Boardman Peter David

(Bearbeiten)

Biografie:
geboren in Bramhall (England)
gestorben am Mount Everest (China)

zählte zur Elite britischer Bersgteiger

19. Besteigung des Mount Everest (8848m) über die SW-Wand (erste Begehung) mit Sherpa Petemba im Jahre 1975.
Erste Ersteigung des Kangchenjunga (8598m) von der Nordwestseite am 16. Mai 1979 mit Doug Scott und Joe Tasker.
Quelle: Archiv Proksch (Österr. Alpenklub)

The Loss of Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker
We last saw Pete Boardman and Joe Tasker at around 9 pm on the evening of 17 May high on the NE ridge of Mount Everest. One figure was silhouetted against the darkening sky just short of the feature we called the Second Pinnacle (8250m) and the other was slowly working his way just below the crest of the ridge, towards a notch. It had been a long day for they must have left the shelter of the Third Snow Cave (7850m) before dawn to have reached the point, just above our previous high point on the First Pinnacle, when we first saw them through our
telescope at Advanced Base, that morning.
We watched throughout the day and could see the two red-clad figures very clearly as they moved slowly, one at a time, just below the crest of the ridge. Presumably they were leaving a line of fixed rope behind them since there were 300m of rope at the previous high point. The intention was to leave this in position to make it easier to return.
They had left Advanced Base on the 15th, and had moved straight through to our Second Snow Cave at 6812m that day; on the 16th they had climbed to the third Cave, which was stocked with food and fuel. We had last spoken to them there at 6 pm. They sounded optimistic and said they were going well. They had certainly moved up in very reasonable time. We had by then been in the Everest area for 2 months and in sieging the NE ridge had been becoming progressively acclimatised, with a series of 3 forays onto the ridge, each time reaching a higher point; on the first foray reaching 7250m, on the second 7000m and on the third around 8100m.
Dick Renshaw had been forced to withdraw from the expedition because of a mild stroke, and I had dropped out of the summit push because I was going so much slower than Pete and Joe who were fit and well acclimatised. They hoped to cross the Pinnacles on the 17th to reach the upper part of the NE ridge where it was joined by the original N ridge route at a height of around 8380m. They could not afford to spend more than 2 nights above 8000m if they were to have much hope of reaching the summit.
To safeguard their descent Adrian Cordon and I planned to make a route up to the North Col and await them there. This meant they would be able to descend the N ridge, thus avoiding a possibly hazardous retreat over The Pinnacles. We had arranged to call them on the afternoon of 17 May at 3 o'clock, but they did not reply. This could either have been due to radio failure or perhaps because they were too engrossed in the climbing. We continued to call them on the hour through the rest of the day but without success.
After good progress to the previous high point, they slowed down, a combination, no doubt, of the difficulty of the climbing and the altitude. We presumed that they camped on the night of the 17th, just out of sight over the crest of the ridge at the foot of the Second Pinnacle. They had a tent with them, so they might either have dug out a platform for the tent or could conceivably have dug a snow hole, though this seems unlikely in view of the amount of work involved.
They had had a long hard day of around 14 hours and had not made as much progress as they had probably hoped, with several rope lengths still to go to the end of the ridge. They needed at least one more night before they could hope to make a bid for the summit.
The following morning there was no sign of them. Adrian and I set out for the North Col and throughout that day kept the NE side of the ridge under observation. We knew they had to come into sight before the Final Pinnacle since on the other side was a sheer rock buttress, whilst on the NE side a line of ledges led onto the N face. We saw nothing that day and camped about 100m below the North Col.
We reached the North Colon the morning of 19 May. It was an excellent viewpoint for the exit out of the NE ridge and I am certain that Pete and Joe could not have reached the N ridge or face without us seeing them through our binoculars. We examined the ridge throughout the 19th and 20th, becoming increasingly worried. On the evening of the 20th we knew a brief but false feeling of hope when Adrian noticed a small, square-shaped orange blob on the N face just below the ridge. Next Morning, we realised that it was the wrong colour and shape to be their dome tent. It was probably a box tent abandoned by the French expedition of the previous year. By midday of the 21st we were convinced that there had been some kind of accident.
