Liu Yongen Deng

The climbing of Mt. Everest by a Chinese expedition comprising eight men and one woman in 1975. The expeditoin, led by Shi Zhang-Chun, leader of the 1960 Chinese ascent, was organized by a 'Party Committee' and included Wang Fu-chou, one of the 1960 summiters. This was military-style expedition that used soldiers to carry supplies to the North Col and siege tactics to progressively reposition camps higher and higher up the mountain. A final assault camp is established between the First and Second Steps at 28,500 feet (8,680 meters) by the Mushroom Rock, and the Second Step is prepared with an aluminum ladder to overcome the final vertical headwall pitch. A team of nine climbers - eight Tibetan and one Chinese - reaches the summit on May 27, including a Tibetan woman, Phantog. Phantog becomes the second woman to summit Everest, losing this honor to Junko Tabei by only a few days. She is the first woman to summit from the Tibetan side.