At 8201m high the Himalayan mountain Cho Oyu is a popular target for those mountaineers wishing to attempt one of the 14 '8000-ers', sometimes as a test before going on to Everest. While any attempts to climb at such heights come with potential dangers those who pursue these expeditions may expect a duty of care from the companies who organise them. According to reports from Cho Oyu, the events of the night 2nd/3rd October suggest that such a duty of care may not be as strongly observed in some quarters as in others.
A group of British mountaineers were in position in Camp 2 (7,200m) during the evening of 2nd October preparing for their summit attempt 2 hours later when they heard disturbing calls for help from other mountaineers already heading from the summit. The British leader, Tom Bowler, immediately informed his group that their summit attempt was off, or at least on hold, as it would be necessary to lend any assistance required to the other team, understood to be Ukrainian, who were clearly in trouble. "We had fresh Sherpas and plenty of oxygen which we would gladly have given them if needed" said Tom Bowler. "Clearly we knew nothing of the the structure of the Ukrainian team, nor exactly what help might be required, and Cho Oyu is no place to start running off on wild goose chases. We could clearly see their lights at Camp 3 so knew that they would be able to see ours and they would send for help in due course. After about an hour, although there remained sporadic calling the problems seemed to have been sorted out at Camp 3 by the Ukrainians and I figured that maybe we wouldn't be asked for help after all." Even though this meant the British summit attempt could proceed the weather was deteriorating and after the team had been readied to leave for 22:30, and kept on tenterhooks until nearly 02:30 the next morning, in the event Bowler and his Sirdar decided the conditions were unsuitable and the summit attempt was declared to be off.
Waking the next morning to still inclement weather Bowler was still concerned to see Ukrainian climbers moving very slowly, some stumbling, down from Camp 3 to Camp 2. Not content to wait to be asked, Bowler sent his Sirdar to see the Ukrainian team's Sherpas who were also in Camp 2 to ask how he could help. "To my considerable surprise he returned a few minutes later saying that he was told that basically there were a lot of people who were pretty tired and that there was minor frostbite but apart from that they were OK and didn't need any help. Still we had no idea how many clients there were; nor how many Sherpas there were; to me it appeared that they didn't have a leader at all", recalled Bowler.
However, with conditions deteriorating and with his own group as a priority, and having had his offer of assistance rejected, Tom Bowler made preparations to leave Camp 2; doing so at around 11:00 that morning, while at the same time some Ukrainian climbers were arriving from Camp 3 and getting into their tents at Camp 2. Bowler noted that I thought they were really tired, he didn't see that they were particularly 'out of it'. Coming down from 3 to 2 it is very common for people to stop and rest for s long time. So he figured that maybe he had overreacted. Still - better safe than sorry eh?
Downwards the British went, following the fixed ropes, unearthing them from the snow when they had been buried, with Tenzing, the Sirdar, at the front and Tom Bowler at the rear. The weather was not especially poor but great care was required as due to the heavy snowfall of the previous night the avalanche threat had increased, and with clouds coming and going the visibility was highly variable. So while from time to time it was possible to see Ukrainians, whether clients or Sherpas it was impossible to tell, moving down also, for the most part the British were in a cocoon of white. However, as the team approached the serac one of the members, Alain Jones, though he saw a shadowy figure about 100m back slide and fall from the route. But there was no shout or call. Alerting Tom Bowler they both watched for a minute or two. "There was absolutely no cry, no shout, no nothing." said Jones. "It was just as if someone had fallen and had taken a long time to pick themselves up." "Sure enough, the figure stood up and started moving towards us again so we had no reason to think there was anything wrong at that time. In fact within 10 minutes he actually caught us, at the top of the serac." added Bowler, "although I was becoming even more concerned at the lack of obvious control and leadership. While experienced mountaineers expect some flexibility, after what I had seen last night I was concerned that clearly very tired people were apparently free-wheeling down Cho Oyu in potentially lethal conditions."
Pip Redman, another of the British team recalled what happened next. "We were approached at the top of the serac abseil by a burly Ukrainian. He was having difficulty getting his harness on. Tom offered to help him, and in fact did have to help him get it on and buckle it up for him. We asked how he was and how the team was. He said, in passable English that they had had to leave 2 people up at a higher camp, that they were 'finished' (he made a cutting motion across his throat). He said they set them up in a tent and made them comfortable and that it would have taken 4 or 5 hours to come down from camp 3 and there was just absolutely no way that these 2 individuals (that they had left in the tent) could come down. The Sherpas had left and that as far as he was concerned they were just left up there on their own and that was it." Redman and the others in earshot were stunned. They had just witnessed first hand a 'left-for-dead' situation. Once more Bowler offered assistance and was told it was useless. By this time, due to concerns for his own group, in consultation with Tenzng who was becoming fearful of the avalanche risk, Bowler had ordered his own Sherpas to dismantle Camp 2 and proceed down the mountain at best speed - so the option of having another discussion with the Ukrainian team's sherpas at Camp 2 was not there. Even were this not the case nobody seemed to know where the Ukrainian teams Sherpas were. They too seemed to be descending the mountain. As to the Ukrainian leader, nobody had mentioned him. Who knows where he was. No matter how concerned Bowler was becoming he had no knowledge upon which to act and no leader with whom to liaise. Furthermore he had his own team to guide down the serac abseil and on to the relative safety of Camp 1 and then on to Advanced Base Camp.
