DHAULAGIRI I EAST FACE

Yugoslav Expeditions

STANE BELAK AND MARJAN KREGAR

(1) Slovene Dhaulagiri East Face Expedition 1985

THE EXPEDITION was organised by 'The Commission for expeditions to Foreign Mountains' at the Slovene Alpine Association (Yugoslavia). There were six members, 4 climbers and 2 additional men who took care of the logistics. It was planned to climb the new route on the east face of Dhaulagiri I in alpine-style and after that to continue along the classic route on the northeast ridge to the summit. The descent was planned over the northeast col and then to return via our new route.

The expedition managed to reach it's aim only partly, because of the extreme bad weather conditions. We climbed the new Slovene Route' upto a height of 7500 m in alpine-style without using HAPs or oxygen.

The ascent was done by the following climbers: Stane Belak (leader), Marjan Kregar (deputy leader), Andrej Stremfelj (member) and Iztok Tomazin (doctor).

From the base camp at 4100 m, to the junction with the classic route at 7500 m, the route was divided into two parts. The lower part was the 1800 m high slope towards point 6014 m. It represents climbing on rock and ice. The maximum inclination of ice was 75° and the rock was Grade V maximum. The average inclination was 45°—55°. The upper part of the face (1700 m high) which was separated from the lower one by a large ice-plateau was mainly covered by ice and snow at an inclination of 45°—65°. The new route leads to the right from the Kurtyka-Mclntyre route along the imposing snow covered ridge, which dominates the middle of the slope.

The greatest difficulties apart from the very bad weather conditions were a very dangerous icy stretch at 4400 m, slippery rocky wall up to 4800 m and a difficult rocky blockade between 4900 and 5100 m, leading from the left up to the right over the whole lower wall (we fixed 150 m ropes to be able to get back, otherwise we were climbing free), the upper parts upto the plateau from 5000-5900 m (dangerous because of the avalanches) the upper face which was a single slope with some segments of deep snow at 45°—50°, and the part between 6000 and 7000 m where there was a risk of falling ice.

Photo 2

During the 45 days on the mountain there were only 3 days of good weather. From 18 September to 1 October, it was raining, Between 2 and 4 October we had 3 days of good weather so we solved the problem of the lower part of the wall. The second period of bad weather lasted for 16 days. The temperature in BC fell below zero. We had a lot of snow (130 cm at BC and over 300 cm on the upper plateau). The ascent to the top on 27/28 October was prevented by a hurricane, which developed at the end of the heavy snowing; the wind didn't ever stop!

Diary:

We left Kathmandu by bus for Pokhara on 10 September. From Pokhara we started marching and on 18 September, we reached our base camp with 32 porters via Pokhara - Khare - Hile - Tirke-dhunga - Gorapani - Tatopani - Ghunza - Kalapani.

At base camp we had two members Marj an Brisar and Andrej Beg.

In spite of the variable weather conditions we managed to find our way through Dhaulagiri I east icefields. We got through a very dangerous ice entrance of 800 m height in the wall.

1 October: When Stremfelj and Tomazin managed to climb over a rocky barrier between 4900 and 5100 m in spite of bad weather, the weather conditions changed for the better.

2 October: Belak and Kregar started from BC at 0100 hours and managed to reach the plateau at 5900 m in a 16 hour climb. So the lower part of the wall was climbed and we opened the way towards the summit. On the plateau we pitched a bivuoac tent and stayed overnight.

3 October: Both climbers descended to base camp from the plateau.

4 October: Stremfelj and Tomazin reached the upper plateau and they pitched a second tent.

5 October: In the afternoon both climbers descended to base camp — then the weather changed catastrophically. It snowed for 16 days — we got a lot of snow with very high winds.

6-10 October: We had rain and snow at base camp and were unable to have any kind of activity.

11-12 October: We got more snow (130 cm) and strong winds from the south caused havoc at BC.

13-15 October: The unstable weather and deep snow prevented us from any further activity.

16 October: Belak, E^regar and Tomazin climbing for 18 hours reached the upper plateau, where they spent the night in a small tent which they dug out of the 1.5 m deep snow. Stremfelj stayed at BC for 10 days due to illness.

17-18 October: High winds were blowing. As our tent was blown away we dug a hole in the ice and stayed on the plateau. Our sleeping equipment was in another tent under deep snow.

19 October: We managed to find the other tent — in 300 cm deep snow and repaired it, so that we were able to use it later.

20 October: We all three descended to the lower glacier. Stremfelj came up from base camp and during the night we all four climbed back to the plateau, with new supplies of food.

21 October: It stopped snowing and was replaced by strong winds I The temperature fell to 25°C below zero at 5900 m.

22-23 October: That night we made an acclimatization ascent,, followed the NE ridge (classic route) upto 7000 m, where we were again stopped by strong winds. This took us 15 hours in deep snow, to accomplish.

24-25 October: All 4 climbers rested in a snow hole ready for the final ascent.

26 October: At 5.00 a.m. we left for the final climbing towards the summit. This route leads to the right from the route of Kurtyka-Mclntyre, and beginning at the altitude of 5800 m, we managed 1200 m in one day and bivouacked under an ice-overhang. The wind was getting worse.

