Nasuh Mahruki refutes allegations by Greg Child through a personal account of his ascent of Everest supported by testimony forwarded by fellow mountaineers

In the May 1997 issue of Outside Magazine an article by Greg Child made various accusations regarding my ascent of Everest in the summer of 1995. Greg's account of events contained misrepresenations of such proporation that I spent a considerable amount of time collecting evidence and testimony from fellow mountaineers and convincing Outside Magazine to post the true story and related testimony on the internet.

On a personal level, this response is only part of my fight to clear my name. On a more general perspective, I would like to serve it as a reminder to Greg, a very good climber, to stick to climbing as opposed to story-telling at the expense of others.

The following is what Greg claims in his article and what really happened:

1. Equally troublesome, to my mind, were the fellows who made the first Turkish and Romanian ascents of Everest-men who ultimately needed to be rescued but who nonetheless returned to considerable fanfare in their home countries.

The real story is: the Romanian climber, Constantin Lacatusu, was in trouble because his oxygen was finished on the way down from the summit at 8300 meters, about a hundred meters above Camp 3. One of his crampons was broken and he had lost his ice axe.

On the evening of May 17, 1995, me and my Russian guide George Kotov were in Camp 3 enjoying having summited and planning to rest for the next day. While we were talking with ABC (advanced base camp), we found out that Constantin had not arrived to Camp 3 yet and this could be a serious problem. However, Constantin arrived after dark at 20:30 and came to our tent. He was very exhausted, had lost a lot of water and was about to go into hypothermia. He made a relatively slow ascent and descent and managed to reach Camp 3 quite late. George and I instantly noticed that he was about to go into hypothermia, so we quickly took him into our tent and changed his wet and cold clothes, I gave him my extra socks. We checked his fingers and toes, they were alright. While I was brewing some hot drinks for Constantin, George went out to another tent to bring another sleeping bag for him. We put him in a warm sleeping bag and gave him oxygen. Eventually, although he was very tired, he became normal. After talking with our expedition leader Jon Tinker from ABC and telling him what was going on, we all slept.

The words "the men who ultimately needed to be rescued" are a complete misrepresentation. I had no problems at all, and did not need or receive any help from anybody.

2. Neither of them thanked me or the others who helped them down and to this day still don't believe they were ever in trouble.

There was no reason to thank to Greg or someone else. I climbed mount Everest all by my own strength and got down all by my own strength with my Russian guide George. I did not need anybody's help including George for anything either during the climb or when coming down. However, this is the only truth in the part of Greg's article that relates to me, I did not thank him.

3. They had moderate climbing experience and had been guided up other mountains, but none like Everest.

Let the facts speak for themselves. In 1994, after completing the ascents of five 7000-meter peaks of Soviet Asia; Lenin (7134m), Korjenevskoy (7105m), Communism (7495m), Khan Tengri (7010m) and Pobeda (7439m) I was given the coveted Snow Leopard title by the Russian Mountaineering Federation. At that time there were less than three western climbers and 214 altogether in the world who have climbed those five peaks. On peak Lenin I was the expedition leader of the four-man Turkish National Team and two of us reached the summit without a guide. Before going to Everest I had been above the 7000 meter barrier six times and trained myself for three years. I did the eighth solo ascent of the very dangerous and difficult Pobeda. I also had winter ascents of mount Elbrus (5621m-Caucauses) and mount Damavend (5671m-Iran). My climbing experience in Turkey is too detailed to summarize here. So when I came to Everest, I had considerable experience and training. How Greg decided that I had "moderate" climbing experience and had been guided up other mountains is a mystery to me as I do not remember speaking with him about this. I suspect had he known my prior experience, he would have been more carful with his words.

4. Both hoped to make oxygenless ascents, yet they carried oxygen anyway.

Normally most climbers on Everest start using oxygen at Camp 3 by sleeping on it and then ascend the summit on oxygen and use it on the way back and sleep on it at Camp 3 again. Although I has hoping not to, I had to use oxygen above 8600 meters, because I was getting frostbite. I did not use it for sleeping at all at Camp 3. During the entire climb, I used only one bottle of oxygen, on the way up and down between 8600 meters and the summit. Even the guides used more than that. In my group, I was the one who used the least amount of oxygen during the entire climb.

The funny thing is that Greg who climbed Everest with two Sherpas and ample supplies of oxygen should attempt to discredit my climb in this manner. I would not dream of criticizing Greg for using oxygen during his climb. In fact, given the state of his memory wth respect to what happened on the mountain, I wish he had used more oxygen than he did.

5. And though most sensible parties were summiting around 10 a.m., Mahruki reached the top in midafternoon.

I reached the top somewhere between about 10:20-10:30 a.m. While they were going down, I met with George Kotov and the British climber Graham Ratcliffe under the last steep part that goes to the summit. A few meters below the summit, I met with the top class Russian climber Anatoli Boukreev, he waited there for his partner, Nikoli Sitnikov more than an hour. I spent about 20-25 minutes on the summit. I spoke with ABC and videoed everything that I had done on the summit.

