1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition

Himalayan ascent requiring rock climbing techniques September 2014 August 2020 thumb|Mount Everest's Southwest Face. Nuptse obscures the view at the lower right.note This photo was taken in November 2012 but photographs are available online showing the rather similar snow conditions during the 1975 expedition.Boardman Richards 1976 plates 1–6 The 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition was the first to successfully climb Mount Everest by ascending one of its faces rather than along its ridges. In the post-monsoon season Chris Bonington led the expedition that used rock climbing techniques to put fixed ropes up the face from the Western Cwm to just below the South Summit. A key aspect of the success of the climb was the scaling of the cliffs of the Rock Band at about 27000 ft flip by Nick Estcourt and Tut Braithwaite. Two teams then climbed to the South Summit and followed the Southeast Ridge to the main summit – Dougal Haston with Doug Scott on 24 September 1975, who at the South Summit made the highest ever bivouac for that time, and Peter Boardman with Pertemba two days later. It is thought that Mick Burke fell to his death shortly after he had also reached the top. British climbers reached the summit of Everest for the first time in an event that has been described as "the apotheosis of the big, military-style expeditions". Bonington's route was climbed alpine style over a decade later in the 1988 Czechoslovak - New Zealand Mount Everest Southwest Face Expedition. Background Rock climbing in Britain after World War II After years of stagnation between the wars, British rock climbing underwent a renaissance, particularly with working-class climbing clubs starting up in the north of England and Scotland. The Rock and Ice Club in Manchester, the Creagh Dhu Mountaineering Club in Glasgow and several university climbing clubs were amongst those that engendered a highly competitive climbing environment. At Clogwyn Du'r Arddu in Wales numerous routes of a very high standard were achieved using strictly free climbing techniques. Hamish MacInnes and Dougal Haston, although not members, climbed with Creagh Dhu. MacInnes had mentored Bonington's youthful climbing as early as 1953. These associations led on to spectacular exploits such as the American-led direttissima route up the North Face of the Eiger in the winter of 1966 (including Hastonnote On the Eiger climb Bonington and Burke were climbing journalist and cameraman.Thompson 2010 246) and the televised climbing of the Old Man of Hoy in Orkney in the following year (including Bonington and Hastonnote On the Old Man of Hoy climb MacInnes was climbing cameraman.Thompson 2010 231). The public took notice and commercial sponsorship started to become a possibility for even more elaborate expeditions but with an ultimate aim of rock climbing. With all the 8000-metre peaks climbed by 1964, climbing in the Himalayas using rock climbing routes became an aspiration.Thompson 2010 189–260 Bonington's path to Everest Bonington's climbing career began when he was still in his teens and he was soon achieving technically difficult ascents in the Alps with several first ascents and, in 1962, the first ascent by a Briton of the Eiger's Nordwand. He made first ascents of Annapurna II (1960) and Nuptse (1962). His role as climbing photo-journalist on the "Eiger direttissima" in 1966 attracted attention and he was encouraged to mount his own expedition.Unsworth 1991 433–436 Bonington conceived of the idea of climbing Annapurna by its South Face which he realised was going to require siege tactics as well as rock climbing. What was to become the 1970 British Annapurna South Face expedition involved Haston as well as such climbers as Don Whillans, Mick Burke, Nick Estcourt, Martin Boysen and Ian Clough (Clough was killed during the descent).Thompson 2010 189–260 The expedition was a success because not only was the summit reached but it was, for its time, the most difficult technical climb to the summit of a major world peak.Unsworth 1991 434 Bonington had been the leader and had not personally attempted to reach the summit. He was a good communicator and he had been able to attract sponsorship and maintain a group of proficient yet individualistic climbers as a coherent team.Unsworth 1991 433–436 Seizing an opportunity for an Everest expedition post-monsoon in 1972, Bonington originally planned a lightweight expedition by the normal route but the failure of a European pre-monsoon Southwest Face expedition earlier in that year encouraged him to attempt the Southwest Face instead. In very poor weather Bonington's expedition failed to reach the summit but the team gained a great deal of experience, in particular discovering that the line they had chosen above Camp 6 was not as favourable as they had anticipated.Unsworth 1991 436–442 Bonington decided not to make any further post-monsoon