Death of the expedition to Everest 1996. Russian hero of Everest. The real story of the tragedy in the Himalayas. The dangers lurking in the commercial approach to mountaineering

Three versions of one terrible tragedy narrated by its participants and researchers

Everest 1996

Three versions of one terrible tragedy,
told by its participants
and researchers

In cinemas around the world, the film “Everest” is in full swing, dedicated to the terrible events of 1996 that unfolded on the “roof of the world” due to massive commercial expeditions, inconsistency in the actions of guides and unpredictable weather. A dry summary of the tragedy is as follows: on May 10-11, 1996, after a series of ascents, 8 climbers were left forever on the mountain: a storm that suddenly caught them on a late descent disorientated the travelers, forcing them to wander in complete darkness and a snowstorm in the death zone without oxygen. Thanks to several night trips by one of the guides, three climbers were rescued; another, recognized as dead, later came to the camp himself, half dead and frostbitten. At least 4 books, dozens of articles were written about the tragedy on Everest in 1996, and several films were made, 2 of them feature films. But for almost 20 years, no one has been able to put an end to the discussion - except, perhaps, the new film by Baltasar Kormakur mentioned above. Today we will return to this terrible drama and present three main points of view on the events of May 1996.

The main controversy was between Adventure Consultants expedition member Jon Krakauer (now living), who went to Everest as a guest journalist from Outside, and Mountain Madness expedition guide Anatoly Boukreev, one of the most outstanding climbers of the Soviet school, who conquered 11 eight-thousanders of 14 and those who died on Annapurna in 1997. Today we will try to understand this avalanche of mutual accusations and understand why, despite the total popularity of the views of the Outside journalist, the award for courage in the United States was given to Bukreev, and in the film “Everest” the Russian’s role is one of the leading ones. So, meet: abstracts from the books “In Thin Air” ( Jon Krakauer, USA, 1997) and “The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest” (Anatoly Boukreev, Weston de Walt, USA, 1997), as well as

Statistics on those killed on May 10, 1996:
• "Adventure Consultants": 4 dead (2 guides, 2 clients)
• "Mountain Madness": 1 dead (guide)
• Indian expedition: 3 dead (military)

a reconciling version from the film “Everest” (Baltasar Kormakur, USA, 2015). And although the outcome of the tragedy and the lists of those killed are described in detail on Wikipedia and various portals, we still warn you: Be careful, spoilers!

Version No. 1: accusation

Jon Krakauer is one of the most prominent outdoor journalists in the United States of the last 20 years. It was he who wrote the investigative book about Alex the Supertramp, a traveler who traveled alone across America to Alaska and met his death there. This book was used to make the cult film “Into the Wild,” which fans of free travel consider the most important movie of the 2000s. But long before this, Krakauer’s important literary achievement was an attempt to understand the tragedy on Everest in 1996, of which he was a direct participant. He belonged to Rob Hall's ill-fated Adventure Consultants expedition, which buried most of its members that fateful day. It was he who was the first to speak out publicly and announce his version of what happened - first with an article in Outside magazine, then with the documentary novel “In Thin Air.”

Krakauer focuses on the mistakes of guides: unhealthy competition, lack of proper organization, inattention to client illnesses and lack of a plan in case of disaster.

Krakauer’s main emphasis is on the mistakes of guides: their desire to compete with each other in the quality of the service provided in order to lure new participants to the next year, lack of proper organization, inattention to the needs and illnesses of clients and, finally, the lack of a plan in case of disaster. The bottom line is that all his claims are true: Rob Hall, the head of Consultants, at that time really had a monopoly on commercial ascents on Everest, but the experienced and adventurous Scott Fisher (Mountain Madness), who was preparing for the expedition, suddenly began to step on his heels Almost at the last moment, he recruited the strongest climber of the Soviet school, Anatoly Bukreev, as a guide. Hall brought in best-selling Outside magazine writer Jon Krakauer, giving him a good discount and literally snatching him from Fischer's grasp. Fisher, in turn, took Manhattan star, socialite Sandy Pittman, to the mountain, who promised NBC to broadcast live from the mountain. Naturally, behind all these debates and attempts to please elite clients, real organizational issues were left far away.

Still from the movie "Everest". Photo: independent.co.uk

Hall, Fisher and the other guides on the mountain, in their quest for glory, failed to keep track of a huge number of things: safety ropes(railings) were not hung along the entire route, which greatly slowed down the ascent; many clients were frankly unprepared for the climb (poorly physically prepared or insufficiently acclimatized), and the control time for returning from the mountain was never precisely stated, which is why many climbers stood on the summit for an unforgivably long time, losing precious minutes. Finally, Fischer's team didn't even have proper walkie-talkies, which prevented the team from coordinating their actions when disaster struck. But for some reason, Anatoly Boukreev suffered the most from Krakauer - the only one who was able to get his bearings and go out into the night to help his clients. It was Bukreev, during night outings in a terrible snowstorm, who discovered a group of 5 people lost 400 meters from the camp and saved those three who were still able to walk. However, Krakauer writes in his book that the Russian climber was taciturn and did not help clients, followed his own climbing and acclimatization schedule, which he alone understood, did not use oxygen on the climb, and in a difficult situation abandoned all those who died higher on the mountain . Oddly enough, the fact that Krakauer blames Bukreeva saved the lives of three people: the cylinders he saved were useful to those who were dying of frostbite in the disaster zone, and the early return to the camp from the mountain allowed the climber to make two night searches in absolute solitude lost. Perhaps it was Bukreev’s closed, non-contact nature and his poor English that prevented Krakauer from understanding the situation, but he did not abandon the written words even after the death of Anatoly in 1997 on Annapurna, although he agreed to review other points in his book.

Scott Fisher (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) in the movie Everest. Photo: wordandfilm.com

For some reason, Anatoly Bukreev suffered the most from Krakauer - the only one who was able to find his bearings and go out into the night to help his clients

The fact that the world completely trusted Krakauer and his point of view seems very strange, if not suspicious. A journalist who at the last moment switched from one team to another because of the price; an unprofessional (albeit strong) climber who was unable not only to reach the tents on his own, but also to come to the aid of a group of 5 people in distress, and who made a number of serious factual errors (he confused client Martin Adams with the “Consultants” guide Andy Harris, who died higher on the mountain, thereby giving vain hope to his relatives) - could Krakauer give an objective assessment of what was happening on the mountain, just a few weeks after the event? As in the case of the later book “Into the Wild,” all relatives of the victims, without exception, were offended by Krakauer: Rob Hall’s wife - for making it public last time conversation with her husband on a satellite phone, Fischer's friends - for reproaches of unprofessionalism, the husband of the deceased Japanese climber Yasuko Namba - because, like the others, he considered the still breathing woman unworthy of salvation. Be that as it may, many of his arguments are fair, and the book “Into Thin Air” was and remains an absolute bestseller among all the literature about the tragedy on Everest in 1996.

Rob Hall speaks to his wife on a satellite phone. Still from the film “Everest”, kinopoisk.ru

Version No. 2: feat

Stunned by Krakauer’s accusations, Boukreev responded to the journalist with the book “Ascension,” the main work on which was done by the interviewer Weston de Walt. Oddly enough, in many ways his explanations do not contradict Krakauer’s theses, but confirm them: Boukreev talks in detail about the devastation that reigned during the preparation of Fischer’s expedition and how desperately they tried to hide from clients the fact that there was barely enough oxygen to rise and the descent of all participants, and the money remaining with Fischer is not enough for rescue operations in case of emergency. Boukreev was also surprised by the fact that the most experienced climber Fischer did not follow the acclimatization schedule, ran back and forth on the mountain according to the needs of his clients, without sparing himself, thereby signing his own death warrant. In addition, Boukreev assessed the abilities of his team members much more soberly: several times he asked Fischer to “unfold” several members, but he was adamant and wanted to bring as many clients as possible to the top. These actions put the lives of other climbers at risk: for example, senior Sherpa Lobsang Jambu, instead of hanging ropes on a dangerous section of the route, actually dragged the overworked Sandy Pittman up.

Boukreev never saw the partial apology that Krakauer included in the 1999 reissue of his book: in December 1997 he died on Annapurna

Boukreev also made two important mistakes: during the night outings, he decided that it was no longer possible to save Yasuko Nambu and Beck Withers, who were frostbitten and showed no signs of life, and returned to the camp with the climbers who could walk. The next day, the expedition members again returned to their frozen comrades and considered their condition hopeless, although they were still breathing. Beck Withers returned to camp against all laws of life and physics. Yasuko Namba died alone among the ice and stones. Subsequently, during an Indonesian expedition in April 1997, Boukreev found her body and built an arch of stones over it to prevent highland birds from feeding on it. He repeatedly apologized to Namba's widower for failing to save her. Boukreev also failed to help his boss: in the book, he says that, unlike the Sherpas, he understood perfectly well that Fischer had no chance of surviving a night in a snowstorm at a great height. However, on May 11 at about 19:00 in the evening, he went upstairs to ascertain the death of his comrade.

Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson as Boukreev. Still from the movie "Everest". Photo: lenta.ru

Weston de Walt devotes several chapters of the book to what preceded the ascent: Anatoly’s high-altitude work (he was plotting the route with Sherpas when he realized that he didn’t have enough hands), his acclimatization process, working with clients and conversations with Fischer. If he and Hall had followed Bukreev’s advice, the victims could have been avoided altogether, but history does not know the subjunctive mood, just as the mountains do not know the feeling of compassion. Boukreev never saw the partial apology that Krakauer included in the 1999 reissue of his book: in December 1997, an avalanche overtook him and high-altitude cameraman Dmitry Sobolev on Annapurna. The bodies were never found. Bukreev was 39 years old.

Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson as Boukreev. Photo: letmedownload.in

Version No. 3: elements

Baltasar Kormakur, who made the difficult decision to make a blockbuster based on the tragedy, which next year will be 20 years old, decided not to put an end to the endless debate between the parties, but to take a different path. The creator of the film “Everest” was much more interested in the elements and the challenge that the death zone threw at each of the travelers in exchange for conquering the roof of the world. Neither profession, nor family, nor venerable age can stop someone who once caught mountain fever - the film pays special attention to how each of the climbers hides their illness and weakness in order to reach the top at any cost. To create a reliable story, the film team did not turn to the texts of “professionals” at all - the works of Krakauer and Boukreev were left aside. The greatest attention was paid to the book by Beck Withers - the same client who himself crawled to the camp on frostbitten hands and feet. It’s not for nothing that it’s called “Left to Die”: Withers experienced first-hand that not only a mountain, but also people in extreme conditions can be cruel. Left for dead three times (first by Rob Hall on the climb when he was struck by snow blindness, the second time on the South Col, and the third time in a camp tent at night during a new storm), he was nevertheless able to save not only his life , but also a sympathetic attitude towards other participants in the tragedy.

The creators of "Everest" did not take sides: they sought to show the personal drama of everyone who was destined to be on the mountain that day, and the struggle for life despite all obstacles

Another source of information for the film crew was transcripts of conversations between the Adventure Consultants leader and his wife, Jen Arnold. In these dialogues, Rob Hall reports on the situation, freezing alone on Hillary's steps, and tells the details of what happened at the very top in the midst of the storm, and says goodbye to his pregnant wife. The scene of the personal drama in the film is reproduced in as much detail as possible: Hall died saving one of his clients, Doug Hansen, whom he did not manage to lift up the mountain once and took with him a second time with an eye to victory. His demonstrated humanity cost him his life: having started the descent too late and having wasted oxygen, both remained forever on the mountain.

Still from the film “Everest”, kinopoisk.ru

Also, Kormakur, unlike many researchers of the situation, thought to communicate not only with the expedition members, whose memories were clouded by oxygen starvation, cold and horror from the death of their comrades, but also with those who observed the disaster from the sidelines and participated in rescue operations. David Breashers, a member of the IMAX expedition that filmed a documentary about Everest that same spring, donated his oxygen to the victims and helped them in their descent, and also told the creators of the new film many interesting details. The creators of Everest did not take sides: they sought to show the personal drama of everyone who was destined to be on the mountain that day, and the struggle for life in spite of all obstacles.

However, we still know something about which of the climbers the creators of the new film sympathized with: in “Everest,” Krakauer has only a couple of lines - the strange question “why are you all here” at the base camp, addressed to the expedition members, and the phrase “I won’t go with you,” thrown at Bukreev before the start of his rescue operation. But the team took the selection of an actor for the role of the Russian climber as seriously as possible (he is played by the Icelandic film star Ingvar Sigurdsson, who has already played Russians), and Bukreev himself is shown in detail in the scene of the rescue of the climbers.

If you believe the Sherpas - the indigenous inhabitants of these places - every action has its consequences and every sown seed of karma will sprout sooner or later. Since that tragedy, much more terrible events have occurred on Everest. And now, 20 years later, through the cameras of Kormakur’s cameramen, the tragedy on Everest in 1996 is gradually losing its heroic flair and becoming what it really was - a fatal coincidence of circumstances, mistakes and omissions of many people. All this would not have led to anything serious if not for a terrible unforeseen storm that collected a bloody toll on the mountain. Despite the horror of the situation, the drama at the peak taught those who advocated commercial climbs a lot, forcing them to be more careful and prudent, and reminding clients of the costs of great ambition. And if, despite everything, the eight-thousanders still attract you, we advise you to dive as seriously as possible into the Everest 1996 case and decide for yourself whether you are willing to pay such a price to have your name written in history.

Climbing participants

Commercial expedition “Mountain Madness”

For the necessary acclimatization in the mountains, members of the Mountain Madness expedition were supposed to fly from Los Angeles on March 23 to Kathmandu, and fly to Lukla (2850 m) on March 28. On April 8, the entire group was already in Base Camp. Unexpectedly for everyone, the group's guide, Neil Bidleman, developed a so-called “high altitude cough”. After Biddleman, other members of the expedition began to have health problems. Nevertheless, everyone carefully followed the “acclimatization schedule.” However, as it turned out later, Scott Fischer was in bad shape. physical fitness and took 125 mg of Diamox (Acetazolamide) daily.

Commercial expedition "Adventure Consultants"

Chronology of events

Belated rise

Climbing without the use of oxygen, Anatoly Boukreev reached the top first, at approximately 13:07. A few minutes later Jon Krakauer appeared at the top. After some time, Harris and Biddleman. Many of the remaining climbers did not reach the summit before 14:00 - the critical time when they must begin their descent to safely return to Camp IV and spend the night.

Anatoly Boukreev began to descend to Camp IV only at 14:30. By then, Martin Adams and Cleve Schoening had reached the summit, while Biddleman and the other members of the Mountain Madness expedition had not yet reached the summit. Soon, according to the observations of the climbers, the weather began to deteriorate; at approximately 15:00 it began to snow and it became dark. Makalu Go reached the summit at the beginning of 16:00 and immediately noticed a deterioration weather conditions.

The senior Sherpa in Hall's group, Ang Dorje, and the other Sherpas remained to wait for the other climbers at the summit. After about 15:00 they began their descent. On the way down, Ang Dorje spotted one of the clients, Doug Hansen, in the Hillary Steps area. Dorje ordered him to come down, but Hansen did not answer him. When Hall arrived on scene, he sent Sherpas down to help other clients while he stayed behind to help Hansen, who had run out of supplemental oxygen.

Scott Fisher reached the summit only at 15:45, being in bad physical condition: Possibly due to altitude sickness, pulmonary edema and exhaustion from fatigue. It is unknown when Rob Hall and Doug Hansen reached the top.

Descent during a storm

According to Boukreev, he reached Camp IV by 17:00. Anatoly was heavily criticized for his decision to go down before his clients. Krakauer accused Boukreev of being “confused, unable to assess the situation, and showing irresponsibility.” He responded to the accusations by saying that he was going to help the descending clients with further descent, preparing additional oxygen and hot drinks. Critics also claimed that, according to Boukreev himself, he descended with client Martin Adams, however, as it turned out later, Boukreev himself descended faster and left Adams far behind.

Bad weather made it difficult for the expedition members to descend. By this time, due to a snowstorm on the southwestern slope of Everest, visibility had deteriorated significantly, and the markers that had been installed during the ascent and indicated the path to Camp IV disappeared under the snow.

Fischer, who was helped by Sherpa Lopsang Jangbu, could not descend from the Balcony (at 8230 m) in a snowstorm. As Go later said, his Sherpas left him at an altitude of 8230 m along with Fischer and Lopsang, who also could no longer descend. In the end, Fischer convinced Lopsang to go down alone, leaving him and Go behind.

Hall radioed for help, reporting that Hansen had lost consciousness but was still alive. Adventure Consultants guide Andy Harris began the climb to the Hillary Steps at approximately 5:30 p.m., carrying a supply of water and oxygen.

Several climbers got lost in the South Col area. Mountain Madness members guide Biddleman, Schoening, Fox, Madsen, Pittman and Gammelgard, along with Adventure Consultants members guide Groom, Beck Withers and Yasuko Namba, were lost in the snowstorm until midnight. When they could no longer continue their journey from fatigue, they huddled together just 20 meters from the abyss at the Kanshung wall. Kangshung Face). Pittman soon began to experience symptoms of altitude sickness. Fox gave her dexamethasone.

Around midnight, the storm subsided, and the climbers were able to see Camp IV, which was located 200 m away. Biddleman, Groom, Schöning and Gammelgard went for help. Madsen and Fox remained with the group and called for help. Boukreev located the climbers and was able to bring out Pittman, Fox and Madsen. He was also criticized by other climbers because he gave preference to his clients Pittman, Fox and Madsen, while it was argued that Namba was already in a dying state. Boukreev didn’t notice Withers at all. In total, Boukreev made two trips to bring these three climbers to safety. As a result, neither he nor the other participants who were in Camp IV had any strength left to go after Namba.

However, Withers regained consciousness later that day and made it back to camp alone, much to the surprise of everyone in the camp as he suffered from hypothermia and severe frostbite. Withers was given oxygen and tried to warm him up, settling him in a tent for the night. Despite all this, Withers had to face the elements again when a gust of wind blew his tent away one night and he had to spend the night in the cold. Once again he was mistaken for dead, but Krakauer discovered that Withers was conscious and on May 12 he was prepared for emergency evacuation from Camp IV. Over the next two days, Withers was lowered to Camp II, part of the journey, however, he made on his own, and was later evacuated by rescue helicopter. Withers underwent a long course of treatment, but due to severe frostbite, his nose, right hand and all the fingers of his left hand were amputated. In total, he underwent more than 15 operations, his back muscles were reconstructed thumb, and plastic surgeons restored the nose.