The distance that the pair had to cover out of our sight was so short (around 100m) that there seemed no other explanation. Had one of them fallen ill or been injured, it would have been a very short distance for the other member of the team to come back to signal us, even if their radio had failed. It seemed likely that they had left a line of fixed rope behind them, which would have made such a move comparatively easy. It seemed most unlikely that both would have fallen sick at the same time and would therefore have been unable to move.
Adrian and I descended to Advanced Base where Charlie Clarke was awaiting us having returned from escorting Dick Renshaw as far as Chengdu. He had reached Advanced Base on 20 May. The natural inclination to climb the ridge to see what had happened to them was impractical, since neither Charlie nor Adrian had the experience to venture on such difficult ground. In addition, we should have had to get all the way up to their high point to see anything useful. Knowing the outline of the ridge so well and in clear weather we would have seen the other pair if they had managed to retreat back down over The Pinnacles to one of the snow caves and, had they done this, at least one of them would have made his presence known to us. We therefore resolved that Charlie and I should go round to the Kangshung valley, to get a clear view of the other side of the ridge and just in case they had managed to descend on that side. Adrian remained at Advanced Base to keep the N side under observation.
We reached the head of the Kangshung valley on 28 May and had a good view of the SE side of the ridge. We saw no sign of them but the configuration of the upper part of the ridge confirmed our fears that they had both had a fall, most probably because of a collapse of one of the snow flutings. Looking up at the SE face, the most obvious route for them to have taken was up an open depression that led straight to the top of the Second Pinnacle (though from this side it looked more like a shoulder), since the ground on the SE side of the ridge was obviously very steep and we knew from our previous sortie that it was also formed of soft, unstable snow.
Had they taken this route they would have had barely more than 2 rope lengths before coming back into sight on the crest of the ridge. The fact that they did not suggests that an accident occurred either on the evening of the 17th or on the 18th, since they certainly should have come into sight that day. Had they retreated we should also have seen them when they came into sight below the Second Pinnacle. The weather and visibility was good throughout this period, with only a little passing cloud in the evenings.
This then is the interpretation that Adrian, Charlie and I made of what happened. Quite apart from the immense sorrow of losing 2 good friends and superb climbers, there must be the inevitable questions of whether the accident could have been avoided in any way and whether the strategy employed was the best in the circumstances. We were a small team, going for a big objective, but we had all chosen it that way, feeling that we wanted to be a 4-man team on the mountain. We did gain a great deal from this for until the very end, it was the happiest
expedition that any of us had ever been on.
A larger team would, perhaps, have enabled a support team to follow up the ridge to try to ascertain what had happened, but they might well not have discovered any more than we were able to by walking round to the Kangshung valley. But this 'what if avoids the real issue which is the justification of the small expedition which, through its very nature, compels the climbers involved on the mountain to be self-sufficient in an emergency. To me this self-sufficiency and level of commitment is the very essence of the mountaineering experience, representing a natural evolutionary development away from the large, structured expedition to a more flexible, challenging and, at the same time, more enjoyable approach to the mountains. If we are to talk about safety, I suspect that the small expedition is no more dangerous, as such, than the large one. The risks are simply different, but are more within the control of the individuals concerned.
Pete Boardman and Joe Tasker lost their lives on a climb that they were superbly qualified to attempt and which they both deeply and maturely wanted to achieve.
Christian Bonington
Quelle: Alpine Journal Volume 88, 1983, Seite 262-265

Peter D. Boardman 1950-1982
Peter David Boardman was born on Christmas Day 1950, the younger son of Alan and Dorothy Boardman of Bramhall, Stockport. He first went to Nevill Road County Primary School and then on to Stockport Grammar School in 1956. While there he began climbing, visiting the mountains of Corsica in 1964 and 1965. Here he first enjoyed the flavour of the wilderness, 'the freedom of moving, lightweight, through mountain country, carrying shelter, warmth, food and fuel on my back' .
