KATMANDU, Nepal -- An American mountain guide Sunday reported he and a Canadian climber gave up an assault on the difficult west pillar of Makalu, the world's fifth highest mountain, less than 300 feet from the top.
'We were very close but could not make it,' said Carlos Buhler, 30, the team leader from Bellingham, Wash.
'We had to turn back. We did not want to spend the night in the open. It would have cost us our lives.'
Buhler, one of six Americans involved in the first successful U.S. climb up the east face of Mount Everest last fall, said he and Dwayne Congdon, 28, of Canmore, Alberta, reached an altitude of 27,500 feet before giving up.
That was the highest point ever reached by a Canadian climber without oxygen, he said.
Buhler said the expedition of four Canadians and two Americans spent a total of 67 days on the mountain only to give up within sight of the 27,766-foot summit.
