Trip Reports

Lhakpa Ri/North Col - 30 Apr to 26 May '05

Written by Leader Ian Barker, June 2005

An enjoyable and exciting expedition to the roof of the world. The team assembled in the cosy setting of the Summit Hotel in Kathmandu, where last minute shopping and preparation was undertaken before a spectacular flight across the Himalayas (great views of Everest on the way), to the one-time forbidden city of Lhasa. One of the great things about spending 3 nights in Lhasa is not only does this aid acclimatisation, but provides a wonderful opportunity to visit some of the amazing sites of the Tibetan capital – high on the list was a memorable visit to the Potala Palace and a tour of the Drepung Monastery. No trip to Lhasa would be complete without walking the Pilgrims’ Route around the Jokhang. These first few days proved one of the cultural highlights of the trip. We then boarded our Toyota Land-Cruisers for an exciting 2 day journey across the Tibetan Plateau, staying in the ancient city of Shigatse along the way. Further acclimatisation was had by visiting the fortress town of Shegar, where we climbed to the uppermost battlements of the ruined Dzong (fort) to get our first views of the north-side of Everest. Next, we crossed the legendary Pang-la Pass (5,120m). Stretching before us under a powder blue sky was the mighty Himalaya with Everest taking centre stage – an amazing view from Kanchenjunga in the east all the way west along the Himalaya to Shishapangma.

No matter how many images you may have seen of the North Face of Everest, it never really prepares you for the first time you turn that corner into base camp and there before you is the huge sweeping North Face of Everest. If you had any breath left at this stage, it would certainly be taken away! Our acclimatisation at base camp was put to good use as team members practiced their abseiling skills and ran through the techniques needed for ascending the fixed ropes to the North Col. We also visited the Rongphu Monastery and took a walk up to what would be our Camp 1. The North Ridge summit team was in residence when we arrived at base camp, so our team benefited from their warm hospitality and shared in some of the excitement as the team prepared for its summit attempt.

Unfortunately, Douglas Smith and Bill Robinson had to leave the expedition at this point prematurely with suspected high altitude pulmonary edema.

Three days were spent making our way up the truly spectacular East Rangpu glacier before finally arriving at our advanced base (6,200m). 2005 was a busy year on the north side of Everest – we had to establish our ABC at what normally is the spring-board camp for Lhakpa Ri (this suited our Lhakpa-Ri team just fine.) There followed a consolidation period before we made an attempt on the North Col & Lhakpa-Ri on 20th May. There had been a light snowfall overnight and snow was still falling as we left for our summit attempt. By the time we reached the glacier, this had turned into bright sunshine as we hastily removed our excessive clothing for our steep ascent of the North Col. Five members of the team successfully reached the North Col (these were Chris Jagger, Peter Davidson, Alasdair Forman, Ian Rogers and David Farran), accompanied by the expedition leader, Ian Barker and Sangee (climbing Sherpa and Sirdar). John Doble made it to 6,900m, accompanied by Sibusiso from the summit team. Damien Knight turned back at the start of the fixed ropes due to illness. Gemma Knight and Alison Johnson both elected to stay at camp as they were feeling the strain of high altitude. Meanwhile on Lhakpa-Ri, Luigi Giacomelli accompanied by climbing Sherpas Wongchhu and Gyalchen successfully climbed to the summit. They were joined for part of their journey by David Hamilton and another member of the summit team. The team reported a sporting climb with a 50 degree knife-edge arête towards the summit. Back on the North Col, we were afforded a brief glimpse of Everest before the snow set in once again. Everyone made it back to camp before nightfall.

After a day’s recuperation at base camp and giving our best wishes to the summit team, we set off for yet another spectacular journey across the Tibetan plateau - this time following the Friendship Highway all the way back to Kathmandu. This journey in its own right is another eye-popping trip – in 14 hrs, you descend from the foot of Everest (5,200m) on the brown lifeless Tibetan plateau to the sub-tropical lush green valley of Kathmandu (1,300m). This trip is only made possible by following the Bhote Kosi river as it slashes it’s way through the Himalayas in what surely must be one of the most spectacular gorges in the world.

A truly wonderful expedition on 3 levels…

the amazing culture of Kathmandu and Lhasa.
following the historical route taken by the 1920’s Everest expedition.
an opportunity to climb on the highest mountain in the world and bear witness to some magnificent scenery.

An immensely satisfying & successful expedition enjoyed by all.

Ian Barker, expedition leader« Previous report | Next report »

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