Jerzy Kukuczka (1948 – 1989)

One of the all-time best high altitude climbers would have celebrated his 70th birthday this Saturday. But he missed this day of honor by more than 28 years: In fall 1989 Jerzy Kukuczka died at the age of 41 in an accident on Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain on earth. The Pole had previously scaled as the second climber after Reinhold Messner all 14 eight-thousanders. At times it looked as if Kukuczka could even snatch away the crown from Messner, but then the South Tyrolean closed the eight-thousander match with his ascents of Makalu and Lhotse in fall 1986. Just one year later, in September 1987, when the rather publicity-shy Kukuzczka completed his collection, Messner honored him with the words: “You are not the second, you’re great.”

Milestones

Memorial plaque at the foot of Lhotse South Face

In less than eight years – Messner took twice as long – Kukuczka climbed all 14 eight-thousanders and wrote alpine history: four winter first ascents, two of them in 1985 within three weeks (on Dhaulagiri and Cho Oyu), the first ascent of the South Pillar of Everest and of the South Face of K2, the first solo ascent of Makalu – to name only a few milestones. Only on Mount Everest, he used bottled oxygen. In 1988, the International Olympic Committee declared Messner and Kukuczka honorary Olympic champions. Messner refused the medal, Kukuczka accepted it.

Fall to death on Lhotse

Even after Jerzy had completed his eight-thousander collection, the highest mountains in the world did not get out of his mind. For fall 1989, Kukuczka actually planned to traverse all peaks of the Kangchenjunga massif, but then he changed his mind. With his countryman Ryszard Pawłowski, the 41-year-old tackled the legendary, at that time still unclimbed Lhotse South Face. On 24 October 1989, Jerzy Kukuczka fell from about 8,200 meters to his death.

Sung Taek Hong on Lhotse South Face

The half dozen is full. For the sixth time, Sung Taek Hong returns empty-handed from Lhotse to South Korea, for the fifth time from the South Face of the 8,516-meter-high mountain in Nepal. As already reported, also the second summit attempt failed. Despite strong winds, Hong had ascended again to Camp 4 at 8,250 meters on November 20 and spent a night there in a broken tent, Kyu-po Pyun, spokesman of the Korean expedition, wrote to me. Hong “was aware that safe climbing is not possible anymore. He decided to descend.”

No option but to abandon the expedition

Difficult conditions

The team set off from the base camp on 16 November, wrote Pyun. The wind was so strong that Hong was hardly able to stand. “He had to lean on fixed ropes and ice axes to hold his body.” At the summit, the jet stream was blowing at speeds of more than 120 kilometers per hour. “The weather seemed to be not getting better anymore in this season. He had no option but to end the expedition.”

“Lifelong objective”

Sung Taek Hong can return to South Korea with his head held high – as he did in his earlier attempts. The 50-year-old as well as the Spaniard Jorge Egocheaga and their companions have given it their all. A total of three times they reached an altitude of 8,250 meters in the wall and were thus higher than the summits of nine of the 14 eight-thousanders. But the summit of the fourth highest mountain on earth remained beyond their grasp. According to Kyu-po Pyun, Hong “wishes he can come back to Lhotse South Face next spring to complete his lifelong objective”.

High up in the Lhotse South Face

Once again, the Lhotse South Face in Nepal was a too hard nut to crack. A first summit attempt of the South Korean Sung Taek Hong and the Spaniard Jorge Egocheaga in early November ended in Camp 4 at 8,250 meters. This is what Kyu-po Pyun, spokesman of the expedition, writes to me. Hong and his team entered the wall on 29 October. The South Korean had hoped that the sun and wind would have removed the snow out of the wall. Instead, according to Pyun, it was unexpectedly snowy on 30 and 31 October so that the climbers first had to free the ropes that they had fixed during the previous ascent from snow and ice. The team therefore made slow progress, the work tired them. Then the next setback: The tents in Camp 2 (at 7,200 m) and Camp 3 (7800 m) were ripped, the poles broken, the food and gas cartridges which they had deposited there before were blown off the mountain.

