Everest | 1989 Lho La-W Ridge from S

A S Korea expedition to Everest in 1989 via Lho La-W Ridge from S, led by Lee Suk-Woo. Summit reached on 23rd October 1989. 14 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 474
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER89314
Peak ID EVER
Year 1989
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 Lho La-W Ridge from S
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality S Korea
Leaders Lee Suk-Woo
Sponsor Lee Suk-Woo Autumn 1989 Everest Expedition
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 100th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed True
Countries -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1989-09-15
Summit Date 1989-10-23
Summit Time 1230
Summit Days 38
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8849
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 11
Summit Members 1
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 12
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(15/09,5200m),C1(28/09,5900m),C2(07/10,6900m),C3(12/10,7400m),C4(20/10,8050m),Smt(23/10)
Route Notes BC 50m below other Koreans and Japanese BC's C1 below Lho La on its north side C2 just below West Shoulder on north side. Notes by E. Hawley - Nov 2004 On 4th Nov, I met Nuru Jangbu Sherpa, a summiter on this expedition. He is 50 years old and speaks only basic English, but interpreting for him in the Sherpa language during much of the interview was Ang Rita Sherpa of the Himalayan Trust. Nuru Jangbu had some difficulty recalling details of the 1989 climb, but he appeared to be doing his best. He said that base camp was at the normal site for teams climbing Everest from Nepal. They made C1 on the Lho La and climbed all the way to the summit via the West Ridge -- did not go over onto the North Face and into the Hornbein Couloir. Their other high camps, C2 and C3, were on the West Ridge. It took Nuru Jangbu, Nima Rita Sherpa and the Korean (whose name he never mentioned) 11 or 12 hours to climb from C3 to the top. This last day's climb was "very difficult," he said several times in English. "Sometimes very steep, sometimes many rocks." There was mixed rock and snow on the route; they fixed 300 meters of rope from C3 to the summit. Nima Rita was in the lead, then came the Korean and last was Nuru Jangbu. The two Sherpas were not using oxygen but the Korean was. All three men definitely reached the summit. "If Korean no going to summit, I no going to summit," he said firmly. They were there at 12:30 pm; the Korean took pictures of the two Sherpas and they took pictures of him. (Nuru Jangbu was unable to find his copy two years ago). The descent was also very difficult because all of them were extremely tired. They worked their way down from the top in a sitting position because of their exhaustion. They returned to C3 at 6:00 pm. Pertemba Sherpa was base camp sirdar for a Japanese team climbing Everest at the same time via the South Col-SE Ridge. He told me on 8th Nov that his team had to make three attempts to reach the summit because of a lot of snowstorms and finally three members and two of his strongest Sherpas succeeded only on the third try, on 13 October, after "a long wait" for better weather. (Also on the summit that day were the Mexican, Carlos Carsolio, also via the South Col, and a Korean up the South Pillar). When his team left base camp, the West Ridge team were still on the mountain. (The West Ridge climbers summited ten days after his team's men). Nima Rita later told Pertemba back in KTM, "We were successful," but "it was very difficult and I nearly died," meaning he nearly collapsed. He did not specify who the others with him were nor did he gaive any details of the climb. Pertemba did not -- and does not -- doubt Nima Rita's claim of success. Sange Sherpa (Interview with Liz Hawley) - 6 Feb 2004 I met the Korean autumn 1989 Everest sirdar, Sange Sherpa. He is 67 years old and not well, but he kindly took the trouble to come into the center of town to meet me. He said he never went above south-side base camp in 1989; from there he could see C1 and C2, but not higher ones since they were on "the back [north] side" of the mountain. I showed him a diagram of the North Face and asked whether the climbing route had been here, across the face into the Hornbein Couloir and up to the ridge, and he said no, they had stayed close to the ridge all the way -- they climbed "ridge direct." He added that he had seen the Couloir (he did not give it a name) from Kala Patar and it is "very difficult." (He didn't know that it had ever been climbed.) The team's climbing sirdar Nima Rita told him back in base camp that they had reached the summit. (He himself never reached any summits in a long career of working with expeditions because his father, a monk, told him he should not go where the gods live.) Korean Everest Expedition, autumn 1989 - Notes by E.Hawley, 10 Jan 2004 Yesterday I met Mr. Lee, the leader of the Korean team on Everest in 1989. He acts like an old man although he is only 48, he seem to be ill, his English is only so-so and sometimes difficult to understand, and his conversation strays from the point, but his conviction that his summit team was successful came over very clearly. He does no climbing these days; he is a journalist and is representative in Nepal for the Korean Alpine Journal and The Man and Mountain Publishers in Seoul. He said he had been asked by numerous people over the years about his team's success. He attributed the problem to a Korean climbed named Nam Sun-Woo, who had summited Everest in October 1988 via the South Pillar and who fully 18 months later raised questions aboute the veracity of summit claims by Lee's Everest expedition; he also questioned those of other Korean teams to Manaslu, Annapurna I and two other peaks. Lee pointed out -- quite rightly -- that some Koreans climbers are like this," discounting successes by compatriots; he cites the well known case of Um Hong-Gil vs. Park Young-Seok. I remember Nam as a pleasant fellow who imported a lot of extra boots -- perhaps other items -- with his expedition baggage to sell in Kathmandu. Lee said when questions started coming after Nam expressed grave doubt because summiter Chung had no summit photo, "I shut my lips" and refused to discuss the subject. But being called a liar has been "like a cancer inside my stomach" all these years. He opened his lips only to speak to me because I am an old woman whom he respects, and he will not talk about the subject again (whether not to me again, was not clear). I asked him several times about the fact that the Korean Alpine Federation does not recognize Chung's ascent, but he never addressed the point. Lee revised his description of the actual climbing route. He originally planned for the route to be the same as the American 1963 West Ridge route via the Hornbein Couloir, but when he came to Kathmandu he was told by Prachanda Man Shrestha (Ministry of Tourism mountaineering section) and the South Korean embassy (who had referred the matter to Seoul) that they must not cross the border into Tibet. At that time South Korea had no diplomatic relations with China, as China recognized its close friend North Korea as the only legitimate government of the Korean peninsula. So at the last minute their route was changed. He did not explain why he told me the wrong route when he returned to Kathmandu in 1989 and I did ask this awkward question, which would have been embarrassing for him and pointless anyway. So they climbed entirely along the W Shoulder and W Ridge to the summit and back to the Lho La. Lee himself went no higher than C1 just below the pass, presumably not on its north side. The altitudes of C3 and C4 were the same as he had said in 1989 with C4 on a snowfield on the ridge. The Chilean team on the W Ridge from the north and Lee's people had their C4 tents as the same place and occupied them at the same time (but this doesn't jibe with the information that the Chilean leader gave me). Lee added that two Chilean tents were destroyed by the fierce winds and seemed to say the two teams shared Korean tents (but this may be wrong and I did not press the point). The two teams even shared the same walkie-talkie wavelength. Lee seemed to explain his incorrect information to me in 1989 about his team's actual route by saying that he had returned to Kathmandu early and spoken to me before his team members and sirdar (Sange Sherpa) came back; his was ill with a stomach problem at the time. Chung did not have a summit photo because his camera had rolled down the North Face. But Lee is certain that Chung, Nima Rita and Nuru Jangbu were successful since Nima Rita (now dead, as Lee pointed out) had been to the top in October 1988 and was positive that they had been to the summit this time. "I am sure our team had complete success.... We were a big expedition -- this was not a small team or a solo climb -- so how can it not be true? Many other teams there too." Eberhard Jurgalski - 2002 Chung's success later doubted by Korean Alpine Federation since he could not provide them with an adequate description of the upper part of the West Ridge route. His name was removed from their list of Everest summiters. Lee Suk-Woo (post-expedition interview) - October 1989 BC at 50m below other Korean and Japanese BC's C1 at below Lho La on its north side C2 at just below West Shoulder on north side C1 to C2 very difficult. Deposited two O2 bottles & made platform at 8400m for bivouac on return. Weather now in 20th Oct & strong wind like winter & with no one else now on mountain so had halfway decided to abandon climb, but carried on. Had to descend same route as that of ascent since S Col team had left & taken away icefall ladders. Summit trio left C4 1-2 am, reached summit 12:30 pm by Sherpas first & Chung slightly later on full O2 flow. In descent slept at 8400m. 24th descended to C3, 25th to C1 & 26th to BC. No chance for second summit attack because food supplies dwindling, members tired & winter weather setting in. High on mountain snow very hard & so easy to climb. Used Spanish winch to get loads to C1.
Accidents Nothing serious
Achievement -
Agency Himalaya Expeditions
Commercial Route False
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2449992
Year 1989
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) lho la-w ridge from s

