Quote of the Day
It has been a long road...From a mountain coolie, a bearer of loads, to a wearer of a coat with rows of medals who is carried about in planes and worries about income tax.
— Tenzing Norgay, the great Nepalese mountain climber.
Figure 1: Line of Climbers Preparing to Summit Everest. (National Geographic)
I recently have seen pictures on the news of a line of people preparing to summit Mount Everest (Figure 1), which got me thinking about the difficulty of waiting in line under low-pressure conditions. The vast majority of the people who climb Everest use supplemental oxygen. The air pressure at the summit of Everest is about 0.3 atmosphere, which is not enough to support human life for an extended period of time. But a relatively small number of people have climbed Everest with No Supplemental Oxygen (NSO). In this post, I will look at this very select group of people.
Figure 2: Elizabeth Hawley. (Wikipedia)
There is a database of the Himalayan climbers that until recently was maintained by Elizabeth Hawley, a remarkable Chicago native who has documented the climbing efforts from the 1960s until shortly before her death in 2018. Her Microsoft Visual Foxpro 9 database is continuing to be updated. The database and code to access the data are online and can be downloaded here. I used the database, which contains climbing data for many mountains, and filtered it for Everest climbers. I then exported the data as a CSV so that I could import it into Rstudio (R_source). The database has not been updated yet for 2019 activity. The video shown in Figure 3 by Melissa Sue Arnot does a great job showing how climbers worked with Ms. Hawley to record their climbing efforts – Arnot's entire series of Youtube videos are worth your time. Arnot made her own NSO summit in 2016.
| Figure 3: Solid Video on Climbing Everest By a Real Pro. |
Once in Rstudio, I filtered the data for successful summits that used no oxygen. The database records if a person used oxygen on the climb, descent, sleeping, or for medical purposes. I am looking for those who did not use any oxygen. By this strict standard, the database lists 163 successful NSO summits.
The first Everest NSO summits occurred in 1978 (Table 1).
| Name | Country |
|---|---|
| Hans Engl | W Germany |
| Peter Habeler | Austria |
| Reinhold Messner | Italy |
| Ang Dorje | Nepal |
| Mingma Nuru | Nepal |
Table 2 shows the climbers with more than one NSO summit. The most NSO summits by far were made by Ang Rita, who has made the trip 9 times including once in the winter – winter summits of any sort are very rare. Note that the Wikipedia credits him as having ten NSO summits, but the database lists him as using O2 while sleeping on his 1983 climb.
Table 3 shows the number of NSO summits by country – Nepal really dominates this statistic.
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Table 4 contains the entire list of NSO summiteers.
| Year | Name | Gender | Age | "Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Hans Engl | M | 34 | W Germany |
| 1978 | Peter Habeler | M | 35 | Austria |
| 1978 | Reinhold Messner | M | 33 | Italy |
| 1978 | Ang Dorje | M | 29 | Nepal |
| 1978 | Mingma Nuru | M | 0 | Nepal |
| 1980 | Reinhold Messner | M | 35 | Italy |
| 1982 | Vladimir Sergeevich Balyberdin | M | 32 | USSR |
| 1983 | Haruyuki Endo | M | 26 | Japan |
| 1983 | Haruichi Kawamura | M | 35 | Japan |
| 1983 | Lawrence Darius (Larry) Nielson | M | 35 | USA |
| 1984 | Zoltan Demjan | M | 29 | Czechoslovakia |
| 1984 | Timothy John Macartney-Snape | M | 28 | Australia |
| 1984 | Gregory (Greg) Mortimer | M | 31 | Australia |
| 1984 | Ang Dorje | M | 35 | Nepal |
