to be worse than he had expected, moving from camp to camp took too much time. The date of the proposed assault on the summit had to be postponed several times.
To his colleague Henry Todd of the Himalayan Guides, Fisher said as he led his group up, “I’m afraid for my people. I don't like the way things are going."

Ascension time cannot be changed
On May 9, Fischer and Boukreev took clients to “Camp 4,” located at an altitude of about 7,900 meters. Members of the “Adventure Consultants” expedition also went there, as well as several other groups - the total number of people heading to the high-altitude camp reached 50 people.
In the area of ​​Camp 4 they were met with bad weather. “It was truly a hellish place, if only hell can be so cold: an icy wind, the speed of which exceeded 100 km/h, raged on the open plateau, empty oxygen cylinders, abandoned here by participants of previous expeditions, were lying everywhere,” Anatoly Boukreev later said.
This situation confused many expedition members who wanted to postpone the ascent again. However, Scott Fisher and Rob Hall, after consulting, announced that the assault on the summit would begin on the morning of May 10.
Shortly after midnight, the Adventure Consultants, Mountain Madness, and Taiwan Expedition teams began their ascent to the summit.
According to the plan of the expedition leaders, the climb to the top should have taken from 10 to 11 hours.
Deadly lateness
On this day, more than three dozen people climbed to the top of Everest at once, which made the route too busy. In addition, the ropes on the route were not fixed in time, which took several extra hours from the ascent participants.
At about 6 am, the first participants in the ascent reached the so-called “Balcony” - an area at an altitude of over 8500 meters, where, due to extreme cold and lack of sufficient oxygen, a person can only stay for a strictly limited time. At the same time, the chain of climbers was seriously stretched - those lagging behind were simply not ready for such loads.
In addition, it turned out that the rope railings going to the southern peak of Everest (8748 meters) were not ready, and another hour was spent fixing this problem.
There were only 100 meters left to the main peak of Everest, the weather was sunny and clear, but many of the climbers decide to turn back. That's what Adventure Consultants clients Frank Fishbeck, Lou Kozicki, Stuart Hutchinson and John Taske did.
At 13:07, Anatoly Bukreev was the first to reach the main peak of Everest that day. A few minutes later, journalist Jon Krakauer also went up there.
According to strict rules for climbing Everest, the climb must stop at 14:00, regardless of how far the participants are from the summit. The later start of the descent makes it extremely unsafe.
In reality, members of both groups continued to rise to the top, which put them in a difficult situation.
Lost in a snowstorm
At 14:30 Anatoly Boukreev began his descent to Camp 4. The experienced climber understood that the return from the summit would be difficult for the climbers. In this situation, he decided to get to the camp, prepare additional oxygen cylinders and go out to meet those descending. Their experienced leaders remained in the groups, so clients were not left to their own devices.
By 15:00 the weather began to deteriorate and snow began to fall. However, even in the approaching darkness, exhausted people, in violation of all safety rules, continued to try to get to the top.
The last of those about whom there is reliable information to rise to the top is the head of Mountain Madness, Scott Fisher. This happened at 15:45, almost two hours after the deadline for returning.
A snow storm blocked the way down for the returning climbers. The markers indicating the way to the life-saving “Camp 4” were swept away.
Adventure Consultants CEO Rob Hall remained in the area of ​​the so-called Hillary Steps (8,790 meters) where one of his clients, Doug Hansen, collapsed. Hall radioed the camp, where Andy Harris came to his aid.
One for all
More than a dozen participants in the ascent, having never reached “Camp 4,” wandered around in a snowstorm, no longer counting on rescue. They huddled together, hoping to wait out the bad weather. As it turned out later, just 20 meters away from them there was an abyss that they had not noticed, so the climbers were on the verge of death, literally and figuratively.
At this time, another drama was playing out at Camp 4. Anatoly Bukreev, moving from tent to tent, persuaded the climbers to come out to help people in trouble. The answer to him was silence - no one wanted to go to certain death.
And then the Russian climber went alone with a supply of oxygen for the dying.
Over the next few hours, he managed to discover and lead to Camp 4 three completely exhausted, barely alive people - Charlotte Fox, Sandy Pittman and Tim Madsen.
Several more people from two groups managed to independently reach the camp when the snow storm subsided a little.
Last call
At about five in the morning Rob Hall contacted the camp. He said Harris, who came out to help them, reached them but later disappeared. Doug Hansen has died. Hall himself could not cope with the iced-up oxygen tank regulator.
A few hours later Hall last time got in touch. He called his wife via satellite phone from base camp to say goodbye. Frostbitten hands and feet left him no chance of salvation. Shortly after this call, he died - his body was found 12 days later.

