Everest | 2003 S Col-SE Ridge

A USA expedition to Everest in 2003 via S Col-SE Ridge, led by Wally Berg. Summit reached on 2nd November 2003. 9 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 4480
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER03301
Peak ID EVER
Year 2003
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Col-SE Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Wally Berg
Sponsor Berg Adventures 2003
Success 1 False
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 2003-09-11
Summit Date 2003-11-02
Summit Time -
Summit Days 52
Total Days 55
Termination Date 2003-11-05
Termination Reason 4
Termination Notes Abandoned at 8748m due to high wind
High Point (m) 8748
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 1067
Total Members 5
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 6
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(11/09,5350m),C1(21/09,6100m),C2(22/09,6400m),C3(06/10,7400m),C4(01/11,7900m),xxx(02/11,8748m)
Route Notes BC at 5350 C1 at 6100m top of Icefall C2 at 6400m West Cwm C3 at 7400m Lhotse Face C4 at 7900m South Col xxx at 8748m at South Summit. Moved to C3 intending to make summit bid; got to C3 20 Oct: high winds and went down: this trip by all 5 members while Sherpas stayed in C2. Had been down to Pangboche about 15 Oct to rest. Carney decided not suitable or safe enough for complete ski descent because of snow accumalation, avalanche danger and wind strength, she lost motivation to wait; she left BC 23rd; Johnson also left on 23rd to return home for personal and business reasons. Snow storm lasted from 22nd to 26 Oct, then had to let snow settle and stop avalanching. Left BC again on 29th and got to C4 on 1 Nov, first time members had gotten to C4, but Sherpas had been before to dump gear. From C4 in summit bid were Berg, Burger, Porter and 4 Sherpas. Left C4 11:45 pm of 1 Nov and got to South Summit at 8:00 am; at South Summit "blasted by very abrupt strong winds" and winds from South Summit up were clearly going to be a big challenge" and Berg decided they must go down. When returned to C4 11:00-2:00 pm (Porter moving slowly) and found 3 tents torn apart, so descended to C2 (stopping at C3 only briefly to rest). Berg and Porter got to C2 at 10:00 pm while Burger and 4 Sherpas at 4:00 pm. Porter very tired and moving very slowly; aged 61 years. Now climb finished. Berg regarding only team now on mountain. "We were lucky and privileged" with only ourselves to rely on" when there were not hordes of others and tents too as in spring '03. "This was really mountaineering." Fixed no rope above South Col by plan since too small group and would have slowed them down. Oxygen: Berg, Burger and Porter from C3 to C4, in C4, to South Summit, down to South Col; 4 Sherpas in summit bid in C4 to S Summit to South Col. Burger's 4 frostbitten toes may lose toenails; boots not adequate; frostbitten 2 Nov. Printouts from Explore web correct information 2 Nov, down all the way to C2. 2500 ft of rope fixed including rope provided by team to Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee who fixed and maintained route through Icefall and did a good job. Other major fixing was on Lhotse Face. Nima Tashi mild concussion was from avalanche on Lhotse Face at 6900m on 2 Oct when he was hit by snow avalanche that carried down Nima Tashi 100m; at bottom of avalanche 2 others, Arita and Nawang Pasang, were knocked over by this avalanche, but not hurt. Sherpas: Da Sonam, Pangboche, 1965, Everest X3 Lhakpa Gyalzen, Tapting, Solu, 24/6/71, no 8000ers Nawang Pasang, Beding, 18/10/78, no 8000ers Nima Tashi, Pangboche, 4/4/60, Everest X5
Accidents Burger's frostbitten toes; Nima Tashi mild concussion in avalanche
Achievement -
Agency Peak Promotion
Commercial Route True
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2459044
Year 2003
Summit Success False
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) s col-se ridge

Members

9 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Wallace Wayne (Wally) Berg M 1955 USA Leader Canmore, Alberta Owner of adventure travel business Details Other expeditions
David L. Burger M 1948 USA Climber Boulder, Colorado Psychologist Details Other expeditions
Maegan Carney F 1965 USA Climber Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France Professional skier Details Other expeditions
Brad Allen Johnson M 1955 USA Climber Ridgeway, Colorado Alpine guide & photographer Details Other expeditions
Garry C. Porter M 1942 USA Climber Olalla, Washington Retired aerospace executive Details Other expeditions
Nima Tashi Sherpa M 1960 Nepal H-A Worker Pangboche, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Lhakpa Gelje Sherpa M 1971 Nepal H-A Worker Tapting, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Dawa Sona (Da Sona, Da Sonam) Sherpa M 1965 Nepal H-A Worker Pangboche, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Nawang Pasang Sherpa M 1980 Nepal H-A Worker Beding, Dolakha - Details Other expeditions

References

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
EVER03301 AAJ Hawley, Elizabeth - - 78:406 (2004) -
EVER03301 HIGH - - - 265:55 (Dec 2004) -
EVER03301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200440601/Asia-Nepal-Malahangur-Asia-Nepal-Khumbu-Everest-Summer-and-Autumn-Attempts-with-Ski-and-Snowboard - - -