I
climbed Everest three times!- in 2002, 2003 and
again in 2008. I made it to about 27,500
feet - the Balcony - before health,
weather or my own judgment caused
me to turn back. This site has
extensive information about the
climbs and Everest. Please use
the dropdown menu below the title
of each Everest page.
In 2003, it was the 50th
anniversary of the first summit by
Hillary and Norgay. Mt. Everest is the
highest mountain on Earth. Standing at
29,035 feet or 8,850 meters, it is located
on the border between Nepal and China (Tibet).
Every year, hundreds of climbers attempt
to stand on the summit and hundreds more
trek to the Base Camp. And others climb
nearby Kala Patar to get the best view
of what the Nepalese call Sagarmatha. As
of 2008, almost 3,300 people have stood
on the summit and 210+ climbers have died
trying.
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The menu at the top of each Everest page links to
:
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 My
first view of Everest was in April, 1997 from Kala
Patar. I never dreamed I would climb her, much less
three times. I came within 1,500 feet in May, 2002. I choose
to turn around after realizing that a lung infection
was putting me in serious danger. The Everest
2002 page has a complete trip report while the 2002
Dispatches page has the daily reports during the
climb, including summit night. To see what happened
in 2003, please visit the 2003
Everest page. And the most recent climb can be found
on the Everest 2008 page.
Everest
holds a special allure that spans grandmothers to children
to climbers of all ages. Everest has a special way of transcending
race, gender and religion. In 2002, I climbed the Lhotse
Face with a team from Pakistan, Korea and Russia. Interestingly,
the only squabble was with the Swiss team and only the
leader. Gender is not an issue with women and men being
equal performers.
The history of Everest is astounding: did George Mallory and Sandy Irvine
die going TO the summit or FROM the summit. While Mallory's body was found
in 1999 on the North Side, no evidence was found to determine if they summited
in 1924. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay did summit in 1953 but it remains
vague whether the Kiwi or the Sherpa stood on top of the world first. Reinhold
Messner is acknowledged as the first to summit without bottled oxygen.
And of course the fifteen deaths in 1996 set the tone for modern times.
There are five major parts to climbing Everest from the South Side: Khumbu
Ice Fall, Western Cwm, Lhotse Face, South Col and of course the summit
bid.
The Khumbu Ice Fall is a 2,000 foot climb on a moving glacier complete
with deep crevasses and towering seracs. You step over the crevasses on
aluminum ladders with crampons on your boots. It takes three to five hours
depending on acclimatization. It is the first step in climbing Everest.
 Atop
the Ice Fall is Camp 1 serving as a weigh station to the Western Cwm. The
Cwm is a 'U' shaped valley carved out by the Khumbu glacier. Everest is
on the North, Lhotse is directly ahead and Nuptse is on the right or South.
The Cwm is straightforward but has several dangers. First it is hot. Temperatures
can easily reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun is focused by the snow
and ice covered walls of the valley and lightly filtered at this 22,000
foot altitude. Then there are the crevasses. Many are crossed on ladders
but others remain hidden by thin snow bridges. It was on one of these bridges
that I feel into a deep crevasse in 2002. Camp 2 sits atop the Cwm and
serves as Advanced Base Camp and a launching pad for the summit.
The next stage is the Lhotse Face. Lhotse is the fourth highest peak in
the world at 27,920 feet. The face is a steep wall of hard packed ice and
snow that holds Camp 3 at the edge of the Death Zone at 8,000 meters or
26,200 feet. You  climb
the Lhotse face twice during the attempt on the summit. First as an acclimatization
climb and then on the way to the summit. It is not uncommon for someone
to die on the Face. The steep angle and hard ice make it difficult to get
a grip with your crampons. You must be clipped into the fixed line at all
times - even at Camp 3.
Once at Camp 3 on the way to the summit, you must cross the yellow band
and the Geneva Spur on the way to the South Col. These barriers, while
not technically difficult, are a challenge at an altitude of 25,000 feet
and 6 weeks of expedition life. The South Col is another world. Sitting
between Everest and Lhotse at 26,300 feet, it serves as the base for the
summit attempt. You don't spend long here since the weather is always temporary
and the altitude destructive. A quick eight hours to eat and rest and then
on to the summit.
The summit bid starts before midnight with a steep climb up the South side
of Everest. Reaching the Balcony at 27,500 feet, you turn West up the ridge
to the South Summit, over the Hillary Step onto the Summit Ridge and then
... the summit. I don't know what this is like since I turned around just
below the Balcony.
So that is what it is like to climb Everest. What it takes is entirely
different. I invite you to visit my pages on the 2002
climb and the 2003
climb. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
try to answer to most popular questions I receive and the dispatches try
to bring you into the experience as best I could.
Let me know what you think. Send me an email. Climb
on!! |
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