Himalayan addiction

“Do you know what farewell phrase I like the most? Not “Goodbye!” or dry as the Sahara “Bye!”, but “Take care of yourself,” Maksut Zhumayev, captain of the Kazakhstan mountaineering team, confesses. “Take care of yourself” - two words , but perhaps they will make it a little warmer at the altitude where planes fly.”

The height of the Himalayan peak Makalu is 8475 meters. A phrase from one of the semi-fantastic American films about mountaineering immediately comes to mind: “They don’t die in the mountains. They simply don’t live there.” Makalu is the fifth highest eight-thousander on Earth. Six Kazakhstanis complicate the task of climbing for themselves: they will climb the mountain not along the classic route, but along the Western Ridge. This path to the summit was paved in 1971 by French climbers under the leadership of Robert Parago. A three-kilometer rocky ridge open to all winds rises into the sky. The spectacle, to put it mildly, is not for the faint of heart. Seven Kazakhstanis will see it firsthand: team coach, Everest climber Ervand Ilyinsky and expedition members - Maksut Zhumaev, Vasily Pivtsov, Damir Molgachev, Sergei Brodsky, Alexander Rudakov and Artem Rychkov.

- Mountaineering is self-destruction, you go at critical speeds, - a climber of seven eight-thousanders shares his thoughts Maksut Zhumaev. - I think none of us knew what awaited him when he took his first steps in mountaineering. Now you just can't quit. Although... Although I do not exclude the possibility of leaving. You just need to do it on time.

Maksut Zhumaev began mountaineering at what he calls a mature age - at the age of 20, after the army. His work experience is seven years. Seven years - seven eight-thousanders conquered. “Zhuma,” as he is called in the team, bought a backpack for one hundred dollars and went on a trek to Issyk-Kul, the leader of which was the famous Kazakh climber, conqueror of six eight-thousanders, Yuri Moiseev. During the campaign, Maksut was a porter of cargo for foreign clients. Kazakh “porters” received ten dollars a day.
- There I received the nickname “transparent”. He was terribly thin, and carried about thirty kilograms in his backpack. Such a big backpack and thin legs,” Maksut laughs. - But on the second campaign they gave me a different nickname - monster.

This year, five experienced climbers left the team at once. Denis Urubko, together with the Italian Simone Moro, went on an expedition to another eight-thousander - Annapurna. Sergei Lavrov and Alexey Raspopov, athletes of the international mountaineering camp "Khan Tengri", have decided to take a break for now. Vasily Litvinov “gave up” with big mountaineering due to health problems and is trying to start new life at optimal heights for the body. Dmitry Chumakov also wants to find himself in ordinary life.

- Yes, five people left,” says the head coach of the national team, Ervand Ilyinsky. - But the composition that I have today is no worse than what it was. And may God grant those who left to walk as before.

One of the leading roles in the updated team will belong to the conqueror of three peaks above eight thousand meters. Damir Molgachev. He turned 29 in January. Now he is the oldest in the team. In his youth, Damir loomed brilliant career water polo player He knows firsthand the leaders of today’s Kazakhstan water polo team - the champions Asian Games Ivan Zaitsev, Evgeny Zhilyaev, Alexander Shvedov. But the love for the mountains still turned out to be stronger.
“I didn’t go to Kanchenjunga in 2002 in my best style,” recalls Damir. - Somewhere at an altitude of 7800 I saw blood in my saliva. Either pneumonia was starting, or my throat was hurt by the cold, dry air. On the day of the summit assault, I fell far behind Lavrov and Raspopov. I met them when they were going down. The guys said that there were still at least two and a half hours to the top. Fearing that I wouldn’t make it before dark, I made a crazy forced march - I ran in 50 minutes. Then I didn’t believe it myself. I quickly “lowered” the altitude, descending to base camp, and the sore throat went away.

The team's biggest fears are related to the weather. Lucky or unlucky? Will the sky allow the mountain to rise or will it rain down tons of rain on the climbers? If the weather in the Himalayas is not so good this spring, the guys will go to Makalu along an easier route. Main principle- do not risk lives where it is not necessary. And in general it’s better not to take risks...

