Everest | 1981 S Pillar-SE Ridge
A USA expedition to Everest in 1981 via S Pillar-SE Ridge, led by John B. West. Summit reached on 21st October 1981. 27 members recorded.
Expedition Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ID | 1796 |
| Imported | 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634 |
| Expedition ID | EVER81301 |
| Peak ID | EVER |
| Year | 1981 |
| Season | 3 |
| Host Country | 1 |
| Route 1 | S Pillar-SE Ridge |
| Route 2 | - |
| Route 3 | - |
| Route 4 | - |
| Nationality | USA |
| Leaders | John B. West |
| Sponsor | American Medical Research Expedition to Everest (AMREE) |
| Success 1 | True |
| Success 2 | False |
| Success 3 | False |
| Success 4 | False |
| Ascent 1 | 42nd,43rd |
| Ascent 2 | - |
| Ascent 3 | - |
| Ascent 4 | - |
| Claimed | False |
| Disputed | False |
| Countries | Canada, India, Italy, UK |
| Approach | - |
| Basecamp Date | 1981-08-30 |
| Summit Date | 1981-10-21 |
| Summit Time | 1129 |
| Summit Days | 52 |
| Total Days | 62 |
| Termination Date | 1981-10-31 |
| Termination Reason | 1 |
| Termination Notes | - |
| High Point (m) | 8849 |
| Traverse | False |
| Ski | False |
| Paraglide | False |
| Camps | 5 |
| Fixed Rope (m) | 0 |
| Total Members | 21 |
| Summit Members | 3 |
| Member Deaths | 0 |
| Total Hired | 5 |
| 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(30/08,5400m),C1(12/09,6100m),C2(15/09,6400m),C3(24/09,7250m),C4(04/10,7530m),C5(11/10,8050m),Smt(21,24/10) |
| Route Notes | Chris Kopczynski - 1 Nov 81 Re route up Pillar: Way we did it was more protected from avalanches from Cwm to Col, but took long time to set up platforms for camps. More ice: on Lhotse face in autumn can shovel snow away and this saves few vital days time. C3 protected by big rock from wind whereas Lhotse face C3 exposed to wind. Glenn Porzak - 1 Nov 81 23,900 feet - 7285m C3 on water ice 24,700 feet - 7530m C4 on snow 26,500 feet - 8075m C5 above Col Never actually were on Col. C5 more protected from wind than would have been at Col but Porzak's big wind storm shredded 2 tents nonetheless. Traverse right from C4 and then straight up. Evans and West - 7 Nov 81 Lhotse face is avalanche prone (though not many this season) so prefer pillar, etc). Canada's Pillar route for 1982 is possible, but real problem for campsites; a rock route, not ice. BC 17,700 feet - 30 Aug C1 about 20,000 - 13 Sept top of Icefall C2 about 21,000 - 15 Sept C3 23,000 - 24 Sept near Poles C3 C4 24,700 - 5 Oct to night of Poles' route C5 26,500 - 11 Oct above Col Pizzo found ice axe (probably Mrs Schmatz's) going up to summit. Hadn't his own and was using tent pole, thus fell way behind time table with problems getting route up to C5 from C2 Shrestha, Tourism - 25 Oct 81 Young Tenzing and Pizzo started from C5 at 6:30 am yesterday with oxygen and reached summit at 12:30 pm; stayed on top 30 minutes and researched wind temperature, mid pressure, ECG, sample of air from lungs collected; returned C5 8:00 pm. Why late at C5 because they rested at (1976 expedition's) camp. Hackett and Nuru Jangbu started for summit at 7:30 am from C5, but on way to top Nuru Jangbu felt very cold feet and turned back at 8:00 am. Hackett decided to go alone (used oxygen from C5) and reached top at 3:30 pm and probably at top 30 minutes. He also carried out research as others, then returned to C5 at 8:00 pm. Today all 4 were at C5 at 10:00 am and will return to C2 today and tomorrow to BC. Health of all good; wind not said; continuation of expedition not said. Sharma, Tourism - 26 Oct 81 No radio contact since yesterday 10:00 am; 3:00 pm yesterday missed and today's 10:00, 11:00 and 4:00 pm [missed]. Sharma, Tourism - 24 Oct 81 Young Tenzing and Nuru Jangbu went with Pizzo and Young Tenzing left C5 about 12:00 am; 12:30 pm reached summit and have started to go C5 but not reached C5 as of 3:00 pm. Nuru Jangbu did not attempt summit today; where he is not given. Hackett solo from C5 towards summit; not reached top, but very near top as of 3:00 contact; plans to return to C5 today. Sharma, Tourism - 24 Oct 81 Because walkie-talkie, contact line really C5 contacts C3 and C3 to C2 and C2 to BC. BC knows nothing of today's movement. Weather in BC good but on South Col not known. 