Everest | 1988 N Col-NE Ridge

A USA expedition to Everest in 1988 via N Col-NE Ridge, led by Courtney Skinner. Summit reached on 1st October 1988. 32 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 466
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER88305
Peak ID EVER
Year 1988
Season 3
Host Country 2
Route 1 N Col-NE Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Courtney Skinner
Sponsor Courtney Skinner Autumn Everest 1988 'Cowboys on Everest'
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 From Lhasa
Basecamp Date 1988-08-17
Summit Date 1988-10-01
Summit Time -
Summit Days 45
Total Days 64
Termination Date 1988-10-20
Termination Reason 4
Termination Notes Abandoned at 7770m due to strong winds and climber's inexperience
High Point (m) 7770
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 32
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 0
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired True
O2 Used True
O2 None False
O2 Climb True
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(25/08,5180m),C1(02/09),C2(09/09,6065m),C3.ABC(10/09,6500m),C4(21/09,7100m),C5(01/10,77770m),xxx(01/10,7770m)
Route Notes High point at C5 site. Everest attempt. Climbing the historic route which claimed the lives of Mallory and Irvine in 1924, the Wyoming Centennial Everest Expedition, commonly called "Cowboys on Everest." Led by Courtney Skinner, team fought against weather conditions resulting from the heaviest monsoon in years according to Tibetan locals. On the approach rains caused landslides, vanished roads and washed-out bridges and delayed the arrival at Base Camp until August 25 after nearly 25 days of travel and waiting. From Base Camp at 17,000 ft, we set up three camps to Advance Base at 21,325 ft at the foot of the North Col. It took twelve days to fix the route up the col. A safe line was used up the center of the serac field. C4 was set up on the col on Sept 21 and a few days later a group reached C5 at 25,000 ft. Winds destroyed tents at C4 and C5 and, after several more tries, the expedition was called off on Oct 14. The team returned to Base Camp after 57 days on the mountain. The members were leader Courtney Skinner's brother Orion and his father Bob Skinner. Quint Barney, Bob Bohus, Peter Breslow, Doug Burbank, Jim Burnett, Julie Cheney, Sue Cobb, Carl Coy, Rick Dare, Matt Ellenthal, Mack Ellerby, Dave Frawley, Ethan Goldings. Wyoming Centennial Everest Expedition - Aut 1988 Information from other sources: Jim Frush, leader of a US team (on the south side) - 30 July 88 Leader is Courney Skinner from Pinedale, Wyoming. Has 33 members, most of them with no Himalayan experience. Route is standard North Col-North Ridge. Sonam Gyalpo of Mountain Travel - 11 Aug 88 Mountain Travel has received telex from China International Travel Service cancelling some MT trips into Tibet because of swollen rivers, and one telex from Lhasa Hotel saying Wyoming Everest expedition has been held up in Lhasa now for two weeks because Chengdu-Lhasa flights have been cancelled and all the team's baggage (2.5 tons) coming by road from Beijing all the way. Daniel Noble, USA member of a team on north side during summer - 14 Aug 88 Noble talked with Skinner in Colorado and was told Skinner's group was using oxygen, buying some from a British team. Steve Boyer, member of French team on north side in autumn - 20 Sept 88 Leader of Wyoming Centenial team and its base camp manager arrived at base camp the day after the French had gotten there, which was on 16 August. Americans made four camps on the way to the Col. They had little Himalayan experience and were going slowly. They had a lot of oxygen, no Sherpas. There were about 35 Americans including geologists, etc. U.S. Air Force C-120 cargo planes flew their equipment to Beijing. Marc Twight, member of US-Canadian pair on north side in autumn - 3 Nov 88 Wyoming Centennial team were on North Col-North Ridge route. Their high point was site of Camp 5 at 25,200 ft at the end of September, but they never occupied this camp. They were 35 people, some of whom had never climbed before; "a grass roots effort," Skinner said. Bob Skinner, 59 years old, and Courtney Skinner, 52, run hunting and youth camps; Courtney got to North Col using bottled oxygen at flow of 7 liters/minute. Only member with Himalayan experience was 43 years old Dave Frawley, who trekked to Gokyo and had had first climbing lesson only year ago. Mack Ellerby had lot of climbing experience elsewhere (McKinley) and did the best high climbing of this group. Their summit team was put together in the US: Julie Cheney, to be the first US woman atop Everest; first father and son pair, Bob (the father) and Orion Skinner, youngest man, Jim Burnett and oldest man, Bob Skinner, 59. Member Sue Cobb was the wife of an aide of US vice president George Bush; team flown to China in a US Air force plane. The team arrived at base camp as the summer British-US-NZ team left to go home, and left base camp on 20 Oct. Sonam, Ministry of Tourism - 11 Aug 88 MT has CITJ telex cancelling some MT trips in Tibet because of swollen rivers and one from Lhasa Hotel saying Wyoming Everest expedition held up in Lhasa now for 2 weeks because Chengdu-Lhasa flights cancelled and the teams's baggage (2 1/2 tons) coming instead by road from Peking all the way. Daniel Noble, (Everest NE Ridge team) - 14 Aug 88 Courtney Skinner = leader Julie Cheney + 5 other women 20-25 members Using oxygen - buying some from British NE Ridge expedition. N Col classical route. Letter from H. Adams Carter, editor of AAJ The Wyoming Centennial Everest Expedition is led by Courtney Skinner, as AAC members at least are with them. Gary Neptune is from Boulder and a good, experienced climber. Also a member is David Padwa, who does not have a very distinguished record, mostly in the Alps and in the United States. I know they have some women along, though I am not sure of who they are. I think, but I am not sure, that Susan Havens is one. If so, she is AAC. They apparently have sold theirs to the television cameras. We keep hearing terribly insignificant driblets on the radio about them.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency -
Commercial Route True
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2449559
Year 1988
Summit Success False
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) n col-ne ridge

