Everest | 2002 N Col-NE Ridge

A China expedition to Everest in 2002 via N Col-NE Ridge, led by Wang Tian-Han. Summit reached on 17th May 2002. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 5933
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER02145
Peak ID EVER
Year 2002
Season 1
Host Country 2
Route 1 N Col-NE Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality China
Leaders Wang Tian-Han
Sponsor -
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2002-03-11
Summit Date 2002-05-17
Summit Time 1000
Summit Days 67
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8849
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 1
Summit Members 1
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 1
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
O2 Used True
O2 None False
O2 Climb True
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep True
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(11/03,5200m),ABC(11/04,6500m),C1(24/04,7028m),C2(15/05,7900m),C3(16/05,8300m),Smt(17/05)
Route Notes Translated notes from various Chinese web sites: Wang Tian-Han, 6 June 1974, is a native of the mountainous region of Sichuan province. He became a Buddhist monk at the age of 18 in Wu Tai, a mountain famous for its many Buddhist temples. For the past six years he has been studying Buddhist teachings as a monk in Beijing. From June 1999 to June 2000, he traveled to all of the provinces of China except for Taiwan by foot. Before his attempt of climbing Everest, he had been to no high peaks before, and had no snow and ice experience. He received little sponsorship for this expedition to Everest besides some help from his sister and personal friends. Wang Han gave three reasons for wanting to climb Everest: (1) for the realization his own personal spiritual belief. (2) to support the Chinese policy of development in the western regions and assist peoples living at high altitudes. (3) to stimulate the domestic development of mountain sports. Preparations: To achieve his goals, he made some advance preparations: Last year he came to Lhasa looking for the opportunity to understand Everest. After New Year's Day of this year he came again to Lhasa from Beijing to train with his 59-year old coach Rinchen Phuntsok from the Tibetan Mountaineering Association (TMA). On March 11 he arrived at Everest base camp at 5200m with Rinchen Phuntsok. For one month, he learned to use his mountaineering equipment on many of the peaks surrounding base camp, and gained experience with the techniques of climbing. Then he proceeded to ABC at 6500m arriving on April 11 where he spent about a month. On April 24, he established his second camp at the North Col at 7028m. Unable to afford to employ Sherpas as porters, he carried his own personal gear from ABC to the North Col five times. On his first carry he tried to carry 40 kg, but the weight was far too much for him. He then reduced his loads to 20 kgs. Many climbers were very impressed by his stamina and said that he was as strong as a Sherpa. On May 15 Wang went to his next camp at 7900m, to 8300m on May 16, and then made his summit attempt on May 17. Since he needed oxygen for his summit, he hired a Sherpa to carry 3 bottles to 8300m for 800 yuan (US$ 100). Summit Day: At 3:00 am on May 17 Wang started from the 8300m camp, behind the other climbers (who started earlier at 2:00 am). He gradually passed them and reached 8500m (the First Step). Unable to see the path to the top, he lost his way and waited for nearly an hour for others to come up. He then continued to climb. At about 12:15 he arrived at the summit where he spent nearly two hours. He left the summit at 14:10 and then returned to the 8300m high camp at 17:00 and spent the night there. He saw Cho Oyu, Makalu, and other peaks from the summit, and felt that they were very low. At the Second Step, he did not use any jumars and climbed the aluminum ladder with his bare hands. During descent, he again used no jumars, but instead he wound the rope around his arm and went down the ladder. On May 18 he returned to ABC at 6500m and then to BC on May 20. He is very grateful for the help of his teacher Rinchen Phuntsok. Future goals: Mountaineering: If the conditions allow, to summit Lennart Meri to fulfill the wish of his teacher Rinchen Phuntsok. Life: to promote his own beliefs, and to engage in public service.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency None
Commercial Route True
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2458464
Year 2002
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) n col-ne ridge

Members

2 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Tian-Han Wang M 1974 China Leader Sichuan, China Monk Details Other expeditions
Rinchen Phuntsok (Rinchen Phinzo) M 1943 China H-A Assistant Lhunze Dzong, Tibet, China - Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.