Scott Fisher and Makalu Go were discovered on May 11 by Sherpas. Fischer's condition was so serious that they had no choice but to make him comfortable and devote most of their efforts to saving Go. Anatoly Boukreev made another attempt to save Fischer, but only discovered his frozen body at approximately 19:00.

North slope of Everest

Indo-Tibetan Border Guard

Less known, but no less tragic, are 3 more accidents that occurred on the same day with climbers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Service climbing the Northern Slope. The expedition was led by Lieutenant Colonel Mohinder Singh. Commandant Mohinder Singh, who is considered to be the first Indian climber to conquer Everest from the North Face.

Initially, the indifference of the Japanese climbers stunned the Indians. According to the leader of the Indian expedition, “at first the Japanese offered to help in the search for the missing Indians. But a few hours later they continued to climb to the top, despite the deteriorating weather." The Japanese team continued climbing until 11:45. By the time the Japanese climbers began their descent, one of the two Indians was already dead, and the second was on the verge of life and death. They lost sight of the traces of the third descending climber. However, Japanese climbers denied that they had ever seen any dying climbers on the climb.

Captain Kohli, representative of the Indian Mountaineering Federation Indian Mountaineering Federation ), who initially blamed the Japanese, later retracted his claim that the Japanese had claimed to have met Indian climbers on May 10.

“The Indo-Tibetan Border Guard Service (ITBS) confirms the statement of members of the Fukuoka expedition that they did not leave Indian climbers without assistance and did not refuse to help in the search for the missing.” The managing director of ITPS stated that “the misunderstanding occurred due to communication interference between the Indian climbers and their base camp.”

Shortly after the incident, the twisted and frozen body of Tsewang Poljor was discovered near a small limestone cave at an altitude of 8500 m. Due to technical difficulties in evacuating the bodies of the dead, the body of the Indian climber still lies where it was first discovered. Climbers climbing the North Face can see the outline of the body and the bright green boots the climber wore. The term "Green Shoes" Green Boots ) soon became firmly established in the vocabulary of Everest conquerors. This is how the 8500 m mark on the North Slope of Everest is designated.

Victims of the tragedy

Event Analysis

Commercialization of Everest

The first commercial expeditions to Everest began to be organized in the early 1990s. Guides appear, ready to make any client’s dream come true. They take care of everything: delivering participants to the base camp, organizing the route and intermediate camps, accompanying the client and securing him all the way up and down. At the same time, conquering the summit was not guaranteed. In pursuit of profit, some guides take on clients who are not able to climb to the top at all. In particular, Henry Todd from the Himalayan Guides company argued that, “... without blinking an eye, these leaders pocket a lot of money, knowing full well that their charges have no chance.” Neil Biddleman, a guide for the Mountain Madness group, admitted to Anatoly Boukreev even before the ascent began that “...half of the clients have no chance of reaching the summit; for most of them the ascent will end at the South Col (7900 m)."

The famous New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary had an extremely negative attitude towards commercial expeditions. In his opinion, the commercialization of Everest "offended the dignity of the mountains."

• American climber and writer Galen Rovell, in an article for the Wall Street Journal, called the operation carried out by Boukreev to rescue the three climbers “unique”:

On December 6, 1997, the American Alpine Club awarded Anatoly Boukreev the David Souls Prize, awarded to climbers who saved people in the mountains at risk to their own lives.

Literature

• Jon Krakauer In thin air = Into thin air. - M: Sofia, 2004. - 320 p. - 5000 copies.
• - ISBN 5-9550-0457-2 Bukreev A.N., G. Weston De Walt
• Climbing. Tragic ambitions on Everest = The Climb: Tragic ambitions on Everest. - M: MTsNMO, 2002. - 376 p. - 3000 copies.- ISBN 5-94057-039-9
• David Breashears"High Exposure, Epilogue". - Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Nick Heil

„Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season“. - Holt Paperbacks, 2007. -

Humanity tends to experience the illusion of its own omnipotence. The planet has been developed, there is a huge space station in Earth’s orbit, which you can go to as a tourist. It seems that things called extreme are not really so - all this is nothing more than an advertising ploy by travel companies.

The process of losing such illusions is always extremely painful. And along with illusions, you can lose your life. By the beginning of the 1990s, conquering the highest mountains on the planet from being a matter for the most trained professionals gradually began to turn into a form of tourism for wealthy gentlemen and ladies seeking thrills. By paying $65,000, you could go to the Himalayas with an experienced guide, climb Everest, and then amaze your friends

unique photographs

and feel chosen. Few of the wealthy mountaineering enthusiasts took seriously the paper they signed before the start of the expedition. In it, the tourist confirmed that he was aware of the mortal risk of this enterprise. It seemed like this was just part of an exciting game. But the terrible tragedy that took place on the approaches to the summit of Everest in May 1996 reminded us that mountains do not forgive disrespect.

Anatoly Bukreev. Photo:

Frame youtube.com Guide with the Order "For Personal Courage" American climber Scott Fisher, who was the first to conquer the fourth highest peak in the world, Lhotse, founded the Mountain Madness company back in the 1980s, which offered its clients climbs to the most

Among the high-altitude guides who worked with Fischer was his friend, a Soviet mountaineer

After graduating from the Chelyabinsk Pedagogical University, Bukreev, for whom mountaineering becomes his life’s work, moved closer to the mountains, settling on the “Mountain Gardener” state farm near Alma-Ata.

In 1987, 29-year-old Anatoly Boukreev made a high-speed solo ascent to Lenin Peak and was one of the most promising young Soviet climbers.

In 1989, he successfully passed the selection for the Second Soviet Himalayan Expedition. April 15, 1989 in the group Valery Khrishchaty Bukreev conquers his first eight-thousander - Kanchedzhanga Middle. A few days later, for the first time in the world, he makes a traverse of the four peaks of the eight-thousander Kanchenjunga in a group. After this expedition, Anatoly Bukreev was awarded the Order “For Personal Courage”.

Anatoly Bukreev. At the mountain camp. Photo: Few of the wealthy mountaineering enthusiasts took seriously the paper they signed before the start of the expedition. In it, the tourist confirmed that he was aware of the mortal risk of this enterprise. It seemed like this was just part of an exciting game. But the terrible tragedy that took place on the approaches to the summit of Everest in May 1996 reminded us that mountains do not forgive disrespect.

Climber accompanying the President

From 1989 to 1997, Boukreev made 21 successful ascents of the eight-thousanders of the Himalayas, conquering 11 of the 14 mountains existing on the planet with a height of over 8000 meters. He will climb to the top of Everest three times.

After the collapse of the USSR, a native of the Urals took citizenship of Kazakhstan - not for political reasons, but out of the same desire to be closer to the mountains.

Anatoly Boukreev belonged to the elite club of eight-thousander climbers who climbed without the use of oxygen cylinders.

When Scott Fisher invited Boukreev to work at Mountain Madness, he knew he could rely on this man.

Bukreev's only drawback was that he had poor command of English language. However, this did not frighten Fischer - he believed that he could cope with all the conversations himself.

Journey to the “roof of the world”

In addition to Fischer and Boukreev, the “Mountain Madness” expedition that set off to conquer Everest in 1996 also included a less experienced high-altitude guide Neil Bidleman, a group of Sherpas who acted as porters and guides, and eight clients ranging in age from 33 to 68 years.

At the same time as Mountain Madness, an expedition from the Adventure Consultants company, led by a New Zealand climber, was preparing to conquer Everest Rob Hall. His group included two guides, Sherpas, and eight clients, including an American journalist Jon Krakauer, who is destined to play a rather unsightly role in this story.

In both groups, among the clients there were those who had fairly serious mountaineering training, and those whose experience was minimal.

On April 8, the Mountain Madness expedition arrived at the base camp at the foot of Everest. Many members of the group developed various ailments, including Fischer himself and guide Nick Bidleman. Nevertheless, preparations for the ascent continued.

and feel chosen. Few of the wealthy mountaineering enthusiasts took seriously the paper they signed before the start of the expedition. In it, the tourist confirmed that he was aware of the mortal risk of this enterprise. It seemed like this was just part of an exciting game. But the terrible tragedy that took place on the approaches to the summit of Everest in May 1996 reminded us that mountains do not forgive disrespect.

“I don’t like the way things are going.”

On April 13, members of the expedition set up the first high-altitude camp at an altitude of 6100 meters. Preparations for further advancement went on as usual, but on April 19, members of the expedition discovered the remains of dead climber. Experienced professionals are accustomed to such a spectacle, but the clients of Mountain Madness were very embarrassed by this.

On April 26, the leaders of several expeditions at once - Guide with the Order "For Personal Courage"("Mountain Madness") Rob Hall("Adventure Consultants") Todd Burleson("Alpine Ascents"), Ian Woodall(Sunday Times expeditions from Johannesburg) and Makalu Go(Taiwan Expedition) - decided to combine their climbing efforts and jointly hang ropes from “Camp 3” to “Camp 4”.

On the way to Camp 3, Mountain Madness suffered its first loss in its lineup. 45 year old Dale Cruz, a friend of Scott Fisher, who had no experience in high-altitude climbing, felt ill and was sent back. Cruz made another attempt to continue the ascent, but after another deterioration in his health, he was finally sent down.