27 October: From 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. we climbed to the upper icefield and at 7500 m we joined the classic route and tried to continue towards the summit. We reached the altitude of 7600 m where we barely managed to pitch a tent on the north slope.

28 October: At 4.00 a.m. the tent was torn to pieces. We stayed in the open waiting for the dawn, to be able to descend. Due to these bad conditions we lost the summit, and yet we were still physically prepared to continue climbing. At 5.00 a.m. we started to withdraw — it was impossible to get any further. The way led us down the northeast edge where winds were modest. But we were still followed by gusts of wind at speeds of 100 km per hour.

29 October: The wind didn't let up and we were running out of foodstuff, so we were forced to return to base camp.

30-31 October: Winds were still blowing hard so we decided to withdraw.

1 November: We hired 16 porters and reached Kalapani. Tomazin flew by hanglider from 4200 m into Thak khola.

2 November: The weather was still bad — it was snowing down to 3200 m. Sirdar takes over all the expedition equipment and takes it by mules to Pokhara and on to Kathmandu.

Until 23 November the members of the expedition went for various treks to the base camps of Annapurna, Annapurna Sanctuary, Gosainkund and to Langtang. On 25 November we returned to Yugoslavia.

(2) Slovene Expedition to Dhaulagiri I, 1986

After we had climbed the south face in autumn 1981 as the first and up to now the only expedition and in autumn 1985 again the riew 'Solvene Route' on the east face of Dhaulagiri, still the summit of this eight thousand meter high peak remained unclimbed by us, being beaten back each time by continuous bad weather. The main difficulty is very stormy weather below the summit.

We decided to strike while the iron was hot, and on our return from the autumn 1985 expedition I immediately sent an application for another attempt in the spring of 1986. This application was granted. Our plan was to reach the summit of Dhaulagiri I in alpine-style without any assistance of high altitude porters or additional oxygen.

On the approach march our expedition had 18 packs; on the return 9. Most of the time en route from Yugoslavia to Nepal, we travelled together with the Yugoslav women expedition to Anna-puma Dakshin. We started the expedition full of optimism on 1 April, and conditions on arrival at BC were familiar. Although the weather was very stormy for this time of the year (there was still 1,8 m of snow in BC), conditions higher on the mountain were good. Above all, the approach over the glacier which in the lower part of the mountain is the key to the ascent was easily accessible. Conditions soon began to deteriorate so that the glacier along the route of our ascent collapsed completely and became extremely dangerous. Other parts of the glacier, mainly those from our autumn expedition, were completely inaccessible.

The weather situation in general was very unpleasant as only the last day of the expedition (31 May) was without snow-showers, but on the next day the weather was worse again.

Nights and mornings were mostly clear but by 8 a.m. the fog would begin to thicken and before midday severe storms would start with hail and snowing which would last until the night. Therefore we were forced most of the time to climb at night which really disturbed our biological rhythm. Three times the snow fell to the depth of 50 cm at BC and each day from 5 to 20 cm. Twice strong winds destroyed the tents although they were dug 1.5 m into the snow.

In this way snow conditions deteriorated more and more and our intention to climb alpine-style had to be forgotten. Waiting for short periods of more suitable conditions we were exhausting ourselves out and loosing valuable time. We made our summit attempt on 9 May, but because of a distinct danger of an avalanche in deep snow with solid crust on top, we had to return from 7650 m hoping that in the next few days the conditions would improve.

However in this second attempt conditions on the mountain were already such that even a big expedition would have left empty handed. Time was lacking for the third attempt and our strength was weakening because in the 42 days on the mountain, we had to do everything by ourselves. The weather showed no signs of improvement. The glacier changed to a state of complete chaos. We also ran out of food at BC. Kregar and myself decided to cut our losses while there was still time.

For the third time I must admit my lack of success on Dhaula-giri I where the rare periods of good weather and snow conditions are the key to success. A summary of the events of our expedition follows.

In April 1986 Marjan Kregar and Stane Belak together with 9 women of Annapurna Dakshin expedition team started for Kathmandu.

From 3 to 9 April we organized food and material for both expeditions and carried out the remaining formalities which always takes up a lot of time. On 10 April both expeditions left in a chartered bus together with some porters for Bokhara.

On 11 April we sent 19 porters under the leadership of Sherpa Nima Temba and the liaison officer towards Dhaulagiri while we joined the Annapurna expedition to the last settlement of Tatopani in order to offer any possible help and advice.

On 14 April we left the Annapurna expedition and on 16 we met with our Nepalese companions in the village of Kalapani. On 17 April we reached BC in bad weather at the same place as in autumn 1985. The last winter had left 1.8 m of snow and the camp was very unpleasant.

On 19 April all material were at BC. The liaison officer remained in the village of Kalapani which meant added expenses, while Sherpa Nima Temba took over the cooking responsibilities at BC.

