Liu Lianman
Wang Fuzhou
Qu Yinhua
Gonpot Tibetans
May 24, 1960
In the early morning of May 24, the sun was shining brightly. The conical peak of Everest towered above the blue sky, and white clouds lingered among the mountains.
At 9:30 a.m. Beijing time, four young mountaineering team members - athletes Wang Fuzhou, Liu Lianman, Qu Yinhua and first-level athlete Gongbu (Tibetan), carrying alpine backpacks and holding ice axes, started The last 380 meters to the summit of Everest. The other team members retreated to the camp at 8,100 meters to recharge their batteries in order to provide various support to the team members who assaulted the summit when needed.
Now, in this world of ice and snow at an altitude of more than 8,500 meters, these four outstanding Chinese mountaineers, guided by a red knotted rope, work together towards the misty summit of Mount Everest. Step forward with courage. In order to reduce the burden on their backs as much as possible, they calculated one by two and abandoned all items that were not used temporarily. They only carried oxygen tanks, cold-proof sleeping bags, pencils, diaries, movie cameras and the side entrusted to them by the mountaineering team to take to the summit. The five-star red flag and a plaster bust of Mao Zedong about 20 centimeters high. Even so, their progress was very slow. Since they went up the mountain on May 17, they had already experienced a week of hard marching, which had caused huge physical exertion.
The team members who stormed the summit walked for about two hours before ascending about 70 meters. At this time, the "second step" blocked their way.
The commandos followed the route of the third reconnaissance march and braved the severe cold of more than minus 30 degrees Celsius to climb the steep and slippery rock walls. They wore special mountain boots with steel claws. Difficult to step firmly. Qu Yinhua, who was leading the way, slipped and fell several times. He was dizzy, his back ached, and his legs were heavy, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving forward.
At the last three meters near the top of the "Second Step", the rock wall becomes vertical and smooth. At this time, Liu Lianman walked in front to clear the way. He inserted his hands into the rock cracks, stepped on the rock surface with his toes, and used all his strength to rise inch by inch. However, due to lack of physical strength, his body tilted slightly and he fell back to the original place. Liu Lianman climbed four times and fell four times in a row. He was so tired that his whole body seemed to fall apart.
Everyone had to stop and think of a solution. At this time, Liu Lianman suddenly remembered his experience of using the "human ladder" method to successfully climb over a high wall when he was a firefighter in Harbin. He resolutely squatted in front of the rock wall, letting others step on his shoulders, and then slowly stood up, allowing others to grasp the support point at the top of the rock wall with their hands and climb up. At such a height, any small movement will cause serious reactions in the body. Liu Lianman's eyes were filled with "golden flowers", his feet were shaking, and his breathing became heavy. However, Liu Lianman persisted. He helped Qu Yinhua up first, and then Gongbu. Finally, Wang Fuzhou and Liu Lianman climbed up with the help of the rope lowered from above.
After climbing to the top of the "Second Step", they discovered that due to weakened physical strength, they spent more than five hours climbing the entire "Second Step" and spent more than five hours climbing. The time spent on the last three meters of rock wall lasted three hours.
The sky began to get dark, and the cold wind howled miserably.
They thought they could reach the top before dark, but now it seems that this estimate was obviously wrong. The dark night is about to become the second obstacle on their way forward. It is indeed difficult to accurately estimate in advance what difficulties they will encounter on the last two to three hundred meters of the north slope of Mount Everest, which has never been reached by humans, and how long it will take them to walk.
The brave commandos are still moving forward step by step. However, because the previous stage took too long, the pressure gauge of the oxygen tank on their back showed that the oxygen capacity was low. Continuing forward may be seriously threatened by lack of oxygen. At this time, Liu Lianman's physical strength was very weak due to excessive fatigue. He would fall down unconsciously every one or two steps he took, but he stood up slowly and continued to walk forward despite falling down.
It is not only extremely difficult but also quite dangerous to carry out a high mountain march in the dark when you are physically weak and severely hypoxic.
Now, every time they move, their bodies must bear so much pain! Younghusband, the organizer of the British "Epheretus Committee", once wrote in the book "Epheretus Expedition": "Nowhere has the human body suffered more pain than an Epheretus." What the Philez climber endured on the last day of climbing... Even if he has a perfect physique and strong energy, if he does not have the courage to endure the bone-crushing snowstorm, and the nerves do not dare to walk on the edge of the Cuiwei hanging rock. , If the will cannot move forward bravely when the death-like sleeping sickness attacks, he will still not reach the top." To Younghusband's colleagues, his words did make sense. However, for the strong Chinese mountaineers, what kind of difficulties and dangers can delay and block their progress? For the honor of the motherland and nation, to fulfill the people's entrustment, and to reach the summit during the last period of good weather before the long rainy season in the Himalayas, the four warriors still moved forward bravely and continued to march on the rugged mountain road.
