Everest | 2007 N Col-NE Ridge

A New Zealand expedition to Everest in 2007 via N Col-NE Ridge, led by Russell Brice. Summit reached on 30th April 2007. 37 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 5671
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER07153
Peak ID EVER
Year 2007
Season 1
Host Country 2
Route 1 N Col-NE Ridge
Route 2 N Col-NE Ridge (up); SE Ridge-S Col (down)
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality New Zealand
Leaders Russell Brice
Sponsor Himalayan Experience (Himex) Everest Expedition 2007
Success 1 True
Success 2 True
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries China, Denmark, Lithuania, Japan, Switzerland, UK, USA
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2007-04-05
Summit Date 2007-04-30
Summit Time 0525
Summit Days 25
Total Days 75
Termination Date 2007-06-19
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8849
Traverse True
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 4800
Total Members 20
Summit Members 16
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 31
Summit Hired 17
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(05/04,5141m),ABC(09/04,6376m),C1(26/04,7024m),C2(12/05,7511m),C3-Members(13/05,7806m),C3(28/04,7806m),C4(14/05,8250m),Smt(30/04,15,21-22/05,14/06)
Route Notes Himalayan Experience Everest led by Russell Brice - Spring 2007 Expedition's first summiters were five Sherpas who fixed the rope to the top on 30 April: Phurba Tashi, Dorje Sonam Gyalzen, Son Dorje, Lakpa Nuru (Phortse), and Lhakpa Nuru (also Phortse). Next summiters, who reached the top on 15 May, were Tait and Phurba Tashi (again from ABC) in a north-south traverse (see below for further notes about Tait). The first large summit party consisted of Baber, Medvetz, Li, Staples, Vaiciulis, Wardle, Woodward, Ziel, Sherpas Lhakpa Nuru (again from ABC), Son Dorje (again from ABC), Nuru Gyalzen, Pasang Kami, Nima Tenzing, and Tibetans Tashi Namgyal, Lobchong, and Dor Jee. They left C4 at 0:42 hours (NST) on 21 May and were on the top at 5:25 am (Staples) to 7:27 am (Medvetz). Members descended to C3, Sherpas to ABC same day. Second large summit party consisted of one member who turned back (Valloton), and the successful climbers, who were Crouse, Jensen, Kobayashi, Kuraoka, Whetu, Yanagisawa, Yoshida, Nima Wangchu, Dorje Sonam Gyalzen (again from ABC), Dawa Tenji, Tshering Tashi and Ang Chhiring, and Tibetans Tenzing and Pemba. They left C4 at 0:03 am (the four Japanese members and their Sherpas) and 1:03 am on 22 May and were on the summit at 6:10 am (Crouse and Tenzing) to 8:10 am (Japanese and their Sherpas). The Japanese party went down to C3, the other members and Sherpas to ABC. Yanagisawa is the oldest person to summit Everest: on 22 May, he was 71 years and 63 days old, whereas his predecessor was 70 years and 225 days old. Brice said Yanagisawa climbed well, on his own two legs, not carried, pushed or pulled to the top. Primary Himex expedition left base camp on 27 May. Brice, Staples, Woodward and some Sherpas stayed on until 19 June. Two of this expedition's deputy leaders, Staples and Woodward, summited with Conrad Anker's team on 14 June. Anker's film party members were unable to function at high altitude, so Staples and Woodward substituted for them to do their filming. Brice worked closely with Conrad Anker's expedition. His people established camps before Anker and party arrived, and Brice's Sherpas did other chores for them. Five of them climbed up to the Second Step to remove the ladders and ropes for Anker and Leo Houlding to scale it without these post-1924 aids, and they went to the summit from there on the same day, 14 June. The trail this spring was very fast, which enabled so many of this team's climbers to move up and down rapidly, descend all the way from summit to ABC on the same day, and many unskilled climbers on other teams to reach high altitudes and even to succeed. The route was fast because it was stamped down by Brice's Sherpas fixing the ropes, then light snowfall froze the route; when climbers came along later, they moved on top of a thin layer of snow covering the frozen trail right underneath. This expedition moved away from the trail and dumped down the mountainside the bodies of the Czech climber, Libor Kozak, who died this spring, and last spring's David Sharp and a Frenchman whose name Brice didn't remember (presumably Jacques Letrange). The 1996 Indian body known as Green Boots was not removed; it was under the snow, and earlier efforts to move it were unsuccessful since it is solidly frozen in place. Oxygen: All members, Sherpas and Tibetans used it from 7900m to top and down until it ran out (some to about C3, some even to C1). Non-summiting members: Brice led his expedition from North Col. Huelskamp reached North Col on 11 May; not experienced enough to climb higher. Valloton was in summit party going for top on 22 May, but stopped at 8000m; she refused to use oxygen and said she was too cold (on a warm day). Wakui reached North Col, then said he was not feeling well and left the expedition. Sherpa and Tibetan summiters: 30 April Phurba Tashi, 24/5/71, Khumjung, Everest X10, Cho Oyu X5 Dorje Sonam Gyalzen, Phortse, 24/5/81, Everest X6, Cho Oyu