attempts but the next suitable slot was a long way in the future so, after learning that a British Army team was planning a pre-monsoon 1976 expedition, Bonington tried to persuade them to allow his team to be included. However, his suggestion was rejected.Unsworth 1991 442–443 Climbing on Everest prior to 1975 Routes climbed After the 1921 British reconnaissance, attempts to climb Everest had been from Tibet because Nepal was closed to foreign climbers. Then, in 1950, Tibet's borders were closed when it was occupied by the People's Republic of China and by that time no expedition had been able to reach the summit. Partly on account of the political situation in Tibet, Nepal started allowing climbers entry in 1950 although it closed its frontiers again in 1966. During the period 1950–1966 three ridge routes were pioneered to reach the summit – the South Col—Southeast Ridge (1953 expedition), West Ridge—Hornbein Couloir (1963 expedition) and by a Chinese team via the North Col—Northeast Ridge (1960 expedition). However, no summit attempt had been made on routes up any of Everest's faces.Unsworth 1991 585–593note If a mountain is likened to a pyramid, a face is a triangular relatively flat part and an edge is the sharp part where two faces join. Often it is easier to climb an edge rather than a face. Nepal again allowed entry to climbers in 1969 and the Southwest Face, the only face accessible from Nepal, was such an attractive objective that Japan immediately mounted a spring reconnaissance in that year and returned in the autumn with a larger party with several climbers reaching 8000 m on a line striking left from the central gully (black—cyan route on the diagram below).Unsworth 1991 266–269, 594 Previous summit attempts using the Southwest Face thumb|The climbing routes of the 1969–1973 expeditions (colours described in text) Spring 1970 Japanese expedition – the expedition climbed no higher than in the previous year (black—cyan route on the diagram). However, led by Saburo Matsukata, a party reached the summit via the South Col.Unsworth 1991 560 Spring 1971 International expedition – led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, the expedition reached 8350 m (attained by Haston and Whillans) on a new line leading to the right above Camp 5 (black—blue—brown route).Unsworth 1991 561 Spring 1972 European expedition – Felix Kuen and Adolf Huber reached about 8300 m in an expedition led by Karl Herrligkoffer (black—blue—green route).Unsworth 1991 562 Autumn 1972 British expedition – on the Bonington-led expedition 8300 m was reached by Bonington, Ang Phu, MacInnes, Scott, Burke and Haston (black—blue route).Unsworth 1991 562 Autumn 1973 Japanese expedition – 8300 m was reached on the Southwest Face (black—blue route) but the expedition did reach the summit by the South Col. The expedition was led by Michio Yuasa and it was the first time Everest had been climbed after the monsoon.Unsworth 1991 563 Genesis of the 1975 expedition The post-monsoon Japanese expedition in autumn 1973 had attempted both the Southwest Face and the normal route. The face party had failed in much the same way as the British had the year before but the South Col team had managed what turned out to be a very significant achievement. In the post-monsoon season they had reached the summit by climbing directly from the South Col without stopping overnight. By the time they had reached the summit they were out of oxygen but despite that, and having to bivouac overnight without food, drink or a tent, they had returned safely to the South Col.Unsworth 1991 442 In December 1973 Bonington heard that a team had withdrawn from its 1975 time slot. It was for post-monsoon so when he applied for the slot he was again intending to attempt his lightweight South Col—Southeast Ridge scheme. Permission was given in April 1974 when he, Haston and Scott were starting on a Changabang expedition (which was to be another first ascent) and Haston and Scott were able to persuade Bonington to try the Southwest Face again, despite it having to be in the autumn.Unsworth 1991 443 The scheme eventually turned into what has been described as "the apotheosis of the big, military-style expeditions".Thompson 2010 302 Preparations A lesson learned from the 1973 Japanese expedition (and the 1952 Swiss expedition) was that any attempt should be as early as possible after the monsoon was over and this meant the trek from Kathmandu to Base Camp had to be during the monsoon. Another attempt using the "Whillans Chimney" above Camp 6 would have meant establishing a seventh camp and so a route to the left of the Great Central Gully would be taken on the same line that the earliest Japanese climbers had tried. Camp 6 would be established on the upper snowfield and a long traverse would be taken to the Southeast Ridge. To complete the traverse, climb the ridge, and return would be a very long day – a bivouac on the return might well be necessary. To get into a position to do this a large support team would need to make a rapid ascent up the central gully so very careful logistical planning would be necessary.Unsworth 1991 443–445, 448–449 Supplementary oxygen would be used above Camp 4 for climbers and Camp 5 for sherpas. 