In 1966 he joined the Mynydd Climbing Club which then met in the Manchester Arms, Stockport. He began climbing seriously with Barry Monkman, a friend from school and later with Dave Pownall. Once enrolled in the Mynydd he quickly became a highly competent rock
climber leading VS routes within a year on gritstone and Welsh and Lakeland crags.
He first visited the Pennine Alps in 1968 and graduated quickly through the Alpine classics to become a leading British Alpine mountaineer. He made the first British ascents of the North Face Direct of the Olan, the North Face of the Nesthorn and the North Face Direct of the Lauterbrunnen Breithorn.
From Stockport Grammar School, with interests on the literary side, he went to the University of Nottingham where he became president of the University Mountaineering Club. He took a degree in English followed by a teaching diploma at University College of North Wales, Bangor in 1973 where for a time he learnt Welsh. He was never to teach in any formal sense of the word but he joined Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore in 1973 as an Instructor and gained The Mountain Guide Carnet in September 1977. He joined the British Mountaineering Council as National Officer in 1975 and despite little experience in the world of committees, he quickly mastered this demanding post, adding greatly to the BMC's contact with young climbers and climbing clubs, experience which would stand him in good stead when he was elected President of the Association of British Mountain Guides in 1979.
His negotiating skill and his knowledge of international mountaineering politics facilitated the entry of the ABMG into the UIGM.
In January 1978, following the death of Dougal Haston in an avalanche, he was invited to take over the International School of Mountaineering in Leysin. As Director he helped continue the tradition of the school and found his metier as a guide and teacher of the sport he loved so much. Instructing climbing for Peter was never a necessary chore but a positive pleasure; he allowed his knowledge and affection to diffuse freely to those around him.
His first expedition was to Afghanistan in 1972 on the University of Nottingham Hindu Kush Expedition with Martin Wragg, Chris Fitz Hugh, Bill Church, Margaret and (the late) Oliver Stansfield, their baby, Esther and Bob Watson. On this trip he demonstrated something of his own power - he was immensely strong and skilful, a man who valued speed as a means of safety. As a training climb his small party chose the North Face of Koh-i-Khaaik and followed this with the first ascent of Koh-i-Mondi, a great achievement for a first expedition.
In 1974 he visited Alaska and with Roger O'Donovan made the first ascent of the S face of Mount Dan Beard. Earlier in 1975 he went to the Caucasus and in July, left to go to the SW face of Everest, the youngest member of the team and in many ways, the least known. It was here that I first met him. Large expeditions were also a novel experience for him as an extract from his diary on the approach march shows: “We round a corner and there is the British Raj in all its glory, neatly lined up erected tents, crowds kept at a distance, and we sit down at tables in the mess tent and are brought steaming kettles full of tea. For a mountaineer surely a Bonington Everest Expedition is one of the last great Imperial experiences that life can offer.” Peter was a diligent, disciplined member of the team, a little retiring on a sociable expedition. He was certainly one of the strongest members and this led to his selection for the second ascent of the South West Face, following Dougal Haston and Doug Scott. Peter was paired with the expedition Sirdar, Sherpa Pertemba and set off from Camp VI in front of a second pair - Mick Burke and Martin Boysen. Martin turned back after a short distance with faulty oxygen equipment while Mick continued alone. Peter and Pertemba reached the summit of Everest in deteriorating weather at 1.40 p.m. on 26 September 1975. Peter was loyally wearing a Mynydd T-shirt for the summit photograph. With the conditions worsening rapidly they returned along the South East Ridge and to their amazement met Mick Burke ascending the ridge alone, a few hundred metres below the summit. They exchanged a few words and agreed to meet up at the South Summit. Peter, despite deteriorating weather and poor visibility insisted on waiting for over an hour and a half below the South Summit: in the storm that was to follow they were struck twice by avalanches while crossing the exposed slopes of the South West Face and struggled into Camp VI in the dusk. Mick was never to be seen again.
