Oxygen, sherpas out for expedition

Press, 8 March 1989, Page 1

Oxygen, sherpas out for expedition

Climbing the north face of Everest without help from sherpas or extra oxygen is the aim of a nine-man team which will leave Christchurch tomorrow. One of the members, David Ellis, said the team had chosen the north route (from Tibet) because it was the fastest, and less congested than the south side. “The Chinese still have a policy of ‘one expedition, one route,’ so we won’t be one of 10 parties going through the same ice-fall on the south side,” he said. The team will spend three weeks acclimatising in Nepal, at about 16,000 ft, before driving by truck to the Everest base camp. They will establish a second camp at 19,000 ft. After that the “going gets really steep,” Mr Ellis said. “If we get the conditions and the weather we aim to get at least two pairs of footprints on to the summit by mid-May.” The team, led by Mike Perry, of Christchurch, was experienced, and most team members had been to Everest before, Mr Ellis said.