4000 m of fixed rope would be used up the face (fixed rope in the Icefall and climbing rope would be additional).Bonington 1976 170, 196 A management committee, chaired by Lord Hunt (John Hunt of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition), was set up for what would be an expensive, siege-style operation.Willis 2006 242Unsworth 1991 445–446 Peter Boardman was later to remark "for a mountaineer, surely a Bonington Everest expedition is one of the last great Imperial experiences life can offer."Thompson 2010 300 Bonington and his agent knew a director of Barclays Bank International and they approached him to see if the bank would provide sponsorship. Barclays not only agreed to provide the £100,000 requested but agreed to cover any overspend. This caused complaints from customers of the bank and a question was asked in Parliament.Unsworth 1991 443–445 In an era before personal computers, meticulous logistical planning was done on a mainframe computer owned by Ian McNaught Davis's computer firm and programmed by a professional programmer.Willis 2006 243Curran 1999 153 Expedition team The team was based on the climbers in the 1970 Annapurna and 1972 Southwest Face expeditions. Hamish MacInnes was to be deputy leader and Dougal Haston, Doug Scott, Mick Burke, Nick Estcourt, Mike Thompson and Martin Boysen agreed to take part. All except the last two had Southwest Face experience. People joining the team for the first time were Peter Boardman, Paul ("Tut") Braithwaite, Ronnie Richards, Dave Clarke, Allen Fyffe and Mike Rhodes. Rhodes was a Barclays employee, nominated by the bank. The doctors, both experienced mountaineers, were Charles Clarke and Jim Duff. Camp managers were Adrian Gordon and Mike Cheney who both spoke Nepali. There was to be a team of thirty-three climbing sherpas with Pertemba as sirdar and Ang Phu as deputy. Twenty-six porters for the Khumbu Icefall were led by their sirdar Phurkipa. There were further sherpas for general duties.Unsworth 1991 447 In addition there was a Sunday Times reporter and four people from the BBC to make a television documentary, all with their accompanying sherpas. A team of drivers was needed for transport to Kathmandu.Unsworth 1991 447–448 Equipment 24 LT t out off of equipment left Britain in over 1000 crates and needed to pass through 22 customs posts. Relatively little climbing gear was needed because the climb would be largely non-technical and oxygen cylinders, climbing rope and lightweight ladders were the major requirements. Deadmen (anchors for embedding in snow) turned out to be especially useful in the conditions encountered.Richards Stoodley 1976 181Clarke 1976 184–197 Eleven tonnes of food was taken and a greater quantity was procured in Nepal. Meals of different menus were wrapped identically to avoid the risk of favourite meals being selected out before they could be carried high on the mountain.Thompson 1976 214–215 Face boxes (box-like tents) were needed because there are no sizeable ledges on the steep face. The face boxes used in 1973 had been found to be not strong enough to resist falling rocks and ice, so for this expedition MacInnes designed strengthened boxes with roofs of bulletproof mesh for the lower camps on the face and small-size "assault boxes" for Camp 6. The two-man assault boxes were 3.5 x 3.6667 x 6.25 ft m 2 out off.note Assault box size: 3 ft 6 in × 3 ft 8 in × 6 ft 3 in.MacInnes 1976 200MacInnes 1976 197–200 The expedition Two 16-tonne trucks, driven by Bob Stoodley (transport manager for the team) and three other drivers, left London on 9 April 1975 and the gear was driven to Kathmandu from where it was flown to Lukla Airstrip and then carried by porters to Khunde, near Namche Bazaar, where it arrived for storage on 10 June, before the monsoon.Unsworth 1991 447–448 700px|center|thumb|Approach march, Kathmandu to Base Camp Trek from Kathmandu to Base Camp thumb|Later stages of the approach march The main team flew from London to Kathmandu from where in early August they travelled by road to Lamosanghu (near Pagretar).note This road is now the Araniko Highway and it carries on further north to cross into China at the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge at Kodari. From there on they travelled as two parties trekking separately.Willis 2006 243–244 Despite the trek taking place during the monsoon, in the mornings the weather was fine but with afternoon rain. Estcourt and Haston went ahead to prepare a route on the Icefall.Unsworth 1991 448–449note The route is still used for trekking – although there is now a road that penetrates as far to the east as Jiri it does not reach all the way to Khumbu.Kohli 2000 126–140 