In the months that followed it fell to Peter to record those moments many times, at lectures and at interviews. He did so with frankness and great sympathy although it was obviously painful to him to recall what had been the most momentous hours of his life.
After Everest '75, expeditions followed with frightening speed. Early in 1976 he visited the Polish High Tatra and later that year joined Joe Tasker for the West Wall of Changabang, the legendary climb which followed the lead of Joe and Dick Renshaw on Dunagiri a year earlier. Changabang was an example of meticulous forethought - for example the sleeve hammocks which were to dangle precariously on the face and much of the special equipment was designed and made by Mynydd members. This expedition too, gave Peter a further share of tragedy as Joe and he buried the bodies of four members of the American Dunagiri Expedition.
Peter had a companion as constant as his travels would permit for the last 6 years of his life. Hilary Collins, who later became his wife, first met him as she took part in a course in Aviemore in 1974. In 1976, after Changabang she organised his first lecture, at Belper High School where she ran the School's Outdoor Activities Department. They climbed together shortly afterwards at The Torrs in New Mills (where Peter fell but was held by Hilary) and later in the winter of '76-'77 in Torridon. There they planned a visit to New Guinea, Hilary leaving for a post in Switzerland to teach in a private school. In '77, unable to visit New Guinea, they climbed together on Mount Kenya (the second winter ascent of the Diamond Couloir) and Kilimanjaro. Peter was soon to follow Hilary to Switzerland, to Leysin in 1978 when he took over the International School of Mountaineering. They were married in August 1980.
In 1978, by now firmly one of the most respected high altitude mountaineers, he took part in the K2 Expedition led by Chris Bonington. Little was achieved; Nick Estcourt died in an avalanche early on the trip and the expedition was abandoned.
The following year was as full a climbing year as is possible. He spent Christmas 1978 in the Snow Mountains of New Guinea with Hilary, climbing the Carstenz Pyramid and Dugundugu. Peter spoke little about this small expedition, preferring perhaps to keep this tender memory to himself. 'Back from the Stone Age' in the New Year, he was ready to leave for Kangchenjunga in March with Joe, Doug Scott and Georges Bettembourg. They climbed the North Ridge of Kangch, reaching the summit without oxygen on 15 May. Returning for the Alpine summer season and guiding from Leysin, a further expedition was in preparation. Again a trip that was wholly in Peter's style small, forceful and elegant to a mountain of mystery. This time it was Gaurisankar in Nepal. Peter was openly disappointed that an American/Nepalese expedition, led by Al Read, had made the first ascent of the North Summit. The West Ridge, to the virgin South Summit, looked hard and committing and with John Barry, Tim Leach and Guy Neidhardt (from Leysin), Peter left in September on the third extraordinary expedition of the year. This was as long, fine and intricate a ridge climb as has ever been done in the Himalayas, exposed for long sections and demanding sustained care. Despite john Barry's fall from the crest injuring his arm the others reached the summit with Pemba Lama on 8 November.
For 1980, the unsettled score, K2, remained. It was not in Peter's nature to try to recreate a large expedition in the style of 1978. This trip was to be a foursome with Joe, Dick Renshaw and Doug Scott. Having attempted the West Ridge they moved to the Abruzzi, but once again the Savage Mountain struck, all but sweeping the expedition from the Abruzzi Spur in a succession of avalanches. They survived, reaching 7800m, but poor weather and exhaustion prevented a further attempt on the summit.
Kongur followed in 1981, a large expedition by Peter's standards but one which satisfied his keen interest in mountain exploration. He researched in great detail the history of climbing in Xinjiang and contributed important material to the expedition book (1). He reached the summit on 12 July with Chris Bonington, Al Rouse and Joe Tasker and narrowly escaped serious injury during an abseil near the top. A stone dislodged by his own abseil rope knocked him unconscious and he slid almost to the free end until, by chance, his thumb jammed in the descendeur.