The intuition of mountain climbers is a mysterious thing. In August 2001, the team conquered Hidden Peak in Pakistan. Usually, if they have any strength left, mountain climbers try to descend as quickly as possible to the base camp, where it is warmer and there is more oxygen in the air. This time no one wanted to go down to the first camp. And, as it turned out, not in vain. At night, empty tents fell into a ten-meter crack. They would not have died, but they would have been injured, the climbers say.

Artem Rychkov- the youngest in the team. He is 24 years old and Makalu will be Artem’s first eight-thousander in his career. Rychkov worked for several years to be included in the national team. So far, the newcomer has won and won prizes in races to the Amangeldy and Nursultan peaks in the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains, Khan Tengri in the Tien Shan.
- A trip to the Himalayas can be compared to being on Olympic Games, says Artem. - Only there you can test yourself. There is absolutely no fear. The team consists of professionals who can teach me a lot. Well, I want to be useful to the team.

Climber to Kanchenjunga Sergei Brodsky recalls returning from the first expedition in his life. Most of all in life I wanted real fried meat and champagne. None of the guys could just look at freeze-dried foods and Chinese noodles.
- I really wanted champagne. And we drank it. In the morning, as soon as we arrived in Almaty. In the film, it’s the aristocrats and degenerates who drink champagne in the morning,” Sergei laughs. - Climbers returning from the Himalayas can also have a drink.

There are a total of 14 peaks on the planet, the height of which exceeds eight thousand meters. The Kazakhstan team is moving toward the completion of the Earth's Fourteen Eight-Thousanders program, which began in the early 1990s. Makalu should become the eleventh in a row. This Friday, six climbers and their coach will board a plane and a few hours later will see the Himalayas. Some for the first time, and some for the fourth, fifth, or tenth time. Just don't tell them "Goodbye!" Guys, take care of yourselves.

Olga Koscheeva, Almaty

The Magnificent Seven travel to the Himalayas again

On April 9, the CSKA mountaineering team, led by head coach Ervand Ilyinsky, flies to the Himalayas. Six mountain climbers intend to climb the fifth highest peak in the world - the eight-thousander Makalu (8475 m). The team consists of Maksut Zhumaev, Vasily Pivtsov, Damir Molgachev, Sergei Brodsky, Alexander Rudakov and Artem Rychkov.
The team chose the difficult route to Makalu along the Western Ridge. The 3-kilometer-long rock ridge was first climbed by a French team led by Robert Parago in 1971.

To work on the route, you need not only high-altitude, but also good rock training, says the head coach of the Kazakhstan mountaineering team, Honored Coach of the USSR Ervand Ilyinsky. v We held several training camps, focusing on climbing in the technical class. I think the team is ready to climb Makalu.

This year the team is going to the Himalayas with an updated composition. Who are new to the team?

- Alexander Rudakov and Artem Rychkov. Rychkov is the youngest athlete on the team, he is 24 years old. I noticed it last year. Artem won races to the peaks of Amangeldy and Nursultan several times. Took fourth place in the Khan Tengri race during the Second International Festival in 2003. Alexander Rudakov has already climbed the northern face of Khan Tengri Peak in 2000, and this is a serious test.

Who will work in front, doing the main work on the route?

All athletes without exception will have to hang the railings. This is why I prepared them. Of course, people have more high-altitude experience Vasily Pivtsova(6 eight-thousanders, two attempts to climb K2), Maksuta Zhumaeva(seven eight-thousanders), Damira Molgacheva(three eight-thousanders).

The success of climbing the Himalayan peaks largely depends on the weather -

I talk about this before every expedition. Last year, due to snowfall and high avalanche danger, we abandoned climbing to the top of K2 in Karakoram. The success of the expedition to Makalu will also depend on weather conditions. Let's hope we get lucky!..

They say that in the summer you intend to repeat your attempt to conquer K2.

I can’t say anything specific about this. Let's find the means v will be ascending.

The CSKA mountaineering team will return from the expedition in early June. If successful, Makalu will become the eleventh mountain on the list of eight-thousanders conquered by Kazakhstanis.
It is worth noting that if it were not for the sponsors, the expedition would hardly have taken place. The team thanks

• Kazakhstani mountain club
• Inter RAOEES
• Central Stadium
• CSKA
• Kesertke
• Kazakhstan Kagazy
• Becker
• SOHO
• Rick
• Clinic of Dr. Mikhailov
• Adani
• Face.

