Two legendary American climbers who deviated from the standard route; the only two Japanese to reach the summit of Everest by the direct route; two Swiss who worked the route in alpine style; a determined British Canadian, a Swede, and several other daredevils who made daring attempts to reach the summit. All these climbers are connected by one [line] – the dangerous and technically extremely difficult Everest Super Direct route on the North Face of Everest.
The American Breakthrough of 1963
In 1963, Tom Hornbein and Willib Unsoeld abandoned the normal route via the Southeast Ridge and South Col (Southeast Ridge-South Col), which their companions had taken. Instead, they climbed Everest via a new route – the West Ridge from the Western Cwm Glacier.
Crossing the North Face to a dangerous couloir below the summit of Everest, later named the Hornbein Couloir, they made one of the most remarkable ascents in the history of mountaineering.
Hornbein Couloir
The Hornbein Couloir is located west of the summit, between 8,000 and 8,500 meters, and is the starting point of the most dangerous and technically difficult line, the “Super Direct.”. This narrow and very steep couloir can be reached either after climbing the West Ridge or from the base of the North Face. It’s one of the most challenging sections on any eight-thousander. Fewer than a dozen climbers have successfully climbed it, and many more have died trying.
Japanese Everest North Face Expedition
In 1980, a large team from the Japan Alpine Club attempted to climb the North Face of Everest using bottled oxygen. Nineteen climbers split into two groups: one went along the Northeast Ridge, the other along the North Face, starting from the bottom of the couloir connecting with the upper Hornbein Couloir.
Yasuo Kato, from the Northeast Ridge team, successfully reached the summit but was forced to spend the night on the Second Step without oxygen. He avoided frostbite and descended the mountain safely during the day.
Avalanche and Tragedy
According to Sadao Tambe’s report in the American Alpine Journal, Group CThe north face team consisted of 12 climbers led by Hideki Miyashita.
The team established Camp 1 on the Central Rongbuk Glacier (5,640 m) on March 9 and advanced to the high camp near its summit (6,150 m) on March 24.
On the lower part of the face, they encountered sections of steepness up to 60 degrees, but were able to establish Camp 3 at 6,905 m (April 4) and Camp 4 at 7,700 m (April 18). Further up the Hornbein Couloir, they established Camp 5 at 8,230 m (April 25).
The team fixed ropes all the way up to 8,450 m. The first assault team—Tsuneo Shigehiro, Takashi Ozaki, and Shohei Wada—was forced to abandon their summit attempt at 8,580 m due to heavy snowfall.
That same day, Toshiaki Kobayashi and Akira Ube were climbing to relieve the first three at Camp 5 when an avalanche caught them at the base of the Hornbein Couloir. Ube was swept down by an avalanche, and his body was found at the base of the face the following day.
First Ascent of the Everest Super Direct Route
The remaining expedition members did not give up. They decided to attempt another direct route up the Hornbein Couloir to the summit.
On May 10, 1980, Ozaki and Shigehiro left Camp 5 for a new assault on the mountain. Freshly fallen snow significantly complicated the climb, and they ran out of oxygen after four hours of climbing to the summit. Nevertheless, both climbers successfully reached the summit of Everest. On the descent, they had to spend the night in a bivouac an hour into the climb to the summit, but by morning they reached Camp 5 and then descended without injury or incident.
The lower part of the route discovered by the Japanese under the Hornbein Couloir was later named the “Japanese Couloir.”
Thus, the “Everest Super Direct” route was born, connecting the Japanese and Hornbein Couloir.
1986: Loretan and Trouillet – the “ne plus ultra” ascent
In the summer of 1986, Swiss climbers Erhard Loretan and Jean Trouillet made one of the most remarkable ascents in the history of mountaineering – a speed ascent of the “Everest Super Direct” route in pure Alpine style. Their route was slightly off-center and parallel to the line climbed by the Japanese in 1980.
The original plan was for Jean Trouillet to solo the Hornbein Couloir, while Erhard Loretan and Frenchman Pierre Bégin would climb the entire straight line. However, according to The Himalayan Database, heavy snowfalls in August forced all three climbers to team up and complete the route together.
Beyond the Possible
Without Sherpas, without supplemental oxygen, without ropes, tents, or sleeping bags, without backpacks, at an altitude above 8,000 m.
They climbed at night to avoid avalanches, hence the expression “night naked style.” According to climbers, the Hornbein Couloir itself wasn’t overly difficult, but the lower part of the wall was deadly due to frequent avalanches.
Bégin made two attempts, but, exhausted, abandoned the ascent at 8,300 m. Loretan and Trouillet made a nearly continuous climb, successfully completing it in 39 hours, after which they descended, sliding through the snow.
It took them only 41 hours to reach the summit and back from Base Camp—a feat that astounded the mountaineering world.
Lars Kronlund’s Difficult Descent, 1991
In 1991, Swede Lars Kronlund, part of a 21-member expedition supported by Sherpas and using oxygen, successfully ascended via the Japan and Hornbein Couloirs.
Two previous attempts on the expedition had failed, but Kronlund managed to reach the summit of Everest on May 15 around 3:00 PM. The late hour caused problems on the descent.
He was in a hurry to get down to avoid darkness, but was unable to find the fixed ropes at the top of the couloir. He wandered around all night trying to find them, and, exhausted, fell asleep.
He woke at 7 a.m. to find his toes frostbitten and the wind picking up. With great difficulty, Kronlund reached Camp 5, where his partner met him and helped him down.
Bold Attempts
In the spring of 1987, Roger Marshall decided to climb the “Super Direct” route in alpine style and solo. He criticized climbing with Sherpas and oxygen and planned, like Loretan and Trouillet, to climb at night and rest during the day.
However, in the spring of 1987, there was significantly less snow than in August 1986. The lack of snow, only rock and blue ice, forced him to change his plans and climb the route during the day.
At 7,850 m, Marshall began to suffer from altitude sickness and decided to abandon the ascent. On May 21, while descending, he fell from the North Face and died, falling 150–300 meters.
In the following years, various teams from different countries made daring attempts to climb this route—in 1988, 1989, 1995, 2003, and 2006. No one has reached the summit, although some have managed to reach an altitude of 8,500 m.
In 2010, Ralf Dujmovits and Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner attempted the “Super Direct” route without oxygen or Sherpas. Kaltenbrunner eventually reached the summit via the North Col–Northeast Ridge route.
Source of the article: alp.org.ua