Climbing Mount Everest for 50 Years

On May 2 1 2003, it was a significant day in the mountaineering history of China: China people climbed Mount Everest at an altitude of 8848 meters again, and this time it was exactly 50 years since humans first climbed Mount Everest.

On the same day, 10 South Korean team members climbed Mount Everest, including 3 from China-South Korea joint mountaineering team and 7 from China Everest mountaineering team in 2003.

Despite the bad weather, snow and fog on Mount Everest that day, China managed to let the five-star red flag fly at the top of the world.

Looking back on 1953, when New Zealander Hillary Clinton and Nepalese Tenzin first printed human footprints on the top of the world, they never imagined that 50 years later, mountaineers all over the world would invariably climb Mount Everest again to commemorate this epoch-making event in human history.

Including China, 28 countries climbed Mount Everest this time, from Britain to Amazon, from Alps to Pyrenees. Britain, the United States, New Zealand, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Spain, Russia, Romania and other countries sent mountaineering teams. Perhaps what Hillary and Tenzin didn't expect was the enthusiasm of China people. When the China mountaineering team set out from the base camp at an altitude of 565,438+065,438+0 on May 25th, China CCTV aimed the camera at them.

It is worth mentioning that this is the first live broadcast of Mount Everest in human history. The Chinese set up the optical cable from the peak of 8848 meters to the base camp and sent the TV signal back to Beijing. For the first time, human beings have the desire to sit at home and watch the "roof of the world".

On may 1 1 day, the sunshine China mountaineering team set out from the base camp at an altitude of 5150m, followed the traditional mountaineering route, and officially headed for the top of the world. There is no doubt that they will face many challenges. Although they made repeated adaptive marches in the alpine camp six days ago, they never completed the advance from Camp 5 at an altitude of 7,790 meters to Camp 6 at an altitude of 8,300 meters.

In other words, the Everest mountaineering team composed of amateur players did not get the adaptive marching experience of more than 8000 meters.

But time waits for no one, and some players from other countries have already started ahead of time. And the weather is very good, Wan Li is clear and sunny, which is not much different from Jiangnan, if there are no high-altitude winds.

This is somewhat puzzling. After all, the continuous bad weather these days makes people feel that it is almost impossible: from the beginning of May, the stormy weather raged for more than a week.

At night, strong winds beat against the tent, and falling asleep in it is like being in a stormy sea. The advertising banners hanging outside the tent, under the beating of the strong wind, sounded like firecrackers.

The temperature difference between day and night here is more than 20 degrees Celsius, and the outdoor temperature at night is generally below zero degrees Celsius. Although there are four environmentally-friendly toilets in the east of the base camp, at night, almost no one can have the courage to rush out of the tent to go to the toilet.

The persistent strong high-altitude winds even completely destroyed the No.1 camp built by China at 5,500m, forcing China to build No.2 camp at 6,000m ... This means that eight members of the China mountaineering team will not be able to rest before 1 month as planned, and they will have to climb directly from 5150m to 6,000m.

Physical strength is a test. At an altitude of five or six kilometers, the oxygen content is only half that of the flat land. Altitude sickness makes people breathless after a few steps, and sleeping at night is not as fragrant as before. Everyone will feel a slight headache. In the tent, the lights that should have been turned off at 12 usually stay on until dawn.

Weather is also a test. In the Everest region, the weather changes quickly: a quarter of an hour ago, it might still be sunny; The wind can reach 10 in a quarter of an hour. This even conflicts with the weather forecast of mountaineering teams in different countries. On the same day, the Swiss Meteorological Observatory predicted strong winds and the China Central Meteorological Observatory predicted fine weather.

10: 35, in the solemn national anthem, after the sacred oath, the team members carried a brand-new national flag and headed for Everest along the path of the glacier stone pile in Zhongrongbu. They were accompanied by three alpine photographers and four CCTV reporters.

Because there are glaciers, ice rocks, rivers, ice cracks, ice towers and other dangerous landforms on the way, it took the team members more than seven hours to reach camp 2, which is 6000 meters.

