Lhotse Expedition

Trip Overview

Mount Lhotse (8516) was climbed by a Swiss expedition in 1956. Its lower peak, mount Lhotse Shar 8383m, sometimes considered a separate 8000m peak, Mount Lhotse , which means “South peak” is a part of the Everest massif, just to the south of Everest. The primary route on mount Lhotse is via Everest’s South Col. But by 1955, despite the activity on Mount Everest, Lhotse was the highest unclimbed peak in the world.

The first attempt on Mount Lhotse was by an international team in 1955. One member of the party was Erwin Schneider; during this expedition, he began work on the first of the series of high-quality “Schneider maps of the Everest region”. The same Swiss party that made the second ascent of Everest in 1956 made the first ascent of Mount Lhotse from a camp just below the South Col.

Mount Lhotse Shar was first climbed by an Austrian expedition in 1970. Japanese, South Koreans, and Germans attempted from various routes on its main peak. Poles and Italians also climbed the summit before the summit was reached again by German expeditions in 1977.

The Lhotse Face/Route
The western flank of Lhotse is known as the Lhotse Face. Any climber bound for the South Col on Everest must climb this 1,125m (3,700ft) wall of glacial blue ice. This face rises at 40 and 50 degree pitches with the occasional 80 degree bulges. Two rocky sections called the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur interrupt the icy ascent on the upper part of the face.

The south face is one of the most impressive walls in Himalayas. The first expedition from the south side was Yuogoslavian leading by A.Kunaver. They selected the left side of the wall but they managed to only get to 8100 meters. In 1985,1987 and 1989 three Polish expedition tried to climb the wall. The highest point they reached was 8300 meters. During the last expedition, Jerzy Kukuczka-the second person who climbed all 8000 meter peaks died during the attempt. Another expedition in 1989 lead by Reinhold Messner failed due to problems between members.

In 1990 Tomo Cesen said that he climbed the wall via Yugoslavian route. The climb caused much controversy because many climbers didn’t believe that the wall, which was unclimbed by so many good climbers, was by climbed by single person. He later changed his mind claiming that he didn’t reach the top but the summit ridge. However, public opinion is that he reached only about 7000 meters.

The south face was finally climbed in 1990 by Russian expedition few months after Cesen’s climb. They describe the wall to be impossible to be climbed by a single person.

When To Climb
As for all the Himalayan peaks there are two main seasons. Pre-monsoon season runs from April through May. Post monsoon season runs from late September through October.