Everest 2007, A "Normal" Year - final

With a record season now finally ended, let's take a look back at this season. All in all it was a "normal" year on Everest, whatever that means!

The season started early - late March - with the arrival of the huge IMG team closely followed by the Xtreme Everest Medical expedition into Nepal. Over on the north it seemed that Hollywood had moved to Tibet for April and May.

Dispatch after dispatch spoke of their "film crew" and some climbers were worried about their bad hair days. But one climber stood out - David Tait. The British climber was on a mission to raise money for his charity by attempting the never before accomplished double traverse. He began posting his thoughts, fears and observation in a rarely seen candid manner.

Another climber also gathered quite a following - TA Loeffler from Newfoundland. TA's dispatches spoke of excitement, traditions, religion, hormones, diarrhea and vomiting. Sadly her early dispatches proved prescient and she had to retire early after illness stole her strength.

As more teams settled into the two Base Camps, the Chinese took center stage on the north. There to practice taking the Olympic torch to the summit, they amassed a huge team of climbers, staff and Army. They even established a cell phone repeater that many on the north enjoyed ... until they took to back home with them!

The South side appeared to take an early lead in making progress up the Hill by getting the Icefall route in a little earlier than usual and C1 and C2 established by the hard working Sherpas. But as has become the norm recently, The HimEx Sherpas stormed the north while fixing lines and stood on top of Everest on April 30 for the second year in a row.

Close behind this team of 5 were two very brave Kazakhs climbers, Maxut Zhumayev & Vassily Pivtsov. They had pushed their acclimatizion process and were now ready to go for the summit. On a cold push, they spent almost 48 hours with little food and water and made it but many wondered if they would make it back down. Well they did with a little help from friends (and strangers). They pushed their envelope and won, but it was huge risk that could have cost them their lives.

The season progressed and the weather cooperated as much as it ever does on Everest. In fact it was hot, so hot that one climber on the north compared it to Hell ... how does he know? Greg Child, on assignment for the Discovery Channel noted the dramatic change in the North Col from his last visit 12 years ago - a potential recipient of climate change. Anyway, the Icefall began to creak and moan as did the powerful expedition company owners who complained about the poor condition of the route. It was fixed.

Sadly, the first death of the season occurred on April 26 when Dawa Sherpa of Thame died while working on the Lhotse Face. Similar to 2006 when three Sherpas died in the Icefall, these hard working souls were taking the full brunt of Chomolungma.

By early May, teams on the south had establish C3 on the Lhotse face and many had performed their duty by spending the "required" night there. Now all they had to do was return to BC, relax and wait for a four day weather window. During the Pujas, several Lamas had set May 21-23 as auspicious days suitable for a summit.

So some climbers were all dressed up with no where to go. Well, not exactly. Down valley is the way! And so it was. Off they went back down to the tea houses for a hard roof over their head, a bed off the ground, different food and, most importantly, oxygen rich air. It seemed like almost every team this year took this approach on both sides thus establishing a permanent change in the Everest acclimatizion formula.

The Chinese took the lead on May 9th with 17 climbers on the summit ... and the torch. Supposedly they actually lit it - well, it was cold up there.

May 16th became the most spoken date on both sides as to the mysterious weather window. Speculation grew as to who would go up and would there be crowding, especially on the difficult Second Step and the Hillary Step. But the major operators put their heads together and some said go and some said wait.

Sensing a good day on May 15th, David Tait and Phurba Sherpa stood on top of the world and immediately departed for the other side. The traverse was underway. On the same day, the Philippine Women summited and headed down making the first traverse by a female climber. Adventure Peaks enjoyed the conditions with their team on the summit. It was crowded and more were to arrive.

Once again Mountain Madness lead the way on the South. Identical to 2006, Willie Benegas and his Sherpa team lead the way with 11 climbers on the roof. The Super Sherpas were next with Apa Sherpa making his incredible 17th summit (17!) plus his team.

However Everest summits seem to always bring Everest deaths. This year it struck on the north when a 62 year-old Japanese climber died just after summiting. Next was the report of two South Koreans who died after a fall on the southwest wall. The rumor of a Czech climber was sadly confirmed. There were now five confirmed deaths this season.

Perhaps as part of this bad karma, David Tait said enough was enough and he was not Superman thus ending his double traverse ambitions. In a rare moment of candid humility shown by climbers, David went on to say that Pherba deserved to stand on the summit if they returned.

After a short break of one day, the action picked up with IMG stealing the night with over 30 climbers on the summit. Adventure Consultants and Alpine Ascents' large teams followed over the next couple of days. The summits continued to mount on the north with the Indian Army, and the impressive 100% success rate by 7 Summits Club and 26 climbers. HimEx did their usual end of the season summit push and put many climbers on top, including a Rock Star for the Discovery Channel TV series.

Not to be left out, many smaller teams and independents enjoyed success this season. The Hampshire Scouts, Lungetivity, DCXP, Pat Hickey, Project Himalaya, Dr. Tim, ICE8000, Paul Adler and more. Yes, it was crowded this year! Probably close to 500 total summits but it became impossible to track each one accurately on both sides.

Still Everest cannot leave drama and tragedy alone for long. Upon their descent, IMG's leaders found a Nepalese climber in trouble and saved her life by getting her to the Xtreme Everest Doctors at C3 on the south. During the rescue they witnessed the fall on Lhotse by Nepalese climber, Pemba Doma - the first Nepalese woman to summit on the north and the first woman to summit from both sides. Now the death toll was six.

Just when it was time to catch our breath, Gavin Bate began his traverse attempt. But something went wrong and he wisely pulled up to return to ABC. Altitude was the culprit and he was strong, experience and smart enough to do the right thing.

So the summits continue into this late May and Everest remains ... well Everest.

Another year of summits and another year of deaths. Plus another year of rescues. Happily, we have not had the ugly David Sharp style incident but still there were too many reports of climbers being stranded, abandoned and in trouble. The safety net of so many climbers and increased awareness that there is a moral side to climbing prevented more deaths.

A popular debate today is how to make Everest safer. I think this misses the point. Everest is not safe, never has been, never will be. It is like saying how to making smoking safer. Climbers make their own choice to climb. No one forces them. Are there people who climb who shouldn't? Absolutely. Should other climbers try to help when there is a problem? Absolutely - that is the unwritten code.

This year there were many examples of climbers pulling the plug on their own climb. They showed excellent judgment and maturity. There were also some reports of operators who pulled the plug on their own climbers. Finally there were several examples of climbers helping climbers. In my mind this is how it should be.

