Everest | 2003 S Col-SE Ridge

A Belgium expedition to Everest in 2003 via S Col-SE Ridge, led by Robert Huygh. Summit reached on 22nd May 2003. 6 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 4265
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER03115
Peak ID EVER
Year 2003
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Col-SE Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Belgium
Leaders Robert Huygh
Sponsor Choas Team Everest 2003
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 Standard
Basecamp Date 2003-04-05
Summit Date 2003-05-22
Summit Time -
Summit Days 47
Total Days 49
Termination Date 2003-05-24
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8849
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 2
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 4
Summit Hired 4
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(05/04,5300m),C1(10/04,6000m),C2(17/04,6400m),C3(24/04,7200m),C4(20/05,7940m),Smt(22-23/05)
Route Notes Huygh left South Col on 20th at 21:00 hours, reached 8250m around 23:50 hours, returned to South Col at 01:30 hours on 21st. Slept till 09:00 hours, then descended to C3. Very strong wind. Van Snick without oxygen up to 8700m; long queue and had to wait for about 45 minutes (feet got cold). Little frostbite, did not like to risk further, so went down to C4. Huygh said they did not have Sherpas. The team returned to KTM on May 27 and will leave on 30th. According to Asian Trekking's Bikal Adhikari, June 30, 2003, Mingma Nuru Sherpa was with Van Snick and continued on to top on 22 May after Van Snick gave up since he was using oxygen. Also officially Pemba Dorje and Dawa Chhiri were also on Huygh's permit to climb Everest, but actually they climbed with Japanese Lhotse expedition. Four other Sherpas were assigned by sirdars of Asian Trekking's so-called International expedition (those "members" were Charles Wittmack (USA), Sean Burch (USA) and these two Belgians): Pasang Tharke and Pemba Temba to the Americans, Mingma Nuru to the Belgians although Belgians might not have realized this: the four Sherpas worked together in setting up camps and so on for these clients. Van Snick told Bikal that Mingma Nuru had gone up with him to Van Snick's high point (8700m) and Van Snick had told Mingma Nuru he could go on higher if he wished to. Sherpa: Mingma Nuru, Pangboche, 22/4/69, Ever X1, Cho Oyu X1, Lhotse X1 Spring 2003 Everest Climb by Pemba Dorje Sherpa Pemba Dorje and his climbing Sherpa, Dawa Chhiri/Da Chhiri Sherpa, were actually amongst the large number of Sherpas employed by the leader of the Japanese clean-up expedition, Ken Noguchi, who had a permit for Lhotse. However, since Pemba Dorje wanted set a new speed record for climbing Everest, his trekking agency included these two Sherpas on the permit for Everest belonging to a two-man Belgian team, led by Robert Huygh, purely to authorize them to summit Everest. But they slept in Noguchi tents, ate Noguchi food, were paid by Noguchi; Pemba Dorje said he fixed 900 meters of rope between C2 and C4, and he brought down 15 empty oxygen bottles from the South Col, as part of Noguchi's clean up efforts. (The trekking agency, Asian Trekking, gave Pemba Dorje an allowance and some oxygen bottles, according to Bikal Adhikari of their staff). A page of details of Pemba's Everest climb as written by or for him for a press conference are attached with this memo. Pemba Dorje said on 25 June 2003 to E. Hawley that he went up and down the Everest-Lhotse route five or six times as "practice" for his speed climb. He said that in his speed ascent, he had no one with him from base camp to C4. He left C4 at 11:30 pm on 22 May and was on the summit at 5:45 am on the 23rd, 12 hours and 45 minutes after having left base camp. He was joined there by Dawa Chhiri 25 minutes later. Dawa Chhiri had carried oxygen bottles for Pema Dorje and himself to C4 and had arrived there on 21 May, the day before Pemba Dorje got there for his speed record. They set out for the summit together on the night of the 22nd, but Dawa Chhiri was unable to keep up with Pemba Dorje's fast pace and dropped behind at the South Summit. Pemba Dorje stayed on the summit 1 hour and 45 minutes. He was waiting for Dawa Chhiri to join him to take his picture there and for climbers from any other expedition to arrive and stand next to him in the picture. (It shows him with Patrick Berhault, member of Jean Michel Asselin's French team from the South col, who arrived at 6:30 am, the time given by both Pemba Dorje and Asselin separately. Berhault wrote his name in Pemba Dorje's notes). Pemba Dorje put pictures of King Gyanendra and Queen Komal on the summit. Pemba