Everest followed in March '82 and on this, our third expedition together, I sensed more of his feelings. Outwardly he was placid, apparently relaxed among high mountains with high risks. Growing to know him better I realised how aware he was of the dangers of his existence. He wore no blinkers about immortality and had no sense of fatalism - he wished to make sure he stayed alive. I thought he felt fear deeply but was somehow able to overcome it to achieve his extravagant climbing ambitions.
A further talent emerged through his climbing career-writing. He spoke and wrote well about Everest (2) in 1975 but could not avoid the label of a successful new boy. Changabang, his first shared experience with Joe, seemed to me to be an event of such magnitude that "The Shining Mountain" (3) leapt from him as part of all his inner experience, an outstanding document of endurance, pain, pleasure and a closeness to another human being. The success of the book was immediate in the climbing world and won him wider acclaim with the John Llewelyn Rhys Memorial Prize for literature in 1979.
Sacred Summits (4) published shortly after his death described his climbing year of 1979, the trips to New Guinea, Kangchenjunga and Gaurisankar. A book which captured both the variety and intensity of three very different expeditions and which will, I believe, be held in years to come, among the greatest of climbing literature, for its merit rather than for its author's untimely end.
Although Peter's achievements with his partners will be recorded in the archives of mountaineering, it is his warmth, humanity and wisdom which will be so sorely missed by those of us who loved him. He did not agree with Howard SomerveII's epitaph (5) ... 'there are few better deaths than to die in high endeavour'-nor did Joe-and as I carved a headstone for their memorial in the Rongbuk Valley my only wish was for the last few moments of their lives to be unravelled and re-enacted with a different finale.
Charles Clarke
(1) Kongur, China's Elusive Summit by Chns Bonington. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1982.
(2) Everest the Hard Way by Chris Bonington. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1976.
(3) The Shining Mountain by Peter Boardman. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1978.
(4) S(U;red Summits by Peter Boardman. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1982.
(5) In After Everest: The Experiences of a Mountaineer and Medical Missionary b T. Howard Somervell. London, 1936.
Quelle: Alpine Journal Volume 88, 1983, Seite 265-269


Peter Boardman, englischer Spitzenbergsteiger und Chef der »International School of Mountaineering« in Leysin, hat sich für den Herbst 1982, zusammen mit Chris Bonington, Joe Tasker und Dick Renshaw, ein großes Ziel vorgenommen: die erste Begehung des kompletten, 6 km langen Mount-Everest-Nordostgrates vom Raphü La aus; der Grat hat zwar nur eine Durchschnittsneigung von ca. 25°, aber durch seine außergewöhnliche Länge ist seine Erstbegehung eine echte Herausforderung. Natürlich: es handelt sich auch um eine ungewöhnlich starke Mannschaft, die sich von vielen harten Unternehmungen bestens kennt.