At this time, the news came from the forward camp that the tents in the camp were torn by the big storm a few days ago. Fortunately, the alpine materials in the tent are intact.

At the same time, four Sherpas with extraordinary strength successfully ran a round trip between Qianjin Camp and Assault Camp at an altitude of 8,300 meters today, and successfully laid a TV cable between the two camps.

May 12 sunny.

At 8: 30 in the morning, the team members who had arrived at the 6000m No.2 camp yesterday began to head for the 6500m forward camp. At noon, the team members arrived one after another, and then had a rich lunch here, including chicken soup, wonton and fish.

Judging from the marching state, all the players are in good condition. According to the original plan, they will rest in the forward camp for two days, and then continue to go up. At present, the time for the first team members to reach the summit in the team is preliminarily determined as May 18, and other countries have indicated that they will reach the summit after this time. So China will be the first team to attack the summit.

Obviously, this decision needs some courage, because the news from meteorology shows that after 18, the tropical storm over the Indian Ocean will land on the southern slope of the Himalayas, which has a great impact on the weather in the Everest region.

However, the reason why China didn't change the heading time was because China was bigger than other national teams. Once the course plan is changed casually, it will bring unpredictable influence to the logistics work.

However, as the first team to attack the summit, China must repair the assault road from the assault camp at an altitude of 8,300 meters to the summit in advance. The original road construction plan for the route above the assault camp was worked out by Rosell, Eric, Swiss team and China team. Now, the situation has changed, and China has become the first leading team. Will other teams do nothing? Tomorrow, mountaineering teams from all over the world will hold the "International Mountain Cooperation Coordination Meeting" at the forward camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters. At that time, Nima Tsering, deputy commander of China mountaineering team, will discuss this matter with other mountaineering team leaders.

On the afternoon of May 13, strong winds and snowfall occurred around 7 pm, and Mount Everest was shrouded in dense clouds. However, the atmosphere of the International Mountain Coordination Conference held in Qianjin Camp was very warm.

Because at this time, mountaineering teams from all over the world got a gratifying weather forecast: May 17 and May 18 were excellent summit time, so they successfully reached a consensus, and mountaineering teams from all over the world joined hands to invite Sherpas to get through the summit route from an altitude of 8,300 meters.

Previously, the specific grouping of China mountaineering team has been determined: Group A is composed of three Sherpa alpine guides and alpine cameramen, *** 12, and will start tomorrow under the leadership of Nima Tsering, deputy commander of China mountaineering team, and the summit time will be 17 ~ 18. Group B consists of Wang Shi, Liang Qun, Li Weiwen, Liu Jian, Sean and six Sherpas. Under the leadership of captain Luo Shen, they will leave the 6500m forward camp on May 22nd.

Just when the China team decided to divide into specific groups, they received two "first" news that happened that day:

Early this morning, the Indian team 1 1 members successfully climbed Mount Everest from the south slope, becoming the first mountaineering team to successfully climb Mount Everest this year.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the Italian team left the Everest base camp and became the first team to withdraw from the camp this year.

On May 14, members of Team A of China left the striker camp and went to the 7028m Beiao camp. Three Korean members and three Chinese members of the China-South Korea joint mountaineering team also left the camp and went to the Beiao camp. If the weather permits, they will continue to climb up on June 5438+05 and enter Camp 4 at an altitude of 7790 meters.

When the two teams in China moved up, most of the rest were waiting at the forward camp.

On May 15, the front headquarters of Dafeng China team made a temporary decision: the team members retreated to the forward camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters and waited for the weather to improve before attacking.

As a result, the members of Group A of the China mountaineering team evacuated from the 7028-meter Bei 'ao camp, and at the same time, the Sino-Korean joint mountaineering team also returned.

It is understood that there was a gust of wind above Beiaoying 10 last night. Team member Liang Qun's tent was even broken by the strong wind, so that she had to carry a sleeping bag and incorporate it into other tents. Some players also got up several times in the wind to reinforce the tent.

