Reaching Everst peak from the north remains a dream

By Rudi Nurcahyo

KATHMANDU, Nepal (JP): Sgt. Sunardi, chief privates Tarmudi and Gunawan "Ogun" Ahmad left the last camp at an altitude of 8,300 meters. The summit of Mount Everest was clearly visible. It boosted to the climbers' conviction that they could reach the top. The weather was friendly.

Chief guide Dawa Tashi Serpa took the lead and opened the track. He was followed by Rizyard Powlousky, a Polish guide, German climber Peter Kowaltzik, the Indonesian Mount Everest Expedition Team and the climbing sherpas.

After one hour, two hours ... our climbers were still stepping forward solidly. Ice axes were used in tandem with crampons attached to the double boots implanted in the ridges of the Everest's North East Ridge. Later the freezing Himalayan weather slowed their progress. The wind blew hard into their faces despite their balaclavas, goggles and sunglasses. The down suits did not prevent the cold air from biting into the climbers' bones. Ogun and Tarmudi started to weaken and began to freeze. Acute Mountain Sickness slowed them and made them vulnerable to freezing air and frostbite in their toes. Ogun and Tarmudi were forced to return to Camp VI, the last camp at an altitude of 8,500 meters. Realizing his colleagues condition Sunardi, the leader, was even more eager to continue his climb. His condition was not much different from theirs, but he persevered.

Sgt. Erick Kusuma encouraged him from the base camp. "Try to continue," he said over the radio. Sunardi responded by saying "My body feels cold. The weather is getting worse".

Finally, not far from the summit at an altitude of 8,600 meters, he stopped. The weather became worse, the sky darkened and the view was limited. Sunardi, Dawa Tashi, Rizyard Powlousky and the climbing sherpas decided to go down to Camp VI.

"I wish to report, Commander, that Sunardi is in a critical condition. His body is cold. There are symptoms of frostbite," Sgt. Erick Kusuma spoke haltingly from the Rongbuk base camp to Lt. Col. Edhie Wibowo who was monitoring from Kathmandu. It was hard to believe that the climbing had to be stopped after the previous day's reports that the climbers were in excellent condition in Camp VI (8,300 meters).

"If the conditions are untenable, for the sake of the team members' safety, the climbing must be stopped," Lt. Col. Edhie Wibowo ordered was in charge at the base camp after Second Lieutenant Sudarto was forced to return to Kathmandu because of pulmonary edema, an acute mountain sickness.

Despite storms on their way down to Camp V (7,800 meters), the climbers arrived safely. The view was limited. While Ogun, Sunardi and Tarmudi were prone to frostbite, Peter Kowaltzik, who continued the climb, was lost without any news.

Some Kazahkstan climbers got frostbite on their noses, arms and legs when coming down the slopes. Other Kazahkstan climbers were reported lost. A sherpa accompanying Korean climbers was found dead at the summit.

It was May 7, 1997. The climbers were in very good shape. The success of the South Team pushed the North Team to achieve the same. If the summit was reached, Indonesia would be in the record books for conquering Mount Everest from two sides, south and north, in the same climbing season. Special Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Prabowo Subianto had faxed his wish that the "North Team" should be as successful as the "South Team". But he said they should not force the issue. This encouragement boosted morale.

The South Team, the Indonesian Everest Team 1997, reached the top at 15.20 local time on April 26, 1997, through the southern route. Private Asmujiono and Sgt. Misirin became the first Indonesians and Southeast Asians to reach the 8,848 meter summit. First Lieutenant Iwan Setiawan, the South Team's leader, came 50 meters short of the top but had to descend to Camp IV (7,986 meters) because it was late afternoon and very dangerous to continue climbing.

The Indonesian team consisted of climbers from special army forces and associations of climbers and nature lovers like the University of Indonesia's Mapala club, the Wanadri club and the Indonesian wall climbing federation. It had two groups: The South Team (Nepal) comprising of 10 climbers and two supporters who monitored activities from the base camp in Khumbu Glacier (5,200 meters) and the North Team (Tibet), comprising of six climbers and two supporters who monitored from the base camp at Rongbuk Glacier (5,200 meters), with 2nd Lieutenant Sudarto as the leader. The groups were coordinated by Lt. Col. Edhie Wiboqo.

The team underwent on the spot training in Nepal last December. The first ice mountain used as training ground was Mount Paldor (5,800 meters). There were originally 34 climbers but after a tight selection, only 23 remained. The number was finally reduced to 16, with four supporters, after the expedition team conducted training at Island Peak/Imja Tsje (6,128 meters). A rest period of 30 to 40 days was taken in Kathmandu, with daily jogging and weight training. Then the expedition team left for the base camp.

The South Team departed on March 12, guided by three Russian climbers, one of whom was also a doctor specializing in altitude sickness. The South Team was reinforced by chief guide Apa Sherpa who has reached the Everest summit seven times through the southern route. The North Team left on March 20, led by Poland's Rizyard Powlousky and supported by chief guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa who has reached the top five times through the southern and northern routes.