Fischer was alarmed - the preparation and well-being of his clients turned out to be worse than he had expected, moving from camp to camp took too much time. The date of the proposed assault on the summit had to be postponed several times.

To my colleague Henry Todd From the Himalayan Guides company, Fisher, leading his group up, said: “I am afraid for my people. I don't like the way things are going."

Ascension time cannot be changed

In the area of ​​Camp 4 they were met with bad weather. “It was truly a hellish place, if only hell can be so cold: an icy wind, the speed of which exceeded 100 km/h, raged on the open plateau, empty oxygen cylinders, abandoned here by participants of previous expeditions, were lying everywhere,” Anatoly Boukreev later said.

This situation confused many expedition members who wanted to postpone the ascent again. However, Scott Fisher and Rob Hall, after consulting, announced that the assault on the summit would begin on the morning of May 10.

Shortly after midnight, the Adventure Consultants, Mountain Madness, and Taiwan Expedition teams began their ascent to the summit.

According to the plan of the expedition leaders, the climb to the top should have taken from 10 to 11 hours.

Anatoly Bukreev. In a tent. Photo: Few of the wealthy mountaineering enthusiasts took seriously the paper they signed before the start of the expedition. In it, the tourist confirmed that he was aware of the mortal risk of this enterprise. It seemed like this was just part of an exciting game. But the terrible tragedy that took place on the approaches to the summit of Everest in May 1996 reminded us that mountains do not forgive disrespect.

Deadly lateness

On this day, more than three dozen people climbed to the top of Everest at once, which made the route too busy. In addition, the ropes on the route were not fixed in time, which took the climbers several extra hours.

At about 6 am, the first participants in the ascent reached the so-called “Balcony” - an area at an altitude of over 8500 meters, where, due to extreme cold and lack of sufficient oxygen, a person can only stay for a strictly limited time. At the same time, the chain of climbers was seriously stretched - those lagging behind were simply not ready for such loads.

In addition, it turned out that the rope railings going to the southern peak of Everest (8748 meters) were not ready, and another hour was spent fixing this problem.

At 13:07, Anatoly Bukreev was the first to reach the main peak of Everest that day. A few minutes later the journalist also went up there. Jon Krakauer.

According to the strict rules of climbing Everest, the climb must stop at 14:00, regardless of how far the participants are from the summit. The later start of the descent makes it extremely unsafe.

In reality, members of both groups continued to rise to the top, which put them in a difficult situation.

Anatoly Bukreev. In airplane. Photo: Few of the wealthy mountaineering enthusiasts took seriously the paper they signed before the start of the expedition. In it, the tourist confirmed that he was aware of the mortal risk of this enterprise. It seemed like this was just part of an exciting game. But the terrible tragedy that took place on the approaches to the summit of Everest in May 1996 reminded us that mountains do not forgive disrespect.

Lost in a snowstorm

At 14:30 Anatoly Boukreev began his descent to Camp 4. The experienced climber understood that the return from the summit would be difficult for the climbers. In this situation, he decided to get to the camp, prepare additional oxygen cylinders and go out to meet those descending. Their experienced leaders remained in the groups, so clients were not left to their own devices.

By 15:00 the weather began to deteriorate and snow began to fall. However, even in the approaching darkness, exhausted people, in violation of all safety rules, continued to try to get to the top.

The last of those about whom there is reliable information to rise to the top is the head of Mountain Madness, Scott Fisher. This happened at 15:45, almost two hours after the deadline for returning.

A snow storm blocked the way down for the returning climbers. The markers indicating the way to the life-saving “Camp 4” were swept away.

Adventure Consultants director Rob Hall remained in the area of ​​the so-called Hillary Steps (8,790 meters) where one of his clients collapsed. Doug Hansen. Hall radioed the camp, from where he came to his aid. Andy Harris.

Anatoly Bukreev. Climbing. Photo: Few of the wealthy mountaineering enthusiasts took seriously the paper they signed before the start of the expedition. In it, the tourist confirmed that he was aware of the mortal risk of this enterprise. It seemed like this was just part of an exciting game. But the terrible tragedy that took place on the approaches to the summit of Everest in May 1996 reminded us that mountains do not forgive disrespect.

One for all

More than a dozen participants in the ascent, having never reached “Camp 4,” wandered around in a snowstorm, no longer counting on rescue. They huddled together, hoping to wait out the bad weather. As it turned out later, just 20 meters away from them there was an abyss that they had not noticed, so the climbers were on the verge of death, literally and figuratively.

At this time, another drama was playing out at Camp 4. Anatoly Bukreev, moving from tent to tent, persuaded the climbers to come out to help people in trouble. The answer to him was silence - no one wanted to go to certain death.

And then the Russian climber went alone with a supply of oxygen for the dying.

Over the next few hours, he managed to discover and lead to “Camp 4” three completely exhausted, barely alive people - Charlotte Fox, Sandy Pittman And Tim Madsen.

Several more people from two groups managed to independently reach the camp when the snow storm subsided a little.

Last call

At about five in the morning Rob Hall contacted the camp. He said Harris, who came out to help them, reached them but later disappeared. Doug Hansen has died. Hall himself could not cope with the iced-up oxygen tank regulator.

A few hours later, Hall made contact for the last time. He called his wife via satellite phone from base camp to say goodbye. Frostbitten hands and feet left him no chance of salvation. Shortly after this call, he died - his body was found 12 days later.

Sherpas who went out on May 11 to search for other missing climbers found Scott Fischer and Makalu Go, leader of the Taiwan expedition. Fischer was in serious condition and it was not possible to evacuate him, so the Sherpas took out only the Taiwanese, leaving the head of Mountain Madness in place.

The last attempt to save his friend was made by Anatoly Boukreev, who managed to reach Fischer at approximately 19:00 on May 11, but by this time the climber was already dead.

“It’s all the Russians’ fault”

American Beck Withers managed to independently get to the camp at a time when everyone already considered him dead. The man survived, but suffered a nasal amputation due to severe frostbite. right hand and all the fingers of the left hand, as well as more than a dozen different operations.

In total, five people became victims of the tragedy: Adventure Consultants guides Rob Hall and Andrew Harris, their clients Doug Hansen And Yasuko Nambo, as well as Mountain Madness guide Scott Fisher.

The Everest tragedy has shocked the mountaineering community. The already mentioned Jon Krakauer added fuel to the fire, writing a series of articles about what happened, and then an entire book called “Into Thin Air.” Krakauer named Anatoly Bukreev as perhaps the main culprit of the tragedy. According to the journalist, he “was confused, failed to assess the situation, and showed irresponsibility” by leaving his clients alone. Bukreev was even blamed for the fact that he walked without an oxygen cylinder and was “lightly dressed.”

Book by Jon Krakauer. Photo: Few of the wealthy mountaineering enthusiasts took seriously the paper they signed before the start of the expedition. In it, the tourist confirmed that he was aware of the mortal risk of this enterprise. It seemed like this was just part of an exciting game. But the terrible tragedy that took place on the approaches to the summit of Everest in May 1996 reminded us that mountains do not forgive disrespect.

Award from professionals

The climber himself denied all accusations. The fact that he does not use oxygen when climbing was known to the entire mountaineering community, as well as the fact that he is a specialist in high-speed ascents, during which there is no need for additional insulation. Having assisted the clients with the ascent, Boukreev went to the camp to meet the returning wards in accordance with the plan previously agreed upon by him and Scott Fischer.

Many professional climbers also disagreed with the accusations against Boukreev. American mountain climber Galen Rovell in his article he spoke about Boukreev’s rescue of three people: “What he did has no analogues in the history of world mountaineering.
The man many call the "tiger of the Himalayas" immediately after the climb
without oxygen to the highest point of the planet without any help for several hours in a row
saved freezing climbers... To say that he was lucky means to underestimate what he accomplished. It was a real feat."

On December 6, 1997, the American Alpine Club awarded Anatoly Boukreev the David Souls awarded to climbers who saved people in the mountains at risk to their own lives.

The mountains took him away

The awarding of the prize took place just 19 days before the death of the climber. December 25, 1997, while climbing Mount Annapurna with an Italian Simone Moro and Kazakh operator Dmitry Sobolev Anatoly Bukreev was caught in an avalanche. Of the three, only Simone Moro managed to survive.

Anatoly Boukreev, cameraman Dmitry Sobolev and Simone Moro celebrate Dmitry Sobolev’s birthday 2 weeks before the tragedy. Photo: Few of the wealthy mountaineering enthusiasts took seriously the paper they signed before the start of the expedition. In it, the tourist confirmed that he was aware of the mortal risk of this enterprise. It seemed like this was just part of an exciting game. But the terrible tragedy that took place on the approaches to the summit of Everest in May 1996 reminded us that mountains do not forgive disrespect.

In 1997, shortly before his death, when Hollywood was preparing the first film about the 1996 tragedy on Everest, Anatoly Bukreev said: “In the West, after last year’s tragedy, I don’t like a lot, because people make big, crazy money on it, presenting the events like this , as America wants, and not as it really was. Now Hollywood is making a film, I don’t know what they will make of me - with some kind of red star, with a flag in my hands - and how they will present it to American society - it is clear that it will be completely different ... "

The climber's words turned out to be prophetic. And 18 years later, in the Hollywood blockbuster “Everest,” Anatoly Boukreev, who saved three human lives in unimaginable conditions, remained for American filmmakers a strange eccentric, a minor character.