| 1984 | Ang Rita | M | 36 | Nepal |
| 1985 | Ang Rita | M | 36 | Nepal |
| 1986 | Erhard Loretan | M | 27 | Switzerland |
| 1987 | Ang Rita | M | 39 | Nepal |
| 1988 | Marc Batard | M | 36 | France |
| 1988 | Lydia Margaret Bakewell Bradey | F | 27 | New Zealand |
| 1988 | Michel Metzger | M | 39 | France |
| 1988 | Ang Rita | M | 40 | Nepal |
| 1988 | Nima Rita | M | 30 | Nepal |
| 1989 | Carlos Miguel Carsolio Larrea | M | 27 | Mexico |
| 1989 | Nima Rita | M | 31 | Nepal |
| 1989 | Nurbu Jangbu | M | 35 | Nepal |
| 1990 | Sergei Anatolievich Arsentiev | M | 31 | USSR |
| 1990 | Marc Batard | M | 38 | France |
| 1990 | Grigori Luniakov | M | 35 | USSR |
| 1990 | Timothy John Macartney-Snape | M | 34 | Australia |
| 1990 | Anatoli Moshnikov | M | 37 | USSR |
| 1990 | Ang Rita | M | 41 | Nepal |
| 1991 | Vladimir Sergeevich Balyberdin | M | 42 | USSR |
| 1991 | Battistino (Battista) Bonali | M | 28 | Italy |
| 1991 | Anatoli Boukreev | M | 33 | USSR |
| 1991 | Muneo Nukita | M | 40 | Japan |
| 1991 | Nima Dorje (Dorje) | M | 36 | Nepal |
| 1992 | Alberto Inurrategi Iriarte | M | 23 | Spain |
| 1992 | Felix Inurrategi Iriarte | M | 25 | Spain |
| 1992 | Mario Luciano Panzeri | M | 28 | Italy |
| 1992 | Ang Rita | M | 43 | Nepal |
| 1993 | Vladimir Bachkirov | M | 41 | Russia |
| 1993 | Oscar Cadiach Puig | M | 40 | Spain |
| 1993 | Hubert Giot | M | 39 | France |
| 1993 | Eric Gramond | M | 30 | France |
| 1993 | Michael Graeme Groom | M | 33 | Australia |
| 1993 | Ang Rita | M | 44 | Nepal |
| 1994 | Scott Eugene Fischer | M | 38 | USA |
| 1994 | Ralph Robison (Rob) Hess | M | 34 | USA |
| 1994 | Lobsang Jangbu | M | 23 | Nepal |
| 1995 | Marco Bianchi | M | 32 | Italy |
| 1995 | Anatoli Boukreev | M | 37 | Kazakhstan |
| 1995 | Alison Jane Hargreaves | F | 33 | UK |
| 1995 | Josef H. (Sepp) Hinding | M | 47 | Austria |
| 1995 | Christian Kuntner | M | 33 | Italy |
| 1995 | Reinhard Patscheider | M | 38 | Italy |
| 1995 | Ang Rita | M | 46 | Nepal |
| 1995 | Lhakpa Dorje | M | 29 | Nepal |
| 1995 | Lobsang Jangbu | M | 24 | Nepal |
| 1996 | Anatoli Boukreev | M | 38 | Kazakhstan |
| 1996 | Yuri Contreras Cedi | M | 32 | Mexico |
| 1996 | Sven Hougen Gangdal | M | 41 | Norway |
| 1996 | Johann (Hans) Kammerlander | M | 39 | Italy |
| 1996 | Goran Kropp | M | 29 | Sweden |
| 1996 | Jesus Martinez Novas | M | 31 | Spain |
| 1996 | Josef (Pepino) Nezerka | M | 41 | Czech Republic |
| 1996 | Ang Rita | M | 47 | Nepal |
| 1996 | Babu Chiri (Babu Tshering) | M | 30 | Nepal |
| 1996 | Kipa/Keepa | M | 33 | Nepal |
| 1996 | Lhakpa Dorje | M | 30 | Nepal |
| 1996 | Lobsang Jangbu | M | 25 | Nepal |
| 1996 | Ngatemba (Nga Temba) | M | 40 | Nepal |
| 1996 | Panuru (Pasang Nuru, Pa Nuru) | M | 28 | Nepal |
| 1997 | Antoine De Choudens | M | 27 | France |
| 1997 | Eero Veikka Juhani Gustafsson | M | 29 | Finland |
| 1997 | Pavle Kozjek | M | 38 | Slovenia |
| 1998 | Radek Jaros | M | 34 | Czech Republic |
| 1998 | Anatoli Moshnikov | M | 45 | Russia |
| 1998 | Vladimir Nosek | M | 34 | Czech Republic |
| 1998 | Vladimir (Vlado) Plulik | M | 35 | Slovakia |
| 1999 | Joao Jose Silva Abranches Garcia | M | 31 | Portugal |
| 1999 | Vladimir (Volodymyr) Gorbach | M | 44 | Ukraine |
| 1999 | Heber Alain Orona | M | 28 | Argentina |
| 1999 | Babu Chiri (Babu Tshering) | M | 33 | Nepal |
| 2000 | Gheorghe Dijmarescu | M | 38 | USA |
| 2000 | Josef (Sepp) Hurschler | M | 38 | Switzerland |
| 2001 | Theodor (Theo) Fritsche | M | 51 | Austria |
| 2001 | Stefan Gatt | M | 30 | Austria |
| 2001 | Mark Charles McDermott | M | 42 | UK |
| 2001 | Silvio Mondinelli | M | 42 | Italy |
| 2001 | Juan Eusebio (Juanito) Oiarzabal Urteaga | M | 45 | Spain |