Bonington's party reached Khunde on 14 August after a two-week trek and at Thyangboche they met the lama to receive his blessing.Willis 2006 244–245 Taking about three days, hundreds of locally hired porters carried 27 ST t out off of equipment and 13 ST t out off of food from Khunde to Base Camp arriving by 23 August. It was at this stage that one of the porters went missing. He was a young boy who had been on the 1972 expedition and who Doug Scott in particular had taken under his wing. A search party found him dead in a stream just below Base Camp.Willis 2006 243, 246–247 Khumbu Icefall and Western Cwm About sixty sherpas ferried supplies through the Icefall and up to the Southwest Face.Willis 2006 243 It was necessary to prepare a route through shifting crevasses and seracs for the part of the climb that posed the greatest threat. Scott and Haston reached the top of the Icefall on 26 August and identified a place for Camp 1 at the foot of the Western Cwm at a place where surrounding crevasses would swallow up any avalanches.Willis 2006 247–249 Panoramique mont Everest.jpg 1000px Icefall (centre) and Glacier descending from the Western Cwm, hidden behind Nuptse (right). Everest's summit and Southwest Face are above the cwm. Between and below the summit of Everest and the South Summit lies the upper snowfield with the vertical cliffs of the Rock Band beneath it. (October 2005.) Camp 1 was established on 28 August in a much shorter time than had been managed in 1972. Each afternoon avalanches swept down the flanks of Everest and Nuptse as the temperature rose sharply after the cold nights. It took three days for Haston and Scott to prospect a route to a suitable site for Camp 2 at the head of the Western Cwm. As he had done in the Icefall, MacInnes took the lead in building ladder bridges for the sherpas following.Willis 2006 249, 251 The plan was to attempt the route originally taken by the Japanese 1969 expedition, crossing the Rock Band via a deep gully to the left. Camps 4 and 5 would be sited at lower heights than tried previously so as to be more sheltered.Unsworth 1991 448–449 Ascent of Southwest Face thumb|The climbing route of the 1975 expedition. The upper part of the route without fixed ropes is dotted red and the route proposed by Haston and Scott is dashed red. From Camp 2, Haston and Scott suggested a more direct climbing line up to the site of Camp 5 but in the end they agreed to stick to the previous plan since it was more sheltered from avalanches.Unsworth 1991 449 A week was spent establishing Camp 2. Scott and Burke started climbing the Southwest Face on 6 September, setting fixed rope to be used subsequently, and ascending 1200 ft flip to the foot of a buttress at the place selected for Camp 3.Willis 2006 249–250 Estcourt and Braithwaite followed next day, climbing beyond Camp 3 and taking two days fixing rope over difficult powder snow. Another two days allowed them to establish Camp 4 at 23700 ft flip and fix rope beyond towards the Great Central Gully.Willis 2006 250–251 Boysen and Boardman, and subsequently Haston, MacInnes and Bonington arrived to hack away platforms for camps suitable for sherpas and equipment high on the face. MacInnes was struck by an avalanche and, although he was not directly injured, ice crystals filled his lungs and he had to be helped to descend the face. Boardman, Haston and Boysen climbed to find a site for Camp 5.Willis 2006 251–253 On 18 September eight sherpas arrived at Camp 4 to carry more equipment up to Camp 5 and next day Bonington and Haston reconnoitred up towards the gully through the Rock Band. Then, on a radio call from Camp 5 Bonington announced that Haston and Scott would be the pair to make the first summit attempt. It would take Haston two days to ascend from the foot of the face during which time Estcourt and Braithwaite would attempt to set fixed ropes up the gully.Willis 2006 255–256 Climbing the Rock Band thumb|Upper Southwest Face. Between and below the summit of Everest and the South Summit lies the upper snowfield with the vertical cliffs of the Rock Band beneath it. The Great Central Gully is hidden until it descends to the lower right.note Photographs are available online showing the rather similar snow conditions during the expedition.Boardman Richards 1976 plates 1–6 Early in the morning of 20 September, Estcourt and Braithwaite left Camp 5 to take alternating leads up the Rock Band. Bonington and Burke waited until the sherpas brought more rope and then set off carrying up the rope that would be fixed in place ahead. They were climbing at 27000 ft flip, weighed down with oxygen cylinders, towards the gully with very few places that would take pitons but eventually they reached a snow patch suitable for a deadman anchor. Here the gully proper started and the risk of avalanches increased. After a few changes of lead Braithwaite spotted a rampnote A "ramp" in climbing is an ascending ledge across a rock faceGranowski