The danger in all this is that operators accept climbers who lack the basic skills to climb an Everest. Also, climbers who put themselves in this deadly environment betting that "someone" will bail them out if they get in trouble. Sadly, these are the chain smokers of the climbing world.

It is way too easy to let the misguided actions of a few take away from the achievements of the many. Everest 2007 was a great season. A record number of summits and an environment the way it should be. We had new climbers achieve their dream. We had veterans add another notch in their harness. And Everest was Everest ...

Congratulations to all, regardless of your result. You did your best, you took the risk.

Discovery Channel: Everest Beyond the Limit

In a follow-on from 2006, the Discovery Channel is currently showing the 8 part series plus another 4 called "After the Climb". Judging by the hits to this page, it is creating a lot of interest from readers. The most controversial person is Betsy Huelskamp. Her side of the story told in first person can be found at this site.

July 3, 2007

The Final Summits of 2007
The Altitude Everest put three climbers and three Sherpas on the summit on June 14th about 83 years after the Mallory-Irvin expedition. Conrad Ankor and Leo Houlding did free climb the second step without aid so it was purely a "free climb" unlike his 1999 climb. There was some controversy when their press release machine claimed he was the first to free climb it when in fact there have been several before him. But that is how it goes in this world: claims and counter-claims. He acknowledged he was the first in a follow-on posting on their site. After all this, I am a bit perplexed exactly what they proved since they did not use original clothing at high altitude and they showed free climbing could have taken place but that was never a huge, pressing question for many Mallory researchers. All in all their summit felt like a huge movie tailor to promote the documentary.

Random Notes
The Chinese are paving the final 61 miles from the Tingre area to base camp (north) in preparation for next year's Olympic torch summit team. Environmentalists are up in arms but the Chinese have been paving roads in the area for a while now using them for airstrips. They area also upset about the lack of respect for the locals and the fragile eco-system. Speculation is for a nearby hotel to be built soon.

June 9, 2007

A mid Summer's Summit?
The Mallory re-creation team, Altitude Everest, ran into some health issues the last few days so now their summit is set for June 14th. They had wanted to do the climb on June 8, the same date Mallory went up in 1924. But at this rate they will be there when the Fall season starts! Seriously, some kind of stomach bug, probably our old friend Guardia, kept the team in tents and on toilets. They need to get stabilized with more fluids and electrolytes before going up again.

The current plan is for five climbers to go for the summit on June 14th with 15 Sherpa in support carrying cameras, oxygen, food and water.

Unarmed on Everest
There was a lot of interest in Cato who's no arm attempt of Everest was closely followed. Here is a first hand report of what happened:

I am a Norwegian climber living in London, I got to the summit of Everest 5^th June 2005 with Himex.

I know a little bit of the story why the Norwegian didn`t make it this year.  They tried for the summit on the 16^th May but got turned around below the 2^nd. Step they waited there for a long time but after one hour their sidar Dawa turned them around.  He was worried about the weather report for later in the day, the winds were going to pick up and they did not want to have to wait at the top of 2^nd step coming down again.  They were very disappointed since they were all feeling good and especially Cato. They left Everest soon thereafter. 

Random Notes
If you tried to register for email notifications and did not receive a verification email, you are not registered. Sometime SPAM filters trap them so please register again. Use the form at the top of this page. Dispatches will start from Denali in a few days.

June 7, 2007
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June 6, 2007

Not Over Yet!
And then there was one - team that is. Altitude Everest is looking for a summit bid in the next few days, June 8th, after completing their acclimatizion climbs. This will be especially interesting to watch given they will climb the lower part of the mountain using clothing and equipment similar to what George Mallory and Sandy Irvine used in 1924. There is no doubt that Mallory and Irvin almost made it to the summit, the question is did they actually summit? Think about it, these guys used leather boots with nails in the soles, wool clothes and woven ropes. They had to spend months just getting to BC. Now climbers used the latest technology to reduce weight and jeeps and helicopters to get in and out fast. What they did was remarkable to say the least.

Bad Water
With climbers now home, I am getting a few emails with details on various events. For example, Bill Burke notes that some of the stomach problems on the south side this year were tied back to bad water (giardia) at Camp 2 by BaseCamp MD. Apparently C2 was not a great place this year. In general teams do not bring up the human waste barrels so teams try to go in the same place and it becomes quite a cess pool - literally. So getting clean ice for water can be a gamble if you are not careful.

Random Notes
I leave for Denali this weekend and dispatches will start next week. Sign up now to receive notification of the postings. Denali has had a tough time this year with extreme snow so there have not been as many summits as usual. Should be interesting!

June 4, 2007 - updated

Successful Summits - updated
Duncan Chessell of DCXP reports a successful night:

They are on the roof of the world right now. Not a breath of wind now after mild winds in the night. That WXforecast has paid of big time. No clouds no winds on summit. Make that Seven summits of planet earth for Jacko. Hoooooray!
Seven out of nine of the DCXP team summit in 2007, with the other two all making their highest point possible at over 8450m .
At 12:05am 5th June Mark Sheen set out from high camp closely followed by Rob Jackson and David Chiew at 12:20am.
Mark summited at 4:56am in time for dawn on the summit and set a blistering pace of only 4hrs 51minutes, wow! Must be that high flow oxygen at 4L/min combined with awesome fitness, top job Mark.
David Chiew and Jacko called in from the summit at 5:46am, making it 100% for team two. Well done to the last two who both earlier in the trip fought pneumonia to make a spectacular recovery and summit Mt Everest.

Congratulations to all for their incredible patience. Personal congrats to Mark Sheen whom I was with last year in Pakistan - well done mate! Now get down!

Project Himalaya Summits - updated
And more tonight with 3 more on top in perfect conditons but with the winds picking up.

Summit Push Now!
Teams from Duncan Chessell of DCXP and Jamie McGuinness of Project Himalaya are high on the north side at C3, 8200 meters. Climb safe guys!

