Thread: Everest News

Forty years ago today Leszek Cichy and Krzysztof Wielicki completed the first winter ascent of the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest.Public domainForty years ago today Leszek Cichy and Krzysztof Wielicki completed the first winter ascent of the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest.
Supported by a 20-person strong team led by Andrzej Zawada the Polish duo climbed to the height of 8848 meters, despite the extreme wind, constantly changing weather conditions and the looming expiration of the entry permit, which was finally extended by the Nepalese authorities for two days.
Poles, who due to political reasons couldn’t easily travel abroad, were late to the race to summit the highest mountains in Himalayas. In the eighties, when it finally became possible, what was left was conquering the eight-thousander in winter – a feat many thought impossible.
Upon their return the two men were greeted as heroes.Tadeusz Zagoździński/PAP
In an interview with PAP Leszek Cichy said that the 1980 National Winter Expedition to Mount Everest was trying to conquer a myth, just as the first men who summited the mountain on May 29th, 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.
Cichy said: "They didn't know what the end of the road was like, and we didn’t know if we could handle the winter conditions.
“Not as Poles, not as Wielicki and Cichy, but simply as people. It was Hillary who said he couldn't imagine living above 7000m in winter. But faith pushed us up.”
Wielicki was the 101st and Cichy the 100th person to summit Mount Everest and the first to do it in winter.
He recalled the moment they spoke on the radio with the basecamp: “My first words were ‘Halo, Andrzej [Zawada – TFN], do you know where we are?’.
After their successful ascent, Leszek Cichy found a note left by alpinist Ray Genet who died on the way down.Public domain
“Then together we shouted into the handset ‘On top of Everest!’. We were so happy we succeeded. We were there on behalf of all the members of the team. Everyone gave their all.
“We spent 40 minutes on the top, leaving a rosary among other things.
“We took some stones with us and a piece of paper left by our predecessor, who summited the mountain in Autumn, American Ray Genet, who was killed during the descent. The content of the card began with the words: ‘For a good time call Pat...’”
To achieve overall success, the descent was even more important than the ascent. The supporting alpinists in lower camps had no idea of their condition and were avidly waiting for news.
Cichy and Wielicki were supported by a 20-person strong team led by Andrzej Zawada.Public domain
Many climbers who managed to reach the top would perish on their way down.
Cichy recalled: “We were going up using a different path than when we were going down, more sheltered from the wind.
“On our return we found the body of Hannelore Schmatz, a German woman who froze after summiting Everest in autumn 1979. American Ray Genet, whose body was never found, died with her as well.
“On the way to the top we found traces of their camp site. All this made a big impression on us and motivated us to get down as soon as possible. For the few days of the summit attack we exchanged maybe five sentences with Krzysztof.”
To this day Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy remain legends of Polish Himalayism.Jacek Bednarczyk/PAP
Reminiscing about their achievement 40 years later, the now 68-year-old Cichy said: “It initiated our Polish exploration of the Himalayas and a great era in the highest mountains.
“We were the first in the world to break through those barriers. It certainly influenced us too, but we treated it as something great for Poland.”
“I don't look at it as an individual achievement, but as a collective success. This is of great value.
“We finished what all the participants of the expedition worked for. (…) We showed that it’s possible to explore Himalayas at this time of the year. History proved that this is how the golden era of Polish winter Himalayism began.
“We were the first and very soon we summited six consecutive eight-thousandth peaks at this time of year,” added Wielicki.
Wielicki went on to become the fifth man to achieve the Crown of Himalayas – climbing all 14 mountains higher than eight thousand meters.Hryciów/PAP
To this day Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy remain legends of Polish Himalayism.
Wielicki went on to become the fifth man to achieve the Crown of Himalayas – climbing all 14 mountains higher than eight thousand meters.
He was also the first to summit Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse in the winter, apart from Mount Everest. To this day he is an active alpinist, leading Polish winter expeditions to K2.
Cichy is the first Pole to complete the Seven Summits challenge – climbing the highest mountains of each continent.
Cichy is the first Pole to complete the Seven Summits challenge – climbing the highest mountains of each continent.Bartłomiej Zborowski/PAP
Until now, only three climbers from Japan and two from South Korea have repeated Wielecki and Cichy’s achievement.
Poles remain the leaders of the winter climbing in Himalayas. Out of 14 eight-thousanders ten were summited for the first time in winter by Polish alpinists, including one with Italian Simone Moro.
Only K2 in Karakorum (8611 m), the second highest peak in the world, remains unconquered.

