Lhotse | 2003 W Face

A USA expedition to Lhotse in 2003 via W Face, led by John Rust. Summit reached on 20th May 2003. 6 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 4345
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID LHOT03107
Peak ID LHOT
Year 2003
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 W Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders John Rust
Sponsor Adventures International Lhotse 2003
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 86th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries UK
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2003-04-08
Summit Date 2003-05-20
Summit Time 0830
Summit Days 42
Total Days 46
Termination Date 2003-05-24
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8516
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 4
Summit Members 2
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 3
Summit Hired 2
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(08/04),C1(6100m),C2(6400m),C3(7400m),C4(7800m),Smt(20/05)
Route Notes C1 at top of Icefall C2 at West Cwm C3 at West Face of Lhotse C4 at West Face below couloir. Durcanin and Barisas went on expedition with intention to get to South Col but each other reached only 6850m on Lhotse's West Face (Durcanin tried twice and Barisas tried 3 times to get to South Col). Gariano, Rust and 2 Sherpas went to top on 25 May at 8:30 am; just ahead of these 2 Mexicans and their 2 Sherpas. Weather was clear with winds at 25-35 mph and temperature -20F - 30 F. "Safety Sherpa" was Ang Pasang, who climbed in support of Gariano and Rust to about 7620m to 7770m. Oxygen: "We all used oxygen above C4" and Gariano and Rust used it above C3 and Ang Pasang used it "occasionally." Sherpa summiters: Pasang Nuru, 19/4/2029 (32 years old), Kharikhola, 1st 8000er Pemba Chhiri, 27/11/2040 (19 years old), Paiya, Jubing-7, 1st 8000er Email by John Rust to Jeevan Shrestha - Wed 2nd July 2003 I had three clients in to total with me 4 for the Lhotse climb. Scott Durcanin (US citizen), George Barisas (US citizen) and Lorenzo Gariano living in Britain). Scott and George intentions were for the South Col of Everest only. Scott made it on 2 rotations to upper altitude and occupied C2 climbing to 22,500 ft on the Lhotse Face as his high point, George made 3 rotations occupying C2 and making it to 22,500 ft on the Lhotse Face the third time as his high point, Lorenzo, myself, Sherpa Pasang Nuru 1973 YOB, and Sherpa Pemba made the summit of Lhotse on May 20th at about 8:30 am. Weather conditions were clear with winds 25-35 and temperatures approximately -20 to -30 degrees fahrenheit. We all used oxygen above C4 and additionally, Lorenzo and I used oxygen above C3. We also had a safety Sherpa Ang Pasang, whom made it to C4 (Lhotse) using oxygen occasionally and hiked above C4 to about 25,000 or 25,500 as support on summit day (this is an approximation as I do not know specifically how far he came in support as we turned him around before getting back to him). We also summited just in front of a Mexican husband and wife team and their two Sherpas. We shared with the Irish and Benegas but essentially we had 3 for our team, 7 between Scott Woolums and our Group and 13-14 for sharing between the Irish and ourselves. We left on 24 May 2003 at 9:30 am - our helicopter almost crashed when taking off (very close) and by 12:05 we were in Kathmandu after a hairy ride through many clouds on the plane from Lukla to Kathmandu - this part of the climb was scariest!!!
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency High Country Trekking
Commercial Route False
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2455503
Year 2003
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) w face

Members

6 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Bernard George Barisas M 1945 USA Climber Fort Collins, Colorado University teacher Details Other expeditions
Robert Scott Durcanin M 1962 USA Climber New York, New York Financial services salesman Details Other expeditions
Lorenzo Gariano M 1958 UK Climber Hayslope, Buckingham, England Interior landscape contractor Details Other expeditions
John Francis Rust M 1967 USA Leader Hood River, Oregon Alpine guide & ski instructor Details Other expeditions
Pasang Nuru Sherpa M 1973 Nepal H-A Worker Kharikhola, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Pemba Chhiri Sherpa M 1984 Nepal H-A Worker Paiya, Jubing-7, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.