June 3, 2007

Everest 2007 Weekly Update - June 3
As expected both base camps emptied out and climber after climber reported the joys of being back home. But it was not without incident as Dr. Tim Warren noted when he was back in Kathmandu trying to get home:

... the Maoists declared a Kathmandu strike the day we were supposed to vamanos. The streets were barricaded with tree trunks, rocks, and bonfires as our 20 person bus with at least 50 people on it gradually picked it's way thru the chaos. We suddenly came upon a mob of hundreds but our busdriver was able to quickly take a back road. Fear started to well up and I reminded Dave next to me to identify our nearest exit which was difficult in the totally overloaded bus. Our fears were realized minutes later when a second mob stopped the bus and ripped the busdriver out and he began pleading for his life. Others began letting the air out of the tires and demanding that all Nepalis leave the bus. I realized that if one provacative event occurred now the whole place would erupt in violence.It was a scene right from CNN! Suddenly the bus began to move and minutes later we were at the airport....but our flight had left and our luggage had not gotten delivered. Three days later we managed to get a flight to Bankok then to Hong Kong, then to LA ...

To recap some of the inevitable firsts from this year we start with the oldest man to summit, 71 year-old Yanagasawa from Japan and then the youngest American to finish the 7 Summits, 18 year-old Samantha Larson. The record 17th summit by Apa Sherpa. I am sure there were more with 500 plus summits!

Duncan Chessell of DCXP and Jamie McGuinness of Project are still looking at a June 5th summit and the Altitude Everest - Mallory expedition - is looking at June 11th. Altitude reports that stable weather, clam winds and warm temps are forecasted for the rest of this week.

South Statistics
Courtesy of Mariann Csikesz of Hungary tracked and analyzed the summits on the south. As many know, the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism keeps good numbers of who summits. There is no similar tracking for the north. Mariann noted that there were 241 summits: 115 climbers and 126 Sherpas. The nationalities break down as follows (well done to my British friends!)

June 1, 2007

A Small Crowd on the North
Duncan Chessell of DCXP provides a nice run down of who is left on the north. They are still looking at a summit bid for Monday, June 4th when the wind finally calms down ... but only for a single day! So they have to get up and down very fast - no room for error at this point. The next window is another week at JUne 11th but people are wasting away up there - literally.

Here is who is left according to Duncan: his team with 4 climbers and 4 Sherpas, Project HImalaya: 3 climbers plus 3 Sherpas, A Brazilian couple and a lone Indian with a Sherpa - an interesting couple according to Duncan:

He calls himself Babu, is 26, from Hydrabad, initially required a sherpa to escape from his sleeping bag... But after 3-4 lessons seems to have that sussed out, now he just has to master putting on crampons and climb Everest, simple really. On his side he does have one sherpa, 4 bottles of oxygen, tents on the mountain at each camp, so he may get high yet. This place attracts all sorts. He is a really nice guy and we hope he looks after himeself. We will try to keep an eye out for him.

So we have 10 climbers and at least 12 Sherpas - a long way from the thousand just a month ago!

May 30, 2007

Tick, Tick, Tick
It seems like every year, there is one team that shows extraordinary patience on Everest. This year it has to be Duncan Chessell with his Project Himalaya team of four climbers. Their overriding concern is the ever shorting weather window. They are now looking at a short window on June 3rd for a summit. Duncan is playing safe however:

Duncan (me) will be stationed at the north col with 2-3 Sherpa as a rescue team for the second summit push. My role will be monitoring everyone's location on the mntn, carefully recording oxygen usage and everyone's progress along the summit ridge to allow for safety. We have a strict summit times plan with specific milestones along the ridge for everyone to achieve in set times. We also will have support/rescue sherpa positioned at 8200m high camp and north col, 7050m. While I felt very strong and comfortable on the last summit push my role as leader is best served from a more support/advise/overseeing role for team#2.

His team is down by one more climber. Understandably, being the last team on the Hill is incredibly difficult. Also, going for a second try to the top requires amazing diligence. So all this conspired on Rob North:

"Just don't feel strong in the body and the mind to go through it all again to get the last 300m in"

Well done mate, well done. Let's not forget these guys.

Climbing in 1924 Clothes
Meanwhile the Altitude Everest team are continuing their acclimatizion climbs. They are at ABC today and have set a summit date of June 11th. Remember they will be in 1924 clothes, simulating the reality of Mallory's attempt. They will remove the ladder at the second step as well. Let's hope they replace it if I am there next year!

May 25, 2007

Who You Are and What you Think
Not only were there a record number of summits, there were a record number of visitors to this site over the Everest season, a record number of you voted in the various polls. Here is what you said.

First, who are you? Well about half of you are passionate observers of Everest. You became interested in it through books, films or friends. About a quarter of you climb on a regular basis and some of you were on Everest this year! This site was a regular stop for some expeditions during the season as well.

What is success on Everest? Well this was almost unanimous - doing your best and getting back home with all your fingers and toes. But twenty percent said a climber could only claim success on Everest if they summited. Many commented that success also meant not to endanger other climbers.

So what is a reasonable price to pay to climb Everest? It seems that most people felt anywhere between $20K and $50K with the lower amounts getting more votes. But a few said more than $50K and some said price was no object! I bet some guides would like your names (I don't collect names, sorry.) Then 17% said they would never pay to climb a mountain. That will be tough with the permit fees involved.

A more controversial subject in the climbing world is if using supplemental oxygen was acceptable. Here is what you said: yes. Over 85% said it was OK or it didn't matter. 20% said it was cheating or in poor st lye. I have not done a complete analysis but I estimate no more than 20 out of 600 climbers (not Sherpas) attempted Everest his season without supplemental O's.

Now for the stunts - you know the climbers who are climbing in shorts, climb the fastest, the first from ... or to ... Well it was pretty much split down the middle. Half felt it was just fine if that is what the climber wanted to do and half said it was disrespectful and Everest was not the place to do it.

The polls are still open if you want to weigh in.

I was asked many times how I got my information so here is an overview. First, the majority came from the on-mountain dispatches posted by individual climbers. They were the most transparent, honest and candid in what they wrote. I also had direct contact with some climbers. and finally, friends and family of some climbers kept me informed on their progress. I sincerely appreciate everyone's help. Thank you.

Random Notes
At least five more summits last night on the north side in gusty conditions. The Base Camps are almost empty. Most teams will actually leave BC within 3 days of their summit - amazingly fast. There may be more up there but I think Project Himalaya and Altitude Everest, both on the north, are looking at early June summits. I will keep this page updated as news develops.

My Plans
I am off for some training this weekend. I leave for Denali soon. I am planning on live dispatches during the climb. Check the home page for links. Thanks to all of you for the emails of support for The Road Back to Everest - Memories are Everything. I have found a couple of outstanding opportunities for the donations and will be updating this site with the latest next week. By the way, 100% of all donations go to Alzheimer’s research.