While I was going down, Nikoli reached the summit. I have a photo of him reaching the summit, which proves that he was after me. On the way down I passed Constantin who was going towards the summit.

Although I summited at 10:20-10:30 a.m., Greg claims I summited mid-afternoon. Graham Ratcliffe says that he definitely saw me at the bottom of the last snowfield at 9:30 a.m., which is at most an hour's climb from the top. Mrs. Elizabeth Hawley, who has the best statistics about Himalayas says that, her recording about my summit time was 10:30 on the basis of her conversation with our expedition leader after our arrival to Kathmandu.

It is not clear to me why Greg misstates the timing of my summit, a claim that he must have known I could disprove with relative ease. I guess it just goes to show how baseless his story is.

6. The alarm was sounded when the guide radioed to say that his charges were exhausted and might not make it through the night.

Yet another misrepresentation of the reality. Constantin was from another expedition, in fact, the same one that Greg belonged to. The sherpa who should hve accompanied him and our sherpa had helped an American climber to go down, who had a strange bivouac at 8500 meters the night before. So Constantin was alone on the mountain. It was George and myself who was talking on the radio with our expedition leader Jon Tinker about the situation of Constantin. We did not even talk with Greg. We told ABC that Constantin is really exhausted, and that we might need help to bring him down the next day. After such a climb, at such an altitude, it is very difficult to help someone else go down. I had no problem at all at that camp. I was feeling very well, I even did not feel the need to sleep on oxygen that night. There was absolutely no mention of me not being able to make it through the night.

7. In the morning I climbed toward them with two bottles of oxygen.

Morning of May 18th, as expected, Constantin couldn't get up and get out of his sleeping bag. I was on the radio with our doctor at ABC who told me that there was medicine in the upper tents which we could give to Constantin to make him move. Although I was very tired, I climbed up to those tents and searched for the medicine but it was not there. Time was running short so we had to go down as soon as possible. I spoke with Jon, he told me that we should forget about the medicine and start coming down, and that they were sending Greg and Chuldim Sherpa for Constantin. We hardly managed to get him up and put his clothes on, George gave up his crampon for Constantin's lost one.

Greg Child did not make a personal decision to save Contantin. He was sent up upon the decisions of the two expedition leaders, Jon Tinker and Russel Brice. In addition, Greg did not climb alone, he came up with Sherpa Chuldim. Greg, Constantin and Sherpa Chuldim were from the same expedition, Chuldim was the Sirdar or the Sherpas of their team. If I had had a problem, my climbing Sirdar Babuchhiri or one of his sherpas would come up to Camp 3 to help me, not some other sherpas and climbers from Russel Brices' team. We were two different teams, and every guide or sherpa was responsible for his or her teammates. Greg also says he climbed up with two bottles of oxygen. I did not see any oxygen bottle but if they carried oxygen, it can only be one bottle, not two. Because they knew that they were going up only for Constantin. I know that they carried some water and the medicine which I looked for in the upper tents. Personally, I did not even sleep on oxygen the night before, so it is ridiculous that I might ask for oxygen for going down and we already had enough oxygen up in Camp 3.

8. Soon Mahruki appeared, staggering down an avalanche-prone slope, headed for a cliff. I told him to clip into the ropes, but he refused, muttering something about not needing them.

First of all, there is no avalanche danger on the north ridge route of Everest above 7000 meters in the spring season. The route after 7600 meters is on the rocks, so you basically climb on rocks or hard snow until the last 60-70 meters.

The words "soon Mahruki appeared" imply I was somewhere behind Constantin. However, we were coming down in union all tied together, me above Constantin, and George below him. We were working to lower him down safely by using our ropes. While I was lowering him down, George was controlling his movements from below. That was one of the hardest parts of the route, because it was impossible for two or three to walk side by side. It is more or less a climbing route, only after 7800 is it possible for tow or three to walk side by side. We lowered Constantin 300 meters with this method and at 7900 meters we met with Greg and Chuldim. After George and I unclipped ourselves from the rope leading from Constantin's harness, they took over the job. We shook hands, chatted for a while, I drank some water from their thermos, then I kept going down by myself. We did not have any discussion whatsoever with Greg about me clipping into the ropes.

9. Since even Himalayan veterans find clear thinking nearly impossible above 8,000 meters, it's understandable, given their desperate states, that these two don't grasp that they nearly died.

There was nothing desperate about my state during my climb of mountain Everest. I have come close to death many times before but not during the Everest climb. What Greg states about clear thinking above 8,000 meters is true, but strangely enough, it seems to continue to effect him two years later when he sat down to write his story.

10. But there was something I saw while rescuing this pair that struck me, in an odd way, as indicative of the problems on Everest — the wanton disregard for preparation, the blatant me-firstism, the utter lack of respect for both the mountain and the sport.