On 20 April we checked out the glacier and the area of the ice-fall. We discovered that it was fairly passable in the central part — considerably more to the left than in our previous attempts (these were useless this year). On 21 and 22 April we carried most of material and food over the glacier to a depot at a height of 5100 m in order to make use of the good conditions on the glacier. On 23, 24 and 25 April we waited at BC because of the unstable weather.

On 26 April at 2 ajn. we left for the depot where we waited for better conditions all day till midnight. On 27 April at 1.30 a.m. we left the depot and till sunrise we climbed upto a plateau. On its edge we dug out a snow-hole, at 5900 m. On 28 April we finished the hole and used it as camp.

On 29 April we carried all the material and food from the depot on to the plateau. On 30 April and 1 May we waited on the plateau for better weather conditions. On 2 May we made an acclimatization ascent over the plateau and by the NE ridge (normal route) to the height of 7200 m. We left a tent and some food there for the final attempt. That day the weather was excellent and we made this ascent of 1300 m as well as descent back to the hole without any difficulties. On the way we met 6 members of the 16-member German expedition who just at that time were beginning their final assault.

On 3 and 4 May we intended to rest for the final attempt on the summit but from 4 to 7 May the weather rapidly deteriorated and we vegetated in the hole on the plateau. On the 4 May we had managed to restore radio contact with our women expedition on Annapurna Dakshin for the first time.

On 8 May we left the hole on the plateau and in the afternoon reached our depot at 7200 m and pushed it higher on to the shoulder at 7300 m.

On 9 May at 2.30 a.m. we started for the summit and till first light climbed the ice covered east side of the ridge to the spot where in autumn of 1985 we climbed out onto the east face at 7500 m. The morning was clear with moderate wind at the temperature of —28°C. We crossed over onto the north slope and discovered the remains of our last year's tent. The unstable weather of the last days had formed a deep crust on the top of the slope. Because of the bad conditions, we were knee-deep in the snow and there was clear danger of a snow-avalanche. We decided to call it off and after a few days when the conditions would improve to try again. Our time reserves allowed us to do this as did our physical state. Up until midday we went back to the hole on the plateau. The highest height attained on this day was 7650 m.

On 10 May in the morning we went back to BC to relax and recover our strength. The glacier had completely changed its appearance and gave us another difficult time. 11 to 14 May we spent at BC. Unstable weather, with continuous storms during the day.

On 15 May we went back to the plateau in a snow storm where we reached our snow-hole. Snow conditions while we were resting deteriorated considerably and there was a lot of new snow on the slopes.

On 16 May we waited for better weather conditions in the snow hole. On 17 May we decided to continue up the mountain despite signs of bad weather. Although using snow shoes we needed 11 hours for the ascent to the cleft on the NE ridge at 6600 m where we had to bivouac without high altitude equipment which was waiting for us in the tent at 7300 m. It snowed the whole day and the ascent was threatened by a great danger of an avalanche.

On 18 May we climbed to the tent at 7300 m despite very strong NW wind and snow-showers.

On 19 and 20 May we were waiting in bad weather. Strong wind blew and it snowed. Conditions deteriorated. We were running out of gas and towards the evening on 20 May we went down to the cleft on the ridge at 6600 m. There was enough fuel for one more day. This way we conserved the fuel at 7300 m for a renewed attempt on the summit. We also left most of our high altitude equipment in the tent at 7300 m, hoping that at the most after two days we would return in better weather.

On 21 May we bivouacked in the cleft but the weather conditions did not get any better. It stopped snowing but a high wind blew up. The gas was coming to an end here as well. We had used the food that we had stumbled across the place of the former German expedition. Kregar had problems with severe diarrhoea.

On 22 May the wind and snow was blowing and it was impossible to get to the NE ridge at 7300 m. In the cleft we had used up all our fuel. Kregar's diarrhoea did not stop. Up until night we went back into the hole on the plateau. In some places on the ridge snow was up to our belts. Without snow-shoes our return would probably not have succeeded.

On 23 May we went back past the depot (the tent at the depot was 1.5 m under the new snow) in very bad snow conditions and storms with hail on the glacier which was no longer accessible, we had to eventually leave over an 80 m overhang on the glacier and into BC.

From 24 to 31 May we waited in BC for better conditions. Unstable weather every day, sometimes more, sometimes less. Once over 50 cm of snow fell during the night. The women on Anna-puma had given up their ascent and were returning to Kathmandu. Dhaulagiri slopes everywhere had a winter appearance; if it was not snowing, the summit was buffetted by severe winds. The liaison officer extended the expedition for one week because at the end of the May the official deadline had run out. We had no more food at BC and organization of additional quantities would have taken another week. Under these conditions, success of the third attempt on the summit was pure illusion. So in the evening on the 31 May I decided with a heavy heart to leave the mountain. The women's group had in the meanwhile booked air tickets for us on 8 June. So we really had to hurry. Overnight weather rapidly worsened and on 1 June we descended with 9 porters in bad weather to Kalapani.

On 2 June the liaison officer and the Sirdar with packs walked to Pokhara and by bus to Kathmandu while we went up the valley towards Jomosom to the airport. On 3 June we flew by regular flight to Pokhara and saw for the last time the face of Dhaulagiri and our route.

 

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