The 72nd Venice Film Festival featured the painting "Everest". Russian premiere adventure thriller by Baltasar Kormakur starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin and others will premiere on September 24. In anticipation of the start of rental HELLO! tells the story that formed the basis of the film.

Josh Brolin, Baltasar Kormakur and Jake Gyllenhaal at the Everest photocall in Venice

"I'm standing on top of the world, one foot in China, the other in Nepal, scraping the ice off my oxygen mask, turning around and looking at the vastness of Tibet. For months I've been dreaming about this moment, but now that I'm actually on top Everest, I have absolutely no strength for emotions,” American journalist Jon Krakauer wrote at the beginning of his book “Into Thin Air.” It was noon on May 10, 1996. On Everest, the “top of the Earth”, the “goddess of the world” or Chomolungma - the mountain has many names - there was practically nothing to breathe. John's oxygen tank was running low, and Atmosphere pressure reached a critical point. John - and with him three dozen other people, exhausted by the ascent, were in one of the most dangerous places on the planet.

Everest has always been a dead zone, but to this day it is the cherished dream of any climber. Every year, dozens of people set off to conquer a height of 8848 meters, and every year the “goddess of the world” allowed only a select few to ascend, and took everyone else without return. In the May 1996 expedition, it seemed that everyone was ready for this risk and danger. But no one expected that eight people would not return after the ascent.

Mountain Madness

That spring, several expeditions set out for Everest. The largest and most international were two: “Adventure Consultants” (which included Jon Krakauer) led by New Zealander Rob Hall and a group called “Mountain Madness” led by American Scott Fisher and Russian Anatoly Boukreev. All participants were crazy in some way. And experienced climbers, who again put their lives in danger, and Sherpas, their assistants from the local population, and - the weakest link - commercial participants with the least training. The practice of tickets to the top of the world (costing 65 thousand dollars) was just gaining popularity. In 1996, Doug Hansen, among others, climbed Everest, an ordinary postal worker who worked two jobs to save up for Chomolungma. A private client was also 47-year-old Japanese woman Yasuko Namba - at that time the oldest woman to ever climb Everest. Subsequently, both of them never returned back.

“I was often asked how we could have overlooked such a sharp deterioration in the weather. Why experienced instructors continued to climb, not paying attention to the approaching storm,” Jon Krakauer wrote a year after the tragedy. He himself admitted that he did not notice either the whitish haze on the horizon or the violations of the climbing rules that the guides committed. 

So, the climbers had to reach the summit early in the morning, and at 14.00 (the last safe time to begin the descent) set off on the way back. On that day, May 10, members of Hall and Fischer's teams began their descent only at 16.00, when the snow began to fall, and nothing could be fixed.

Still from the movie "Everest"

The storm overtook them - each at different stages of the descent to the camp - and scattered them along the slopes of the mountain. The leaders of both groups, Fisher and Hall, remained at the top; some of the people, lost in the snowstorm, lost their way a few meters from the abyss. When the storm subsided, for two days the survivors of the camp made forays in search of the missing. Some were transported to the camp, others had to be left right in the snow - to die. “Altitude 8000 is not a place where you can afford moral principles,” one Japanese climber once said about this dead zone, where the price of human life is measured by oxygen tanks.

New height

Documentaries have been made about the 1996 tragedy several times, and a couple of times the story formed the basis of action-packed dramas about rock climbing. The most popular was Jon Krakauer's book "In Thin Air", in which the author, getting confused in the details, repeatedly criticized the organizers of the expedition, and in particular the Russian climber and guide of one of the groups, Anatoly Boukreev. Boukreev, who led a record number of people out of the storm in 1996, repeatedly asked the journalist to remove the slander from the book, but he refused. In response, the Russian climber published his book “Climbing. Tragic Ambitions on Everest,” which gave rise to even more versions about the reasons for what happened.
An experienced traveler and former sailor, Kormakur measures the authenticity of his film in terms that are more familiar to him - scaling real heights and traveling to the real Everest. The film's cast - Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke and several dozen others - lived in Nepal in a base camp at an altitude of 3500 meters; rented - for 4000, slept in tents and ate camp food. “We had a real journey,” Kormakur smiles, “because only on a journey do you see the real you.”

Interesting Facts

In the entire history of the conquest of Everest (since 1953), 4,000 people have gone to the top of the world. More than 250 of them never returned. Until recently, the events of 1996 were considered the most notorious tragedy of Everest. But the earthquake in Nepal in April this year rewrote history.

Beck Withers gave himself a trip to Everest for his 50th birthday, but in the end he did not reach the summit: due to poor health, he was left waiting for the guides to descend on one of the slopes when a storm broke out. After the hurricane, he was found, but due to Beck’s serious condition, it was decided to leave him on the slope.

To the surprise of the climbers, despite severe frostbite on his hands and face, Withers woke up a few hours later and reached the camp on his own. And then he experienced the most terrible night of his life, when he was almost left on the slope again. After descending from the mountain, Beck's arm, nose and several fingers were amputated. In 2000, he wrote the book "Left to Die" and now gives motivational speeches across America.

Josh Brolin as Bec Withers

Boukreev was one of the most prepared guides from the 1996 expeditions. During his climbing career, he conquered 11 of the highest places on the planet (there are 14 eight-thousand-meter mountains in total), including Everest in 1995. The second time he climbed Chomolungma as part of the “Mountain Madness” group and was one of the first to descend back to the camp. Subsequently, journalist Jon Krakauer accused Bukreev of abandoning his comrades on the slope. However, when the summit was covered by a storm, it was Boukreev who was able to make several forays to save lost clients. What he did has no analogues in the history of world mountaineering,” wrote Wall Street Journal correspondent Galen Rowell in 1997. “Immediately after climbing without oxygen to the highest point of the planet, he saved freezing climbers for several hours in a row... It was a real feat.” That same year, on December 6, the American Alpine Club awarded Boukreev the David Souls Prize, awarded to climbers who rescued people at risk. his own life. 19 days after this, Bukreev died: during an expedition in the Himalayas at an altitude of 6000 meters, he was covered by an avalanche.

Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson as Anatoly Boukreev

New Zealander Rob Hall, who led the Adventure Consultants expedition, left his pregnant wife Jen (played by Keira Knightley in the film) far below on earth. It was to her that he first radioed about his conquest of the peak on May 10. After this, Hall was ready to begin the descent at 3 pm, but remained to wait for the guides with one of the clients. Soon his air tanks froze and failed, and Hall asked his colleagues to radio him to his wife. In his last message, he assured Jen that he was doing well: “Sleep well, dear, and don’t worry too much.” Three months after these events, Jen gave birth to Sarah, and a few years later she and her daughter climbed Everest to a height of 5364 meters.

Jason Clarke as Rob Hall

File photo: Jenn (played by Keira Knightley) and Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) on the Tibetan plateau

“Everyone portrayed Scott as a reckless, ambitious guy - I wanted to show just a person,” says Jake Gyllenhaal. Scott Fischer was indeed most often blamed for the failures of this expedition: in pursuit of fame, the American climber allegedly invited too many eminent and unprepared clients. Fischer was also reproached for the fact that he hid until the last from his colleagues that during the expedition he suffered from fever. A particularly acute attack, after which he was no longer able to rise, happened to him at the beginning of his descent. His friend, Sherpa Lopsang, tried to help the climber continue his journey, but Fischer sent him to help others, and he himself remained on the mountain forever.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fisher

The film “Everest” was recently released, telling about the worst tragedy on the mountain. A story based on real events... I found a diary of one of the participants in that hike.

A participant in an expedition in the Himalayas recorded a chronicle of the tragedy,
mixed with frivolity and vanity,
fatal arrogance, courage and big money

Jon Krakauer journalist, mountaineer.

One of my feet is in China, the other is in the kingdom of Nepal; I'm standing on the highest point on the planet. I scrape the ice off my oxygen mask, turn my shoulder to the wind and absentmindedly look down at the vastness of Tibet. I had long dreamed of this moment, expecting unprecedented sensual delight. But now that I am actually standing on the top of Everest, I no longer have enough strength for emotions.

I haven't slept for fifty-seven hours. Over the past three days, I have only managed to swallow a little soup and a handful of chocolate-covered nuts. I have been tormented by a severe cough for several weeks now; During one of the attacks, two ribs even cracked, and now every breath is for me; real torture. In addition, here, at an altitude of over eight thousand meters, the brain receives so little oxygen that in terms of mental abilities I am now unlikely to give a head start to a not very developed child. Apart from the insane cold and fantastic fatigue, I feel almost nothing. Next to me are instructors Anatoly Boukreev from Russia and New Zealander Andy Harris. I take pictures. Then the descent. I spent less than five minutes on the greatest peak on the planet. I soon notice that in the south, where just recently the sky was completely clear, several lower peaks were hidden in the advancing clouds. After fifteen minutes of careful descent along the edge of a two-kilometer abyss, I come across a twelve-meter cornice on the crest of the main ridge. This is a difficult place. As I fasten myself to the hanging railing, I notice, and this worries me very much, that ten meters below, at the foot of the cliff, about a dozen climbers are crowded together, still on their way to the top. All I have to do is unhook from the rope and give way to them. Down there are members of three expeditions: a New Zealand team led by the legendary Rob Hall, a team from the American Scott Fisher, and a group of climbers from Taiwan. As they slowly climb up the rock, I eagerly wait for it to be my turn to descend. Andy Harris was stuck with me. I ask him to get into my backpack and turn off the valve of the oxygen cylinder, I want to save oxygen. Over the next 10 minutes I feel surprisingly good and my head clears. Suddenly, out of the blue, it becomes difficult to breathe. Everything is swimming before my eyes, I feel like I might lose consciousness. Instead of turning off the oxygen supply, Harris mistakenly opened the valve all the way and now my tank is empty. There are still 70 difficult meters down to the spare cylinders. But first you have to wait for the queue below to clear. I take off the now useless oxygen mask, throw my helmet onto the ice and squat down. Every now and then you have to exchange smiles and polite greetings with climbers passing up. In fact, I'm desperate.