At most one last attempt

Lhotse South Face

Nevertheless, Sung Taek Hong ascended to Camp 4 on 1 November. Because of too strong winds and too much snow, the expedition leader then, however, stopped the summit attempt and safely returned to the Base Camp one day later, writes Kyu-po Pyun. According to him, Hong is preparing for a second and definitely last summit attempt. The possible summit day is still open, but will be certainly by 15 November. After that, according to Pyun, the expected jet stream with wind speeds of more than 100 km/h will scupper any summit chance Sung Taek Hong has literally got stuck into this ambitious project. The 50-year-old Korean is tackling the Lhotse South Face already for the fifth time.

Sung Taek Hong on ascent to Camp 4

Shaken but prepared for the summit attempt – this is how the state of the team of Sung Taek Hong can be described. The 50-year-old South Korean, his 49-year-old Spanish climbing partner Jorge Egocheaga and their Sherpa team are currently recovering in the base camp at the foot of Lhotse from their last ascent into the South Face of the fourth highest mountain on earth. As reported previously, they had pitched Camp 3 at 7,800 meters and Camp 4 at 8250 meters. During the ascent, Furba Wangyal Sherpa and Phurba Sherpa had been slightly injured by rockfall near Camp 2. They left the base camp to be treated. “Thankfully they said it isn’t too serious,” the team informed on their website.

Hit by an avalanche in the sleep

Sung’s tent after the avalanche

Last Thursday an avalanche hit the tent in Camp 3 where Sung Taek Hong was sleeping, it said: “He feels small pain on body but (is) OK.” Due to the difficult weather conditions, the mountaineers climbed only during the night and in the morning hours “to avoid the risks of snow showers and falling rocks”. The summit push was  planned for the end of the month, the team said.

Success in the fifth run?

In the Lhotse South Face

Sung is tackling the 3,300-meter-high, extremely steep and dangerous wall already for the fifth time. The first ascent of the Lhotse South Face was made in 1990. It is still doubted whether the Slovenian Tomo Cesen at that time really accomplished this masterpiece climbing solo, as he himself claimed. Undoubtedly, the Ukrainian Sergej Bershov and the Russian Vladimir Karatayev climbed in the same year on a different route through the South Face to the 8,516 meter high summit of Lhotse.

Lhotse South Face

The most exciting eight-thousander expedition this fall is in the probably decisive phase. According to the Kathmandu-based newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, the South Korean Sung Taek Hong and the Spaniard Jorge Egocheaga reached Camp IV at 8,250 meters on the Lhotse South Face on Wednesday. They planned to pitch another camp at 8,400 meters before heading to the highest point at 8,516 meters. (see the video below).

Rockfall and avalanches

Sung climbing Lhotse South Face (in 2015)

The conditions on the 3300-meter-high South Face of the fourth highest mountain on earth demand everything of the climbers. The Korean spokesman of the expedition reported on rockfall and avalanches during the past days. Sung Taek Hong has literally got stuck into this ambitious project. He is tackling the Lhotse South Face already for the fifth time. With Egocheaga, Sung has a very experienced high altitude climber at his side. The 49-year-old Spaniard has summited all 14 eight-thousanders. Only on Everest he used bottled oxygen.

At three poles

Sung Taek Hong

In fall 2015, Sung had reached with a Korean team an altitude of 8,200 meters on the Lhotse South Face, before a storm had forced the climbers back. “I always believe in real mountain climbing,” the 50-year-old said a few weeks ago on his arrival in Nepal. Twelve years ago, the Korean adventurer had completed his collection of the “three poles”. In 2005, he reached the North Pole, the South Pole in 1994 and 1997 and the “third pole” Mount Everest from the Tibetan north side in fall 1995.

Few successful climbs

The Lhotse South Face was first climbed in 1990. In spring 1990, the Slovenian Tomo Cesen said, he had solo the wall. But he was not able to prove his success. First doubts about the details Cesen had given were expressed by the Ukrainian Sergej Bershov and the Russian Vladimir Karatayev who climbed through the wall on a different route later that year. At the end of 2006, members of a Japanese expedition succeeded in climbing Lhotse South Face for the first time in winter. They had to return 41 meters below the summit, but had reached the summit ridge and thus climbed the entire wall.

Manaslu

Once again, Manaslu turns to become the “Everest of the fall season”. The base camp at the foot of the eighth-highest mountain on earth (8,163 meters) will soon be reminiscent of the tented village at the highest of all mountains in spring. According to the newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, the Nepali Ministry of Tourism has issued at least 135 permits to foreign mountaineers o climb Manaslu. Assuming that there will be on average one local Climbing Sherpa per one climber from abroad and some latecomers, probably between 300 and 400 people – including kitchen staff – will be arguing for the best pitches in the base camp. And the normal route via the north-east flank of the mountain might become crowded.

