White Sherpas: Reaching the Top with the Australian Bicentennial Everest Expedition

Cullinan is the first member of the Australian Defence Force to climb Everest. He achieved this as part of the 1988 Australian Bicentennial Everest Expedition.

Pat’s journey to the summit of Everest started with his days as a cadet at Duntroon and continued through his time as the commander of Climbing Troop at the Special Air Service Regiment. He takes us up Mount Gauri Shankar in Nepal (1980, his apprenticeship), Broad Peak in Pakistan (1986, the rehearsal for Everest), and finally to Everest (1988).

Pat and his climbing partner Paul Bayne reached the summit of Everest in May 1988. It was their first attempt to climb Everest and they endured eight and a half days in the Death Zone on the South Col and above.

The expedition to Everest was five years in planning and the team decided to forgo the usual practice of using climbing sherpas. This prompted the Sherpa Sungdare, who at the time had climbed Everest five times, to say to one of the expedition members, ‘You guys are White Sherpas.’ Three members reached the summit and Pat was only able to spend three minutes there.