Everest map

Finally, Doug Hansen, one of my teammates, crawls up. "We did it!"; I shout to him the usual greeting in such cases, trying to make my voice sound more cheerful. Tired Doug mutters something unintelligible from under his oxygen mask, shakes my hand and trudges further upstairs. Fischer appears at the very end of the group. The obsession and endurance of this American climber have long been legendary, and now I am surprised by his completely exhausted appearance. But the descent is finally free. I fasten myself to a bright orange rope, with a sharp movement I go around Fischer, who, with his head down, leans on his ice axe, and, falling over the edge of the rock, I slide down.

I reach the southern peak at 4 o'clock. I grab a full tank and hurry further down, to where the clouds are getting denser. A few moments later, snow begins to fall and nothing is visible. And 400 meters above, where the summit of Everest still glows against the azure sky, my teammates continue to cheer loudly. They celebrate the conquest of the highest point on the planet: they wave flags, hug, take photographs - and waste precious time. It doesn’t even occur to any of them that in the evening of this long day every minute will count. Later, after 6 corpses were found, and the search for those two whose bodies could not be found was stopped, I was asked many times how my comrades could have missed such a sharp deterioration in the weather. Why did experienced instructors continue to climb, not paying attention to the signs of an approaching storm, and leading their less than well-prepared clients to certain death? I am forced to answer that in those afternoon hours of May 10, I myself did not notice anything that could indicate the approach of a hurricane.

At the foot of Everest, four weeks earlier.

Scott Fisher's team is climbing Everest at the same time as us. Fischer, 40 years old, is a quite sociable, stocky athlete with a tail of blond hair at the back of his head, driven forward by inexhaustible internal energy. If the name of Hall's company, Adventure Consultants, fully reflects the New Zealander's methodical, pedantic approach to organizing climbs, then Mountain Madness, the name of Fisher's enterprise, defines the latter's style even more precisely. At 20, he was already famous for his risky technique.

Guide with the Order "For Personal Courage"

Many people are attracted by Fischer's inexhaustible energy, the breadth of his nature and his capacity for childlike admiration. He is charming, has the muscles of a bodybuilder and the physiognomy of a movie star. Fischer smokes marijuana and drinks somewhat more than his health allows. This is the first commercial expedition to Everest he organized.

Hall and Fisher each have eight clients, a diverse group of mountain-obsessed people who are united only by their willingness to spend a significant amount of money and even risk their own lives just to stand on the world's highest peak. But if we remember that even in the center of Europe, on Mount Mont Blanc, which is half as low, dozens of amateur climbers sometimes die, then the commercial groups of Hall and Fischer, consisting mainly of rich but not very experienced climbers, even with favorable conditions resemble suicide squads. Take one client, Doug Hansen, a 46-year-old father of two grown children and a postal worker from Renton, near Seattle.

To fulfill his life's dream, he worked day and night, saving the necessary amount. Or doctor Seaborn Beck Withers from Dallas. He gave himself a ticket to this far from cheap expedition for his fiftieth birthday. Yasuko Namba, a frail Japanese woman from Tokyo with very limited climbing abilities, at 47 years old, dreams of becoming the oldest woman to conquer Everest.

Yasuko Namba

At an altitude of 6400 meters, we came face to face with death for the first time - it was the corpse of an unlucky climber, wrapped in a blue plastic bag. Then one of the best and most experienced porters of the Fisher team suffered from pulmonary edema. He had to be evacuated by helicopter to hospital, but Sherpa died a few weeks later. Fischer's client with the same symptoms was, fortunately, brought to a safe height in time, and thanks to this his life was saved.

Anatoly Bukreev

Fischer quarrels with his deputy, Russian instructor Anatoly Boukreev: he does not want to help clients climb up the rocks, and Fischer has to do the grueling work of a guide alone.

At Camp III, our penultimate mountain shelter before the summit, we prepare for the final stage of the ascent. Nearby were climbers from Taiwan with their leader, photographer Min Ho Gau. Ever since the hapless Taiwanese needed rescuers to conquer Mount McKinley in Alaska in 1995, the team has become notorious for its lack of experience. The climbers from the Republic of South Africa are equally incompetent: their group is followed by a whole trail of scandalous rumors, and several experienced athletes separated from them at the base camp.

We begin the attack on the summit on May 6th. And although there is an agreement between the groups not to attempt the assault on Everest all at the same time - otherwise there will be queues and jostling on the approach to the very top - this, unfortunately, does not stop either the South Africans or the team from Taiwan.

On the southern col (height 7925 meters) there is a camp, which becomes our base for the duration of the assault on the summit. The South Col is a vast ice plateau between the wind-whipped cliffs of the upper Lhotse Mountain and Everest. On the eastern side it hangs over an abyss two kilometers deep, at the edge of which our tents stand. There are more than a thousand empty oxygen cylinders lying around, left behind by previous expeditions.

On the evening of May 9, the teams of Hall, Fischer, the Taiwanese and the South Africans reach the South Col. We made this multi-hour journey in difficult conditions - there was a strong wind and it was very slippery; some arrived at the place already in the dark, completely exhausted. Here comes Lopsang Yangbu, senior Sherpa from Scott Fisher's team. He carries a 35-kilogram backpack on his back. Among other things, there are satellite communication devices - Sandy Pittman wants to send electronic messages around the world from an altitude of 7900 meters (later it turned out that this is technically impossible). It does not occur to Fisher to stop such dangerous whims of clients. On the contrary, he promised to personally carry Pittman’s electronic toys upstairs if the porter refused to carry them. By nightfall, more than fifty people had gathered here, small tents standing almost close together. At the same time, a strange atmosphere of isolation hovers over the camp. The gusty wind on the plateau howls so loudly that it is impossible to communicate even if you are in neighboring tents. As a team we exist only on paper. In a few hours the group will leave the camp, but each will move forward on his own, not connected to the others by any rope or special sympathy.

In the evening, at half past eight, everything calms down. It’s still terribly cold, but there’s almost no wind anymore; The weather is favorable for the summit attempt. Rob Hall shouts loudly to us from his tent: “Guys, today looks like today is the day. At half past eleven we begin the assault!

Rob Hall

25 minutes before midnight I pull on my oxygen mask, turn on the lamp and step out into the darkness. Hall's group consists of 15 people: 3 instructors, 4 Sherpas and 8 clients. Fisher and his team - 3 instructors, 6 Sherpas and clients - follow us at intervals of half an hour. Next come the Taiwanese with 2 Sherpas. But the South African team, which found the grueling climb too difficult, remained in the tents. That night, thirty-three people left the camp in the direction of the summit.

At 3:45 in the morning, 20 meters below me, I notice a large figure in a poisonous yellow puff. In conjunction with her is Sherpa, who is much shorter in stature. Breathing noisily (he is not wearing an oxygen mask), the Sherpa literally drags his partner up the slope like a horse drags a plow. This is Lopsang Yangbu and Sandy Pittman. We stop every now and then. The night before, the guides from the teams of Fischer and Hall had to hang the fixed ropes. But it turned out that the two main Sherpas couldn't stand each other. And neither Scott Fisher nor Rob Hall - the most authoritative people on the plateau - were able or willing to force the Sherpas to do the necessary work. Because of this, we are now losing precious time and energy. Hall's 4 clients are feeling worse and worse. But Fischer's clients are in good shape, and this, of course, puts pressure on the New Zealander. Doug Hansen wants to turn down, but Hall persuades him to go further. Beck Withers lost almost all his sight; because of low pressure the consequences of his eye surgery became evident. Soon after sunrise he had to be left helpless on the ridge. Hall promises to pick up Withers on his way back.

At the top of Everest, 13 hours 25 minutes.

Fisher's team instructor Neil Beidleman, in conjunction with one of his clients, finally reaches the top. Two other instructors are already there: Harris and Boukreev. Beidleman concludes that the rest of his group will appear soon. He takes a few photos and then starts a playful fuss with Boukreev.

Andy Harris

At 2 p.m., still no word from Fischer, Beidleman's boss. Right now and not later! - Everyone should have started to descend, but this is not happening. Beidleman has no way to contact other team members. The porters carried a computer and a satellite communication device upstairs, but neither Beidleman nor Boukreev had with them a simple intercom device that weighs practically nothing. This blunder subsequently cost clients and instructors dearly.

At the top of Everest, 14 hours 10 minutes.