Members

14 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Jae-Hyun Cha M 1932 S Korea Exp Commandant Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, S Korea Chairman of construction company Details Other expeditions
Jin-Hee Choi M 1959 S Korea Climber Suwon, Gyeonggi, S Korea Wholesale fruit merchant Details Other expeditions
Sang-Yong Chung M 1965 S Korea Climber Incheon, S Korea Engineer Details Other expeditions
Ki-Yom Hwang M 1952 S Korea Climber Sokcho, Gangwon, S Korea Engaged in commerce Details Other expeditions
Sung-Woo Kang M 1962 S Korea Climber Seoul, S Korea Salesman, electronics parts Details Other expeditions
Jung-Bo Kim M 1965 S Korea Climber Sokcho, Gangwon, S Korea Staff member, Central Federation of Fisheries Details Other expeditions
Suk-Woo Lee M 1954 S Korea Leader Seoul, S Korea Staff member, pharmacy company Details Other expeditions
Sung-Hun Lee M 1955 S Korea Deputy Leader Seoul, S Korea Salesman Details Other expeditions
Young-Kyu Park M 1950 S Korea Climber Sokcho, Gangwon, S Korea Owner, restaurant Details Other expeditions
Kil-Soo Seo M 1959 S Korea Climber Incheon, S Korea Staff member, Inchon Iron Manufacturing Co. Details Other expeditions
Jum-Kil Sin M 1964 S Korea Climber Seoul, S Korea Office worker Details Other expeditions
Nima Rita Sherpa M - Nepal H-A Worker Thami, Khumbu High-altitude porter Details Other expeditions
Nurbu Jangbu Sherpa M 1954 Nepal H-A Worker Ghat, Khumbu High-altitude porter Details Other expeditions
Sange Sherpa M - Nepal Sirdar - - Details Other expeditions

References

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
EVER89314 AAJ Hawley, Elizabeth - - 64:232 (1990) -
EVER89314 MM - - - 131:5 (Jan 1990) -
EVER89314 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199023203/Asia-Nepal-Everest-Post-Monsoon-Ascents-by-a-Mexican-Japanese-and-Koreans - - -