April 1999 |
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April-May-June
1999
1. THE RIDGES the North-East Ridge: a single ridge running down from the summit to 8 400 m, it divides into two separate ridges at this altitude. One plunges to the North-East towards the Raphu-la Col at 6 548 m, ("la" in Tibetan means "col"). This was the successful route taken by the Chinese in 1975 when they stayed at the summit for more than an hour to carry out various scientific experiments. The other ridge descends in the North as far as Chang-la (7 066 m). This is the route taken by the British mountaineers during their reconnaissance and exploratory expeditions before the war. the West Ridge: extending for more than five kilometres as far as Lho-la (6 026m), this is the steepest ridge on Everest. It was climbed successfully for the first time by a group of Yugoslavs in 1979, hence its name of "the Yugoslav route". the South-East Ridge: this is the shortest route of all. In fact, it only 'takes off' from the South Col, at 7 896 m. This is the route taken by Hillary and Tenzing, during their triumphant climb in 1953. No doubt because it presents no major technical difficulties, the South-East ridge is the route taken most often to reach the summit. 2. THE FACES OR SLOPES the North Face: rises for nearly 3 000 metres from the immense Rongbuk glacier, 6 100 m, (famous for the strange landscape formed by the seracs that burst upwards from the ground in great numbers, as though it were a giant column of pilgrims). To date, this face features two routes with a number of variants: the Australian route (opened in 1984) via the Great Corridor, and the Japanese route (opened in 1980) which takes the Hornbein corridor in its final part. This is the route chosen by the Belgian Mount Everest 91 expedition. the South-West Face: this dominates the western combe and the Khumbu glacier (classic route via Nepal). It is a really sheer wall that is very abrupt and consists mainly of rock, presenting difference in height of nearly 2 000 metres. This is where the more technical routes are to be found: the route opened up by the expedition led by Christian Bonington (1975) and the central pillar of the Russians (taken successfully in 1982). the East Face: this is the most mysterious of the faces and is virtually unexplored. It rises above the extraordinary Kangshung glacier. A single, very difficult route was opened up on this face by the Americans in 1983.
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