X1 Son Dorje, 22/5/63, Phortse, Everest X4 Lakpa Nuru, 1962, Khumjung/Phortse, Everest 15/5/06, Manaslu 30/9/06 Lhakpa Nuru, 18/6/80, Phortse, Everest 22/5/03 with Chinese 15 May Phurba Tashi, again from ABC in north-south traverse 21 May Lhakpa Nuru, again from ABC Son Dorje, again from ABC Nuru Gyalzen, 18/8/73, Phortse, Everest 27/5/04 Pasang Kami, 26/7/79, Phortse, no 8000ers Nima Tenzing, 16/4/88, Khumjung, no 8000ers Tashi Namgyal, Tibetan, 4/6/84, Everest X1 Lobchong, Tibetan, 27/10/84, Everest X1, Cho Oyu X2 Dor Jee, Tibetan, Everest 11/5/06 with Brice's team 22 May Nima Wangchu, 1/8/74, Phortse, no 8000ers Dorje Sonam Gyalzen, again from ABC Dawa Tenzi, 14/5/80, Khumjung, no 8000ers Tshering Tashi, 30/4/80, Khunde, no 8000ers Ang Chhiring, 1952, Phortse, no 8000ers Tenzing, Tibetan, 28/3/83, Everest X4, Cho Oyu X2 Pemba, Tibetan 1/7/82, Everest 4/6/05 with Brice, Cho Oyu X1 14 June Phurba Tashi, his third ascent with this team, again from ABC Don Dorje, his third ascent with this team, again from ABC Dorje Sonam Gyalzen, his third ascent with this team, again from ABC Lhakpa Nuru, his third ascent with this team, again from ABC Nuru Gyalzen, again from ABC David Tait's traverse of Everest Tait was a member of Russell Brice's Himex Everest expedition on the North Col route, but he came to be a sub-team consisting of himself and Phurbu Tashi Sherpa. Tait and Phurba Tashi decided on 11 May to go for the summit and left ABC on the 12th for C1 (7000m on the Col); on the 13th they climbed from C1 to C3 (7900m), skipping C2 (at 7500m) in "a hard day" of climbing; on the 14th to C4 (8400m). At 11:00 pm (NST) on the 14th, they left C4 for the top. The weather was not very cold (-10 degrees), very calm with almost no wind, and clear sky with stars shining. They reached the summit at 6:10-15 am on the 15th at the same time as 20 other summiters. They had had to wait in a queue at the First Step for about 20 minutes, then "went steaming past them" on the way to the Second Step. They spent ten or fifteen minutes on the top taking pictures while some Indians were holding aloft their banner, then started down the SE Ridge. They knew the route had not yet been fixed to the summit on the Nepalese side, but they did not realize the distances on this side; Phurba Tashi had summited Everest ten times, but always via the North Col route. They belayed each other with their 25m short rope down the Hillary Step, but at the bottom of the Step they found that they had to use the 100m rope Phurba Tashi had been carrying to fix their route from the bottom of the Step up to the South Summit. They resumed belaying each other and at one point didn't know exactly where they were as the clouds rolled in. They thought they were at the Balcony when they weren't there yet. From the actual Balcony the route was already fixed, and at about noon on the 15th they reached the South Col and had their first drink there. From the Col down, there was deep snow. They passed three C3's at three levels; at Kenton Cool's low C3, he gave them another drink. At 6:00 pm they got to C2 and went to sleep in a tent at Guy Cotter's camp. On the 16th they left C2 at 7:00 am and arrived at BC at noon time after having descended the Icefall, which was hot and at bit mushy at the bottom. Avalanches were coming down the slopes on both sides. An army helicopter picked them up to BC on the morning of the 17th and brought them to Kathmandu. Both Tait and Phurba Tashi used oxygen. They started using it in their ascent from C2's 7500m to and in C3, to C4 to 8835m, where their first bottles became empty. They discarded those bottles and replaced them with the second bottles each had been carrying, starting on the second bottles at 8840m on the north side and switching them off at 7300m on the south side's route down the West Face of Lhotse, switching off because the masks were uncomfortable. The original plan had been to do a double traverse -- from BC turn around and go back up the south side and descend the north side. Although Tait has no doubt that Phurba Tashi could have done that immediately, he himself would have had to take a good long rest before he could do the second traverse. He didn't have the time to spare, and didn't feel the need to do it. Besides his knees were sore from the long descent; he had trained for the ascent, but had not thought to train for the descent. "The traverse was great, fantastic, more than I could ever hope for." He had done it to raise funds for the charity he supports, the National Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Children, and he decided at 3:15 pm during his descent of the south side that what he had done was good enough for his purpose. He will have to wait in Kathmandu for his two barrels of gear and his passport to come from Tibet. On the 18th, Phurba Tashi goes by road to the border, where a vehicle will meet him bringing the barrels and passport and taking Phurba Tashi back to BC to resume climbing Everest with Brice's team.
Accidents -
Achievement Yanagisawa oldest summiter
Agency Mountain Experience
Commercial Route True
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2460458
Year 2007
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) n col-ne ridge