Considering Liu Lianman’s health and in order to gain time, everyone unanimously decided that Liu Lianman would stay, while the other three rushed to the top as quickly as possible.
While Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhua and Gongbu continued to head towards the summit against the night, Liu Lianman was resting next to a large rock sheltered from the wind. Severe hypoxia caused his ears to buzz, and "Venus" burst out in white and black in front of his eyes, and he began to enter a semi-conscious state. He knew very well that he was at a height known as the "death zone" and the danger of suffocation could occur at any time. He pulled the oxygen tank next to him. The red needle on the barometer showed that there were still a few dozen pressures of oxygen left. However, before his eyes appeared the back figures of his comrades who were charging towards the summit. He knew that his comrades would need oxygen support more than he did when they returned from the top. He decided that he would rather endure the pain of suffocation or even the threat of death, and leave the last bit of oxygen to his comrades. He resolutely put the oxygen tank back to its original place and fell asleep...
Time passed by minute by second. Liu Lianman, who was sleeping, felt that his limbs were becoming more and more numb in the severe cold, and his heart was beating faster and faster due to lack of oxygen. He clearly realized that death was coming towards him step by step. How much Liu Lianman wanted to live! He had never felt so strongly as at this moment that he should do everything possible to survive. Living is happiness, victory, everything. However, he felt more deeply that the three comrades who were fighting at the top deserved to live more than him, because they were shouldering such a glorious and arduous mission! Their safety was greater happiness and greater victory for him... He was worried that he had stopped breathing while in a coma. His comrades did not know that there was still oxygen in his oxygen tank, and he struggled to sit up again. , using a pencil to leave a message to his comrades in his diary.
Comrade Wang Fuzhou:
I have not completed the arduous tasks assigned to me by the party and the motherland. Let the three of you complete the task! I still have some oxygen in this oxygen tank, I'll leave it for the three of you to use when you come back victorious! Maybe it works.
Your comrade Liu Lianman
At the same time, Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhua and Gonbu were moving forward with difficulty in the vast night. The snow slope beneath my feet became steeper and more slippery. After climbing over two rocks, they climbed onto a snow slope. The Tibetan team member Gonpot was leading the way, but within a few minutes he was so tired that he couldn't even straighten his back. So Qu Yinhua stepped forward to clear the way. It took a long time before he took two or three steps forward, but his legs softened and he slid back to the original place. Finally, Wang Fuzhou came to the front and insisted on opening a way forward for everyone.
The night was thick, and the mountains of Mount Everest were hazy, with only the faint outline of the summit still visible. Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhua and Gongbu were lying on the ground, relying on the starlight and reflected snow light to identify the road. Every step forward required tremendous effort.
The night is deeper, and it is dark everywhere on the mountains and down the mountains, with only a few stars shining in the sky. The dark shadow of the summit of Everest began to become very low in front of them.
At around 8,830 meters, Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhua and Gongbu had all used up their oxygen. But the wind gradually became lighter at this time, which was very beneficial for climbing to the top. They stood on the rock slope in silence for a moment. Wang Fuzhou first spoke: "Comrades, the three of us are now responsible for the task of conquering the main peak.
There is no more oxygen, so keep moving forward despite possible dangers. But can we step back? "
Qu Yinhua and Gongbu replied in unison with a decisive tone: "Keep going! "
They threw away the empty oxygen tanks on their backs and boldly and decisively began a difficult and dangerous climb that had never been seen in human history.
Now, every time they cross They had to stop and rest for a long time after taking one step. They felt dizzy, breathless, and weak due to the severe lack of oxygen in the mountains. Their limbs became heavier and their movements became slower. Even climbing over one-meter-high rocks was difficult. It took more than half an hour. They endured great physical pain, helped each other, encouraged each other, and continued to walk towards the summit.
After crossing a section of snow slope in the east, Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhua and Gongbu turned to the right. They circled around to the rocky slope to the north and continued to climb, finally reaching a place where rocks and snow met. Looking around, in the hazy night, the dark shadows of the peaks of the Everest Mountains were all crawling at their feet. , there were only shining stars above the heads of the three of them, and they could no longer find any rocks to climb. They finally reached the top of Mount Everest, completing the climb to the world's highest peak from the north in human history.