Dorje started using artificial oxygen when he left C4 for the summit. He used it on his climb to the top, took off his mask for the 1 hour, 45 minutes he was on the summit, resumed using it in his descent from the top till he reached C2. Dawa Chhiri used it sleeping at C4, climbing to the summit and down to the C2, where he stopped to sleep the night of the 23rd (he did not use it sleeping there). Pemba Dorje and Dawa Chhiri left the summit together at 7:00 am on the 23rd. Pemba Dorje descended all the way to base camp that day. He arrived at base camp at 2:00 pm, having been delayed by having twisted his ankle while coming down through the Icefall at only 200 meters above camp. His boot had gotten stuck in a ladder; he sat down, massaged his ankle, and radioed on his walkie-talkie for help from base camp. Six or seven Sherpas answered his appeal for help (one was Pasang Kitar from Miura's team, one was Pasang Tenzi from the Jagged Globe US, UK etc., team, another was Tashi with the Nepalese army); after 40 minutes he resumed his descent to base camp. He had planned to accomplish his entire climb in exactly 20 hours, but he had stopped for two hours at C4 in his descent to pack up some of Noguchi's gear, had rested at C2 for 20 minutes and again at C1 for ten minutes, and spent an extra 40 minutes in the Icefall. He calculates it had actually had taken him a total of 20 hours, 55 minutes to do the entire round-trip from base camp to summit to base camp. He said his new ambition now is to make an historic double traverse of Everest in 2004, climbing up via the SE Ridge to the summit, down via the North Face-North Col route to ABC, back up again via the same route to the summit and down the SE Ridge-South Col route to base camp. But he has no sponsor yet for this project. Conference in KTM 29 May 2003 1. We left for Everest base camp on 2059/12/16 BC. 2. We reached in BC on 2059/12/22 BS (5/4/03). 3. On 2059/12/29 (12/4/03) Pemba Dorje and Dawa Chhiri went to Camp 1 and 2 and returned to the base camp at the same day. 4. After 6 days Pemba along with 15 Sherpas went to the Camp 1 and Camp 2. And all Sherpas spent (or night in Camp 2) and after descended to the base camp and took rest for 7 days. Again we went to Camp 1 along with 12 kgs of load and returned to the base camp on that day. 5. On 22nd, April 03, Pemba along with three Sherpas went from the Camp 2 to set the rope to Camp 4, then returned to the base camp on 24th April 03, and then I (Pemba) took a rest until May 22 in the base camp. About Personal Summit - Speed Climb 1. Started from the BC on May 22, 2003 at 5:00 pm 2. He reached in the Camp 1 at 6:00 pm 3. Then Camp 2 6:45 pm and rested 25 minutes; rested at Camp 3 at 9:10 pm 4. Camp 4 at 11:10 pm and rested there for 20 minutes. From Camp 4, he took 6:15 hours to reach on the top. Note: Pemba Dorje met Dawa Chhiri (his climbing Sherpa) at 11:10 pm at South Col. "After I met Dawa Chhiri, I used the oxygen from South Col." Email from Rudy Van Snick: I did indeed reach 8700m without using supplementary oxygen. I turned back because of the presence of too much people on the ridge and the very bad weather conditions (much wind, too cold) and the start of frostbite symptoms on my feet. I finally turned back alone at about 6:30 am and arrived at Camp 4 at 9:00 am on 22 May 2003 (I had left Camp 4 for the summit attempt on 21 May at 9 pm). I spend the night in Camp 4 and left next morning (23 May) at 7 am alone for BC.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Asian Trekking
Commercial Route True
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2458880
Year 2003
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) s col-se ridge

Members

6 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Robert Huygh M 1946 Belgium Leader Ternat, Belgium Foodstuffs salesman Details Other expeditions
Rudy Van Snick M 1956 Belgium Climber Appelterre, Belgium Carpenter Details Other expeditions
Mingma Nuru Sherpa M 1969 Nepal H-A Worker Pangboche, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Pemba Dorje Sherpa M 1977 Nepal H-A Worker Beding, Dolakha - Details Other expeditions
Dawa Chhiri (Da Chhiri) Sherpa M 1978 Nepal H-A Worker Phurte, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Nima Gyalzen Sherpa M 1976 Nepal H-A Worker Beding, Dolakha - Details Other expeditions

References

2 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
EVER03115 AAJ Hawley, Elizabeth - - 78:403-406 (2004) -
EVER03115 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200440300/Asia-Nepal-Malahangur-Asia-Nepal-Khumbu-Mt-Everest-Jubilee-An-Overview-of-Events-on-Everest-50-Years-After-Its-First-Ascent - - -