29
April 2002
Xixabangma Expedition 2002 Team Fell Into Crevasse In Bad
Weather
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Singapore
- 29 April 2002 - Gale-force
winds and a relentless blizzard has forced the Singapore Xixabangma
Expedition team of mountaineers -- for the second time --
to abandon their acclimatisation schedule on the Tibetan mountain.
After just one night at 6,200m, the trio
on Friday had to return to Advanced Base Camp (ABC), a six-hour
journey during which visibility was reduced by a whiteout
to mere metres, and two of them fell into deep crevasses.
Whipped by over 100kmh winds and up to
150kmh gusts, and frozen by temperatures of -30 degrees Centigrade,
the climbers sustained frost-nipped cheeks, and suffered from
hypothermia and serious dehydration. According to some locals,
they had never seen such severe weather at this time of the
year.
Said expedition leader Dr Robert Goh later,
nursing a mug of hot tea in the safety of the group's kitchen
tent: "Throughout the night into the next day, the winds
were howling like jet engines and threatening to flatten our
tent. By morning, there was a blizzard blowing and visibility
was at times down to mere metres. The conditions couldn't
have been worse for coming down from the mountain, but we
had little choice because the winds had grown stronger by
the next day.
"Besides, the Met Services of Singapore
weather forecast, which we received after we had stopped for
the night, was for even stronger winds in the days ahead.
All things considered, we decided that coming back to Advanced
Base Camp was the best thing to do."
The most frightening experience was when
two of them fell into a crevasse.
The three of them were roped up as a safety
measure, with Outward Bound School instructor Edwin Siew leading,
and expedition doctor Dr Mok Ying Jang taking up the rear.
Suddenly Dr. Goh felt the rope tighten. He turned round and
was shocked to see just Dr. Mok's head and arms above ground.
Instinctively, he dropped to the ground to tighten the rope
and prevent his teammate from disappearing altogether.
Dr Mok was near panic when he found himself
chest deep in snow in a cavenous crevasse. "I swung my
legs around desperately hoping to find a foothold but there
was none," he said."When I looked down, I realise
I was in a bottomless crevasse, suspended above the opening
by my arms holding a ski pole and an ice axe! It was scary!"
Plunging his ice axe into the ice above
ground, Dr Mok was able to roll his body out of the crevasse.
A few minutes later, Dr Goh felt the ground
under him fall away in a flash. "In all my years of mountaineering,
I have never fallen into a crevasse before," he said.
"It was like drowning in a sea of snow. I managed to
stop myself from falling by reaching out and slamming my ice
axe into firm snow beyond the crevasse. At the same time,
the rope between Edwin and myself tightened which also helped."
He shouted out to his teammate who could
not see him because of the whiteout. But without a second
thought, Mr. Siew anchored himself into the ground with his
ice axe, while Dr Goh hauled himself out, helped by Mr. Siew
pulling on the rope.
"I was glad we had practised this
safety drill; before. Without the rope, Mok or myself would
have easily fallen into the crevasse which could easily be
a few hundred metres deep. And there would have been little
chance of a rescue."
Now, back in the safety of Advanced Base
Camp, the team is recovering from the ordeal and waiting out
the spell of bad weather to continue with their acclimatisation
before the eventual alpine ascent.
Note to Editors: The Xixabangma Expedition 2002 team
is available for phone interviews via satellite phone. Please
contact Angelina Ong at 97855 233 or Len Reutens at 9815 7062
if you are interested in an interview.
About Xixabangma
Expedition 2002
The Singapore Xixabangma Expedition from March to May 2002
aims to push the limits of high altitude mountaineering. The
team plans to climb into the death zone (8,000m) without using
supplementary oxygen and without depending on pre-built camps,
a style known as the Alpine Ascent.
The aims of the Expedition in climbing
Xixabangma are:
To push the limits of mountaineering
in Singapore
To increase awareness and broaden the
scope of high altitude mountaineering
To promote a healthy and balanced lifestyle
The Expedition is endorsed by:
Singapore Mountaineering Federation
Singapore Sports Council and the National
Youth Council
To date, the sponsors of the Expedition
include:
Singapore Pools
Singapore Power
NTUC Income
Singapore Sports Council, Timberland
GlaxoSmithKline
Weber Shandwick Singapore
Safra
National Computer Systems
DSO National Laboratories
NERA Telecommunications
Siemens Showa Solar
FotoHub
WL Gore
Xantic and Zen Vision (Oakley products).
This project is also made possible by a
Youth Development Fund grant from the National Youth Council.
——————————————————————————————— For further information:
Angelina Ong Weber Shandwick Worldwide, Singapore
Tel: 825 8031
Fax: 720 8102
Email: aong@webershandwick.com