Sandy Pittman makes it to the ridge, slightly ahead of Lopsang Yangbu and three other members of the group. She can barely drag herself; after all, 41 years old - and before the peak it falls like a decimated man. Lopsang sees that her oxygen tank is empty. Luckily, he has a spare one in his backpack. They slowly walk the last meters and join in the general rejoicing. By this time, Rob Hall and Yasuko Namba had already reached the summit. Hall talks to base camp via radio. Then one of the employees recalled that Rob was in a great mood. He said, “We're already seeing Doug Hansen. As soon as it reaches us, we will move down." The employee transmitted the message to Hall's New Zealand office and a whole bunch of faxes scattered from there to the friends and families of the expedition members, informing them of complete triumph. In reality, Hansen, like Fischer, had not a few minutes to go to the top, as Hall thought, but almost two hours. Probably, even in the camp, Fischer’s strength was running out - he was seriously ill. In 1984, in Nepal, he picked up an infection that developed into a chronic illness with frequent attacks of fever, like malaria. It happened that the climber was shaking all day with severe chills.

At the top of Everest, 15 hours 10 minutes.

Neil Beidleman has been lounging on the highest point of the planet for almost two hours by this point and finally decides that it is time to leave, although the group leader, Fisher, is still not in sight. By this time I had already reached the southern peak. I will have to continue the descent in a snow storm and only by 19.40 will I be able to reach camp IV, where, having climbed into the tent, I will fall into a semi-conscious state due to severe hypothermia, lack of oxygen and complete exhaustion of strength. The only one who returned to base camp that day without any problems was the Russian, Anatoly Boukreev. At 17 o'clock he was already sitting in his tent and warming himself with hot tea. Later, experienced climbers would doubt the correctness of his decision to leave his clients so far behind - more than a strange act for an instructor. One of the clients would later say about him with contempt: “When the situation became threatening, the Russian ran out of there as fast as he could.

Neil Beidleman, 36, a former aeronautical engineer, on the other hand, has a reputation as a calm, conscientious instructor and is loved by everyone. In addition, this is one of the strongest climbers. At the summit, he gathers Sandy Pittman and 3 other clients together and begins the descent with them, heading to Camp IV. 20 minutes later they come across Scott Fisher. He, completely exhausted, silently greets them with a gesture. But the strength and abilities of the American climber have long been legendary, and it doesn’t occur to Beidleman that the commander might have problems. Much more disturbing to Beidleman is Sandy Pittman, who can barely move. She is staggering, her consciousness has become so dark that the client has to be secured so that she does not fall into the abyss.

Just below the southern peak, the American woman becomes so weak that she asks to be given cortisone, which should neutralize the effects of rarefied air for some time. In Fischer's team, every climber has this drug with him in case of emergency, in a case under his down jacket, so as not to freeze. Sandy Pittman is looking more and more like an inanimate object. Beidleman orders another climber on his team to replace the journalist's almost empty oxygen tank with his full one. He ties ropes around Sandy and drags her down the hard, snow-covered ridge. To everyone's relief, the injection and additional dose of oxygen quickly have a life-giving effect, and Pittman comes to his senses enough to continue his descent without assistance.

At the top of Everest, 15 hours 40 minutes

When Fischer eventually reaches the top, Lopsang Yangbu is already there waiting for him. He gives Fischer the radio transmitter. “We were all at the top,” Fisher reports to base camp, “God, I’m so tired.” A couple of minutes later, Min Ho Gau and his two Sherpas join them. Rob Hall is also still up there, eagerly awaiting Doug Hansen. A veil of clouds slowly closes around the peak. Fischer again complains that he doesn’t feel well - such behavior is more than unusual for a famous stoic. At approximately 15.55 he begins his return journey. And although Scott Fischer made the entire route to the top wearing an oxygen mask, and in his backpack there is a third, almost full cylinder, the American suddenly, for no apparent reason, takes off his oxygen mask.

Soon the Taiwanese Ming Ho Gau and his Sherpas, as well as Lopsang Yangbu, leave the summit. Rob Hall is left all alone, still waiting for Doug Hansen, who finally appears around four o'clock in the afternoon. Very pale, Doug struggles to overcome the last dome before the summit. The delighted Hall hurries to meet him.

The deadline for everyone to turn back had expired at least two hours ago. Later, Hall's colleagues, who were well aware of the New Zealand climber's caution and methodical nature, were genuinely surprised by the strange clouding of his mind. Why didn't he order Hansen to turn around before reaching the top? After all, it was absolutely clear that the American did not meet any reasonable time frame to ensure a safe return.

There is an explanation. A year ago in the Himalayas, at about the same time, Hall had already told him to turn back: Hansen had returned from the southern peak, and for him it was a terrible disappointment. Judging by his stories, he went to Everest again largely because Rob Hall himself persistently persuaded him to try his luck one more time. This time, Doug Hansen is determined to get to the top no matter what. And since Hall himself had persuaded Hansen to return to Everest, it must now have been especially difficult for him to prevent the slow client from continuing to climb. But time was lost. Rob Hall supports the exhausted Hansen and helps him climb the last 15 meters up. They stand for a minute or two on the summit, which Doug Hansen finally conquered, and slowly begin their descent. Noticing that Hansen is barely able to stand, Lopsang stops to watch as the two negotiate the dangerous ledge just below the top. After making sure everything is fine, Sherpa quickly continues his descent to join Fischer. Hall and his client were left alone far behind.

Soon after Lopsang is out of sight, Hansen's oxygen tank runs out and he is completely exhausted. Hall tries to bring him down, almost motionless, without supplemental oxygen. But the 12-meter cornice stood in front of them as an insurmountable barrier. Conquering the peak required the exertion of all forces, and there are no reserves left for the descent. At an altitude of 8780 meters they get stuck and contact Harris by radio.

Located on the southern summit, Andy Harris, the second New Zealand instructor, decides to take the full oxygen cylinders left there to Hall and Hansen for the return trip. He asks for help from Lopsang, who is descending, but the Sherpa prefers to take care of his boss Fischer. Then Harris slowly gets up and goes to help alone. This decision cost him his life.

Already late at night, Hall and Hansen, perhaps already together with Harris, who had risen to them, under an ice hurricane, everyone tried to break through down to the southern peak. A section of the path that under normal conditions climbers cover in half an hour takes them more than 10 hours.

Southeast ridge, height 8650 meters, 17 hours 20 minutes

A couple of hundred meters from Lopsang, which has already reached the southern peak, along southeastern ridge Scott Fisher descends slowly. His strength decreases with every meter. Too exhausted to perform tedious manipulations with the railing ropes in front of a series of cornices over the abyss, he simply descends along another - sheer one. It’s easier than walking along hanging railings, but then, to get back on the route, you have to walk a hundred meters knee-deep in the snow, losing precious strength. At about 6 p.m. Lopsang catches up with Fischer. He complains: “I feel very bad, too bad to go down the rope. I will jump." The Sherpa insures the American and persuades him to slowly move along. But Fischer is already so weak that he is simply unable to overcome this part of the path. The Sherpa, also very exhausted, does not have enough strength to help the commander overcome the dangerous area. They're stuck. The weather gets worse and worse, they squat on a snow-covered rock. At about 20 o'clock Min Ho Gau and two Sherpas emerge from the snowstorm. The Sherpas leave the completely exhausted Taiwanese next to Lopsang and Fischer, while they themselves continue their descent lightly. An hour later, Lopsang decides to leave Scott Fisher with Gau on a rocky ridge and makes his way down through a snowstorm. Around midnight, he staggers into Camp IV: “Please, go upstairs,” he begs Boukreev. “Scott is really bad, he can’t walk.” Sherpa's strength leaves him and he falls into oblivion.

A blind client waited twelve hours for help.
And I didn’t wait...

South-eastern ridge, 70 meters above camp IV, 18 hours 45 minutes

But it's not just Rob Hall, Scott Fischer and those who walked with them who are fighting for their lives this night. Seventy meters above rescue camp IV, no less dramatic events unfold during a suddenly violent snow storm. Neil Beidleman, the second instructor of Fisher's team, who waited for almost two hours in vain at the top for his boss, moves very slowly with his group. The instructor from Hall's team is the same: he is exhausted with two absolutely helpless clients. This is Japanese Yasuko Namba and Texan Beck Withers. The Japanese woman ran out of oxygen long ago and cannot walk on her own. The situation is even worse with Withers. It was during the ascent that Hall left him at an altitude of 8400 meters due to almost complete loss of vision. And in the icy wind, the blinded climber had to wait in vain for help for almost twelve hours.

The instructors, their students and two Sherpas from Fischer's team, who emerge from the darkness a little later, now form a group of eleven people. Meanwhile, the strong wind turns into a real hurricane, visibility is reduced to six to seven meters. To get around the dangerous ice dome, Beidleman and his group make a detour to the east, where the descent is less steep. At half past eight in the evening they reach the gentle southern col, a very large plateau on which the tents of Camp IV stand just a few hundred meters away. Meanwhile, only three or four of them have much-needed flashlight batteries. In addition, they all literally collapse from exhaustion.

Beidleman knows they are somewhere on the east side of the saddle and the tents are located to the west of them. Exhausted climbers need to step towards the icy wind, which with terrible force throws large crystals of ice and snow into their faces, scratching their faces. The gradually intensifying hurricane forces the group to deviate to the side: instead of walking directly into the wind, the exhausted people move at an angle towards it.