4 men reached South Col yesterday. Sharma, Tourism - 23 Oct 81 Today Pizzo and Hackett and 2 Sherpas left C2 for C5 and for summit; try tomorrow. Weather today good. 2 summiters of 21 Oct arrived BC 8:30 am today. David Jones - 23 Oct 81 Absolutely certain if I hadn't got sick would have got to the summit. C5 established 12 Oct by Pizzo, Kopczynski, Jones and 2 Sherpas quite late in day in strong wind. 13 Oct Sungdare came up to C5. Late previous night got C5 up, so rest day and rehydration and 2 Sherpas didn't know how to look after themselves, 14 Oct going to try for summit. Jones up at 2:30 am first man out; so bitterly cold took an hour get warm inside tent where was -20 degrees centrigrade. Jones then got severe spasms altitude cough and couldn't go climbing that day - less than one day's food for four so Jones down towards C2. When got to C2 very sick with viral infection with high fever and aching joints and muscle which all stopped in 2 days. Then down to BC and slow recovery then after 5 days to late to start back up. "The summit is nice and it make to get to summit but carry back feeling it's been a nice experience and come back slowly you can't ask more of an expedition." Other 3 came down late in afternoon as winds too strong and too cold. Next to C5 Yogendra Thapa [2nd liaison officer], Porzak, Hackett and 3 Sherpas on 15 Oct very late. 16 Oct try to rest battered by bad storm (wind, no snow). Took them 2 days to come down head wall because some so weak. Jeff Lowe and Mike Weiss, Steve Boyer and Chris K and Sherpas to C3 on 18th Oct. 19th tried to go to C5 but winds drove them to C4. 20th to C5 - how many don't know. We all used oxygen sleeping at C5. Icefall getting worse everyday. Sharma, Tourism - 22 Oct 81 Chris and Sungdare used oxygen while climbing and also while sleeping at C5. Whether another team will try again not yet decided. Yesterday not windy and today also not windy at BC. Sharma, Tourism 22 Oct 81 Chris Kopczynski and Sungdare Sherpa, 26 reached C5 20 Oct evening. 21 Oct started toward six at 7:00 am from C5. Reached summit at 11:29 am and stayed there 1-1/2 hours in clear and not windy weather. Underwent several medical research tests at top - outdoor temp, wind pressure, ECG heart, test sample of lung's air. While climbing also did several test of themselves. After 1-1/2 hours at summit, descended to C3 late afternoon same day. Today are at C2 where will stay 1 day; excellent health. Use of oxygen not known. Other 6 did not reach C5 on 20 Oct and returned to C4; came down from C4 yesterday but not known where to. Other attempts not decided. Sharma, Tourism - 20 Oct 81 Yesterday did not reach C5 because of winds; all 6 in C4. Today also windy. Until 11:00 am not started from C4 to go up but plan 8 to go to C5 today if still true and top tomorrow if wind permits. Ang Nima and Ang Tsering joined C4 yesterday and an now in attack party. Milledge and Blume - 19 Oct 81 Virtually completed studies at C2 an exercise and sleep, blood sampling; blood samples being taken by Blume to Bakerfield for disturb to labs all over US and clinical Res Centre Harrow. Part of hut just too much to get it to C2 with Sherpa power summit teams haven't gotten much above Col if at all. C2 at 20,500 feet. C4 left of Geneva Spur. Route essentially same as Poles except exits to Col instead of S Summit. Sharma, Tourism - 19 Oct 81 18 Oct same 2 Sherpas and 4 members started for C5 from C2 but could not reach; some in C3 and C4. Today left at 8:00 am from both camps for C5 but will not attempt summit today but plan to try for summit tomorrow. Sharma, Tourism - 18 Oct 81 Yesterday Porzak and Hackett and 4 Sherpas to C2 because high wind at Col; never went above Col though had planned to go to summit yesterday. Today 