Nepal’s Department of Tourism is ready to issue climbing permits for autumn and is currently preparing safety procedures for tour operators and staff. Local outfitters, such as Tashi Lakpa’s Seven Summits Treks, will offer climbs of Everest-Lhotse, Manaslu, Makalu and Dhaulagiri. Meanwhile, Mingma G’s Imagine Nepal has set its sights on 7,140m Nemjung, should clients arrive. Nirmal Purja, currently in Chamonix, also announced Everest-Lhotse and Manaslu for anyone interested.

The problem is, it takes two shores to build a bridge. COVID-19 cases are still soaring in the Americas, Russia and the Middle East, and even Europe is busy trying to control new outbreaks while struggling with crippled economies. All around the world, countries are rife with unemployment. No wonder that Himalayan climbing has declined on everyone’s list of priorities.

In the Himalaya itself, the risk of contagion remains too high just to relax and enjoy the scenery. While Nepal’s figures are still moderate, neighboring India has the third highest number of cases worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.

Under such circumstances, international outfitters are cautious. “As much as I would love a return to normal, I’m not planning on sending any groups to Nepal for the post-monsoon,” Adventure Contultants‘ CEO Guy Cotter told ExplorersWeb. “For one, I’m afraid of accidentally introducing COVID to the Khumbu. The Khumbu is a perfect bubble that needs to stay closed until this pandemic is resolved.” Note that Adventure Consultants is based in New Zealand, one of the countries that has managed the pandemic most successfully.

Image copyrightEPAImage captionAng Rita Sherpa was given two Guinness World RecordsA prominent Nepalese mountaineer, who became the first person in the world to climb Mount Everest 10 times without bottled oxygen, has died aged 72.
Ang Rita Sherpa, popularly known as the Snow Leopard, first reached the summit of the world's tallest mountain in 1983.
His family said he died in the capital Kathmandu on Monday. He had brain and liver ailments.
His death was described as a major loss to Nepal and its climbing community.
In 2017, the Guinness World Records recognised Ang Rita as the only person in the world to have climbed Mount Everest 10 times without bottled oxygen, between 1983 and 1996. The record still stands.
He also achieved the first winter climb of the 8,848m (29,028ft) mountain without supplementary oxygen in 1987.
His skill at climbing earned him the nickname Snow Leopard.
Ang Rita also worked on conservation projects to protect the Himalayan environment and biodiversity.

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Fellow climbers paid tribute to him following news of his death on Monday.
"He was as active as snow leopards on the mountains and it was unique," Ang Teshring Sherpa, Nepal's veteran mountaineer and former president of Nepal Mountaineering Association told the BBC.
"That was why the mountaineering fraternity decided to accord him with this title [of Snow Leopard] as an honour."
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionAng Rita worked on conservation projects to protect the Himalayan environmentMountaineers said Ang Rita was an inspiration for climbers and Nepal's climbing training courses have also drawn from his experiences and skills.
"Our mountain tourism owes him big time," Santa Bir Lama, the current president of NMA, told the BBC.
Nepal's tourism department said his contribution to mountaineering would "always be remembered".
His body has been moved to a monastery in Kathmandu and he will be cremated later this week, reports say.
Descended from Tibetan heritage, the Sherpa community are an ethnic group, indigenous to the Himalayan region. But for many outside Nepal, the word "Sherpa" has become synonymous with those working as mountain guides.
Thousands of people have climbed to the peak of Mount Everest, but doing so without oxygen remains rare.