One reason for the big rush on Manaslu is the decision of the Chinese authorities from the beginning of June to cancel the fall season 2017 in order to “adjust and improve” the rules for mountaineers. That was the official reason. Unofficially, it is speculated that the leadership in Beijing considers unrest in Tibet possible during the Chinese Communist Party Congress, which takes place only every five years, in mid-October.

Next attempt of von Melle and Stitzinger

Alix von Melle (l.) and Luis Stitzinger

Manaslu is a popular alternative destination when China closes its borders to Tibet for foreign mountaineers. Already in fall 2012 and 2015, , many operators had offered expeditions to Manaslu instead of the cancelled ones to the Tibetan eight-thousanders. The “Mountain of the Spirit” has meanwhile been summited almost 1000 times. Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger are among the summit aspirants this fall. Manaslu is still missing in the eight-thousander collection of the German couple. The 46-year-old Alix and the 48-year-old Luis have climbed six eight-thousanders so far, five of them together. In fall 2012, both had reached an altitude of just below 8000 meters on Manaslu. In the current season, Luis leads an expedition of the German operator Amical alpin.

Soria again on Dhaulagiri

Compared to Manaslu, the eight-thousanders Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters) and Lhotse (8,516 meters) might be much more lonely this fall. After his unsuccessful attempt last spring, the Spaniard Carlos Soria, aged 78, tackles Dhaulagiri again. In case of success, it would be his 13th eight-thousander. Then only Shishapangma would be missing. Carlos scaled his first eight-thousander, Nanga Parbat, at the age of 51. The high-performance senior already holds the age records on K 2 (aged 65), Broad Peak (68), Makalu (69), Gasherbrum I (70), Manaslu (71), Lhotse (72), Kangchendzönga (75) and Annapurna (77).

Korean-Spanish attempt on Lhotse South Face

Lhotse South Face

Like Soria on Dhaulagiri, the South Korean Sung Taek Hong launches another attempt on Lhotse South Face. In fall 2014 and 2015, Sung’s attempts to climb through the more than 3000-meter-high, extremely difficult wall on a partly new route had failed. This time, the 51-year-old is joined by the 49-year-old Spaniard Jorge Egocheaga. Jorge is a very experienced high altitude climber who has summited all 14 eight-thousanders. Only on Everest he used bottled oxygen.

Route via Lhotse South Face

Will there be another successful eight-thousander expedition at the end of this fall season in Nepal? Actually, we can answer this question with Yes. Because it already deserves a big round of applause what the South Korean Sung Taek Hong and his team of four Sherpas have achieved so far under difficult conditions in the South Face of 8,516-meter-high Lhotse. In strong winds, the five climbers opened a partially new route up to an altitude of 8,200 meters. Two summit attempts failed: the first at 7,850, the next at 8,000 meters. This weekend Sung and Co. will set off again. If everything goes well this time, they could reach the highest point on Thursday of next week. But this is anything but self-evident.

Sung’s third attempt

Sung Taek Hong

“Now I think can I fully understand how climbers overcome hunger, cold, pain and fears”, Sung wrote in his expedition diary according to explorersweb.com. “I gave Mt. Lhotse all she could have asked of me to reach this point.” In fall 2014, the 49-year-old, along with a Korean team, had tackled Lhotse South face for three months but got not higher than 7,800 meters. In November 2013, Sung’s attempt to solo climb the fourth highest mountain via the normal route had failed. Ten years ago, the Korean adventurer had completed his collection of the “three poles”. In 2005, he reached the North Pole, the South Pole in 1994 and 1997 and the “third pole” Mount Everest from the Tibetan north side in fall 1995.

Pioneers in the wall

Sung climbing Lhotse South Face

The Lhotse South Face was first climbed in 1990. In spring 1990, the Slovenian Tomo Cesen said, he had solo the wall. But he was not able to prove his success. First doubts about the details Cesen had given were expressed by the Ukrainian Sergej Bershov and the Russian Vladimir Karatayev who climbed through the wall on a different route later that year. At the end of 2006, members of a Japanese expedition succeeded in climbing Lhotse South Face for the first time in winter. They had to return 41 meters below the summit, but had reached the summit ridge and thus climbed the entire wall.