4 members and 2 Sherpas left C2 or C3 towards C5, reached C5 this afternoon. They are: Stephen Boyer Jeff Lowe Chris Kopczynski Michael Weiss and Sungdare and Young Tenzing Weather in BC fine today and not windy. Health good. Sharma, Tourism - 15 Oct 81 Six men at C5 last night started down this am: not reached C2 as of 11 am. Not decided whether will send others to C5 today but expedition plan to make summit attempt C5 and C3 empty today (and probaboly C4); men in C1 and C2 and BC. Very windy at South Col this am. How high they reached yesterday not known. Russell Brice - 14 Oct 81 US Everest Geneva Spur; route between S Pillar and Spur. Sharma, Tourism - 14 Oct 81 Reached? - very poor contact C5 and BC. High winds: could not go to top and came down to Col. They will try again provided weather good including. Health good. Sharma, Tourism - 12 Oct 81 C5 at 8000m 11th Oct by 2 Americans and 2 Sherpas Health good Today windy at C5 and they are in C5 today C5 established by 1) Chris Pizzo, 33 San Diego 2) Chris Kopczynski, 33, Spokane 3) David Jones, 34, Hydrologist, Vancouver 4) & 5) Sherpas. Shrestha, Tourism - 5 Oct 81 C4 Oct 4 7750m by Glen Porzak, Jeff Lowe Today 2 Americans and 2 Sherpas in C4; weather good C4 is on right side of Geneva Spur. Shrestha, Tourism - 22 Sept 81 Planned to make C3 on 21st Sept, but it was snowing, so hope to make it in today's good weather. 23 Sept 81 Making C3 today; weather fine 24 Sept 81 C3 not made yesterday; trying today. Sharma, Tourism - 16 Sept 81 C2 15th Sept 6200m by 4 members. All in very good health weather very clear today. Temp at BC 11 degrees centigrade. C1 made by 12 members. Sharma, Tourism - 14 Sept 81 C1 12 Sept 6100m C2 site selected, will be established 15th Sept. All well, weather good -31 degrees at night (from LO BC radio today) Bobby Chettri, MT - 8 Sept 81 Bobby spoke on radio with Amree yesterday afternoon. All 600 loads taking time to arrive BC. No disaster causing delay in start of climb. Shrestha, Tourism - 7 Sept 81 As of this morning's radio contact, climbing not yet started. Reason not given. Sharma, Tourism - 4 Sept 81 BC established 30 Aug at 17,500 ft. All well, weather good Climbing not started but have made several surveys of Icefall. BC radio functioning. Evans, American Ev. - 3 Aug 81 American Medical Res. Expedition to Everest PO Box #9038, Bakersfield, Californina Leader = John B. West, MD, Phd Deputy Leader = Duane Blume, Phd, Logistics = John P Evans, Climbing 21 members including BC Mgr. Korich. 8 not in climbing program. 5 = Sr. scientists - 3 C2 3 = Research assts or technicians 12 climbers 6 are also medical scientists; data collection at S Col and above their primary responsibilities; will do all kinds of climbing chores as well. 6 strictly climbers. Overnight objective is to get scientific data from S Col, summit and below. Summit success but no data = failure; good data is vital and the chief goal; space age science is exciting goal. All 21 and LO Dr. Mingma Gyalzen leave KTM 6th Aug. High camp at S Col = C5 Safer, faster and easier and more suitable for getting up equipment. Go to left of Geneva Spur; Swiss 1951 had problem finding camp space and did not have today's sophisticated climbing equipment. Also route ends at Col in sheltered area. No camp above col but will put in fixed rope above - will also have fixed rope from bottom of pillar to col. C1 - top of icefall C2 - mid-Cwm - used place ABC and lab C3 - 23,900 ft at foot of pillar where Poles had a camp C4 - 24,700 ft - small camp temporary dump C5 - Col Acclimatization at Thyangboche and Pheriche BC - Sept 5, 1981 Here is a brief report of our progress. The trek was more or less uneventful except that the problems of finding enough porters caused some of the loads to be greatly delayed. BC was established on Aug 30 well up toward the icefall. The icefall is not particularly difficult at this time and we expect to establish C1 tomorrow. C2 should be occupied 2 or 3 days later, so progress is