Trip Reports

The North Col of Everest - 7 Apr to 3 May 04

Written by Leader, September 2004

An absolutely excellent trip was had by all, the weather was kind to us and we all made the summit in good style. On the 26th of April, Tim Metcalfe, Dave Webber, Wolfram Littich and leader Joe Gittins stood on the North Col of Everest after a five hour ascent from advanced base camp, jummaring up the head wall in hot, sunny weather.

From Kathmandu, the flight to Lhasa was short and we were blessed with awesome views of the Everest range. After a few days in Lhasa and a visit to the amazing Potala Palace, we crossed the impressive Tibetan plains. Stopping at Shigatse and Xegar and we were lucky enough to sample some local fried sheep lung and Yak butter tea!

At base camp the views were fabulous, Everest was magnificent, standing at the end of the valley, dominating the skyline. The walk up the Magic Highway was breathtaking, with huge ice pinnacles towering above us. At advanced base camp (6,450m), we finally got to see our objective, the head wall and the North Col.

After a few days of acclimatising and eating lots of chocolate, we set off in strong sun and heat and five hours later stood on the Col. After a relatively quick descent we had our well deserved rest and two nights later we celebrated in style, at the border town of Zangmu. After an exciting journey down through the deep cut valleys, we were back in Kathmandu, sunbathing, eating great food, shopping and drinking lots of beer!

Joe Gittens, Expedition Leader « | »

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