Climb On!
Alan

May 24, 2007 - updated

Everest 2007, A "Normal" Year
With a few climbers still looking to make the summit from both sides in early June, let's take a look back at this season. All in all it was a "normal" year on Everest, whatever that means!

The season started early - late March - with the arrival of the huge IMG team closely followed by the Xtreme Everest Medical expedition into Nepal. Over on the north it seemed that Hollywood had moved to Tibet for April and May.

Dispatch after dispatch spoke of their "film crew" and some climbers were worried about their bad hair days. But one climber stood out - David Tait. The British climber was on a mission to raise money for his charity by attempting the never before accomplished double traverse. He began posting his thoughts, fears and observation in a rarely seen candid manner.

Another climber also gathered quite a following - TA Loeffler from Newfoundland. TA's dispatches spoke of excitement, traditions, religion, hormones, diarrhea and vomiting. Sadly her early dispatches proved prescient and she had to retire early after illness stole her strength.

As more teams settled into the two Base Camps, the Chinese took center stage on the north. There to practice taking the Olympic torch to the summit, they amassed a huge team of climbers, staff and Army. They even established a cell phone repeater that many on the north enjoyed ... until they took to back home with them!

The South side appeared to take an early lead in making progress up the Hill by getting the Icefall route in a little earlier than usual and C1 and C2 established by the hard working Sherpas. But as has become the norm recently, The HimEx Sherpas stormed the north while fixing lines and stood on top of Everest on April 30 for the second year in a row.

Close behind this team of 5 were two very brave Kazakhs climbers, Maxut Zhumayev & Vassily Pivtsov. They had pushed their acclimatizion process and were now ready to go for the summit. On a cold push, they spent almost 48 hours with little food and water and made it but many wondered if they would make it back down. Well they did with a little help from friends (and strangers). They pushed their envelope and won, but it was huge risk that could have cost them their lives.

The season progressed and the weather cooperated as much as it ever does on Everest. In fact it was hot, so hot that one climber on the north compared it to Hell ... how does he know? Greg Child, on assignment for the Discovery Channel noted the dramatic change in the North Col from his last visit 12 years ago - a potential recipient of climate change. Anyway, the Icefall began to creak and moan as did the powerful expedition company owners who complained about the poor condition of the route. It was fixed.

Sadly, the first death of the season occurred on April 26 when Dawa Sherpa of Thame died while working on the Lhotse Face. Similar to 2006 when three Sherpas died in the Icefall, these hard working souls were taking the full brunt of Chomolungma.

By early May, teams on the south had establish C3 on the Lhotse face and many had performed their duty by spending the "required" night there. Now all they had to do was return to BC, relax and wait for a four day weather window. During the Pujas, several Lamas had set May 21-23 as auspicious days suitable for a summit.

So some climbers were all dressed up with no where to go. Well, not exactly. Down valley is the way! And so it was. Off they went back down to the tea houses for a hard roof over their head, a bed off the ground, different food and, most importantly, oxygen rich air. It seemed like almost every team this year took this approach on both sides thus establishing a permanent change in the Everest acclimatizion formula.

The Chinese took the lead on May 9th with 17 climbers on the summit ... and the torch. Supposedly they actually lit it - well, it was cold up there.

May 16th became the most spoken date on both sides as to the mysterious weather window. Speculation grew as to who would go up and would there be crowding, especially on the difficult Second Step and the Hillary Step. But the major operators put their heads together and some said go and some said wait.

Sensing a good day on May 15th, David Tait and Phurba Sherpa stood on top of the world and immediately departed for the other side. The traverse was underway. On the same day, the Philippine Women summited and headed down making the first traverse by a female climber. Adventure Peaks enjoyed the conditions with their team on the summit. It was crowded and more were to arrive.

Once again Mountain Madness lead the way on the South. Identical to 2006, Willie Benegas and his Sherpa team lead the way with 11 climbers on the roof. The Super Sherpas were next with Apa Sherpa making his incredible 17th summit (17!) plus his team.

However Everest summits seem to always bring Everest deaths. This year it struck on the north when a 62 year-old Japanese climber died just after summiting. Next was the report of two South Koreans who died after a fall on the southwest wall. The rumor of a Czech climber was sadly confirmed. There were now five confirmed deaths this season.

Perhaps as part of this bad karma, David Tait said enough was enough and he was not Superman thus ending his double traverse ambitions. In a rare moment of candid humility shown by climbers, David went on to say that Pherba deserved to stand on the summit if they returned.

After a short break of one day, the action picked up with IMG stealing the night with over 30 climbers on the summit. Adventure Consultants and Alpine Ascents' large teams followed over the next couple of days. The summits continued to mount on the north with the Indian Army, and the impressive 100% success rate by 7 Summits Club and 26 climbers. HimEx did their usual end of the season summit push and put many climbers on top, including a Rock Star for the Discovery Channel TV series.

Not to be left out, many smaller teams and independents enjoyed success this season. The Hampshire Scouts, Lungetivity, DCXP, Pat Hickey, Project Himalaya, Dr. Tim, ICE8000, Paul Adler and more. Yes, it was crowded this year! Probably close to 500 total summits but it became impossible to track each one accurately on both sides.

Still Everest cannot leave drama and tragedy alone for long. Upon their descent, IMG's leaders found a Nepalese climber in trouble and saved her life by getting her to the Xtreme Everest Doctors at C3 on the south. During the rescue they witnessed the fall on Lhotse by Nepalese climber, Pemba Doma - the first Nepalese woman to summit on the north and the first woman to summit from both sides. Now the death toll was six.

Just when it was time to catch our breath, Gavin Bate began his traverse attempt. But something went wrong and he wisely pulled up to return to ABC. Altitude was the culprit and he was strong, experience and smart enough to do the right thing.

So the summits continue into this late May and Everest remains ... well Everest.

Another year of summits and another year of deaths. Plus another year of rescues. Happily, we have not had the ugly David Sharp style incident but still there were too many reports of climbers being stranded, abandoned and in trouble. The safety net of so many climbers and increased awareness that there is a moral side to climbing prevented more deaths.

A popular debate today is how to make Everest safer. I think this misses the point. Everest is not safe, never has been, never will be. It is like saying how to making smoking safer. Climbers make their own choice to climb. No one forces them. Are there people who climb who shouldn't? Absolutely. Should other climbers try to help when there is a problem? Absolutely - that is the unwritten code.

This year there were many examples of climbers pulling the plug on their own climb. They showed excellent judgment and maturity. There were also some reports of operators who pulled the plug on their own climbers. Finally there were several examples of climbers helping climbers. In my mind this is how it should be.