For the next two hours, both instructors, two Sherpas and seven clients wander blindly across the plateau in the hope of accidentally reaching the rescue camp. Once they came across a couple of discarded empty oxygen cylinders, which means the tents are somewhere nearby. They are disorientated and cannot determine where the camp is. Beidleman, who is also walking staggeringly, at about ten o'clock in the evening suddenly feels a slight rise under his feet, and suddenly it seems to him that he is standing at the end of the world. He sees nothing, but feels the abyss beneath him. His instinct saves the group from certain death: they have reached the eastern edge of the saddle and are standing on the very edge of a steep two-kilometer cliff. The poor fellows have long been at the same height as the camp - only three hundred meters separate them from relative safety. Beidleman and one of his clients are looking for some kind of shelter where they could escape the wind, but in vain.

Oxygen supplies have long since dried up, and now people are even more vulnerable to frost, with temperatures dropping to minus 45 degrees Celsius. In the end, eleven climbers squat on hurricane-polished ice under the dubious protection of a rock ledge, barely more washing machine. Some curl up and close their eyes, waiting for death. Others beat their comrades in misfortune with their senseless hands in order to warm themselves and stir them up. No one has the strength to speak. Only Sandy Pittman repeats without stopping: “I don’t want to die!” Beidleman tries his best to stay awake; he is looking for some sign that would foretell the imminent end of the hurricane, and shortly before midnight he notices several stars. The snowstorm continues below, but the sky is gradually clearing. Beidleman tries to get everyone up, but Pittman, Withers, Namba and another climber are too weak. The instructor understands: if he fails to find the tents and bring help in the very near future, they will all die.

Gathering those few who are still able to walk on their own, he goes out with them into the wind. He leaves four exhausted comrades under the care of the fifth, who can still move on his own. About twenty minutes later, Beidleman and his companions stumbled toward Camp IV. There they were met by Anatoly Boukreev. The unfortunate people explained to him as best they could where their five freezing comrades were waiting for help, and, having climbed into the tents, passed out. Boukreev, who returned to the camp almost 7 hours ago, became worried as darkness fell and went in search of the missing, but to no avail. He eventually returned to camp and waited for Neil Beidleman.

Now the Russian goes out in search of the unfortunates. Indeed, after a little over an hour he sees the faint light of a lantern in the snowstorm. The strongest of the five is still conscious and appears to be able to walk to the camp on his own. The rest lie motionless on the ice - they do not even have the strength to speak. Yasuko Namba seems dead - snow is stuck in her hood, her right shoe is missing, her hand is as cold as ice. Realizing that he can only drag one of these poor fellows to the camp, Boukreev connects the brought oxygen cylinder to Sandy Pittman’s mask and makes it clear to the elder that he will try to return as soon as possible. Then he and one of the climbers wander towards the tents. A terrible scene is playing out behind him. Yasuko Namba's right arm is extended upward and completely frozen. Half-dead Sandy Pittman squirms on the ice. Beck Withers, who was still lying in the fetal position, suddenly whispers: “Hey, I got it!”, rolls to the side, sits on a rock ledge and, spreading his arms, exposes his body to the maddened wind. After a few seconds, a strong gust blows him away into the darkness.

Boukreev returns. This time he is dragging towards Sandy's camp, with a fifth man lumbering behind him. The little Japanese girl and the blind, delirious Withers are considered hopeless - they are left to die. It's 4:30 a.m., it'll be dawn soon. Upon learning that Yasuko Namba was doomed, Neil Beidleman burst into tears in his tent.

Before his death, Rob Hall said goodbye to his pregnant wife via satellite phone.

Base camp, altitude 5364 meters, 4 hours 43 minutes

The tragedy of the eleven lost; not the only one on this frosty hurricane night. At 5:57 p.m., when Rob Hall last made contact, he and Hansen were near the summit. Eleven hours later, the New Zealander contacts the camp again, this time from the southern summit. There is no one with him anymore: neither Doug Hansen nor Andy Harris. Hall's remarks sound so confused that it is alarming. At 4.43 he tells one of the doctors that he cannot feel his legs and every movement is given to him with such colossal difficulty that he is unable to move from his place. In a barely audible, hoarse voice, Hall croaks, “Harris was with me last night, but now it’s like he’s not here. He was very weak." And then, apparently unconscious: “Is it true that Harris was with me? Can you tell me? As it turned out, Hall had two oxygen tanks at his disposal, but the oxygen mask valve was frozen and he could not connect them.

At five in the morning, base camp establishes a telephone connection via satellite between Hall and his wife Jan Arnold, who is in New Zealand. She is seven months pregnant. In 1993, Jan Arnold climbed Everest with Hall. Hearing her husband's voice, she immediately understands the seriousness of the situation. “It seemed like Rob was hovering somewhere; she later recalled; Once we discussed with him that it was almost impossible to save a person stuck on the ridge below the very top. He then said that it would be better to be stuck on the Moon - there are more chances.”

At 5:31, Hall injects himself with four milligrams of cortisone and reports that he is still trying to clear the ice from his oxygen mask. Every time he contacts the camp, he asks what happened to Fischer, Gau, Withers, Yasuko Namba and other participants in the ascent. But what worries him most is the fate of Andy Harris. Over and over, Hall asks where his assistant is. A little later, the base camp doctor asks what’s wrong with Dut Hansen. “Doug is gone,” Hall replies. This was his last mention of Hansen.

12 days later, May 23, two American climbers We walked to the top along the same route. But they didn't find Andy Harris' body. True, 15 meters above the southern peak, where the hanging railings end, the Americans picked up an ice ax. Perhaps Hall, with the help of Harris, managed to lower Doug Hansen to this point, where he lost his balance and, having flown two kilometers down the vertical wall of the southwestern slope, crashed.

What fate befell Harris is also unknown. An ice ax that belonged to him, found on the south summit, indirectly indicates that he most likely remained at night with Hall on the south summit. The circumstances of Harris' death remain a mystery.

At six o'clock in the morning, base camp asks Hall if the first rays of the sun have touched him. “Almost,” he replies, and this awakens hope; Some time ago he reported that he was constantly shivering due to the terrible cold. And this time Rob Hall inquires about Andy Harris: “Did anyone but me see him last night? I think he went down during the night. Here is his ice axe, jacket and something else.” After four hours of effort, Hall finally manages to clear the ice from his oxygen mask and has been able to inhale oxygen from a cylinder since nine in the morning. True, he had already spent more than sixteen hours without oxygen. Two thousand meters below, the New Zealander's friends are making desperate attempts to force him to continue his descent. The voice of the head of the base camp is trembling. “Think about your baby,” she says on the radio. - In two months you will see his face. Now go downstairs." Several times Rob announces that he is preparing to continue his descent, but remains in the same place.

Around 9:30, two Sherpas, the same ones who had returned exhausted from the summit the previous night with a thermos of hot tea and two oxygen tanks, climb up to help Hall. Even under optimal conditions, they would face many hours of grueling climbing. But the conditions are not at all favorable. The wind blows at a speed of over 80 kilometers per hour. The day before, both porters were severely hypothermic. Soon, 3 more Sherpas are sent up to remove Fischer and Gau from the mountain. Rescuers find them four hundred meters above the south col. Both are still alive, but almost without strength. The Sherpas connect oxygen to Fischer's mask, but the American does not react: he is barely breathing, his eyes are rolled back, his teeth are clenched tightly. Deciding that Fischer's situation was hopeless, the Sherpas left him on the ridge and descended with Gau, on whom the hot tea and oxygen had some effect. Tied to the Sherpas with a short rope, he is still able to walk on his own. Lonely death on a rocky ridge is Scott Fisher's lot. In the evening, Boukreev finds his frozen corpse. Meanwhile, the two Sherpas continue to climb towards the Hall. The wind is getting stronger. At 3 p.m., rescuers were still two hundred meters below the southern summit. Due to frost and wind, it is impossible to continue the journey. They give up.

Hall's friends and teammates have been pleading with the New Zealander all day to go down on his own.

These were his last words. 12 days later, two Americans, whose path passed through the southern peak, found a frozen body on the glacier. Hall was lying on his right side, half covered with snow.

Rescue of Beck Withers

On the morning of May 11, while several groups were making desperate attempts to rescue Hall and Fischer, at the eastern edge of the south col, one of the climbers found two bodies covered with a centimeter layer of ice: these were Yasuko Namba and Beck Withers, who had been thrown into the sea by a strong gust of wind the previous night. darkness. Both were barely breathing. Rescuers considered them hopeless and left them to die. But a few hours later, Withers woke up, shook off the ice and wandered back to camp. He was put into a tent, which was torn down the next night by a strong hurricane. Withers again spent the night in the cold - and no one bothered about the unfortunate man: his situation was again considered hopeless. Only the next morning the client was noticed. Finally, the climbers helped their comrade, whom they themselves had already sentenced to death three times. To quickly evacuate him, a Nepalese Air Force helicopter rose to a dangerous height. Due to severe frostbite, Beck Withers had his right hand and fingers on his left amputated. The nose also had to be removed - its likeness was formed from the skin folds of the face.

Everest 1996. Place of death

Epilogue

Over the course of two days in May, the following members of our teams died: instructors Rob Hall, Andy Harris and Scott Fisher, clients Doug Hansen and Japanese Yasuko Namba. Min Ho Gau and Beck Withers suffered severe frostbite. Sandy Pittman did not suffer any serious damage in the Himalayas. She returned to New York and was terribly surprised and confused when her reporting on the expedition generated a flurry of negative responses.