I did not need to be and have not been rescued during my Everest climb. The rescue operation was only for Constantin not for both of us. It appears Greg's ego is not satisfied with his claim that he rescued Constantin. In addition to ignoring that he climbed up with Sherpa Chuldhim, Greg shamelessly claims that he rescued me as well. A fine example indeed for the blatant me-firstism he condemns in his article.

I found out about Greg's article quite late. Luckily it was early enough for me and a number of people on the mountain together with me to remember exactly what happened. I am grateful to everyone who responded to my plea to get the record straight.

The question that bugs me to this day is why a good climber like Greg did this. I guess the pride and glory of the sport was not enough, he wishes to be a hero. I don't really have a problem with Greg or his desire for heroism, I just do not want it done at my expense.

Nasuh Mahruki

Jon Tinker told me at the time, that you'd made a clean ascent and were on your way down, that's all that was said. Had you needed any help to get down I would have been told.

I can't think how Greg became confused about you, but I know hat he helped Constantine, down."

Henry Todd; the Leader of a Fellow Expedition

"My notes written on 7 June, 1995, when I talked with the leader of Mahruki's team, Jonathan Tinker, show that Mahruki reached the summit of Everest on 17 May, and a list of his summiters written for me by Tinker himself gives the time when Mahruki was on the top as 10:30 a.m. Nepalese time that day."

Elizabeth Hawley; Journalist and Consultant for Mountaineering Magazines

Tim Rippel; Canadian Mountain Guide of Constantin Lacatusu

From those days I remember nothing about Nasuh being in trouble or needing any help. As I was the climbing sirdar. I would definitely hear about a problem of any of our members. Because in case of a problem or needing of a rescue of our group it should be myself, or Sherpa Ghelu or another sherpa from our group to go up and do the necessary rescue.

... don't remember any problem or any help was asked for Nasuh at all."

Babu Chhiri Serpa [sic]; Climbing Sirdar for the OTT Expedition.

Pat Falvey; Irish Member of OTT Expedition

I also want to mention that Nasuh climbed from the final camp at 8200 meters to 8600 meters without oxygen, then continued to the summit with the oxygen bottle. He carried to that point (without oxygen). Knowing myself the feelings of oxygen versus no oxygen at that altitude, I would say it would be understandable that a climber who had climbed two-thirds of the summit day upward without oxygen might appear weak coming down, but at the same time, perhaps a bit inappropriate for an oxygenated climber to find criticism in the other's step. Anyway, I never heard about any problem with Nasuh."

Jeff Shea; American Climber from OTT Expedition

HE CLIMBED EVEREST HIMSELF.

I came back to camp 3 (8200m). At 11:00 a.m. and by radio I asked our expedition leader Jon Tinker, if anybody need any help? Jon asked me to stay in camp 3 because maybe Constantin will need some help, he still did not reach the summit till that time. Jon did not mention anything about Nasuh. I do not remember when Nasuh reached camp 3, but I remember HE DID NOT NEED ANY HELP AT ALL.

Constantin came back quite late, it was dark. I talked on the radio with Jon and told him that Constantin is really exhausted. Nasuh was not in a situation that he might not make it through the night. The problem was only for Constantin.

Next morning, we started to go down together with Nasuh and Constantin. I think in previous day. Constantin have lost only a crampon but his ice axe as well. So he took just one ice axe from Camp 3 to go down safely.

I gave my crampons to Constantin. While I was going down below Constantin, Nasuh was tied together with Constantin and climbed down above him to protect him against a fall. We tried to protect Constantin against a fall as he was very tired, but he walked down himself.

One more thing, Nasuh was absolutely not in a desperate situation."

George Kotov; Russian Guide to Nasuh Mahruki

His performance on the mountain was really excellent. Nasuh had acclimatized very well and was very fast. He had had a problem with a tooth abscess and had gone back to Kathmandu to get it fixed. On his return he teamed up with the OTT Expeditions guide George Kotov, a very fast and talented climber. Their ascent was, for Everest, pretty uneventful. The sherpa support that I had orgaznied for George and Nasuh was seriously depleted by the group finding an American from another expedition bivouacing at the foot of the second step. Nevertheless I was very happy to let George and Nasuh continue to the summit. They accomplished this in fine style.

Many people summitted Everest that day and George and Nasuh were caught up in the rescue of Constantin. They both behaved impeccably and pushed themselves very hard in helping fellow human beings, I was proud of their performances.

Nasuh was, I believe, not rescued from Everest. He did, in fact, help Constantin, a memeber of another expedition, who was in dire trouble coming down from the summit."

Jon Tinker; OTT Expedition Leader

Graham Ratcliffe; British climber from Henry Todd's team

We met the group around 7950m. and received Constantin from them and lowered him down to ABC.

While we were going up from North Col to help Constantin, we absolutely knew why we were going, we never heard anything about Nasuh having a problem or needing help. Beside he was not on our team, if he needed help, his group's (OTT) sherpas would climb to help him."

Chuldim Temba Sherpa; Russell Brice's Expedition Climbing Sirdar