Jost Kobusch is safely back at the base of a lonely Mount Everest, hit by winter winds. He bypassed his tent at the foot of the Lho La and continued back all the way to the Pyramid observatory near Lobuche.
Before collapsing into his sleeping bag, he called ExplorersWeb with a message: On Saturday night, he fought high winds and pushed in the dark with the single goal in mind of reaching beyond 7,500m — and he made it!
His tracking device placed him at 7,488m, just a shade below the previous winter altitude record of 7,500m on the West Ridge. Kobusch then kept going until the GPS on his watch registered a few meters above that: 7,537m.
Kobusch drew his approximate highest point with a green circle. (We’ve circled it in red for clarity.) The Hornbein couloir appears in pink. Map: RealityMaps
“It was dark, but I progressed as much as possible, beyond the West Shoulder to the end of the snowy ridge and the beginning of a rocky section,” Kobusch said.
“It’s a few meters, but mentally, it was important for me,” Kobusch told us on the phone from Base Camp. The young climber sounded clear and healthy despite some bouts of the usual high-altitude dry cough.
Kobuach current location at the Pyramid observatory. Map: RealityMaps
Single push
Kobusch said that he made the entire trip up the mountain in good snow conditions and in a single, alpine-style push from his Camp 1, halfway up to the Lho La. He didn’t set up a second camp at the col, as he did on his previous winter Everest expeditions. Instead, he carried his tent and supplies all the way up and down.
“In fact, the most challenging part of the ascent was to dig platforms for the tent when I stopped for a rest,” he said. “Otherwise, that is why I had reduced my equipment to the very minimum. I carried nothing non-essential except maybe a bit of spare fuel,” Kobusch said.
On the last part of the climb, Kobusch left his tent at 6,800m, progressed to 7,537m, and then quickly returned to his tent for some sleep.
Yesterday, he made it back to Camp 1 at 5,650m-5,700m on the mountain flank leading to the Lho La. He had pitched Camp 1 at the top of some ropes he had fixed on the way up.
“Wind picked up to 40 kph, with some much stronger gusts,” he said of his descent to C1.
What’s next?
“I have learned a lot on this trip, and most importantly, I have reached the goal in my first push up the mountain,” said a happy-sounding Kobusch. Asked about his upcoming plans, he replied, “Right now, I really need a rest. There will be time to make decisions tomorrow.”