Quelle: Der Bergsteiger 1982, Heft 3, Seite 64-65

Peter Boardmann (+)
Am 16./17. 5. 1982 verunglückte der am 25. 12. 1950 in Bramhall (England) geborene Bergsteiger Peter Boardman am Mount-Everest-Nordostgrat tödlich. Beim Sturm auf den 8848 m hohen Eisriesen stürzte er, zusammen mit seinem Seilkameraden Joe Tasker, über einen 3000 m hohen Wandabbruch. Peter Boardman, dem schon viele extrem schwierige Westalpentouren gelungen waren - darunter fünf Erstbegehungen - gehörte zu den besten englischen Alpinisten. Seine Erfolge blieben aber nicht auf die Alpen beschränkt. In fast allen großen Gebirgen der Erde war er aktiv. So 1972 bei der Erstbegehung der Kohe-Khaaki- (5860 m) und der Kohe-Mondi- (6234 m) Nordwand im zentralen Hindukusch sowie 1974 bei der ersten Durchsteigung der Dan-Beard-Südwand. 1975 glückte ihm an seinem Schicksalsberg, dem Mount Everest, die Erstbegehung der Südwestwand. 1977 bezwang er in Afrika am Mount Kenya (Nelion) das »Diamant-Couloir« und den Nordostpfeiler. 1978 folgten die erste Begehung der Carstensz-Pyramide-Südwand in Neu Guinea und 1979 die Erstbesteigung des Gauri-Sankar-Südgipfels (7010 m). 1981 war er, gemeinsam mit Joe Tasker und Chris Bonington, an der Erstbesteigung des Kongur (7719 m) beteiligt. Peter Boardman lebte in der Schweiz und leitete die internationale Bergsteigerschule in Leysin (BM 6/82, S. 55) und war Mitglied der Alpine Climbing Group. Neben dem Bergsteigen war er auch der Autor des Buches »The Shining Mountain«, für das er 1979 den »John Llewelyn Rhys«-Gedächtnispreis erhielt.
Quelle: Der Bergsteiger 1982, Heft 9, Seite 69

Boardman Peter,Bergführer, * Bramhall,Stockport (Großbritanien),später Nottingham,
Bangor (Wales),Leysin (Schweiz)
+ 1982 Mount Everest-Nordostgrat,Erschöpfung
Viele extrem schwierige Westalpentouren- darunter fünf Erstbegehungen.Er gehörte zu den besten englischen Alpinisten.
Er bestieg 1976 zusammen mit dem zwei Jahre älteren Joe Tasker im Alpinstil die Westwand des Changabang,1500 HM,6854m. Sie errichteten mehrere Zwischenlager,schliefen in Hängematten und erreichten ihr Ziel nach 25 Tagen in der Senkrechten. Es war die bisher schwerste Route im Himalaya. Broadman und Tasker,die vorher noch nie zusammen geklettert waren,wurden zum Dreamteam und blieben sich als Seilpartner treu.
1972 Beg.Koh-I-Khanik (Kohe-Khaaki)-Nordwand,5860m, (Hindukusch,Afganistan)
1972 1.Best.Kohe-Mondi (Kohi-Mundi) über Nordwand,6234 m, (Hindukusch,Afganistan)
1974 1.Beg.Mount Dan Beard-Südwand,3073m, (Alaska Range)
1975 Teiln.Expedition Kaukasus
1975 19.Best.u.2.Beg.Mount Everest-Südwestwand,8848 m, (Himalaya,Nepal/Tibet)
1976 1.Beg.Changabang-Westwand bis 6776m,1500 HM, 6864m, (Garwhal Himalaya)
1977 1.Beg.Mount Kenya (Nelion) „Diamant-Couloir“ und Nordostpfeiler,5199m, (Kenia,Afrika)
1978 1. Beg.Carstensz-Pyramide-Südwand,4884m, (Neu Guinea)
1979 1.Best.Gauri-Sankar-Südgipfels über Westgrat,7134 m, (Rolwaling Himal)
1979 Best.Vers.K 2 bis 8080m, (Karakorum,Pakistan)
1979 3.Best.Kantschenzönga-Hauptgipfel u.1.Beg.Nordflanke-Nordostgrat,8586 m, (Himalaya,Nepal/Tibet)
1980 Besteigungsversuch K 2 bis 7975m,8611m, (Karakorum,Pakistan)
1981 1.Best.Mont Kongur Shan,7719m, (Pamir,China)
Beg.K 2 Westgrat,8611m, (Karakorum,Pakistan)
Beg.Olan-Direkte Nordwand,3564m, (Dauphine)
Beg.Nesthorn-Nordwand,3822m, (Berner Alpen)
Beg.Lauterbrunner Breithorn-Direkte Nordwand,3780m, (Berner Alpen)
Gerd Schauer, Isny


Geboren am:
25.12.1950
Gestorben am:
17.05.1982