The danger in all this is that operators accept climbers who lack the basic skills to climb an Everest. Also, climbers who put themselves in this deadly environment betting that "someone" will bail them out if they get in trouble. Sadly, these are the chain smokers of the climbing world.

It is way too easy to let the misguided actions of a few take away from the achievements of the many. Everest 2007 was a great season. A record number of summits and an environment the way it should be. We had new climbers achieve their dream. We had veterans add another notch in their harness. And Everest was Everest ...

Congratulations to all, regardless of your result. You did your best, you took the risk.

Sneaking in Before the Window Closes - update
The summits continued last night. Pat HIckey made it the top - well done mate! The Xtreme Everest continued to put Doc on the roof - that makes 10 climbers and 15 Sherpas in total. The London Business School (my vote for best expedition name this season) finished up with 4 more. Mountain Madness' Willie Benegas not content with the first summit of the year, took another climber and Sherpa to the summit again last night! Over on the windy north, the South Africans completed their mission by summiting 2 more climbers plus Sherpas. So perhaps as many as 20 more summits last night alone!

When will the madness end? :-) My sincere congratulations to all.

It looks like the winds will now pick up as the jet moves closer to Everest. The next window is around June 2nd so we may see some more attempts then .. or before. Also, the Mallory re-creation expedition, Altitude Everest, is still up there and will recreate Mallory's attempt in early June, complete with original clothing and removal of the ladder at the second step.

Random Notes
Who are you? - tomorrow. More Summits. I will keep posting until all the climbers are off the Hill or mid June when I leave for Denali.

May 23, 2007

The Final Summits?
There were at least 30 more summits last night from both sides. The nice weather stated to collapse on the north side and summit resulting in high winds and snow. Xtreme Everest has six climbers and ten sherpas on the summit this morning. Well done to these Doctors and climbers plus for their help a few days ago with a climber in need. Duncan Chessell puts four climbers on top on the north in the snowy conditions. Looks like Cato Zahl Pedersen, the Norwegian "unarmed" turned back due to a crowded second step plus the weather looking poor on the north.

Random Notes
There are a few more teams still on the mountain, some going for their second attempt. I will keep posting until the season has come to an end. I will do a season summary tomorrow including a look at this year's visitor's poll results. Congratulations to all the climbers, Sherpas, Base Camp staff and home teams this year. Nice job!

May 22, 2007 - updated

The Other Side of the Mountain - update
Gavin with Project Himalayan just reported an his aborted summit bid on the north. Amazing the differences on the north and south side of Everest:

Gavin has just phoned to say that the weather window has closed and they are turning around with the plan to try again for a June 2nd summit. The wind has picked up considerably and frostbite is a real possibility. A storm is coming in and due to hit on the 25th. If for some reason they were to go slower than planned, or the weather were to come in quicker than forecasted on summit day, there is the real potential of getting stuck on the mountain.

It is an Adler Summit! - update
Paul's team reports he is on the top. Looks like he made good time. More later. Well done Paul.

Is That Call for Me?
Have you ever expected call and not received it? That is how it is for Paul Adler's team. He took off from the South Col around 10:00PM local time .. and they waited for the call to come in. And .. well this is happening in real time so check their website for the latest.

On the other side of the Hill is the Lungevity team, without Sherpas and supplemental O's, who's team reports:

The boys just passed the steps that we saw in their presentations!! It is currently 5:58 AM in Tibet and they are still feeling strong and confident. Justin said three hours to go with Brian adding possibly 5 in the background on a radio dispatch. They are moving well and have lots of energy. They were a bit nervous of the wind this morning and got a bit of a late start.

DCXP and Project Himalaya are also headed up tonight on the north. Climb Safe climbers.

Climbers Still on Everest
If you have been enjoying the Everest season thus far and sending positive energy to the climbers, please don't stop now. As the table above shows many expeditions are now finished and are back at Base Camp or even home. But there are still climbers up there: Paul Adler, Project Himalaya and more. Also, don't forget the Altitude Everest team trying to recreate George Mallory's 1924 effort. They will not go for the summit until early June.

I will be reviewing this season in a few days with my annual wrap-up article.

Confirmed Death of Nepali Climber
Pemba Doma died in a fall on Lhotse. This is a great loss to the climbing community and especially the Sherpa of Nepal. She was the first Nepalese woman to summit from the north side and first woman to summit from both sides. Pemba was well known and served as a role model to all Nepalese women. My sincere condolences to her family, friends and teammates.

More Summits Today - update
Himalayan Experience (Russell Brice aka HimEx) put the second team on the summit. This was partly a Japanese team and also included a familiar name to many by now - Mogens. Greg Childs notes that one of the Japanese was 71 year-old Yanagsawa:

Frankly, Yanagasawa had seemed an unlikely candidate for the big climb. Throughout the trip he moved at a slow, shuffling pace whenever he hiked along the glacier. But the former farmer, who had set himself the goal of climbing Everest a few years ago, moved up the mountain these past few days with determination, and proved his doubters totally wrong. He said, through translation, that he knew this was his only chance, and so he gave it his all. Apparently his wife in Japan thinks he's on a hiking trip.

Also noted was that Swiss Guide, Joesette Valloton who tuned back a C3. I was with her last year on our Broad Peak/K2 climb. She is an incredibly strong climber and great person. I am sorry to see her turn back but it goes to her excellent judgment.

The SummitClimb - south team also put some climbers on the top but Bill Burke, the 65 year-old American - turned back just under the summit not feeling that he could summit and return safely. As Ed Viesturs is famous for saying: "The Summit is option. Getting down is mandatory."

Congratulations to all these climbers for their judgment and personal success.

Another Rescue and a Potential Death on Lhotse
Various sites are reporting the two Nepalese climbers have fallen on Lhotse and one woman climber has died. This is a separate report from the rescue of a different Nepalese woman who was rescued by IMG at the Balcony.

And over on the north an amazing report by Alexander Abramov of 7 Summits Club that

Italian mountaineer Marco, spent 2 days unconscious in the snow next to camp 8300. He was found by the guide of 7 Summits Club expedition Sergey Kofanov. Sergey quickly organized the rescue operation and got Marco down to North Col. That saved Marco`s life.

Two days above 8,000m unconscious may seem impossible but remember Lincoln Hall last year who was thought dead but then found alive.

