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1996 South African Everest expedition

(Redirected from South African Everest expedition, 1996)

The 1996 South African Everest expedition was a heavily publicised expedition by a UK-South African climbing team to summit Mount Everest.[1][2]

The expedition was led by Ian Woodall, intended to be a celebration of post-apartheid South Africa.[3] While the expedition team was positioned on the South Col waiting for a weather window for their summit bid, eight climbers were killed during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.[4][5] Despite this, two weeks later, Woodall and O'Dowd made their summit bid. Bruce Herrod followed later, aiming to catch up with them.[6]

Woodall and Cathy O'Dowd summited together. Bruce Herrod continued solo to the summit after Woodall and O'Dowd. He called base camp to announce he had reached the summit alone at 5:15pm on May 25th.[6] He was later found dead the same day, entangled in ropes on the Hillary Step.[7]

After the summit, there were speculations that Woodall and O'Dowd did not successfully reach the summit. Ian Woods wrote to Elizabeth Hawley, of the Himalayan Database to interview the summitting sherpas to confirm their summit. After interviewing with Lama Jangbu Sherpa, Hawley confirmed the summit of O'Dowd and Woodall, but could not independently verify Herrod's summit.[7]

A year later, American climber Peter Athans found Herrod's body on Everest, retrieved his camera and cut the ropes tying him to the mountain. After developing the film, his partner found two pictures of Herrod at the summit of Everest.[6]

Controversy

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The expedition was initially sponsored by the Sunday Times. After a falling out with the paper,[8] other outlets covered the expedition including 702 Talk Radio.[1] Both before and afterwards, the expedition was surrounded by controversy[2] around Woodall's leadership style, and a number of senior team members left the expedition.[9][10] There were also accusations that Deshun Deysel,[11][12] an inexperienced Coloured[13] woman was included in the expedition because of her race.[1][9]

Team

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The team consisted of the following members:[14][7]

  • Ian Woodall (39), expedition leader
  • Cathy O’Dowd (27), Journalism lecturer
  • Bruce Herrod (37), UK citizen, scientist
  • Deshun Deysel (25), Not officially on climbing permit, reached 6,500m high point
  • Andy Hackland, Dismissed from team by Ian Woodall  
  • Andy de Klerk, Dismissed from team by Ian Woodall   
  • Ed February, Dismissed from team by Ian Woodall  
  • Charlotte Noble, team doctor, Dismissed from team by Ian Woodall
  • Brian Pottinger, Sunday Times correspondent
  • Richard Shorey, Sunday Times photographer
  • Ken Vernon, Sunday Times correspondent
  • Ken Woodall, father of Ian Woodall
  • Philip Woodall, Base Camp manager
  • Three Sherpa guides: Lama Jangbu Sherpa, Ang Dorje, Pemba Tenji // Pekka Tenja[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "South Africans' Everest Climb Ends in Death and Mystery". The New York Times. 1996-05-28. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  2. ^ a b "Ian Woodall and Cathy O'Dowd become the first official South African team to conquer the Mount Everest". South African History Online. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  3. ^ "Cathy O'Dowd, the first South African to summit Mt Everest, on her epic journey". Firstpost. 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  4. ^ "Everest team slammed". The Mail & Guardian. 1996-10-11. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  5. ^ "Everest '96: Ian Woodall under the microscope". eNCA. 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  6. ^ a b c Standard, Alison Roberts, Evening (2012-04-13). "I lost my love to Everest". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2024-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b c d "Himalayan Database Online". The Himalayan Database. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  8. ^ "South Africans who made history on Everest". TimesLIVE. 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  9. ^ a b "Death Raises Questions About South African Team". AP NEWS. 1996-05-31. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  10. ^ Patel, Aaisha Dadi (2019-05-31). "Ain't no mountain high enough". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  11. ^ Nazley Omar (13 June 2016). "Deshun Deysel on why it pays to persevere". Ndalo Media. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  12. ^ Claire Keeton and Paul Ash (29 May 2016). "South Africans who made history on Everest". Sunday Times. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Cathy O'Dowd Shares Her Journey To Summit Everest Via Kilimanjaro". Kandoo Adventures. 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  14. ^ Vernon, Ken (2015-09-28). "Everest '96 - Climb ZA - Rock Climbing & Bouldering in South Africa". Climb ZA. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
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