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EVEREST '98

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"Into Thin Air"
by Jon Krakauer
An epic, first-hand account of the 1996 tragedy.


The Climb
by Boukreev & DeWalt
Boukreev's account of the '96 tragedy.


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by Brad Washburn
National Geographic centennial map, Washburn's Everest map and more.

Everest 97 NAVBAR
DISPATCHES FROM EVEREST
Team Scientist, Freddy Blume, reports from Everest

Blume
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we can't go any higher." (Icelanders Safe at Col.)
Wednesday, May 21, 1997 -- 9pm (Base Camp)
Todd Burleson, Wally Berg and the rest of the AAI team in Camp II (21,500') on the Western Cwm, were watching the Icelanders climb the Hillary Step [the last technically challenging hurdle on the climb 20 minutes below the summit] this morning relaying the news to us in base. Once the team disappeared over the Step, we waited in tense silence in the Icelandic Base Camp tent, staring at what was left of the Whisky for a half hour.


The Iceland Summit Team
Then the radio spoke, and Bjorn [Olafsson, Icelandic climber on the summit team] said, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we can't go any higher." I was stunned by the rush of emotion. I thought I would be a detached observer... but we all had tears running down our faces.

They were immediately patched through to an Icelandic morning radio talk show, they came through loud an clear, and a country of 250,000 people, who by necessity are all mountaineers of some ability, shared in the celebration.


Hardar Magnusson (whose brother Hallgrimur was climbing) and Jon Vilgensson in base get news via radio from their Icelandic teammates on the summit bid.
It was made all the more special in that they had had to fix the route and were the first team up after a long bad-weather spell. Hardar and Halle's parents called. [Hardar Magnusson was on the Icelandic support team in Base Camp while his brother Hallgrimur climbed to the summit.] Hardar hugged me so hard he picked me up off the ground and swung me around in a circle which means that I really haven't been eating much...

Now everybody at Camps II and III are watching the seven of them descend smoothly. Weather up there sounds ok, so they should have no trouble getting back to Camp IV on the South Col in good time...

Couple Hours Later:
All Icelanders and associates are snuggled in their Tangerine Dreams [sleeping bags rated to -40°C] and breathing oxygen in their tents at Camp IV. It took them 5 hours to get from summit to Col, and all are sounding so strong, like they sat on the beach all day.


Kekus
The three Icelanders (Bjorn Olafsson, Einar Stefansson, and Hallgrimur Magnusson), British guide Nick Kekus, Ang Babu Sherpa (for whom this is the seventh trip to the summit), his brother Dawa Sherpa, and Danuri, a member of the Nepali expedition, reached the summit of Everest at 12:58pm Wednesday, May 21, 1997 Nepal Time.

-- Frederick Blume, Team Scientist


Photo by Frederick Blume

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