Damian Climbing & Mountaineering Dictionary https://winterclimb.com/articles/item/61-climbing-mountaineering-dictionary winterclimb.com 3 March 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20160731135348/https://winterclimb.com/articles/item/61-climbing-mountaineering-dictionary 31 July 2016 11 April 2014 live that may, as in this case, have a footing sloping away from the face and have little by way of hand or foot holds. to the right but as he headed towards it his oxygen ran out and he almost passed out. A fall would have killed him. After removing his mask he reached a place where he could drive his ice-axe deeply into snow and belay the other three climbers up to him.Willis 2006 256–259 Estcourt led on up the ramp to a comparatively safe stance where his oxygen ran out. He headed on where there were very slight holds and where the only piton placement was not at all solid. At last he reached a crack that could be used for a firm piton. This pitch was possibly the hardest ever done at such an altitude. Estcourt described the climb as "Scottish Grade III" although that disregarded the difficulty of any climb at 27000 ft flip.Unsworth 1991 448–451note Scottish Grade III is similar to Alpine AD and has been described as "More sustained and steeper routes, generally following gullies or buttress (ridge) lines. Two axes required to overcome short, steep technical sections of ice or rock."Climbing Grades, Scottish Winter Grades http://www.elitemountainguides.com/climb/climb-grades/ Elite Mountain Guides 10 September 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140911051139/http://www.elitemountainguides.com/climb/climb-grades/ 11 September 2014 The two lead climbers continued up to the upper snowfield while the two in support left their rope burdens and went down to Camp 5. The Rock Band had been crossed in a single day.Willis 2006 256–259 Summit attempts Progress had been so good that Bonington saw an opportunity to have three parties attempt the summit on successive days and he announced his selections on 21 September. The first would be Scott and Haston (as had been widely expected); the second would be Burke, Boardman, Boysen and Pertemba; and the third Braithwaite, Estcourt, Ang Phurba and Bonington himself.Unsworth 1991 451–452 Bonington had previously promised Estcourt and Braithwaite they would be in any second party but he decided they might be weak right after their Rock Band exertions so he told them to return briefly to Camp 2 and then return to join the third party. They accepted this with good grace. Pertemba had been told he could select a sherpa for each of the two later attempts. Burke had been climbing slowly but Bonington considered that this could have been due to the weight of camera equipment and he realised the value of having filming high up on the mountain. MacInnes would have been a strong contender but Bonington was beginning to favour a younger person (Boardman) and MacInnes had still not recovered from the avalanche. MacInnes, upset, said he would leave the expedition but he would tell the press it was solely due to his health.Willis 2006 260–262 Privately Clarke, the team doctor, advised Bonington that he should not include himself in the summit attempts since that would mean he would be above 25500 ft flip for far too long. Reluctantly Bonington accepted this and gave his place to Richards.Unsworth 1991 452 Haston and Scott Haston, Scott and Ang Phurba left Camp 5 next morning, followed slightly later by six climbers (including Bonington) and sherpas in support. Scott was impressed by the difficulty of the climb up the gully and he went on to lead while laying 250 ft flip more rope to the upper snowfield, the site for Camp 6. After a rest at the camp the support climbers returned to Camp 5 leaving Haston and Scott to hack out space for their assault box. The following day they fixed a full 500 m of rope and returned to their "tent". After waking at 01:00 they left at 03:30 next morning, in the dark, setting off up their fixed ropes. Expecting they would have to bivouac on their round-trip to the summit, they took a tent sack (but no tent or sleeping bags), a stove for melting snow and two oxygen cylinders each. Three 50 m on ropes were taken for difficult sections.Willis 2006 262–265 Using binoculars, the main party at Camp 2 were just able to see the two climbers on the upper snowfield before they disappeared into a couloir leading up to the South Summit. They were then briefly spotted at the top of the couloir at 16:00, much later than expected, still moving upwards before it got dark. As dawn broke the next day they could be seen moving back to Camp 6.Curran 1999 158–159Willis 2006 267–268 By this time the second party had already set off from Camp 5, not knowing whether the first party had reached the summit and whether they would have to perform a rescue mission.Willis 2006 272Boardman Richards 1976 11 At dawn Scott and Haston had been above the