Everest | 1994 E Face-S Col (Venables rte)

A USA expedition to Everest in 1994 via E Face-S Col (Venables rte), led by David Breashears. Summit reached on 5th May 1994. 6 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 1483
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER94105
Peak ID EVER
Year 1994
Season 1
Host Country 2
Route 1 E Face-S Col (Venables rte)
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders David Breashears
Sponsor Vaseline Research Everest 1994 Expedition
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 Canada
Approach KTM->Tingri->->Karta
Basecamp Date 1994-03-26
Summit Date 1994-05-05
Summit Time -
Summit Days 40
Total Days 44
Termination Date 1994-05-09
Termination Reason 5
Termination Notes Abandoned at 7375m due to dangerous snow conditions
High Point (m) 7375
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 2
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 6
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 4
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
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 PreBC(26/03,3840m),BC(03/04,5425m),C1(14/04,6200m),C2(05/05,7375m),xxx(05/05,7375m)
Route Notes Pre-BC at Karta - end of road C1 at Kangchung Glacier 1-1/2 km; from base of East Face C2 at same site as Venables teams C3 at same site as Venables teams. Route is very dangerous from avalanches & unstable seracs & not sensible to be on East Face anywhere. Had to move BC down to normal BC site after avalanche hit to 17,500 ft. This took a week & the several members got bronchitis so C2 no tent established till May. Swenson & others carried to C2 & he only slept the night of 5th; he came down to C1 next day. All to BC on 8th & decided to give it up. 12 April heavy snowfall put 1 meter of snow on route which was avalanching - classic slab-avalanche conditions. After decision to abandon East Face, Lowe, Pittman and Swenson went to north side to ask to join Simonson's or other's teams; Swenson was accepted (had climbed K-2 without oxygen), but not Pittman and Lowe was her guide so he went only where she went. Had chosen East Face because magnificent face in wild lonely area, not a climb from a base camp village of many others teams. "It's the journey, not the destination." - Breashears.
Accidents Wind blast of avalanche knocked people & things about in BC on 25 April
Achievement -
Agency Peak Promotion
Commercial Route False
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2451697
Year 1994
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) e face-s col (venables rte)

Members

6 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Barry Blanchard M 1959 Canada Deputy Leader Canmore, Alberta Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
David Finlay Breashears M 1955 USA Leader Newton, Massachusetts Film-maker Details Other expeditions
Stewart Alexander (Alex) Lowe M 1958 USA Climber Bozeman, Montana Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Catherine Mulvihill F 1969 USA Climber Boston, Massachusetts Film company production assistant & student Details Other expeditions
Sandra Hill (Sandy) Pittman F 1955 USA Climber New York, New York Housewife Details Other expeditions
Steven J. (Steve) Swenson M 1954 USA Climber Seattle, Washington Civil engineer Details Other expeditions

References

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
EVER94105 AAJ Breashears, David - - 69:303 (1995) -
EVER94105 HIGH - - - 144:39 (Nov 1994) -
EVER94105 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199530300/Asia-Tibet-Everest-Kangshung-Face-Attempt - - -