good. The weather had been mainly overcast with many snow showers. Temperature is not especially cold - just below freezing. The base camp science laboratory is operational and the research program has begun. Letter from John B West - Everest C2 By now you will have heard of the successful summit climbs by Kopczynski and Sherpa Sungdare on October 21. However only I had an opportunity of talking to Kopczynski about his climb in detail and thought you might like to have a few more facts. The two arrived at C5 (about 200 ft above the South Col) on October 20. They started preparing breakfast in the morning at about 3:45 am though the winds at C5 at that time was high (they estimated 45 mph) and they doubted whether a summit bid was possible. However they left camp at 7 am and were surprised to find that when they reached one of the gulleys above the Col, the wind was much less. They carried litte; Kop had one full bottle of oxygen while Sungdare had 2 initially but soon abandoned one. They had virtually no food (a candy bar or two) and Kop had quart of water. They made fast time right from the beginning partly because they were afraid that the wind might increase again. Near the top of the gulley they noted that only one hour and twenty minutes had elapsed. They saw the body of Frau Schmatz (from the previous German expedition in which Sungdare took part in a high rescue) but not the remains of Genet who also died there. Once they reached the ridge, they used the east side where the wind slab made for relatively very easy climbing. Until they reached the South Summit, the wind was not a particular problem. However from there to the true summit the wind was high. Also Kop commented that the final ridge was steep and dangerous. He was very glad to find that Sungdare was technically very skillful, especially with belays. The Hillary Step was very demanding and Kop found it very tiring. They reached the summit at 11:23 am - a very fast ascent. There was no sign of the Chinese tripod which was presumally burried by snow. The spent 20-30 minutes on the summit and Kop took almost 2 rolls of film. Both used oxygen all the way - up and down. This was the Hornbein equipment at setting #3. On the way down they found a tank left by the American Bicentinial expedition and Kop used this in the final stages. They estimated tht they they took 3 hours to get down to C5 where again the wind was extremely fierce. They then wend down to C4 where Kop had to lie down for a while because of stomach cramps. However Sungdare (and later Kop) went down to C3 and it was from here they radioed their success to C2 at about 4 pm. Kop previous best climb was on Makalu where he reached about 27,000 ft. Sungdare (from Pangboche) previously summited on Everest in 1979. Letter from John West - Sept 23, 1981 The climbers are ahead of schedule as of this date. Today they hope to establish C3 on the headwall leading to the South Col. With a bit of luck it should then take them only 7-10 days to reach the Col itself. The science program is on schedule. The laboratory at BC has been working well for a couple of weeks and is productive. We have set up the laboratory for C2 and hope to have this working within the next 3-4 days. The weather has generally been good except for about a week of snow earlier this month. The icefall is in relatively good condition. Incidentally C2 is in a well protected place but is some 2 hours walk from the bergschrund at the head of the Cwm. There was a long delay between the mail that came by helicopter and that via the Kunde runner (Sept 22). We hope this can be avoided in future. |
| Accidents | - |
| Achievement | - |
| Agency | Mountain Travel |
| Commercial Route | False |
| Standard Route | - |
| Primary Route | False |
| Primary Member | False |
| Primary Reference | - |
| Primary ID | - |
| Checksum | 2446970 |
| Year | 1981 |
| Summit Success | True |
| O2 Summary | Used |
| Route (lowercase) | s pillar-se ridge |
Members
27 recorded members.