fixed ropes and starting to climb the couloir to the South Summit when Haston's oxygen equipment failed. It had become blocked with ice but to clear the tube took over an hour. They fixed one of their ropes on a difficult section of the gully and continued, alternating the lead. Eventually they reached the ridge at 15:00 and were able to see across Tibet and over to Kangchenjunga. They had succeeded in climbing the Southwest Face but the aim was also to reach the top of Everest along the Southeast Ridge. They wondered whether to bivouac and so they started digging out snow from a cave just below them but then they decided the lying snow was probably in better condition than it would be in the morning. So they set off up the Southeast Ridge, Haston led up the Hillary Step, and the pair reached the summit together as the sun was starting to set, at 18:00, 24 September 1975.Willis 2006 265–266Unsworth 1991 452–453Curran 1999 158note Some of Scott's photographs are accessible online.In Pictures: Doug Scott on Everest https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/spl/pop_ups/05/all_doug_scott_on_everest/html/1.stm On This Day BBC News 4 October 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160306190409/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/spl/pop_ups/05/all_doug_scott_on_everest/html/1.stm 6 March 2016 In gathering darkness they descended, abseiling down the Hillary Step, but by the South Summit, clouds were covering the sky and lightning was flickering so they prepared for the highest bivouac ever undertaken at that time. They dug out the cave further and settled for a cold night (Scott estimated −50 °C1975: The Everest apprentice https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/september/24/newsid_4185000/4185568.stm Witness: On this Day 24 September 24 September 1975 BBC 4 October 2014 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160306221657/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/september/24/newsid_4185000/4185568.stm 6 March 2016) without oxygen or heating fuel, rubbing each other to try ward off the cold. To save weight Scott had left his down suit at the lower camp. Although partly hallucinating they knew they could not survive if they fell asleep. At first light they headed on down, reaching Camp 6 at 09:00 and radioing down their news. They had survived without getting frostbite.Willis 2006 269–271Unsworth 1991 454 At the time the Guardian described it as being like "spending the night in a sheet sleeping-bag in a deep freeze, with the oxygen cut by two-thirds".Wilson Ken Ken Wilson (mountaineering writer) Everest beaten – the hard way https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/sep/26/archive-everest-beaten-hard-way live https://web.archive.org/web/20140911021334/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/sep/26/archive-everest-beaten-hard-way 11 September 2014 The Guardian 26 September 1975 As well as being the first people to summit Everest by the Southwest Face, they were also the first Britons to reach the summit by any route.note Twenty-two years earlier the British press had treated Hillary and even Tenzing as if they were British. In the News Chronicles front page story on 2 June 1953 the first paragraph was "Glorious Coronation Day news! Everest – Everest the unconquerable – has been conquered. And conquered by men of British blood and breed".Gillman 1993 p. 64 shows a photo of the front pageThompson 2010 253, 299 For the time, it had been the fastest ever ascent of Everest, 33 days.note 33 days measured from leaving Base Camp to reaching the summit. In 1979 this time was improved by a Swabian (Germany) team on the South Col route.Unsworth 1991 465, 604 The second summit team arrived at Camp 6 to find them safe and well and by afternoon Haston and Scott had jumared down to Camp 2.Boardman Richards 1976 11 Boardman, Boysen, Burke and Pertemba Moving up to Camp 6 Burke had been climbing slowly and was very late in arriving.Willis 2006 272 He was weighed down because he was working as a cameraman for the BBC and his filming was very important for him as well as for the whole team.Curran 1999 159 Bonington told Boysen that Burke should stay at Camp 6 next day but when Burke eventually arrived he was able to persuade Bonington to let him continue. The following morning all four started the ascent but Boysen's oxygen set soon failed and he lost a crampon and so had to return to the camp. Boardman and Pertemba climbed strongly with Burke lagging far behind.Willis 2006 272–273 The pair had reached the South Summit by 11:00 where Pertemba's oxygen blocked in the same way as had Haston's.Unsworth 1991 455 They reached the summit of Everest at just after 13:00 on 26 September. There was poor visibility in the wind-driven mist.Willis 2006 274 The weather deteriorated further as Boardman and Pertemba descended and the visibility was getting worse. To their astonishment they encountered Burke, sitting