Everest | 2004 S Col-SE Ridge

A USA expedition to Everest in 2004 via S Col-SE Ridge, led by Willie Benegas. Summit reached on 17th May 2004. 7 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 4628
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER04136
Peak ID EVER
Year 2004
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Col-SE Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Willie Benegas
Sponsor Mountain Madness Everest Expedition 2004
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 2004-04-07
Summit Date 2004-05-17
Summit Time 0830
Summit Days 40
Total Days 44
Termination Date 2004-05-21
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8849
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 4
Summit Members 3
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 3
Summit Hired 2
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(07/04),C1(11/04,6100m),C2(20/04,6450m),C3(06/05,7350m),C4(16/05,7900m),Smt(17/05)
Route Notes C1 at top of Icefall C2 in Western Cwm C3 on Lhotse Face C4 at South Col. Left C4 at 9:00 pm all 4 members and 3 Sherpas including Phanden Sherpa. Almost at balcony, Ponder decided this was enough for him and turned back to South Col and Phanden who went with him; others went on to top at 8:30 am. Lost 4 hours because climbers ahead in long queque who did not know how to climb properly, had no leadership in some cases were like "collections" on a permit but not a team, inadequate gear; one Belgium tossed away his oxygen bottle which almost hit Rice. Returned to C4 2:00 pm to sleep. 18th to C2 to sleep and 19th to BC. Sherpas: Mingma Tshering, 25/3/81, Kharikhola, Everest X3 Nima Wandeki, 1969, Kharikhola, Everest X1, Lhotse X1 Phanden, 26/9/71, Kharikhola, Everest X2, Cho Oyu X2
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Mountain Madness
Commercial Route True
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2459242
Year 2004
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) s col-se ridge

Members

7 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Guillermo (Willie) Benegas M 1968 USA Leader Salt Lake City, Utah Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Gary E. Ponder M 1945 USA Climber Annandale, New Jersey Sales manager Details Other expeditions
Eugene Elwood (Gene) Rehfeld M 1945 USA Climber Golden, Colorado Food broker Details Other expeditions
Murray Newmyer Rice M 1954 USA Climber Seattle, Washington Physician Details Other expeditions
Mingma Tshering (Mingma Chhiri) Sherpa M 1981 Nepal H-A Worker Kharikhola, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Nima Wandeki (Nima Ongdi/Wangdi) Sherpa M 1973 Nepal H-A Worker Kharikhola, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Phenden/Phanden Sherpa M 1971 Nepal H-A Worker Kharikhola, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions

References

1 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
EVER04136 - - http://www.mountainmadness.com/newsroom/newsroom.cfm?dis_id=10 - - -