| Name | Sex | Year of Birth | Citizenship | Status | Residence | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michele Samaja | M | 1951 | Italy | Scientist | Milano, Italy | Researcher | Details Other expeditions |
| Frederick Duane Blume | M | 1933 | USA | Dep Ldr Scientist | Bakersfield, California | Professor of biology at California State College, Bakersfield | Details Other expeditions |
| Stephen (Steve) Boyer | M | 1946 | USA | Climbing Scientist | Denver, Colorado | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| John P. Evans | M | 1938 | USA | Climbing Leader | Conifer, Colorado | Associate director, Colorado Outward Bound School | Details Other expeditions |
| David J. Graber | M | 1951 | USA | Climbing Scientist | Fresno, California | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| Peter Harvey Hackett | M | 1947 | USA | Climbing Scientist | Anchorage, Alaska | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| David P. Jones | M | 1948 | Canada | Climber | Vancouver, British Columbia | Hydrologist | Details Other expeditions |
| Christopher M. (Kris) Kopczynski | M | 1948 | USA | Climber | Spokane, Washington | Building contractor | Details Other expeditions |
| Rodney Allison Korich | M | 1947 | USA | BC Manager | Jamestown, Colorado | Travel consultant | Details Other expeditions |
| Sukhamay Lahiri | M | 1933 | India | Scientist | Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania | Physiology professor | Details Other expeditions |
| Jeff Lowe | M | 1950 | USA | Climber | Eldorado Springs, Colorado | Alpine guide & consultant | Details Other expeditions |
| Karl Helmuth Maret | M | 1948 | Canada | Scientist | San Diego, California | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| James Sibree (Jim) Milledge | M | 1930 | UK | Scientist | Rickmansworth, Hertford, England | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| Richard Peters | M | 1955 | USA | Scientist | La Jolla, California | Student | Details Other expeditions |
| Christopher J. (Chris) Pizzo | M | 1949 | USA | Climbing Scientist | San Diego, California | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| Glenn Edward Porzak | M | 1948 | USA | Climber | Boulder, Colorado | Attorney | Details Other expeditions |
| Frank Hilding Sarnquist | M | 1942 | USA | Climbing Scientist | Palo Alto, California | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| Robert Brown Schoene | M | 1946 | USA | Climbing Scientist | Seattle, Washington | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| Michael (Mike) Weis | M | 1950 | USA | Climber | Eldorado Springs, Colorado | Carpenter | Details Other expeditions |
| John Burnard West | M | 1928 | UK/USA | Leader Scientist | La Jolla, California | Professor of medicine, University of California at San Diego | Details Other expeditions |
| Robert Winslow Winslow | M | 1941 | USA | Scientist | Atlanta, Georgia | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| Young/Yong Tenzing Sherpa | M | 1953 | Nepal | H-A Worker | Namche Bazar, Khumbu | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Sungdare Sherpa | M | 1955 | Nepal | H-A Worker | Pangboche, Khumbu | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Nurbu Jangbu Sherpa | M | 1954 | Nepal | H-A Worker | Ghat, Khumbu | High-altitude porter | Details Other expeditions |
| Yogendra Bahadur Thapa | M | 1948 | Nepal | Liaison Officer | Kathmandu | Inspector Nepal Police | Details Other expeditions |
| Mingma Gyalzen Sherpa | M | - | Nepal | Liaison Officer | - | Physician | Details Other expeditions |
| Ang Jangbu Sherpa | M | 1961 | Nepal | H-A Worker | Phortse, Khumbu | - | Details Other expeditions |
References
12 recorded references.