Asia, Nepal, Kangchenjunga Tragedy

Publication Year: 1985.

Kangchenjunga Tragedy. Cherie Bremer-Kemp, her husband Dr. Chris Chandler and Nepalese porter Mangal Singh Tamang climbed from 24,000 feet on the north face of Kangchenjunga to 26,000 feet on January 14, 1985. They had hoped to climb to the summit on the morning of January 15 but it soon appeared that Chandler was too weak. His vision was impaired and he showed other signs of cerebral edema. The other two did what they could to help him down to 25,000 feet. After a bivouac was prepared there, he became restless and started breathing heavily. He died a few hours later. It took four days for the two survivors to reach Base Camp. Both were severely frostbitten. Chandler and his wife had made a previous attempt on nearly the same route in 1981 when they almost reached the summit of Yalungkang.