kATMANDU, Nepal -- Two American men and a woman have made the first winter ascent of 24,327-foot Mount Pumori through the east face, the Ministry of Tourism announced today.
The successful climbers were Ned Gillette, 36, the team leader and a photo journalist from Stowe, Vt.; Janet Reynolds, 25, a ski instructor from Stowe, Vt.; and James Bridwell, 37, an Alpine guide from Olympic Valley, Calif.
A fourth team member, Craig Calonica, 28, a carpenter from Tahoe City, Calif., suffered altitude sickness and did not reach the summit.
The climbers told reporters they battled high winds and intense cold to make the first winter ascent of the eastern Nepal peak.
'We stayed only 5 minutes on the summit, Gillette said. 'It was cold. My feet were freezing. I knew I had to get down.'
Officials said when the three climbers made their ascent, the temperature on the summit was at least 68 below zero and winds were gusting between 30 and 50 miles an hour.
The Ministry of Tourism said Miss Reynolds was the first woman to climb Mount Pumori.
'We could see for hundreds of miles into Tibet,' Bridwell said. 'We took some photographs.'
The ministry first reported the trio made the ascent Jan. 4, but they told reporters the summit was actually reached Jan. 6 after a 4 hour climb from the second high camp at 22,000-feet.
'Our route on the east face was pretty safe,' Bridwell said. 'But there were constant avalanches to the right of us almost every day.
'The day we got off the mountain -- Jan. 7 -- a big avalanche hit the first camp and completely destroyed it at night. We were lucky we got off the mountain in time.'
The ascent was made Alpine-style, without oxygen or Sherpa guides.
The team said Calonica was unable to go beyond the first camp at 21,000 feet and had to return to base camp because of altitude sickness.
'We were very fortunate with the weather,' he said. 'We had only two bad days on the mountain in an entire month. This was the main reason for our success.
'If this is winter climbing, this is great. But this was an unusual year.'
