Everest 1996, disaster year on Big E
My first expedition to Mount Everest took place the year Murphy visited Everest - everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
A lot has been written and told elsewhere about what happende this year. I wont add to the stories, only state that when the leaders of the expeditions decided to go for the top and claimed that a sudden storm hit them and changed everything, I can only say bullshit!
The finnish climber Veikka Gustafsson and I went to more than 8000 meters on the South Pillar the day before and were hit by a storm in the afternoon, the same had happened the day before, so what would in all probability happen on the third day? Furthermore, some friends of ours went to camp 3 on big disaster day and took some pictures against the summit before noon shoving a huge cloud of snow beeing blown of the summit. There was lots of wind up there even early in the day.
| Camp 3 on the South pillar of Everest | A view of Lhotse from camp 4 on the South pillar |
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