Members

32 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Quinten Barney M - USA Climber Salt Lake City, Utah Printer Details Other expeditions
Robert (Bob) Bohus M - USA Climber Sheridan, Wyoming Physician Details Other expeditions
Peter Breslow M - USA Communications Washington, DC Broadcasting Details Other expeditions
Doug Burbank M - USA Climber Los Angeles, California Geology professor Details Other expeditions
Jim Burnett M - USA Climber Kemmerer, Wyoming Student & logger Details Other expeditions
Julianne (Julie) Cheney F 1957 USA Climber Eau Claire, Wisconsin Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Sue McCourt Cobb F 1937 USA Climber Miami, Florida Attorney Details Other expeditions
Carl Coy M - USA Climber Gillette, Wyoming Teacher Details Other expeditions
Rick Dare M - USA Climber Wright, Wyoming Teacher Details Other expeditions
Matt Ellenthal M - USA Climber Old Greenwich, Connecticut Account representative Details Other expeditions
Alfred McKay (Mack) Ellerby M 1952 USA Climber Denver, Colorado Fencing contractor Details Other expeditions
David (Dave) Frawley M - USA Climber Lowell, Massachusetts Business manager Details Other expeditions
Stephen (Steve) Gardiner M - USA Climber Jackson, Wyoming Scholarship educator Details Other expeditions
Ethan Goldings M - USA Climber Stanford, California Student Details Other expeditions
Ross Greenlee M - USA Climber Salt Lake City, Utah Physician Details Other expeditions
Theodore N. (Ted) Handwerk M 1955 USA Climber Boulder, Colorado Building contractor Details Other expeditions
Sibylle C. Hechtel F - USA Climber Boulder, Colorado Translator Details Other expeditions
Alexandra Hildebrandt F - USA Climber New York, New York Venture consultant Details Other expeditions
Sheri King F - USA Exp Doctor Pueblo, Colorado Physician Details Other expeditions
Stephen (Steve) Marts M 1938 USA Film Team Seattle, Washington Photographer Details Other expeditions
Brian McLean M - USA Climber Littleton, Colorado Materials engineer Details Other expeditions
David J. (Dave) McNally M 1953 USA Climber Jackson, Wyoming Artist Details Other expeditions
David J. (Dave) Padwa M - USA Communications Boulder, Colorado Attorney & professor Details Other expeditions
Mark Pilon M - USA Climber Golden, Colorado Software engineer Details Other expeditions
Fred Reidman M - USA Deputy Leader Salt Lake City, Utah Credit manager Details Other expeditions
Jim Robinson M - USA Climber Dallas, Texas Broker Details Other expeditions
John (Jeb) Schenck M 1950 USA Climber Thermopolis, Wyoming Teacher & photographer Details Other expeditions
Courtney J. Skinner M 1936 USA Leader Pinedale, Wyoming Wilderness outfitter Details Other expeditions
Orion Skinner M - USA Climber Parker, Colorado Geologist Details Other expeditions
Robert Skinner M 1929 USA Climber Pinedale, Wyoming Wilderness outfitter Details Other expeditions
Anne Stroock F - USA Film Team Casper, Wyoming Film-maker Details Other expeditions
Brad Werntz M - USA Climber Evanston, Illinois Student Details Other expeditions

References

5 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
EVER88305 AAJ Gardiner, Stephen - - 63:276 (1989) -
EVER88305 AAJ Padwa, David - - 63:276-277 (1989) -
EVER88305 - Cobb, Sue The Edge of Everest Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA - C305
EVER88305 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198927601/Asia-Tibet-Everest-Attempt - - -
EVER88305 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198927602/Scientific-Programs-on-the-Wyoming-Everest-Expedition - - -