The 1996 South African Everest expedition was a heavily publicised expedition by a South African climbing team to summit

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

. The expedition was led by Ian Woodall, and was intended to be a celebration of post-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa. Woodall and

Cathy O'Dowd Cathy O'Dowd (born 1968) is a South African rock climber, mountaineer, author and motivational speaker. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest from both the south and the north sides on 25 May 1996 and 29 May 1999, respective ...

summited together. Bruce Herrod reached the summit afterward but died during his descent. Although the expedition was not caught up in the

1996 Mount Everest disaster The 1996 Mount Everest disaster occurred on 10–11 May 1996 when eight climbers caught in a blizzard died on Mount Everest while attempting to descend from the summit. Over the entire season, 12 people died trying to reach the summit, making it ...

, it unfolded while the South African team was on the mountain. Initially sponsored by the

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

, after a falling out with the paper, other outlets covered the expedition including

702 Talk Radio 702 is a commercial FM radio station based in Johannesburg, South Africa, broadcasting on FM 92.7 and FM 106 to the greater Gauteng province. The station is also webcast via its website. It claims to be Johannesburg's number one news and talk ...

. The expedition was surrounded by controversy around Woodall's leadership style, and a number of senior team members left the expedition There were also accusations that Deshun Deysel, an inexperienced

Coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

woman was included in the expedition because of her race.

Team

* Ian Woodall (39), expedition leader * Cathy O’Dowd (27) * Bruce Herrod (37) * Deshun Deysel (25) * Andy Hackland * Andy de Klerk * Ed February * Charlotte Noble, team doctor * Three Sherpa guides

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South African Everest expedition, 1996 1996 in Nepal

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

History of Nepal (1951–2008) May 1996 events in Asia Mount Everest expeditions