Oxygenless ascent planned

Press, 23 June 1984, Page 9

Oxygenless ascent planned

A Christchurch geologist and mountaineer, Greg Mortimer, will leave for Australia on Tuesday on the first stage of an attempt to climb the north face of Mount Everest without oxygen. In Australia he will join the other four members of the Australian climbing team and spend three weeks building up his fitness before leaving for China and Tibet on July 16. The team hopes to reach the summit by the end of September.

Although the northern ascent of Mount Everest has become popular since the Chinese Government opened Tibet to mountaineers in 1980, the particular route planned by Mr Mortimer and his party has only been climbed once before. The most unusual feature of their assault is that they will attempt it without oxygen—a feat proved possible, said Mr Mortimer yesterday. The team would not have to carry the heavy oxygen

equipment but would have medicinal oxygen in case of emergency. Although the odds of a successful ascent of Mount Everest were not good, Mr Mortimer said they had to be confident to justify the cost of the expedition, $120,000. This had been raised by sponsorship by Australia’s Channel 9 television which would amake a documentary of Tibet and the climb. Another Christchurch climber, Colin Monteath, will be a member of the

four-man film crew. He will leave for Sydney on July 10. Mr Monteath last evening described the expedition as a shoe-string one. The Japanese team which made the climb in 1980-81 had had a backing of $2 million, he said. Mr Mortimer, aged 31, was born in Australia, but is now a New Zealand citizen. He has an impressive list of climbs behind him and was a member of the successful four-man Australian Annapurna II expedition to the Himalayas last year.