Due to the condition of the Ukrainian climber he was offered, and took, the next place on the abseil and he soon disappeared without a backward glance and without asking for help, nor suggesting that any might be needed by his co-climbers. Was this a team at all, or a group individuals travelling together? It was looking odd. Soon another Ukrainian appeared in the queue for the abseil. Mandy Novak offered some water which was gratefully received with an offer to buy her a beer in return at basecamp. Hardly the reaction expected from someone whose team-mates had been left to die. Was the first Ukrainian hallucinating? Entirely possible in the circumstances.
Tom Bowler recalls that the weather had cleared slightly at the time and looking back up the hill he could see 5 or 6 people moving down. "I thought they were Sherpas, I thought it was the Ukrainian team's Sherpas clearing their camp and bringing it down, which seemed crazy with 2 people dying up there. If some of their Sherpas were coming past us carrying gear then things couldn't be that serious up the hill.
Antipathy towards the apparent plight of 2 of their 'team' (and continued absence of any reference to the leader) continued at Camp 1. Novak continues: "I remember being at Camp 1 and some of them came past. They all seemed fine and the guy who I gave the drink to was very thankful and he again said he'd get me a beer at base camp. There wasn't any kind of chat about how epic a time they'd had at the top of the hill, or how glad they were to be off the mountain, or anything like that, it was just 'thanks for that and we'll see you in basecamp'. That's how they treated it. Didn't they know what was going on - or had we been misled?" Rick Westmorland, another of the British climbers, added "It seemed to me as though the climbers descending, and the Sherpas were in 'throttle disconnect' mode. There didn't seem to be any connection or communication between them, or indeed anyone else of the mountain because I spoke to one of the Sherpas who passed me and he just ignored me. So, as far as Camp 1 went, I'm sure there were some conversations there but there was no evidence, at any stage that I was aware of, of anyone asking for help or assistance, or indeed of passing any information that they had had problems or any of the serious consequences that we now appear to be aware of, on the mountain." Novak added: "There was no mention of anyone higher on the mountain. You wouldn't have thought it was a team. The people who were coming down didn't mention anyone that they'd had to leave at the top. It was each man for himself". "It seemed to me to be the case that the team ethos, if indeed there ever was one, didn't seem to exist either between the climbers themselves or indeed the Sherpa contingency", concluded Westmorland.
There was further contact between the British and Ukrainian groups below Depot Camp once they'd hit the glacier. There were 2 people (clients?/leaders?) with the Sirdar who seemed to be in very good condition, carrying very small bags, and moving quicker than we were, strolling quite happily to Advance Base Camp. Further evidence there wasn't anything particularly serious going on on the mountain. Add this to the sight of a series of lights on the mountain, seen by Mandy Novak all looking like they were coming down. "There was one just above Camp 1 and one just above the serac. All moving slowly but still moving down. So it seemed like whoever had been left on the mountain was slowly making their way down." says Novak. "That would have been around six-thirty."
"Then we got a call for help this morning", said Bowler. "Of course, we responded. We were told that one of their clients had made it down to Camp 1 by himself with assistance, but in the event there was no actual help needed. Other people have said that a leader of some sorts went up to help them in Camp 1 but we have no way to prove that. Then later in the day somebody in a green jacket (male or female unknown) came past our camp. There weren't any Ukrainian leaders or Sherpas with this person; so it was a person in a green jacket who was extremely sick being taken down to Chinese Base Camp without any representation from their Company at all with them which we thought was horrendous. As we had a doctor In our group I again offered assistance only to be told that there was a doctor in the other group already and that nothing more could be done. We heard a rumour that a team of Tibetans had been paid US$3000 to carry this one sick person from Camp 1 down to the roadhead at Chinese Base Camp. But this is just heresay and such a figure seems ridiculous.
Mountaineering's a tough business isn't it and not all operators offer the same service. So, was this a case of over-reacton from Bowler? No one 'left-to-die' after all. The claim by the first Ukrainian at the serac a mistake brought on by his fatigue?
