View source for South Col

{{Short description|Col between Mount Everest and Lhotse}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name = South Col
| photo = File:Summit camp Everest.jpg 
| photo_caption = The pinnacle in this view is the [[South Summit]] viewed from the South Col
| elevation_m = 7,906
| elevation_ref = 
| traversed = A Swiss expedition in 1952 
| location = [[Nepal]] ([[Khumjung]]) – [[China]] ([[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]])
| range = [[Himalaya|Mahalangur Himal]]
| map = Nepal#China Tibet
| label_position = top
| coordinates = {{coord|27|58|30|N|86|55|55.5|E|type:pass|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| topo = 
}} 
The '''South Col''' is a [[col]] between [[Mount Everest]] and [[Lhotse]], the highest and fourth-highest mountains in the world, respectively. The South Col is typically swept by high winds, leaving it free of significant snow accumulation. Since 1950 (when Tibet was closed), most Everest expeditions have left from Nepal and gone via the southeast ridge and the South Col (instead of via the [[North Col]]). When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast ridge in [[Nepal]], their final camp (usually Camp IV) is located on the South Col.

== History ==
[[File:Everest, South Col, Himalayas.jpg|thumb|left|300px|View of [[Mount Everest]] from the west. The South Col is the lowest point of the ridge on the right side. [[South Summit]] is visible just right of the main summit, being only slightly lower in height.  ]]
[[File:Everest, northern approaches.svg|thumb|left|300px|Sketch map of Everest region]]

The South Col was first reached on 12 May 1952 by Aubert, Lambert, and Flory of [[Edouard Wyss-Dunant]]'s [[1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition|Swiss Mount Everest Expedition]] which failed to reach the summit.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/mountainworld195029881mbp/page/n105 | title=The Mountain World 1953| year=1953| publisher=George Allen And Unwin Limited.}}</ref> The following year, when Mount Everest was first climbed, [[Wilfrid Noyce]] and the [[Sherpa people|Sherpa]] Annullu were the first climbers on the expedition to reach the col. According to [[John Hunt, Baron Hunt|John Hunt]], the expedition leader:
{{quote|It was 2.40 p.m. Wilfrid Noyce and his companion Annullu stood at that moment above the South Col of Everest, at about {{convert|26,000|ft|m|disp=sqbr}}. They were gazing down on the scene of the Swiss drama, and they were also looking upwards to the final pyramid of Everest itself. It was a great moment for them both, and it was shared by all of us who watched it. Their presence there was symbolic of our success in overcoming the most crucial problem of the whole climb; they had reached an objective which we had been striving to attain for twelve anxious days.<ref>John Hunt, ''The Ascent of Everest'', Hodder and Stoughton, 1953, p. 166.</ref>|style=overflow:inherit;}}

== Climbing ==
Once on the South Col, climbers have entered the [[death zone]]; [[altitude sickness]] is a significant threat at this elevation and can easily prove fatal. It is also difficult to sleep, and most climbers' digestive systems have significantly slowed or completely stopped. This is because it is more efficient at this altitude for the body to use stored energy sources than to digest new food.  Most climbers will begin using supplemental oxygen here and have a maximum of only three days to make summit bids. Clear weather and low winds are critical factors in deciding whether to make a summit attempt. If the weather is not favourable within these short few days, climbers are forced to descend, many back to [[Everest Base Camp|Base Camp]]. Climbers rarely get a second chance to return to the South Col on a specific expedition.

In 2005 [[Didier Delsalle]] of France landed a [[Eurocopter AS350]] B3 helicopter on the South Col.<ref name="eurocopter">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0509/whats_new/helicopter_everest.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026162717/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0509/whats_new/helicopter_everest.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2005|title=Landing on Air|publisher=National Geographic Adventure|date=1 September 2005|access-date=24 June 2009}}</ref> Two days later he made the first helicopter landing on the summit of Mount Everest, a feat he subsequently repeated.<ref name=everestnet>{{cite web|url=http://www.mounteverest.net/story/FrenchEverestMysteryChoppersUtopiasummit-VIDEOMay272005.shtml|title=French Everest Mystery Chopper's Utopia summit|publisher=MountEverest.net|date=27 May 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113192323/http://www.mounteverest.net/story/FrenchEverestMysteryChoppersUtopiasummit-VIDEOMay272005.shtml|archive-date=13 January 2015}}</ref> 

In May 2019 the highest weather stations in the world were installed on Everest, one at the South Col and another on a place higher up on the peak known as The Balcony as well as some other stations and locations.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2019/06/mount-everest-highest-weather-station/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613112125/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2019/06/mount-everest-highest-weather-station/|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 June 2019|title=Inside the Everest expedition that built the world's highest weather station|date=13 June 2019|website=Exploration & Adventure|access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref> The weather stations are about {{convert|7|ft|m|1|order=flip}} tall and weigh {{convert|110|lb|kg|round=5|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref name="auto"/> On 21 July 2022, a maximum temperature of {{convert|-1.4|°C}}  was registered at the South Col.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/ThierryGooseBC/status/1550154510860894208|title=Exceptionally high temperature recorded on Mount #Everest! With a high of -1.4°C recorded today (July 21) at the South Col weather station (7,945 m), this is probably a world record at this altitude.|website=Twitter.com|access-date=22 July 2022}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Kangshung face]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [http://www.staeudtner.com/allgemein/south-col-everest/ Painting of the South Col]

{{Mount Everest}}
{{Mountain passes of China}}
{{Mountain passes of Nepal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Col}}
[[Category:Mount Everest]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of Nepal]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of Tibet]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of China]]


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