in the snow, only a few hundred metres from the summit and above the Hillary Step. They had been assuming he had rejoined Boysen at camp 6. He asked them to return to the summit for him to photograph them but, seeing their reluctance, said he would go by himself to take some photographs and do some filming from the top. After agreeing to wait for him at the South Summit they separated. After a wait of over 1 1 2 hours in blizzard conditions it was getting dark so at 16:30 the pair started to descend the couloir in the storm. They still had oxygen and they were fortunate to find the end of the fixed ropes in the dark. At 19:30 they only just managed to rejoin Boysen at Camp 6 with Boardman needing to half-drag Pertemba over the final distance. Mick Burke did not return.Willis 2006 274–277Curran 1999 159 Boardman had frostbite in his feet, Pertemba was snowblind and Boysen got frostbitten hands clearing snow for the 30 hours they were trapped at Camp 6 by the storm.Unsworth 1991 457 Clearing the mountain The storm had passed by 28 September and the third summit team were still at Camp 5. However, with powder avalanches coming down the face and with no hope of finding Burke, the expedition was called off.Willis 2006 278–279 Those at Camp 5 waited for Boysen, Boardman and Pertemba and then accompanied them down to Camp 2 on the Western Cwm where they were interviewed by the BBC.Willis 2006 278–279Ralling 1994 Two days earlier Camp 1 had been evacuated as it began to slide down the Icefall and on 27 September the people at Camp 4 had been ordered down because it was threatened by the huge amount of snow higher up the face.Willis 2006 278–279 During the evacuation, Gordon had become stranded in the dark and a rescue needed to be mounted – Bonington with a rescue party located him and managed to return with him to Camp 2 at midnight.Willis 2006 278–279 Later that night an avalanche devastated the entire camp and, though no one was injured, the camp had to be abandoned.Willis 2006 279 The expedition was back to Base Camp by 30 September, to Kathmandu by 11 October, and to London on 17 October.Bonington 1976 161 Subsequent events Mick Burke's body has not been foundnote Not found 2025 September y.Hirst Lauren How Everest mission ended in tragedy and triumph https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8jmr2pzegpo 21 September 2026 BBC News 27 September 2025 but it is thought likely he did reach the summit.Unsworth 1991 457 The expedition considerably exceeded its planned expenditure – £130,000 rather than £100,000. Barclays, the sponsors, owned several media rights including those to the book Bonington was to publish, Everest the Hard Way, which became a best-seller and so the bank was able to recover its entire expenditure.Unsworth 1991 445 The BBC produced a documentary film of the same name.Everest the Hard Way (1975) https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b713856bd https://web.archive.org/web/20230424080847/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b713856bd dead 24 April 2023 BFI British Film Institutenote The BBC documentary was produced by Ned Kelly and Chris Ralling and was narrated by John Castle.Ralling 1994 With the publicity given to the expedition, Bonington, Haston and Scott became household names in Britain. Bonington was made a CBE and later went on to receive a knighthood.Thompson 2010 300 Two years later Scott was proposing a lightweight expedition to The Ogre in the Karakoram that was to include Bonington (as a team member) and Haston. While it was being planned, news came through that Haston had been killed in an avalanche while skiing in the Alps. The expedition went ahead and in fact Scott and Bonington became the first people to reach the summit.Willis 2006 335–357 Estcourt was killed on the 1978 Bonington-led K2 West Ridge expedition.Willis 2006 422 Boardman died together with Joe Tasker on Bonington's 1982 Everest Northeast Ridge expedition.Willis 2006 466–504 Pertemba founded his trekking agency in 1985 and also later that year teamed up again with Bonington on a Norwegian-led expedition that led to Bonington reaching the summit of Everest for his first and only time.Willis 2006 511–516 The Southwest Face was climbed by a Slovak expedition in 1988 when four climbers reached the South Summit in alpine style with no supplementary oxygen. Jozef Just sk Jozef Just (horolezec) went on to reach the main summit on 17 October but on the descent his team all disappeared in a strong storm after their last radio contact with the base saying they were on the way to the South Col. Their bodies were never found.Vranka Milan Príbeh štyroch slovenských horolezcov, ktorí zmizli na Mount Evereste http://www.pluska.sk/plus-7-dni/ludia/pribeh-styroch-slovenskych-horolezcov-ktori-zmizli-mount-evereste.html Plus 7 dní pluska.sk 13 October 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20160517095017/http://www.pluska.sk/plus-7-dni/ludia/pribeh-styroch-slovenskych-horolezcov-ktori-zmizli-mount-evereste.html 