Summits, yes they are still up there!
AAI has summited 22 climbers. Let that sink in - 22 climbs on one night from one team. Including Jeanne Stawiecki, the only person to run a marathon on all 7 continents and compete the 7 Summits. It looks like the great weather has deteriorated a little with high winds reported on the descent and now by climbers at the very high camps on both sides. Well done to all!

Random Notes
DCXP and Project Himalaya are going for their summit tonight on the north and Paul Adler on the South. Both are reporting high winds.

May 21, 2007 - updated

Drama on the South - update
Paul Aldler noted in an interview with Australian TV this morning that a Nepalese woman climber (not Sherpani) was in trouble above the South Col. Now we hear from Eric Simonson that the IMG team came to the rescue after she as "abandoned" by her team:

It sounds like Dave, Casey and Mike had their hands full today with a climber from another expedition that had been abandoned at the Balcony and was in very bad shape. From what I understand the three of them with the help of a couple of other people managed to get this individual all the way down to Camp III where they were able to turn them over to the Extreme Everest team who is taking care of them now. So Dave, Casey and Mike did a stellar job not only going up today, but also coming down helping another climber in distress. Again it sounds like they all made it down to Camp II and all is well on Mount Everest.

Nice job by the IMG team and the Xtreme Team! Perhaps this is why the death toll is down this year ... more people helping people. It has not been disclosed what "team" she was on.

By the way, Mike and Casey of the Coleman team made the summit in style. Nice job guys.

Summit Updates
Megan McGrath of Canada has just summited with her Asian Trekking Sherpa. Summit Climb reports 5 more summits from the north. Well done to all!

HimEx just reported 14 people on top: 8 climbers and 6 Sherpas. And yes, Tim, the Biker and Discovery Channel Rock Star made it. Now get down safe! Congrats again to all.

The weather continues to be great with reasonable winds (for the summit of Everest) and mild temperatures (for the summit of Everest). They should ahve some incredible views and nice photographs! Look for more reports of summits over the next few hours. I will give a full update later today.

Massive Summit Success
There have been at least 70 summits over the weekend including more from IMG, Adventure Consultants and 7 Summits club. For these three teams it looks like almost all their members got on top. While the numbers are impressive, remember that a lot of these summits are by the Sherpas. Not to take anything away from the "clients" it is just good to keep the overall summit success on Everest in perspective. It is appropriate to acknowledge that it is the "Sherpa Machine" that makes Everest doable for 99% of those who summit. In any event, congratulations to all those who have summited this season.

Direct from Gavin Bates
A new posting on Gavin's site gives first hand details of what happened to him on his summit bid. I want to be sure to acknowledge his tremendous success and past summits and I post this only to serve as education and a lesson for all potential climbers. The headline in my mind is that altitude illnesses can hit anyone, anytime and without warning There is noting you can do to prevent it other than acclimatizion. Even for a super-fit climber like Gavin, this came out of nowhere. From his site:

Hello Everyone, I have just spoken to Gavin and he has safely reached Base Camp. He says that he feels lucky to be alive and owes everything to the efforts of Pasang Tendi Sherpa who assisted him on the way down. Gavin has a lot of experience on Everest and has never felt or suffered from altitude however this time it was very different. Gavin, as reported, decided to use oxygen for his summit attempt and was going strong however a problem with his mask meant he was not getting the oxygen into his system. If not using oxygen then your pace is slower, more gradual and Gavin would have climbed higher prior to his summit attempt in terms of acclimatisation. Once using oxygen you are dependent on it and if there is a problem then you are stuck with the situation of having to suddenly go without, which is a massive trauma to the body. Gavin was at 8700m when he felt like he was hit by a speeding truck. He quickly realised that he was not in a good position and was suffering with pulmonary oedema. His lungs were full of fluid and he felt that he could go not go up or down. He quickly became hypothermic and felt that his time was up. His organs and brain did not have the oxygen to function nor could they get it from his fluid filled lungs. With the fantastic support of Pasang and other Sherpas on the mountain they managed to make it to ABC. Gavin, usually the person helping others off the mountain, found himself needing the help. He did have a fall as he came down but thankfully sustained no serious injuries. Once at ABC the doctor could not believe that he had made it down considering the level of fluid in his lungs and said that he was lucky to be alive. His lungs were working on about 10% efficiency which would be horrific at sea level never mind on Everest! He had a rough night last night and is on medication to rid his lungs of the fluid. He hopes to get transport in the next few days to Kathmandu where he will undergo more medical checks and we'll hopefully hear from the man himself at that point. Gavin sends everyone his utmost thanks for the kind donations to Moving Mountains and all the phone calls, emails and interest in his climb. As ever with Gavin he is upbeat though in a lot of pain at present but looking forward to getting home.

Random Notes
The Xtreme Everest team is now at C4 on the south as is Megan McGrath and headed up. Paul Adler is at C3. Expect to hear from AAI's big south team anytime today, they are at the South Col. HimEx continues to make progress upward - look for their summits soon. Looks like Elia Saikaly (FInding Life) stopped his summit bid due to foot problems. Bill Burke, 65 and Jeanne Sawiecki, 56 are headed up tonight. 18 year-old Samantha Larson now completed the 7 Summits. This was Dave Hahn's 9th summit - tied the record for a non-Sherpa.

The Adventurists posted the first in-depth interview with David Tait. An excellent read.

May 20, 2007 - updated

The Road Back to Mt. Everest - Memories are Everything
If I may take a personal moment on this Everest 2007 News page. I have set a tough goal for myself called The Road Back to Mt. Everest. This will be a year long journey to attempt to summit Everest in 2008 plus raise $100,000 for Alzheimer’s research. Please read all the details and come along!

Summit Update
Dave Hahn and Punjo Dorje report their summit at 6:25AM. They put it in turbo mode and passed climbers who left hours earlier. Among others, they passed 9 IMG climbers who also made it the top. They report perfect weather - no wind. The AC team also sumitted their team.

Another Busy Night on Everest - update 1
As they say, "Don't change that channel!" We have a ton of climbers all headed to the top of world right now. A summary of the south: IMG (3rd wave), Adventure Consultants (2nd wave), AAI (1st wave), Coleman, Xtreme Everest. And on the north the two big teams from HimEx. Best of luck to all!