OUR HELP.
Kazakhstan national mountaineering team.

Supervisor Sports Club Army (CSKA) Major General Pavel Maksimovich Novikov. Head coach - Ervand Ilyinsky. Honored coach of the USSR and the Republic of Kazakhstan, Honored Master of Sports, senior mountaineering coach of CSKA MO RK, awarded the Orders of "Badge of Honor", "Friendship of Peoples", "Otan". Member of the First Soviet expedition to Everest (1982), climber to Everest (1990), Aconcagua ( South America, 1998), McKinley ( North America, 2001), Vinson (Antarctica, 2002), Kilimanjaro (Africa, 1998). Vasily Pivtsov, 28 years old, biology student, super-professional in mountaineering. Works confidently on any terrain. 6 8000m peaks: Hidden (2001), Gasherbrum 2 (2001), Kanchenjunga (2002), Shisha Pangma (2002), Nanga Parbat (2003), Broad Peak (2003) G.). 10 years of mountaineering experience. The first coach is Anatoly Zubenko. Damir Molgachev, 29 years old, coach of the young CSKA team. 3 ascents to eight-thousanders: Hidden (2001), Gasherbrum-2 (2001), Kanchenjunga (2002). I worked a significant part of Kinshofer's route to Nanga Parbat, but was forced to descend without the summit due to the onset of pneumonia. 10 years of mountaineering experience. The first coach is Vadim Khaibullin. Maksut Zhumaev, 27 years old, lawyer. 7 ascents of eight-thousanders: Shisha Pangma (2000), Hidden (2001), Gasherbrum 2 (2001), Kanchenjunga (2002), Shisha Pangma (2002), Nanga Parbat (2003) g.), Broad Peak (2003). Experience in mountaineering for 7 years. First coach Lyudmila Savina. Sergei Brodsky, 26 years old. 1 ascent of the eight-thousander Kanchenjunga (2002). Experience in mountaineering for 7 years. The first coach is Lyudmila Savina. He has phenomenal physical properties. Winner of the Belukha speed race in 2002 (6 hours 06 minutes). In August 2003 at 2 International festival Khan-Tengri, during the speed race on Khan, was the first to rise to the top mark of the route (7800), completely trodden the path along which the rest of the participants ran after him. He had every chance to become the winner, but... the finish line was cut off at the base camp, and Sergei was in no hurry to go down, believing that the finish line was cut off at the top, as usual during CSKA races. Alexander Rudakov, 29 years old. Expedition debutant. Experience in mountaineering for 9 years. The first coach is Vadim Khaibullin. (Photo by Vasily Litvinov, 2002) Artem Rychkov, 24 years old. Expedition debutant. Experience in mountaineering - 5 years. The first coach is Yuri Gorbunov. Photos - Russianclimb, Almaty, March 2004.

Climbing the Kazakhstan team within the framework of the program "Fourteen Highest Peaks of the Planet."
Dhaulagiri, 1991 (Head - E. Ilyinsky).
Manaslu, 1995 (Head - K. Valiev).
Cho-Oyu, 1996 (Head - K. Valiev).
Everest, 1997 (Trainer-leader - E. Ilyinsky).
Hidden, 2001 (Head - E. Ilyinsky).
Gasherbrum-2, 2001 (Head - E. Ilyinsky).
Kanchenjunga, 2002 (Head - E. Ilyinsky).
Shisha-Pangma, 2002 (Head - E. Ilyinsky).
Nangaparbat, 2003 (Leader - B. Zhunusov, coach - E. Ilyinsky).
Broad peak, 2003 (Leader - B. Zhunusov, coach - E. Ilyinsky).

K2, Annapurna, Makalu, and Lhotse remained unconquered.

Memoirs of participants of Kazakh expeditions about previous ascents of eight-thousanders:

Denis Urubko "Everest Diary"March 2002, after the first attempt at the Lhotse-Everest traverse (was published on the website Mountain.cit.kz, now closed)

Denis Urubko Fragments of the diary of the second Lhotse-Everest expedition May 2001, after the expedition

Vasily Litvinov "Gasherbrum Diary""autumn 2001

Denis Urubko "Nanga Parbat" November 2003