"Maybe" said Bowler, "except this morning my Sirdar was sitting with Ukrainian's Sirdar who was joking about how some of his clients were going to have to have some of their limbs amputated".
Has anyone actually checked a tent or two up at Camp 2?
A group of British mountaineers were in position in Camp 2 (7,200m) during the evening of 2nd October preparing for their summit attempt 2 hours later when they heard disturbing calls for help from other mountaineers already heading from the summit. The British leader, Tom Bowler, immediately informed his group that their summit attempt was off, or at least on hold, as it would be necessary to lend any assistance required to the other team, understood to be Ukrainian, who were clearly in trouble. "We had fresh Sherpas and plenty of oxygen which we would gladly have given them if needed" said Tom Bowler. "Clearly we knew nothing of the the structure of the Ukrainian team, nor exactly what help might be required, and Cho Oyu is no place to start running off on wild goose chases. We could clearly see their lights at Camp 3 so knew that they would be able to see ours and they would send for help in due course. After about an hour, although there remained sporadic calling the problems seemed to have been sorted out at Camp 3 by the Ukrainians and I figured that maybe we wouldn't be asked for help after all." Even though this meant the British summit attempt could proceed the weather was deteriorating and after the team had been readied to leave for 22:30, and kept on tenterhooks until nearly 02:30 the next morning, in the event Bowler and his Sirdar decided the conditions were unsuitable and the summit attempt was declared to be off.
Waking the next morning to still inclement weather Bowler was still concerned to see Ukrainian climbers moving very slowly, some stumbling, down from Camp 3 to Camp 2. Not content to wait to be asked, Bowler sent his Sirdar to see the Ukrainian team's Sherpas who were also in Camp 2 to ask how he could help. "To my considerable surprise he returned a few minutes later saying that he was told that basically there were a lot of people who were pretty tired and that there was minor frostbite but apart from that they were OK and didn't need any help. Still we had no idea how many clients there were; nor how many Sherpas there were; to me it appeared that they didn't have a leader at all", recalled Bowler.
However, with conditions deteriorating and with his own group as a priority, and having had his offer of assistance rejected, Tom Bowler made preparations to leave Camp 2; doing so at around 11:00 that morning, while at the same time some Ukrainian climbers were arriving from Camp 3 and getting into their tents at Camp 2. Bowler noted that I thought they were really tired, he didn't see that they were particularly 'out of it'. Coming down from 3 to 2 it is very common for people to stop and rest for s long time. So he figured that maybe he had overreacted. Still - better safe than sorry eh?
Downwards the British went, following the fixed ropes, unearthing them from the snow when they had been buried, with Tenzing, the Sirdar, at the front and Tom Bowler at the rear. The weather was not especially poor but great care was required as due to the heavy snowfall of the previous night the avalanche threat had increased, and with clouds coming and going the visibility was highly variable. So while from time to time it was possible to see Ukrainians, whether clients or Sherpas it was impossible to tell, moving down also, for the most part the British were in a cocoon of white. However, as the team approached the serac one of the members, Alain Jones, though he saw a shadowy figure about 100m back slide and fall from the route. But there was no shout or call. Alerting Tom Bowler they both watched for a minute or two. "There was absolutely no cry, no shout, no nothing." said Jones. "It was just as if someone had fallen and had taken a long time to pick themselves up." "Sure enough, the figure stood up and started moving towards us again so we had no reason to think there was anything wrong at that time. In fact within 10 minutes he actually caught us, at the top of the serac." added Bowler, "although I was becoming even more concerned at the lack of obvious control and leadership. While experienced mountaineers expect some flexibility, after what I had seen last night I was concerned that clearly very tired people were apparently free-wheeling down Cho Oyu in potentially lethal conditions."
Pip Redman, another of the British team recalled what happened next. "We were approached at the top of the serac abseil by a burly Ukrainian. He was having difficulty getting his harness on. Tom offered to help him, and in fact did have to help him get it on and buckle it up for him. We asked how he was and how the team was. He said, in passable English that they had had to leave 2 people up at a higher camp, that they were 'finished' (he made a cutting motion across his throat). He said they set them up in a tent and made them comfortable and that it would have taken 4 or 5 hours to come down from camp 3 and there was just absolutely no way that these 2 individuals (that they had left in the tent) could come down. The Sherpas had left and that as far as he was concerned they were just left up there on their own and that was it." Redman and the others in earshot were stunned. They had just witnessed first hand a 'left-for-dead' situation. Once more Bowler offered assistance and was told it was useless. By this time, due to concerns for his own group, in consultation with Tenzng who was becoming fearful of the avalanche risk, Bowler had ordered his own Sherpas to dismantle Camp 2 and proceed down the mountain at best speed - so the option of having another discussion with the Ukrainian team's sherpas at Camp 2 was not there. Even were this not the case nobody seemed to know where the Ukrainian teams Sherpas were. They too seemed to be descending the mountain. As to the Ukrainian leader, nobody had mentioned him. Who knows where he was. No matter how concerned Bowler was becoming he had no knowledge upon which to act and no leader with whom to liaise. Furthermore he had his own team to guide down the serac abseil and on to the relative safety of Camp 1 and then on to Advanced Base Camp.
