Mount Everest, Winter Ascent. The Japanese Lhotse expedition mentioned above, led by Kazuyuki Takahashi, acclimatized by making the successful ascent of that peak. They then climbed Everest by the South Col. On December 16 Takashi Ozaki, Noboru Yamada, Kazunori Murakami and Sherpa Nawang Yonden reached the summit. This was the third winter ascent and the first time a Nepalese has climbed Everest in the winter. The part of the expedition led by the leader’s wife attempting Everest from the Tibetan side failed. (See that section.)