Michael Fagin has just noted that the summit weather is ideal: low winds and clear. Dave Hahn just left the South Col and phoned in this report:

I heard people starting to go for the summit from about 8. I think me and Phinjo will be the last ones out of here, that's ok, I'm trying to drag my feet I don't want to run into all these other folks on the steep part up to the Balcony and have them going real slow and that makes us end up being cold, I'd much rather give them a good head start, let us walk our speed up that face and maybe pass them all when the sun comes up, we'll see how that works out. It's still a beautiful night, not a puff of wind, excellent conditions for a climb to the summit of Mount Everest.

Everest 2007 Weekly Update - May 20
What a week! We had almost 100 summits from both sides and are now well over 200 summits for the season if not substantially more. I am not sure where to start!

I think the biggest news was of David Tait and Phurba Sherpa summiting and then continuing to the south Base Camp. They were to return via the summit to the north Base Camp but David said enough and was satisfied with his accomplishment. A day later he was joined by the three Philippine Women: Noelle Wenceslao, Carina Dayondon and Janet Belarmino as they competed their traverse - the first women to do this. On the final traverse of the season, Gavin Bates stopped short of the north summit for reasons not yet disclosed. Congratulation to all these climbers and Sherpas!

Meanwhile, streams of expeditions took advantage of fantastic weather to summit day after day. Of note, Willie Benegas and 3 climbers plus 7 Sherpas: Chongba, Undi, Tendi, Lakpa, Tsering Wangchu, Ang Pemba, and their camp II cook Mila, all reached the summit for the first south summits this year. The SuperSherpas Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa and the support team of Pemba Rinjin, A Rita Sherpa,  Ang Passang Sherpa, Passang Gyaljen Sherpa, Ang Chhiring Sherpa were right behind. This made a record setting 17th summit for Apa! Well done!

SummitClimb put six on the summit from the north and the flood gates were open on both sides.

As long as the weather holds, another huge wave of summits will occur in the next few days. HimEx is headed up today, as Himalayan Experience, DCXP, AAI and others. Climb Safe to all.

Update on Gavin Bates
Gavin turned back during his summit bid on the north due to altitude problems. His site has reported that they were unsure of the details and we will want hear directly from Gavin himself but here is what Greg Childs at ABC with the Discovery Team posted just now. This is frightening for all climbers and especially for those climbing to the extremes without oxygen:

... had been well over 26,000 feet (8,000 meters) that morning on May 19, up near the Second Step, heading toward the summit on an intended traverse of Everest (as David Tait had done earlier on this trip). Then "everything went wrong" and he quickly "lost his marbles." He couldn't think straight, his breathing became tortuous and he began to lose consciousness. "I knew it right then," he said. "This was it."

He was being attacked by just about everything high altitude can toss at you without actually killing you. His lungs were building with fluid, his brain was probably also being hit with a buildup of fluid between the cranium and the soft matter, and all of these symptoms were leading to a shutdown of his body. He still had enough of a survival instinct to pick himself up and spin around, though, and several Sherpas on the mountain who saw his plight helped him down with "a shoulder here and a push there."

Well done Gavin for making the right decision under incredible circumstances. Glad you are OK.

Summit report
7 Summits Club reports their second wave has made it - 7 climbers and an unknown number of Sherpas (why don't they give us their names?).

May 19, 2007 - updated

South Summits - update 1
Adventure Consultants reports 5 climbers on the summit at 5:00AM. The team left the South Col around 9:45. This was an excellent time! A second AC team is leaving tonight for their summit bid. They noted about 25 total climbers on or near the summit from both sides. Think of it, 25 people standing on a space the size of a small flat room on top of the world! Amazing ...

IMG reports another 6 summits plus yet another 6 still on the way!

Czech Death now Confirmed - update
Sadly, the death of a Czech climber rumored until now has been confirmed and his family notified according to this posting on Czech Climbing:

On discusion under this news on the Czech version, the friends of Libor Kozak confirmed that his relatives got the official news that Libor Kozak died there

With respect, this bring the lost climbers to 5: Dawa Sherpa, the two Koreans: Oh Hee-joon, 37, and Lee Hyun-jo, 34, The 62 year-old Japanese climber: Mr. Ishi San and now Libor Kozak. My condolances to all their family, friends and teammates.

The Mayor Stands on top - update
The Mayor of Prauge, Pavel Bem, has sumited from the south with two Sherpas (names not reported, sadly). You may recall he was turned back at the Chinese boarder so he had to quickly make plans to climb from the south. Talk about flexibility!

North Summits and more to come
7 Summits Club put 12 on top tonight with their second team on the way

Now in Tibet is 10 a.m... The First team has gone down from the summit to the Second step. Now they have already passed descent from the Second step, as a key place. Now the team sits on … breakage of connection …. 12 person reached the top and now sit on "mushroom", it is a rock as a mushroom which is at the basis of the Second step. This place where usually rest and leave spare cylinders. On the spot …. breakage of connection …. The weather favours. The second team will begins an ascent on camp of 8300 m in one hour, on road we should meet the first team.

South Summits on a Great Night
IMG made the summit with their first team of 10 around sunrise. It looks like two of their climbers turned back before the summit. It is interesting that IMG was one of the earliest arrivals on the south but is near the end of the summits. This did mean that their climbers spent more time at higher altitudes than most of the other teams. Not that this is bad but it shows that schedules are more of an art than a science on Everest. The Coleman team, on the IMG permit, have left BC for their summit bid.It looks like Gavin Bates attempting a full traverse has turned back below the summit from the north. No word on what the problem was yet.

Illness and Confusion on the North
Greg Childs tells a good story about four Italians climbing together loosely as a "team" They got into serious trouble and the worse was feared. This is another one of those great reads for anyone considering Everest. It brings home the risks and the need for preparation and backup plans. I won't steal the punch line but there were no deaths.

Project Himalaya and DCXP played a pivotal role in helping an ailing Korean climber. He was stopping at the Interim camp on his way down. He was vomiting and had diarrhea. Then:

... he had been sick for 3-4 days. This morning the Tibetans couldn't get him to come out of the tent, so I went to see him three or four times. He did not want any medicine and just wanted to stay, but I told him he must go down. I radioed up to the Koreans and suggested they send a few people to help look after him. Soon after I left Duncan walked past and he made the noise of a helicopter, and so Duncan had a look in, with one climber who was a doctor. Turns out he had appendicitis and was rapidly getting worse, so the two Tibetans there started carrying him down. He was is great pain. Apparently his appendix burst on the way down, meaning you have around 24 hours to live. Of course we had arranged for a jeep and helicopter and by early 19 May he was in hospital in Kathmandu, being operated on.

