Peter Boardman - Mountaineering - Everest, North East Ridge, 1982

Everest, North East Ridge, 1982

British mountaineers had last visited the north side of Everest in the 1930s. Permission for the 1982 expedition was obtained after the Chinese government began opening up mountains to foreign expeditions. The North East Ridge was "an obvious choice elegant, unknown and looked, from the few photographs we had, difficult but possible." The North East Ridge rises two miles from the Raphu La (6,510m) to the North East Shoulder (8,393m) and the junction with the North Ridge. From there the summit is almost another mile away. The crux of the North East Ridge is a series of pinnacles high on the ridge before the junction with the North Ridge.

The expedition consisted of Boardman, Chris Bonington, Dick Renshaw and Joe Tasker, supported by expedition doctor Charles Clarke and Adrian Gordon, and Chinese Base Camp staff. Tasker had responsibility for filming the expedition documentary. The expedition arrived at Base Camp on 16 March 1982 and began acclimatisation forays and establishment of camps further up the Rongbuk Glacier. By April the team had begun climbing on the Ridge, establishing snow caves at 6,850m and 7,256m. In early May their third and highest snow cave was established at 7,850m. While climbing on the First Pinnacle above 8,000m Renshaw experienced a minor stroke. After suffering a second stroke at Base Camp, and following medical advice, Renshaw left to return home accompanied by Clarke as far as Chengdu. By this time Bonington realised that he would be unable to go much higher on the mountain without the use of supplementary oxygen and switched to a support role. He intended to climb to the North Col with Gordon and wait there while Boardman and Tasker made a final push to cross the Pinnacles. Boardman and Tasker left Advance Base Camp on 15 May and reached the second snow cave the same day. By 16 May they reached the third snow cave and made what was to be their last radio contact with Bonington that evening. On 17 May they moved slowly beyond the First Pinnacle and were last seen at 9pm at the foot of the Second Pinnacle at 8,250m having been climbing for 14 hours. By 21 May, with no sign of Boardman and Tasker for 4 days Bonington and Clarke travelled up the Kangshung Valley to search the other side of the ridge for any sign of the missing climbers, while Gordon maintained a watch at Advance Base Camp. By the beginning of June the expedition was back at Base Camp and Bonington travelled to Chengdu to break the news of the deaths to Boardman and Tasker's families.