The South Col

The Sherpas performing the essential task of carrying supplies up the Lhotse Face to the South Col are fitted with crampons for the first time and they adapt brilliantly. They are also equipped with snow goggles to combat the hazards of snow blindness, and are wearing specially made high altitude boots which prove to be a great success.

Camp Seven is pitched in a remarkable position, behind an enormous block of ice, high on the Lhotse Face. By May 18th a safe route has been made to Camp Seven and some way beyond but there still remains the long traverse across the upper part of the Face to the South Col. The last portion of the route is completed by Wilfrid Noyce and Sherpa Annullu on May 21st. During that day those who are at Camp Four are able to watch these men, two tiny figures lost in the immensity of the Face, slowly but surely making that eventful climb. It is one of the greatest moments of the expedition to see them reach the South Col, just under 26,000 feet.