After dawn, the wind showed no sign of abating. By about 12, the strong wind even reached the base camp, and the wind force was above seven. At this time, the forecast from the Central Meteorological Observatory shows that the windy weather above 7,000 meters above sea level of Mount Everest will last at least until May 19.

On may 16, the weather has not improved, but the wind is light. Most teams climbing Mount Everest continue to stand by in the forward camp. However, three South Korean members of the China-South Korea Joint Mountaineering Team have left the forward camp for Aobei camp. In addition, several Sherpa alpine members of the Japanese team delivered materials to the 8300-meter assault camp.

At the same time, the China Mountaineering Team held a meeting of all the team members and readjusted the team lineup: Liang Qun and Li Weiwen, who were originally in Group B, were transferred back to Group A where Liu Fuyong and Chen Junchi were located, so that Group A was changed from two players to four. The details are as follows: Nima Tsering, the captain of the mountaineering team, consists of Liu Fuyong, Chen Junchi, Liang Qun, Li Weiwen and Sherpa, as well as three mountaineering photographers and two students from Tibet Mountaineering School.

The meeting of that day decided that Group A would go up again on May 19, and launch an impact on the peak around May 22.

On May 17, Li Zhixin, executive vice chairman of China Xie Deng, rushed to Qianjin Camp to hold a plenary meeting.

After discussion, the grouping form of top players was adjusted again, and Liu Fuyong, who was originally in Group A, was adjusted to Group B. In this way, the members of the first commando team who rushed to the front returned to the trio, namely Chen Junchi, Li Weiwen and Liang Qun, and the captain was Nima Tsering; The second commando team consists of the remaining four people, and the captain is Luo Shen.

At the same time, the new summit plan determines May 2 1 day and May 22 as the summit days of two groups of commandos respectively.

At the meeting, Captain Wang Yongfeng also read out five disciplines on the implementation of the new summit plan: First, all actions are subject to command; Second, the captain and commander have the right to order the team members to evacuate at any time according to the new situation in progress. Third, the first commando team is responsible for building camps and repairing roads, and the second commando team is responsible for the response of the first commando team. 4. The retreat time of the first team in the process of heading is decided by captain Nima Tsering. No matter where the second team goes, it must be withdrawn before noon 1 Five, the trip must be based on the principle of "safety first", if there are foreign mountaineering teams need support on the way, the principle of giving priority to support and climbing from the top should be implemented.

At 2: 00 noon on May 18, the first commando team from Chongding climbed from the forward camp to the 7028-meter Aobei camp, and entered the camp more than four hours later.

Bei 'ao is a saddle-shaped valley between Mount Everest and northern Zhang Zifeng. Although the route is not long, it is difficult to climb. There is an unfathomable accumulation of ice and snow for thousands of years, and there are countless ice collapses and avalanche structures lurking here, which is the most dangerous ice collapse and avalanche area in Everest.

The maximum slope here is 70, and some sections are even vertical. It stands like a towering wall at the waist of Mount Qomolangma, becoming the only place to climb Mount Qomolangma along the East Rongbu Glacier Area, and is known as the gate of Mount Qomolangma.

For the danger here, a mountaineer who once climbed Mount Everest described it this way: "We didn't sleep well in the past three days due to the serious influence of high altitude and thin air;" I only ate a few biscuits. This will lead to severe dehydration of the body, blue skin and oxygen back to the brain, heart and other important organs. Climbing more than 7000 meters, even with bottled oxygen, I still suffer from heavy breathing. All this is warning you to back off. "

On May 19, the weather was fine, and the players did not wear gloves when interviewed by the media, which was in sharp contrast with the previous days.

At 0: 30 in the morning10, members of group a of China mountaineering team packed their bags and set off for the camp at an altitude of 7790 meters. The team members climbed slowly under the protection of ropes and reached an altitude of 7300 meters after half an hour.

