Lhotse | 2008 W Face

A S Korea expedition to Lhotse in 2008 via W Face, led by Oh Eun-Sun. Summit reached on 26th May 2008. 1 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 6048
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID LHOT08117
Peak ID LHOT
Year 2008
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 W Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality S Korea
Leaders Oh Eun-Sun
Sponsor Oh Eun-Sun Makalu-Lhotse Expedition 2008
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 127
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach Tukura->Lobuche
Basecamp Date 2008-05-22
Summit Date 2008-05-26
Summit Time 1054
Summit Days 4
Total Days 7
Termination Date 2008-05-29
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8516
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 1
Summit Members 1
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 0
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired True
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 Climbed Makalu (MAKA-081-18)
Campsites BC(22/05,5300m),C2(23/05,6400m),C3(24/05,7300m),C3(25/05,7700m),Smt(26/05)
Route Notes BC at Khumbu Glacier C2 in Western Cwm C3 on Lhotse West Face C4 below Couloir. Miss Oh left C4 at 10:22 pm on 25 May, reached summit at 10:54 am of 26 May, stayed on summit 10-15 minutes. Descended to C4 around 4:30 pm then to C3 at 10 pm. Spent night there. Next day to BC. On the summit Miss Oh saw khatas and lungtas tied to yellow tape (sling) to the top from the place where ends the main rope. Weather: Until early morning there was strong wind like storm. When she reached couloir wind blowing upward. On the summit there was little wind and cloudy around, could not have good view of view of other mountains. Miss Oh said that about 2-1/2 hours to reach summit she saw Brian Oestrike coming down with oxygen. She thought that he was so fast to summit and Miss Oh congratulated Oestrike and he told Miss Oh that he is jealous about her. She could not understand why he is jealous. When Miss Oh reached summit did not see any fresh foot print on the summit area. At BC Miss Oh asked her cook Pemba to go to Oestrike and ask if he reached summit. Oestrike told Pemba and Miss Oh that he did not reach to the summit. Pemba confirmed what Oestrike told him at the BC. I met Pemba on 8 June. Miss Oh returned Kathmandu on 9 June will leave on 5 June. She will come for Manaslu in autumn. Email from Brian Oestrike, 18 April 2011 I met Miss Oh Eun-Sun at C4 and spoke with her on and off for a few hours. I lived in Korea and am fairly competent in Korean and so the majority of the conversation was in Korean. Not knowing of her rivalry with my close friend Go Mi-Young (Mi Sun). I mistakenly told her that she was in fact a close friend and customer of mine at Hypoxico. I remember suggesting to her that if she was going without oxygen, then I would suggest starting later to better cope with the cold temperatures. We were the only two climbers going for the summit that night and I don't believe there was even anyone else at the high camp. We were both without Sherpa support and I remember thinking how fantastic it was to be only 2 climbers on Lhotse compared to the crowds on Everest. I had brought a 4-liter bottle of oxygen up and so I planned to leave a few hours later than Miss Oh. I can't remember the time, but I did wake up when she passed my tent and remember thinking it seemed very early and she obviously had not followed my advice. I believe I started around 1 or 2 am and remember feeling fantastic once I turned the oxygen on. I moved very quickly and caught Miss Oh within an hour. I remember estimating that I was moving at least 3 times her speed. I passed her shortly (maybe 30 minutes) before entering the couloir and only wished her luck as I passed. I remember breaking trail from that point and I believe I was punching through about 6-8 inches in most places, but much deeper in sections of the colouir. It was fantastic climbing and the only noteworthy event was not being able to pull the fixed lines out in a few places in under 6 hours. I cautiously crept on to the top, looked over the top into Tibet, took photos and video, and headed back down within 15 minutes. I can't remember exactly where I saw Miss Oh, but it was before she exited the narrow section of the couloir. I believe she was waiting below one of the "gaps" in the rope where the rope was trapped under the snow. I do remember thinking how slow she was moving and how exhausted she looked. She was working incredibly hard and I have never seen a person with such a respiratory rate. I reminded her that we were the only ones on the mountain and that as soon as I passed she would be on her own. Judging by her speed until that point, I would guess she had at least 4 hours until reaching the summit, but that a very rough estimate. I descended very quickly and I believe made it back to high camp in under 8 hours from starting. I packed quickly and started descending. My idiotic mistake of the expedition happened after coming off the Lhotse Face. I took off my main base layer that my camera was connected to and I didn't secure it well enough. It fell off my pack somewhere between the Lhotse Face and C2 which was my only summit proof. I stopped into C2 to pack the rest of my things and I made the decision to go all the way to BC that day. I had a suspicion that my camera might be missing, but I didn't take the time to dig through my pack and so I only confirmed this back in BC. Although I was upset that I lost my camera. I was not overly concerned that I had lost my summit "proof" because Miss Oh was following my boot tracks to the top. I even stopped over at her BC and passed my contact information on so that she could contact me down the road. I also explained to them that I had lost my camera which in retrospect was a mistake. I later learned that in her summit report that she claimed not to have seen my footprints to the top. This completely outrages me and I can't understand why anyone would lie about such a thing. Perhaps it was because I was friends with Miss Go, or perhaps she wanted to say she broke trail all the way to the top. Either way I find it ridiculous. I am very intrigued by your inquiry and am curious if she supplied you any photo proof of her summit? Also is it possible for me to request what Miss Oh said about my climb that day? Email from Samuli Mansikka, 29 April 2011 I am at the moment in Kathmandu getting ready to leave to Dhaulagiri on the morning of 30th. I did summit Lhotse on May 27, 2008 and did meet Miss Oh alone on her way down the couloir late on the afternoon of 26th. Her English is very limited and she was suffering from pulmonary edema so I did not come to any conclusion whether she made it to the summit or not. To be honest, I do not know. My group fixed almost all the route from the base of the couloir to the summit. We did not see footprints on the top, but it might be due to winds that morning. I am returning from Dhaulagiri at the end of May. I hope we can discuss this matter more then. Email from Will Cross, 12 May 2011 Miss Oh was nowhere to be seen during my time high on Lhotse.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Korean Treks & Expeditions
Commercial Route False
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member True
Primary Reference False
Primary ID MAKA08118
Checksum 2457341
Year 2008
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) w face

Members

1 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Eun-Sun Oh F 1966 S Korea Leader Seoul, S Korea Alpinist Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.