17 May 2016 A South Korean expedition climbed the route in 1995. However, on either side of the face (and so possibly to be included in its scope) are the South Pillar and Central Pillarnote The South Pillar is also called the South Buttress and the Central Pillar is also called the Southwest Pillar.Gillman 1993 Gillman, Peter. "Everest – the thirteen routes", pp. 186–187 and these have been successfully used as climbing routes several times starting in 1980 and 1982 for the two routes respectively.Unsworth 1991 571, 576–577 In 1980 there was an ascent of Everest by a full North Face route; a Kangshung Face route was achieved in 1983.Unsworth 1991 572, 581Gillman 1993 Gillman, Peter. "Everest – the thirteen routes", pp. 186–187 Forty years after the ascent ten of the expedition's members took part in a reunion meeting at the Royal Geographical Society in London, raising funds for Community Action Nepal.Horrell Mark The first ascent of the Southwest Face of Everest https://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2015/the-first-ascent-of-the-southwest-face-of-everest/ Footsteps on the Mountain 14 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20190331145707/https://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2015/the-first-ascent-of-the-southwest-face-of-everest/ 31 March 2019 live Everest climbers mark 40 years https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34327080 BBC News 23 September 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20160904045947/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34327080 4 September 2016 live See also List of Mount Everest expeditions Notes note References Citations Sources Boardman Peter Richards Ronnie British Everest expedition SW face 1975 Alpine Journal 1976 81 325 3–14 https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1976_files/AJ%201976%203-14%20Boardman%20Everest.pdf Bonington Chris Everest the Hard Way 1976 Hodder and Stoughton London 0340208333 Clarke first Dave Bonington 1976 Appendix 5, Equipment 184–197 Curran Jim High achiever: the life and climbs of Chris Bonington 1999 Robinson: John Constable 1-84119-261-9 149–162 https://archive.org/details/highachieverlife0000curr/page/149/mode/1up 17. 'Big E' 1975 Gillman Peter Everest: the best writing and pictures from seventy years of human endeavour 1993 Little, Brown Boston 0316904899 Everest – the Thirteen Routes Kohli Mohan Singh Mohan Singh Kohli The Himalayas : playground of the gods: trekking, climbing, adventure 2000 Indus Publishing Co. New Delhi 126–140 9788173871078 https://books.google.com/books?id=L4knycWWbqgC&pg=PA126 https://web.archive.org/web/20170810084350/https://books.google.com/books?id=L4knycWWbqgC&pg=PA126 10 August 2017 live MacInnes Hamish Bonington 1976 Appendix 5, Equipment, Tentage pages/97–203 Ralling Chris Filming on Everest Alpine Journal 1994 116–124 https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1994_files/AJ%201994%20116-124%20Ralling%20Everest.pdf 5 October 2014 Richards Ronnie Stoodley Bob Appendix 4, Transport 181–183 Bonington 1976 Thompson Mike Bonington 1976 Appendix 7, Food 213–218 Thompson Simon Unjustifiable risk?: the story of British climbing 2010 Cicerone Milnthorpe 9781852846275 Unsworth Walt Everest: The Ultimate book of the Ultimate Mountain Grafton Books 1991 0-586-20626-4 Willis Clint The boys of Everest : Chris Bonington and the tragedy of climbing's greatest generation 2006 Carroll & Graf Publishers New York 978-0-78671-579-4 https://archive.org/details/boysofeverestchr00will/page/n7/mode/1up?q=%22Rock+band%22 Further reading Bonington Chris The Everest Years: a climber's life 1986 Hodder & Stoughton London 0340366907 none Bonington Christian Scott Doug Haston Dougal Everest Southwest face American Alpine Journal 1976 20 2 345–358 https://aac-publications.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/aaj/1976/PDF/AAJ_1976_20_2_345.pdf none live https://web.archive.org/web/20141006113835/https://aac-publications.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/aaj/1976/PDF/AAJ_1976_20_2_345.pdf 6 October 2014 Scott Doug Everest South-west Face Climbed Himalayan Journal 1976 34 https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/34/1/everest-south-west-face-climbed/ none Scott Doug 2009 Doug Scott on Surviving Everest and The Ogre video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCL83Ox3DAs Trail magazine YouTube none – Trail magazine 23 July 2009 video of interview with Doug Scott (includes his commentary on 1975 expedition): Venables Stephen 2005 The British on Top of the World audio https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04cfdhr BBC none – 2005 radio programme by mountaineer Stephen Venables with contributions by Bonington 27 58 48 N 86 54 36 E title dms Category:1975 in Nepal Category:1975 in the United Kingdom Mount Everest 1975 1975 Category:Nepal–United Kingdom relations