In the warm and windless weather, the players' mood of marching up is very high. Chen Junchi is always at the forefront of the team, and some players even take off their down jackets and March upwards.

Behind Chen Junchi is Liang Qun, a female member, followed by Li Weiwen. Captain Nima Tsering, wearing a yellow mountaineering suit, and several members of the Tibet mountaineering team are behind to protect him.

At 4 pm, Team A arrived at the 7790-meter camp. They got a good news. According to the latest weather forecast sent by the Central Meteorological Observatory, on May 2 1 day, the temperature near the altitude of Mount Everest was -26℃ ~-30℃ and the wind speed was 26 m/s ~ 28 m/s, which was an excellent low wind and warm peak day. On May 20th, the 7790-meter camp was chilly. For the safety of the team members, the departure time of the 8300m assault battalion originally scheduled for 10: 30 this morning was postponed.

Since 7790 meters above sea level is the highest altitude reached by the three climbers, Chen Junchi, Liang Qun and Li Weiwen all challenged for a higher altitude. In the gale, every step of the climbers was very difficult.

1 1 o'clock, the players wearing protective glasses and oxygen masks set off. At about 5: 25 pm, three alpine cameramen, three alpine collaborators and group A member Chen Junchi took the lead in reaching the 8300m assault camp. About half an hour later, all the members of Group A arrived.

Here, they got a message that two Japanese players and three Sherpas successfully reached the summit that day.

According to the traditional mountaineering method, the assault camp should be set at around 8,600 meters instead of 8,300 meters, because the distance from 8,600 meters to 8,848 meters is less difficult for climbers, and the average time is only about 4 hours. But in recent years, with the improvement of modern mountaineering equipment and technology, people set the assault camp at 8300 meters.

But for this amateur team who has no hiking experience above 8000m, the biggest problem is that it takes at least 10 hour to walk from 8300m to the top. Moreover, under the action of recent windy weather, the snow near this ridge has been blown away, and most of it has formed a road surface of ice and rock, making it more difficult for crampons to walk.

This long journey will be a very severe test for the strength and will of the summit members.

On may 2 1 day, the capping began. At 0: 30 in the morning, 5 150m base camp, 6500m forward camp and 7028m Beiao camp simultaneously used walkie-talkies to call the 8300m team members of Group A to set off, and at 3: 03, the team set off as soon as they were ready.

At 6: 50, the team reached the first step. Two hours later, Captain Nima Tsering contacted Wang Yongfeng, the commander-in-chief of the operation. He said that there was a strong wind on the second step, and the visibility was very low, so the players struggled forward. The team members are walking towards the metal ladder of the second step. Known as the "China ladder", this metal ladder was built by China climbers in 1975, and it is also the only way for explorers from all over the world to reach the top of the North Depression. Although there are only 1 1 steps, the team members have to pay a hard price for climbing such a high altitude. Two Tibetan alpine cameramen, Tashi Tsering and Awang Pubu, followed by Chen Junchi, Liang Qun and Captain Nima Tsering, walked in front. The team members successfully passed the "China ladder" and took a solid step to the top.

At noon 12: 40, some members of Group A of China Mountaineering Team passed the second step of Mount Everest, and Wang Yongfeng, the chief action commander, predicted that Group A would reach the summit in 50 minutes. However, since then, the smooth progress of the summit has been affected due to climate reasons. Team member Li Weiwen also retreated to the height of 7028 meters because of physical abnormality.

Victory begins at 13: 40. Tibetan alpine photographer Tashi Tsering and Awang Pubu took the lead in climbing Mount Everest, and Nima Tsering succeeded in climbing the summit for the third time after two collaborators. Shortly thereafter, Wang Dui, Xiao Pubu and Phurbu Dondrub successively reached the summit. After more than 30 minutes, Chen Junchi and Liang Qun finally made it to the top. Seven members of Group A of China Mountaineering Team successfully completed the "zero distance contact" with the top of the world, holding five stars in their hands.

Finishing: zhl20 1702