Members

37 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Roderick Baber M 1970 UK Climber Cirencester, Gloucester, England Manager of climbing center Details Other expeditions
Russell Reginald Brice M 1952 New Zealand Leader Argentiere, Haute-Savoie, France Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
William Charles (Bill) Crouse M 1963 USA Deputy Leader Breckenridge, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Elizabeth (Betsy) Huelskamp F 1960 USA Climber Sun Valley, California Fitness trainer Details Other expeditions
Mogens Kjaempe Jensen M 1972 Denmark Climber Viborg, Denmark Professional climber Details Other expeditions
Yuzo Kobayashi M 1982 Japan Climber Takahashi-shi, Japan Student Details Other expeditions
Hiroyuki Kuraoka M 1961 Japan Deputy Leader Abiko, Chiba, Japan Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Li Yong M 1974 China Climber Chengdu, Sichuan, China Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Timothy Wayne (Tim) Medvetz M 1970 USA Climber Los Angeles, California Custom motorcyle maker Details Other expeditions
Dean Douglas Staples M 1964 New Zealand Deputy Leader Queenstown, New Zealand Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
David Simon John (Dave) Tait M 1962 UK Climber Cobham, Surrey, England Portfolio manager Details Other expeditions
Darius Vaiciulis M 1970 Lithuania Climber Kaunas, Lithuania Mobile telephone shop manager Details Other expeditions
Josette Valloton F 1964 Switzerland Climber Arolla, Valais, Switzerland Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Masaji Wakui M 1950 Japan Climber Nakauomuma-gun, Niigata, Japan Business owner Details Other expeditions
Edmund Philip (Ed) Wardle M 1970 UK Climber London, England TV producer Details Other expeditions
Mark Anthony Whetu M 1959 New Zealand Climber Twizel, New Zealand Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Mark Wynton Woodward M 1963 New Zealand Deputy Leader Queenstown, New Zealand Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Katsusuke Yanagisawa M 1936 Japan Climber Ogata-gun, Nagano, Japan Farmer Details Other expeditions
Takenori Yoshida M 1948 Japan Climber Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan Taxi driver Details Other expeditions
Frederick Harold (Fred) Ziel M 1953 USA Climber South Pasadena, California Physician Details Other expeditions
Phurba Tashi Sherpa M 1971 Nepal H-A Worker Khumjung, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Dorje Sonam Gyalzen Sherpa M 1981 Nepal H-A Worker Phortse, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Son Dorje Sherpa M 1963 Nepal H-A Worker Phortse, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Lakpa Nuru Sherpa M 1962 Nepal H-A Worker Khumjung/Phortse, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa M 1980 Nepal H-A Worker Phortse, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Nuru Gyalzen Sherpa M 1973 Nepal H-A Worker Phortse, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Pasang Kami (PK) Sherpa M 1979 Nepal H-A Worker Phortse, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Nima Tenzing Sherpa M 1988 Nepal H-A Worker Khumjung, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Tashi Namgyal (Zhaxi Nanjia) M 1982 China H-A Worker Shigatse, Tibet, China - Details Other expeditions
Lobsang (Lorchun, Lobchong) M 1984 China H-A Worker Tsako, Tingri Dzong, Tibet, China - Details Other expeditions
Dorje Tsering (Duoji Ciren) M 1984 China H-A Worker Tingri Dzong, Tibet, China - Details Other expeditions
Nima Wangchu Sherpa M 1974 Nepal H-A Worker Phortse, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Dawa Tenzing (Dawa Tenji) Sherpa M 1980 Nepal H-A Worker Khumjung, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Tshering Tashi Sherpa M 1980 Nepal H-A Worker Khunde, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Ang Chhiring (Ang Tshering) Sherpa M 1956 Nepal H-A Worker Phortse, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Tenzing (Tenzin, Den Zeng) M 1984 China H-A Worker Dontso, Nyalam Dzong, Tibet, China - Details Other expeditions
Pemba (Bianba) M 1982 China H-A Worker Xegar, Tingri Dzong, Tibet, China - Details Other expeditions

References

1 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
EVER07153 - - http://himalayanexperience.com/newsletters/everest-2007 - - -