Skiing Lhotse, the most ultimate TR of my life!

B

bob_dole

Active member
What's up guys? Hennie vJ over here, for the better part of the last few years I have been lucky enough to somehow manage to get an invite to the West Coast Sessions. Newschoolers always delivers with putting on such a kickass week for everyone who gets there and always caps it off with a blast at the end with the open sessions for everyone. Unfortunately (sort of) this year I couldn't make it because of the fact that I squeezed my way into a ski expedition all the way over in Nepal. Kris Erickson and Jamie Laidlaw, both insanely badass mountaineers, are attempting the first ever ski descent of the Lhotse couloir. It is one of the 4 8,000 meter peaks that are left un-skied in the world...pretty cool stuff really. Currently I'm writing this from a tent in the Mt. Everest basecamp. I left the states around April 5th and am probably not getting back till early June. 2 months of work to ski 1 line....so yeah, full on crazyness! I feel like I am the luckiest person in the world right about now. Anyway, felt like sharing the adventure with you all and hoping that NS could rally up and get our videos some views out on the web! So without further waiting, here you boys and girls go with the first video dispatch! Tomorrow morning around 6am I am headed through the Khumbu icefall for my first time up to camp 1 and eventually camp 2 for my first rotation. When I get back the second dispatch should be live already and rest assured I'll be posting it up on here for all you guys to check out. If everything goes according to plan, the video dispatches should be dropping around every Wednesday/Thursday. Hope you all enjoy and see a bit different side of the skiing world out there!
http://vimeo.com/23221639

Anyone want to embed this video if that doesn't work? Thanks!

 


hopefully that works for you hennie, looks so sick!

can't wait for the next videos
 
trip report.

this is sick as fuck though! I just heard about Chris Davenport skiing on Lhotse the other day too. crazy stuff.
 
Hope the weather holds up for you... and the couloir has good skiing conditions... and that everything stays safe.

kill it!
 
I've been following this trip (well, it doesn't really have many updates, but whatever), but skiing Lhotse is fucking insane. It is almost up there with trying to ski K2. TO my recollection, there is a body just chillin in the couloir that they intend to ski. Narrow as fuck. Rock fall hazard. Steep as fuck. Wicked high altitude. Hoping for the best and for a intense descent.
 
I was wondering why the name of the new filmer guy was familiar... now that I actually read the post (thought it was just a post about it)

Good luck!!! safe climbing and intrigued to see what transpires
 
Hate to triple post, but this shit is insane. Kids on NS (for the most part) need to learn up. This is way beyond a triple or a tall tee.

Some pics, since most are probably like: "wtf is Lhoste?"

Lhotse face - huge & steep - Boxed area below. Line from the summit indicates the couloir.

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Close up from the highlighted area above. Davenport and company made these turns like yesterday. It is intense

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Lhotse and couloir from Everest. Yes, that tiny sliver of hope from the summit

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damn nice !
it's so awesome that skiing can be so many different things, yet somehow they all fit in ! :)
 
Well I just finished reading Into Thin Air so I guess I sort of understand this. I'm assuming this venture entitles summiting Mt. Everest or is Lhotse a whole seperate mountain. I know there's a Lhotse face on Mt. Everest, is that what they're going to be skiing?
 
correct me if i'm wrong, but from what i understand, they're climbing/skiing Lhotse, a seperate mountain, the lhotse face on Mt Everest is probably called that way because it faces the Lhotse which is right besides everest...
 
Yea Lhotse is considered a separate peak. So they are trying to be the first people to ski off the summit of Lhotse via the narrow couloir. The only other 8000m peaks that haven't been skied from the summit are K2, Makalu (probably not possible), and Kangchenjunga.

The main south-side route of Everest goes up the Lhotse face, which is named so because it is on the west face of Lhotse. It has been skied a good few times.

Lhotse and Everest are buddies

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That looks phenomenal.

I named my laptop Lhotse in high school when I had dreams of doing the first summit descent. Kill it out there!
 
this is nuts.

i read chris davenport's blog the other day about skiing the Lhotse face. that sounds extreme but this is just insane. good luck man. hopefully you have a gopro cus that footage is going to be crazy.

stay safe up there.
 
Hey guys! Just made it down from my first (Kris and Jamie's third) rotation. Headed up to Camp2 myself and Kris and Jamie hiked all the way up to the yellow band and made turns down all the way. I got my ass handed to me at the top of the icefall. Pretty much the whole hike up is gnarly as hell and altitude up here is intense as hell. Anyway, a new video dispatch will come out Monday, I'll for sure post it on here. The second video will be about our 10 day trek in. Some kickass stuff went down and I'm psyched to share it with you all! Till later, Hennie vJ
 
Hennie! We were bummed to not have you out here this year but it looks like you've moved on to bigger and better things! Kill it out there man, be safe, and enjoy the trip of a lifetime.
 
Hey guys! Checking in with Dispatch 2. We are headed up for the final summit push in a few days and the guys are looking at the 24th/25th as their window to ski the line top to bottom. Keep your fingers crossed for their success!http://vimeo.com/23140091 ... somebody want to embed this jam?
 
BUMP! new episode should be dropping sometime on monday/tuesday for you guys but in the meantime...here is a quick tease of the fun had a few days ago....this is still 1,000 meters below what they are going to ski in 3 days...weeyoo!

1306067002TNF_LHOTSE_PANASONIC_kris_marvel_at_the_view_at_74000.jpg
1306067002TNF_LHOTSE_PANASONIC_kris_marvel_at_the_view_at_74000.jpg
 
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