Everest | 1982 N Face (Great Couloir)
A USA expedition to Everest in 1982 via N Face (Great Couloir), led by Lou Whittaker. Summit reached on 18th May 1982. 16 members recorded.
Expedition Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ID | 1675 |
| Imported | 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634 |
| Expedition ID | EVER82102 |
| Peak ID | EVER |
| Year | 1982 |
| Season | 1 |
| Host Country | 2 |
| Route 1 | N Face (Great Couloir) |
| Route 2 | - |
| Route 3 | - |
| Route 4 | - |
| Nationality | USA |
| Leaders | Lou Whittaker |
| Sponsor | - |
| 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 | India |
| Approach | Lhasa->Rongbuk Glacier |
| Basecamp Date | 1982-03-21 |
| Summit Date | 1982-05-18 |
| Summit Time | - |
| Summit Days | 58 |
| Total Days | 64 |
| Termination Date | 1982-05-24 |
| Termination Reason | 6 |
| Termination Notes | Abandoned at 8400m due to frostbite and Hoey's death |
| High Point (m) | 8400 |
| Traverse | False |
| Ski | False |
| Paraglide | False |
| Camps | 5 |
| Fixed Rope (m) | 0 |
| Total Members | 16 |
| Summit Members | 0 |
| Member Deaths | 1 |
| Total Hired | 0 |
| Summit Hired | 0 |
| Hired Deaths | 0 |
| No Hired | True |
| O2 Used | False |
| O2 None | True |
| O2 Climb | False |
| O2 Descent | False |
| O2 Sleep | False |
| O2 Medical | False |
| O2 Taken | False |
| O2 Unknown | False |
| Other Summits | - |
| Campsites | BC(21/03,5150m),C1(5730m),C2(6700m),C3(08/04,6860m),C4(18/04,7220m),C5(08/05,7620m),C6(17/05,8080m),xxx(18/05,8400m) |
| Route Notes | Sept/Oct 82 The American expedition, led by Lou Whittaker, failed to reach the summit via the Great Couloir on the North Face, without porters (yaks got them to 5600m but still 15 kms from the face), they worked up to the cirque of he upper central Rongbuck Glacier, C2, C4 and C5 were established straight up the face on April 8, 18 and May 8th at 6860m, 7220m and 7620m respectively. The weather deteriorated in May slowing progress. On May 15th Larry Nielson and Dave Mahre were searching for the site of C6 while Marty Hoey and Jim Wickwire were sitting just below on a small rock out crop of the middle of the couloir at 8015m, anchored to an ice screw just above the rock. Wickwire who had climbed K2 in 1978, started to move upward and Hoey moved on one side to let him by. The waist belt of her harness popped open, she lost her balance and plunged 1800m down the slope. A summit attempt was made three days later by Nielson, Eric Simonson and George Dunn in which Nielson got up the yellow band just right of the Great Couloir at 8400m, but he suffered frostbite. Wickwire went high on May 22. Yet the expedition was really over after Marty Hoey's death. No artificial oxygen was used by anyone on the expedition, Marty Hoey's previous visit to the Himalaya, to Nanda Devi in 1976, was halted when she nearly died of dysentery and had to evacuated by helicopter. |
| Accidents | Marty Hoey fatal fall |
| Achievement | - |
| Agency | - |
| Commercial Route | False |
| Standard Route | - |
| Primary Route | False |
| Primary Member | False |
| Primary Reference | - |
| Primary ID | - |
| Checksum | 2447180 |
| Year | 1982 |
| Summit Success | False |
| O2 Summary | None |
| Route (lowercase) | n face (great couloir) |
Members
16 recorded members.
| Name | Sex | Year of Birth | Citizenship | Status | Residence | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louis Winslow (Lou) Whittaker | M | 1929 | USA | Leader | Ashford, Washington | Owner, alpine guide service | Details Other expeditions |
| Nawang Gombu Sherpa | M | 1936 | India | Climber | Darjeeling, India (from Solukhumbu) | Instructor, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute | Details Other expeditions |
| Stephen (Steve) Marts | M | 1938 | USA | Cinematographer | Seattle, Washington | Professional film-maker | Details Other expeditions |
| Joe Horiskey | M | 1951 | USA | Climber | Eatonville, Washington | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Edward G. Hixson | M | 1941 | USA | Exp Doctor | Saranac Lake, New York | Surgeon | Details Other expeditions |
| Frank G. Wells | M | 1932 | USA | Climber | Beverly Hills, California | Attorney | Details Other expeditions |
| Mary Francis (Marty) Hoey | F | 1951 | USA | Climber | Snowbird, Utah | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Philip Michael (Phil) Ershler | M | 1951 | USA | Climber | Bellevue, Washington | Alpine guide | Details Other expeditions |
| Gary Fredric Isaacs | M | 1951 | USA | Climber | Seattle, Washington | - | Details Other expeditions |
| George James Dunn | M | 1953 | USA | Climber | Renton, Washington | Alpine guide | Details Other expeditions |
| David R. (Dave) Mahre | M | 1927 | USA | Climber | Naches, Washington | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Eric Robb Simonson | M | 1955 | USA | Climber | Bellevue, Washington | Alpine guide | Details Other expeditions |
| Daniel E. (Dan) Boyd | M | 1951 | USA | Climber | Seattle, Washington | - | Details Other expeditions |
| James F. (Jim) Wickwire | M | 1940 | USA | Climber | Seattle, Washington | Attorney | Details Other expeditions |
| Lawrence Darius (Larry) Nielson | M | 1947 | USA | Climber | Olympia, Washington | School teacher | Details Other expeditions |
| Richard Daniel (Dick) Bass | M | 1929 | USA | Climber | Dallas, Texas | Oil geologist | Details Other expeditions |
References
3 recorded references.