Everest | 1995 N Col-NE Ridge

A USA expedition to Everest in 1995 via N Col-NE Ridge, led by Thor Kieser. Summit reached on 16th May 1995. 14 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 1461
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID EVER95107
Peak ID EVER
Year 1995
Season 1
Host Country 2
Route 1 N Col-NE Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Thor Kieser
Sponsor Condor Adventures Everest N Ridge Expedition
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 216
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries Peru
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1995-04-07
Summit Date 1995-05-16
Summit Time 1000
Summit Days 39
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8849
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 12
Summit Members 1
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 4
Summit Hired 1
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
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(07/04),ABC(17/04,6450m),C1(22/04,7000m),C2(01/05,7750m),C3(13/05,8350m),Smt(16/05)
Route Notes 16 May summit bid by Tonsing at 1:00 am (half-hour before Pfau's party) and Kaji. Pfau's party and they went together soon but later 2 Pfau members and a Sherpa pulled ahead and other came after Tonsing and Kaji (who now made his 1st Everest ascent). Windless and cloudless (clouds later), Tonsing back to C3 on 17th at 10:00 am while Kazi descended to Pfau's camp at 8350m because toes beginning to freeze and he wanted to be with other Sherpas (hadn't wanted to go to summit). Tonsing left summit at 10:50 am was short on oxygen so reduced flow but badly affected performance (i.e., very slow) in descent; oxygen ran out at Second Step, most technical section; made couple of attempts getting on ladder with stiff fingers and start snowing heavily (this was in late afternoon); snow obscured route and he slipped off lodge and fell 10 ft till fixed rope held him but a hidden fixed rope caught right leg and took 30 minutes to disentangle; at 5:00 pm decided to biv in hole which left his knees to toes not in it and by morning toes freezing (Kotov of OTT gave Sherpas and oxygen to help); down to ABC same day. Other members and Sherpas were at N Col and told by radio that Tonsing was "half dead" so aborted their own ascent and "poured all resources into rescue" with Dorr and Gocking and 3 Sherpas with use of oxygen to meet Tonsing while Kieser and Straskroba down to ABC to prepare med tent; Gocking party met Tonsing at C2 and found him doing well, so went on up without down clothes; Dorr to 8300m and down while Gocking and Moti Lal Gurung tried for top 19 May from C3 but bid wind, reached 8600+, turned back and returned to C3. Kieser and Straskroba tried later but got no higher than C2 19 May and climb finished. 15 yr old member Pfetzer reached 7300m [+ got tired, he said]. Henry Todd 2 June said Tonsing made his high biv thinking he was setting a high altitude record for bivouacs on Everest. Russell Brice on 6 June agrees. Tonsing was slapped with a bill from Brice and Jon Tinker for rescue operation which pulled 3 Sherpas off their climbs to summit and required 3 bottles of oxygen for Tonsing; bill totalled $2000 (3 Sherpas summit bonuses @$200, 3 bottles of oxygen @$350 and cost of lifting the oxygen to high camp). Tonsing considered to have behaved in bizarre fashion by other climbers.
Accidents Caffrey chest infection; Gocking, Tonsing and Kaji frostbite
Achievement Altitude record for under 16 yrs old
Agency Asian Trekking
Commercial Route True
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2452074
Year 1995
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) n col-ne ridge

Members

14 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Patrick Caffrey M 1950 USA Climber Seeley Lake, Montana Forester Details Other expeditions
Raymond Andrew (Ray) Dorr M 1958 USA Climber Brooklyn, New York Theater stagehand Details Other expeditions
Roger S. Gocking M 1943 USA Climber Shrub Oak, New York Teacher Details Other expeditions
Thor Kieser M 1958 USA Leader Denver, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Gregory G. (Greg) Miller M 1961 USA Climber San Francisco, California Attorney Details Other expeditions
Mark Pfetzer M 1980 USA Climber Middletown, Rhode Island High school student Details Other expeditions
Javier Quiroga M 1955 Peru Climber Arvada, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Carlo Rocca M 1931 USA Climber Point Reyes, California Retired teacher Details Other expeditions
Michael A. (Mike) Roth M 1952 USA Climber Allentown, Pennsylvania Pilot Details Other expeditions
Katerina Straskraba F 1961 USA Climber Lakewood, Colorado Office manager Details Other expeditions
Anthony Eric (Tony) Tonsing M 1959 USA Climber Denver, Colorado Structural engineer Details Other expeditions
Jim Wheeler M 1942 USA Climber Louisville, Colorado Physician Details Other expeditions
Musal Kaji Tamang M - Nepal H-A Worker Lapcha, Gorakhani, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Moti Lal Gurung M 1950 Nepal H-A Worker Sedua, Makalu-Barun - Details Other expeditions

References

1 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
EVER95107 HIGH - - - 155:14 (Oct 1995) -