Asia, China—Tibet, Mount Everest, Reconnaissance from the North

Publication Year: 1980.

Mount Everest, Reconnaissance from the North. In preparation for the joint Japanese-Chinese expedition to the northern side of Mount Everest, the Japanese sent a nine-man team under the leadership of Dr. Junsei Saito. Base Camp was set up on the Rongbuk Glacier at 17,900 feet on September 23. Kazunari Takami, Takashi Ozaki and Goto Isono scouted out a new route above the Central Rongbuk Glacier, where they set up camps at 18,200 and 20,500 feet. They fixed 1000 feet of rope on the 60° mixed face. They compared the difficulty of the lower part to that on the southwest face of Everest. They reached a high point of 21,- 500 feet. Ryoten Hasegawa, Kotaro Yokoyama and six Chinese went to the traditional northeast ridge from the East Rongbuk. They established Camp III at 21,325 feet below the North Col on October 10. While six climbers were approaching the North Col on the 12th, a wind-slab avalanche swept three Chinese, Wang Hong Bao, Nima Thaxi and Luo Lan, into a crevasse, where they were killed. Hasegawa barely escaped and was injured. They left Base Camp on October 25.

Sadao Tambe, Japanese Mountaineering Association