Due to the condition of the Ukrainian climber he was offered, and took, the next place on the abseil and he soon disappeared without a backward glance and without asking for help, nor suggesting that any might be needed by his co-climbers. Was this a team at all, or a group individuals travelling together? It was looking odd. Soon another Ukrainian appeared in the queue for the abseil. Mandy Novak offered some water which was gratefully received with an offer to buy her a beer in return at basecamp. Hardly the reaction expected from someone whose team-mates had been left to die. Was the first Ukrainian hallucinating? Entirely possible in the circumstances.
Tom Bowler recalls that the weather had cleared slightly at the time and looking back up the hill he could see 5 or 6 people moving down. "I thought they were Sherpas, I thought it was the Ukrainian team's Sherpas clearing their camp and bringing it down, which seemed crazy with 2 people dying up there. If some of their Sherpas were coming past us carrying gear then things couldn't be that serious up the hill.
Antipathy towards the apparent plight of 2 of their 'team' (and continued absence of any reference to the leader) continued at Camp 1. Novak continues: "I remember being at Camp 1 and some of them came past. They all seemed fine and the guy who I gave the drink to was very thankful and he again said he'd get me a beer at base camp. There wasn't any kind of chat about how epic a time they'd had at the top of the hill, or how glad they were to be off the mountain, or anything like that, it was just 'thanks for that and we'll see you in basecamp'. That's how they treated it. Didn't they know what was going on - or had we been misled?" Rick Westmorland, another of the British climbers, added "It seemed to me as though the climbers descending, and the Sherpas were in 'throttle disconnect' mode. There didn't seem to be any connection or communication between them, or indeed anyone else of the mountain because I spoke to one of the Sherpas who passed me and he just ignored me. So, as far as Camp 1 went, I'm sure there were some conversations there but there was no evidence, at any stage that I was aware of, of anyone asking for help or assistance, or indeed of passing any information that they had had problems or any of the serious consequences that we now appear to be aware of, on the mountain." Novak added: "There was no mention of anyone higher on the mountain. You wouldn't have thought it was a team. The people who were coming down didn't mention anyone that they'd had to leave at the top. It was each man for himself". "It seemed to me to be the case that the team ethos, if indeed there ever was one, didn't seem to exist either between the climbers themselves or indeed the Sherpa contingency", concluded Westmorland.
There was further contact between the British and Ukrainian groups below Depot Camp once they'd hit the glacier. There were 2 people (clients?/leaders?) with the Sirdar who seemed to be in very good condition, carrying very small bags, and moving quicker than we were, strolling quite happily to Advance Base Camp. Further evidence there wasn't anything particularly serious going on on the mountain. Add this to the sight of a series of lights on the mountain, seen by Mandy Novak all looking like they were coming down. "There was one just above Camp 1 and one just above the serac. All moving slowly but still moving down. So it seemed like whoever had been left on the mountain was slowly making their way down." says Novak. "That would have been around six-thirty."
"Then we got a call for help this morning", said Bowler. "Of course, we responded. We were told that one of their clients had made it down to Camp 1 by himself with assistance, but in the event there was no actual help needed. Other people have said that a leader of some sorts went up to help them in Camp 1 but we have no way to prove that. Then later in the day somebody in a green jacket (male or female unknown) came past our camp. There weren't any Ukrainian leaders or Sherpas with this person; so it was a person in a green jacket who was extremely sick being taken down to Chinese Base Camp without any representation from their Company at all with them which we thought was horrendous. As we had a doctor In our group I again offered assistance only to be told that there was a doctor in the other group already and that nothing more could be done. We heard a rumour that a team of Tibetans had been paid US$3000 to carry this one sick person from Camp 1 down to the roadhead at Chinese Base Camp. But this is just heresay and such a figure seems ridiculous.
Mountaineering's a tough business isn't it and not all operators offer the same service. So, was this a case of over-reacton from Bowler? No one 'left-to-die' after all. The claim by the first Ukrainian at the serac a mistake brought on by his fatigue?
"Maybe" said Bowler, "except this morning my Sirdar was sitting with Ukrainian's Sirdar who was joking about how some of his clients were going to have to have some of their limbs amputated".
Has anyone actually checked a tent or two up at Camp 2?