| 2002 | Alexei Bolotov | M | 39 | Russia |
| 2002 | Miroslav Caban | M | 38 | Czech Republic |
| 2002 | Shinji Sato | M | 51 | Japan |
| 2003 | Gheorghe Dijmarescu | M | 41 | USA |
| 2004 | Khetsun (Kaizun, Kai Zhong) | M | 38 | China |
| 2004 | Laji (Lhagyi, La Ji) | F | 34 | China |
| 2004 | Lhakpa (Laba, La Ba) | M | 39 | China |
| 2004 | Tashi Tsering (Zhaxi Ciren) | M | 37 | China |
| 2004 | Claudio Bastrentaz | M | 38 | Italy |
| 2004 | Doichin Vencislavov Boyanov | M | 27 | Bulgaria |
| 2004 | Alessandro Mario Busca | M | 36 | Italy |
| 2004 | Dawa Gelu | M | 31 | Nepal |
| 2004 | Lhakpa Tshering/Tshiri | M | 28 | Nepal |
| 2004 | Namgya/Namgyal | M | 32 | Nepal |
| 2004 | Pemba Dorje | M | 27 | Nepal |
| 2005 | Gerfried Goeschl | M | 32 | Austria |
| 2005 | Marcin Jan Miotk | M | 32 | Poland |
| 2006 | David Fojtik | M | 33 | Czech Republic |
| 2006 | Roberto (Roby) Piantoni | M | 28 | Italy |
| 2006 | Kami | M | 39 | Nepal |
| 2006 | Lhakpa Nuru | M | 34 | Nepal |
| 2006 | Nima Dorje | M | 25 | Nepal |
| 2007 | Romano Benet | M | 45 | Italy |
| 2007 | Rodney William Cole | M | 48 | USA |
| 2007 | Nives Meroi | F | 45 | Italy |
| 2007 | Luis Felipe (Lucho) Ossa Rodriguez | M | 40 | Colombia |
| 2007 | Kami (Kame) | M | 44 | Nepal |
| 2007 | Nima Kancha | M | 27 | Nepal |
| 2007 | Pemba Dorje | M | 30 | Nepal |
| 2009 | Ludovic Paul Nicolas Challeat | M | 39 | France |
| 2010 | Abele Blanc | M | 55 | Italy |
| 2010 | Marco Camandona | M | 39 | Italy |
| 2010 | Michele Enzio | M | 33 | Italy |
| 2010 | Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner | F | 39 | Austria |
| 2010 | Silvio Mondinelli | M | 51 | Italy |
| 2010 | Ang Pasang | M | 42 | Nepal |
| 2010 | Chhuwang Nima | M | 42 | Nepal |
| 2010 | Dawa Jangbu (Da Jangbu) | M | 30 | Nepal |
| 2010 | Dawa Nuru (Da Nuru) | M | 45 | Nepal |
| 2010 | Kami Rita (Topke) | M | 40 | Nepal |
| 2010 | Lhakpa Rita | M | 43 | Nepal |
| 2010 | Mingma Chhiri/Chhiring | M | 41 | Nepal |
| 2010 | Mingma Dorje | M | 40 | Nepal |
| 2010 | Pema Chhiring/Chhiri | M | 26 | Nepal |
| 2011 | Mahdi Amidi Ahang | M | 31 | Iran |
| 2011 | Helmut Ortner | M | 46 | Austria |
| 2011 | Lhakpa Tshering | M | 38 | Nepal |
| 2012 | Conrad Daniel Anker | M | 49 | USA |
| 2012 | Mariano Galvan | M | 32 | Argentina |
| 2012 | Rajendra Singh Jalal | M | 40 | India |
| 2012 | Thupten Lobsang | M | 37 | India |
| 2013 | Rafael Caceres | M | 32 | Ecuador |
| 2013 | Oswaldo Aurielo Freire Cartegena | M | 40 | Ecuador |
| 2013 | Chang-Ho Kim | M | 43 | S Korea |
| 2013 | Esteban Patricio (Topo) Mena Yanez | M | 23 | Ecuador |
| 2013 | Lama | M | 0 | Nepal |
| 2013 | Mingma Thinduk | M | 30 | Nepal |
| 2013 | Pemba Dorje | M | 36 | Nepal |
| 2016 | Melissa Sue Arnot | F | 32 | USA |
| 2016 | Azim Gheichisaz | M | 34 | Iran |
| 2016 | Carla Patricia Perez Ruales | F | 33 | Ecuador |
| 2016 | Courtney Woodward (Cory) Richards | M | 35 | USA |
| 2016 | David Roeske | M | 35 | USA |
| 2017 | Kalden Panjur | M | 37 | India |
| 2017 | Sonam Phuntsok | M | 25 | India |
| 2017 | Adrian John Ballinger | M | 41 | UK |
| 2017 | Kelsang Dorjee Bhutia | M | 35 | India |
| 2017 | James Robert Brooman | M | 37 | UK |
| 2017 | Horia Dan Colibasanu | M | 40 | Romania |
| 2017 | Kilian Jornet Burgada | M | 29 | Spain |
| 2017 | Victor Hugo Rimac Trejo | M | 31 | Peru |
| 2017 | Mingma Dorje | M | 0 | Nepal |
I dont' see Carlos Beuler listed. He has climbed Everest 5 times included one route that has never been replicated because of its difficulty. I believe some if not all the climbs were done without oxygen.
Missing:
2002 Hans van der Meulen (The Netherlands)
2004 Wilco van Rooijen (The Netherlands)