After a five-hour overland journey, the North Team arrived at Kodari, the border town between Nepal and Tibet. They crossed the Friendship Bridge and arrived at Xangmu in Tibet. The journey continued by four-wheel drive jeep and we stayed at Nyalam for a rest. The last towns before the base camp of the northern route at Rongbuk Glacier were Xegar and Ringri, where the North Team needed to acclimatize and to rest for two days.

Climbing Everest through the northern route is different from the southern route. For the southern route, some trekking had to be done from Lukla (2,780 meters) to arrive at the Khumbu Glacier base camp (5,200 meters), while for the northern route, the climbers just sat in a jeep/truck from Kathmandu (1,300 meters) to the Rongbuk Glacier base camp (5,200 meters). This might create problems for climbers from low plateaus like Indonesia. The threat of acute mountain sickness might haunt climbers. In order to ward off the risk, the team made trips in phases from Kathmandu. En route to the Rongbuk Glacier base camp, they performed climbing exercises to acclimatize to higher areas like Nyalam and Xegar.

Entering the town of Tingri, the team saw Everest's shining beauty and grandeur, as if it was welcoming the Indonesian Everest Expedition Team. The sky was blue, fogless and cloudless. Mount Everest looked black because its protruding rocks were not covered by snow. The team was more convinced than ever it would reach its summit.

On March 25, the team arrived at the base camp and had five days to acclimatize and prepare for further climbing. The climbing toward the advance base camp (6,500 meters) was done in three days with stopovers at 5,600 meters and 6,000 meters. The trip went through moraine (a mixture of ice and rocks). Along the track, the team found a lot of "shark fins" or penidentes of ice, a typical glacier formation.

After four days at the advance base camp, the team descended to the base camp again. Acclimatization brought them several times to higher altitudes, up to Camp IV at 7,100 meters. On April 5, the team members' condition, including the sherpas's condition, started to deteriorate. Headache, loss of appetite and fatigue affected them -- they were symptoms of acute mountain sickness. I decided to go down to the base camp intending to return after recovering. On April 7, all members returned to base camp.

I went farther down to Pasung village at 4,200 meters to speed up my recovery. After two nights rest, Peter Kowalzik and I returned to base camp in a far better condition. Later I had frostbite in two of my toes. At the suggestion of the New Zealand doctor, I returned directly to Kathmandu. He feared that if I stayed longer at the base camp, my frostbite would get worse. I was silent when watching my colleagues move toward the second stage of acclimatization. The plaque to commemorate the disappearance of Irvin Mallory, a member of the British Expedition Team of 1922, was a silent witness to my unhappiness. On April 17, I returned to Kathmandu. What could I do? Everest was to remain but a dream for me.

The weather remained uncertain. Sometimes clear, but often foggy and snowy. Meanwhile, other expedition teams. They were climbers from Russia -- trying to open a new route directly from the North Face -- South Korea, Kazakstan, a commercial expedition led by Russel Brice, the United States, Portugal and Pakistan.

Among the expedition teams, the Indonesian team received the most guests, making its tent, though the most simple, a meeting place. We welcomed all our visitors warmly. We acted not only as climbers but as ambassadors, showing friendliness and promoting Indonesia, which the climbers did not know much about.

The hospitality of the Indonesian team also attracted Joao Fernandez from Portugal. He would be the first Portuguese to reach Mount Everest. Our tent had a radio communication facility from the base camp to Kathmandu. Fernandez often asked us to pass a message through E-mail to his family in Portugal. Even the Portuguese president spoke to Fernandez and sent a message on the Indonesian team's radio. I was then increasingly convinced that adventure does not know any frontiers. Even with our enemies, we can be friends in the mountain.

The Indonesian team had Erick Kusuma, a paramedic with experience of operating in battle fields and hospitals in Indonesia. He is assigned to Indonesia's special forces. The commercial expedition had a doctor but charged high fees even for consultation only. The foreign climbers often came to Erick for free medical treatment. The commercial expedition charged US$30 for a visit without medicine. To send news via facsimile or telephone cost $30 a sheet/minute. So, the Indonesian team's tent also functioned as a clinic and international telecommunications shop.

On April 26, Sudarto, the leader of the North Team, was compelled to follow me to Kathmandu after contracting pulmonary edema, an altitude sickness, at 7,500 meters, toward Camp V (7,600 meters). Sunardi became leader in the field. Erick was responsible for monitoring operations.

The North Team met with further obstacles. Daryowantoro was struck with pulmonary edema when en route to Camp V from the North Col (7,100 meters). He returned to the base camp. Ogun, Sunardi and Tarmudi were still in the picture. They fought to the extreme to reach an altitude of 8,600 meters, before storms waylaid their efforts. We had to give up our hopes of setting a record by climbing Mount Everest from two sides in one season. What could the North Team do? Mount Everest remained a dream.

I recalled John Hunt, the British expedition leader who successfully led Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay to the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. He said "And there are many other opportunities for adventure, whether they be sought ... in the air, upon the sea, in the bowels of the earth, or on the ocean bed ... There is no height, no depth, that the spirit of man, guided by Higher spirit, cannot attain."

As if hit by a summit fever, we said together, "Everest, we shall come back ... some day ..."

The writer is a member of the 1997 Indonesian Everest Expedition.