Women plan 8000m test climb for Everest

Press, 24 April 1987, Page 38

Women plan 8000m test climb for Everest

NZPA Sydney A New Zealander, Lydia Bradey, and an Australian, Brigitte Muir, hope to become the first women from the southern hemisphere to reach the summit of an 8000-metre mountain. The team has chosen the 8068 m Hidden Peak, and will use the experience as a prelude to a possible assault on the 8848 m Mount Everest. Ms Bradey, of Christchurch, said the climb would give her and her Melbourne colleague a chance to assess whether a bid on the world’s highest mountain was a viable proposition. “There are 14 8000 m peaks in the world, and they are quite prestigious because they are so strenuous,” Mr Bradey said. “So far, none of these

14 peaks has been climbed by a woman from the southern hemisphere, and Brigitte and I would like to be the first women to do it, ultimately with the idea of going to Everest. “By doing a low 8000 m peak, we can see how we react and how strong we feel, and if we have the resources to climb Everest. “No woman has climbed Everest without oxygen, so we would like to be the first women in the world to do that.” The two women, who have been keepng their hand in by doing some bouldering at Hanging Rock in Victoria, will leave Melbourne soon to go to India for a traverse of the three Kedamath mountains, all of which are over 7000 m. They will then fly to

Pakistan for the attempt on Hidden Peak, which they expect to begin in late June or early July. To cut costs, Ms Bradey, aged 25, and Ms Muir, aged 28, will share base camp with a party of 16 mostly New Zealand climbers led by Rob Hall of Christchurch. However, the women will try to reach the summit on their own. Ms Bradey said the attempt would take about three weeks, including rest days and time all, lowed for stoppages for bad weather. “I hope we can take our gear and equipment for two days up the mountain, sleep up there and get used to sleeping at that height, and then go down to base camp for a rest,” she said. “So it will be two days up, dump food hang out

for a day down to base camp, rest for two more days and then go and climb the mountain.” Both women have had experience in the Himalayas, where Ms Bradey has been on three expeditions. As a result, she is realistic about the dangers involved. “I think you can avoid it (an accident) a lot by being very careful and understanding the area you go into,” she said. “A lot of people go into the mountains and do not know a thing about them. “Last year, in the whole area (the Himalayas), one in 10 people died — 244 people went in and 24 of them died. "These are things that you have to be aware of and have in your mind. There is real danger there.”