There was a report of a Japanese women that had problems on her north ascent and perhaps had died. This was about the same time as the confirmed death of 62 year-old Ishi San. Now an update on the Cracking Days Out site plus a solid report has come through from the HimEx team:

Yesterday I'd reported base camp hearsay that a Japanese woman was in a critical condition in a high camp on Everest. Russell assures me that despite grave predictions, she pulled through, was helped down the mountain and is OK at ABC.

Once again, all these incidents show how communication can be confusing and sometime incorrect up there.

Random Notes
The Adventurists website will have the first in-depth interview with David Tait in a few days. Samantha Larson of Long Beach California summited with Henry Todd's ICE9000 team. She is 18 years-old!

May 18, 2007 - updated

Progress Reports - update 2
IMG has left the South Col. 7-Summits Team 1 has left for the summit. Gavin Bates has left C2 on the north. Elia and Gabriel have left the South Col. Paul Adler has decided to wait an extra day due to a concerning weather forecast. Now he will target May 23. HimEx's first team is at C2 on the north.

Exploradus is back at the South Col after summiting last night. London Bus school put 2 climbers on the top, two more tonight. They report the best summit weather in years! Coleman Team notes extreme heat in the Cwm. Adventure Consultants' large team is now at C3 and will move to the South Col tomorrow. They may take a rare rest day at the Col or go straight up tomorrow night. To be decided then. Gavin Bates is making his fast summit bid tonight.

The Emotions of Climbing
Dr. Tim Warren has called it quits during his summit bid.The emotions are on the surface for all the climbers (and family and friends!) and sometimes they just burst out:

Safe but NO summit! Felled by a throat infection related to the weeks of violent coughing.It started 3 days ago and seemed to improve but this morning when in sub-freezing air at 5am as Phinjo and I climbed the Khumbu icefall,we both knew it was over.The dry,freezing air combined with heavy panting constricted my trachea, throat and lungs like a vice. I sat down between crevasses, radioed Tuck at BC and had a good cry. Poor Phinjo was crying too.

Summit Wave - Part Dux
This weekend promises to be busy. With a May 21 target date, teams on both sides are moving higher. Let's review: On the South: Paul Adler and the AT team, IMG, Adventure Consultants and AAI are already at C2 or moving there today. On the North, we have Lungevity, HimEx, DXCP, 7 Summits and Project Himalaya. The weather window looks good so expect a lot of activity on Sunday and Monday.

Stomach Problems this year
Yet another climber has aborted their summit bid due to stomach problems. Summit Climb - South reports a climber who departed. TA Loeffler left a week go due to Giardia. Even the super strong SuperSherpas had an incident. Is there something in the water source or is the water not being treated properly? The "normal" process for cooks is to boil all the water to eliminate problems and almost all the teams get their water from the nearby glacier ice and melt it. I find it interesting that this has only been reported on the south side this year.

Random Notes
The SuperSherpas, Apa and Lhakpa helped bring down the bodies of the two Koreans killed by rock fall. Speaking of Apa, this was his 17th summit - a record!!! Nima Tashi with Exploradus made his 10th summit. Xtreme Everest Medical research expedition is headed to the summit over the next two days. Their findings will be very interesting.

May 17, 2007 - updated

Quiet Day! - update 2
After all the excitement this week, today is downright boring! Well except for Exploradus who left the South Col at 8:00PM. They Summited!

So here are some more random notes: It is reported that Jamling Tenzing Norgay and Araceli Segarra of Everest IMAX are at BC filming the next move: Everest 3D. (Thanks Chris). Correction on the 15 year-old who summited, she was actually 18. Lots of teams going for the summit tonight and tomorrow, check out the chart and click on the name to go to their site.

Summits and Attempts
ICE8000 summited 9 climbers, Jagged Globe put 6 on the summit and Exploradus aborted their attempt due to extremely cold feet. Rather than risk frostbite, they returned to the South Col and will give it another go tomorrow. Smart move. The largest teams still to go include Adventure Consultants, Alpine Ascents International (AAI), International Mountain Guides (IMG), 7-Summits Club, Himalayan Experience, DCXP, Project Himalayan, Summit Climb-south and others that I cannot track. All in all maybe 300 more climbers including Sherpas. It looks like they are all targeting May 21st for their summit so we are now in a quiet period so to speak.

David Tait Cancels his Return Traverse
In another example of high integrity and good judgment, David has called off his return to the north thus accomplishing a single traverse. His reasons were straightforward: fatigue and respect for Phurba. Please read his entire dispatch but here are a few of his words:

However, during the later part of the endless painful descent I realised two things. Firstly, I was not going to be able, in all seriousness to motivate both mind and body to turn around and do it all again, at least not in the time-scale allowed. There might be some supermen in this world, but I discovered that I am frankly not one of them. The men who are however, are people like Phurba Tashi, and his band of awesome cohorts, who day-in day-out climb, stock, rope and carry loads up and down Everest without the slightest hint of complaint - in fact they appear to accept it as a priviledge. The have an almost alien mindset, and a work-ethic, no-one in Britain can even imagine.

Congratulations David on all counts.

High Altitude Theft
Once again there are reports of oxygen, fuel, stoves being stolen from tents on the north side. Rare on the south side, this is fairly common on the north and teams try to plan for it but when you are independent, it can stop you cold. DCXP reports this happened to Manny

Manni the Canadian, on base services from Arun treks - with his own Sherpa - summited today (17th May) with borrowed crampons (from DCXP) after his first pair were stolen and while he ran out of oxygen at the second step on the way down and his Sherpa adandoned him, worse was to come -in fact when he got back to 8300m high camp his tent, stove, extra oxygen was all cleaned out and his faithless Sherpa no where to been seen….. cavet emptor - buyer beware…..

Saying "see you later"
I must admit that we often hear during the season of climbers leaving BC for their summit bid, but reading Fiona Adler's description of saying goodbye to her husband Paul at Crampon Point was touching. A snippet:

I walked over to the crampon point with them and we were a bit surprised to find it crowded with around 50 people. It turned out that a Malaysian team of 7 climbers is heading up today as well and they have an army of supporters here with them. Paul, Attila and Mingma (Attila's Sherpa) attached their crampons and then it was time to say goodbye and good luck. Paul and I hugged and kissed goodbye but we had talked a lot of the night as neither of us could sleep so we didn't have too much more to say.

Climb safe Paul.

Random Notes - Thank You!
I want to thank all the visitors to the site and to those who have sent me emails. I am not in this to make big bucks or even cover my costs. All I want to accomplish is to bring the world of alpine mountaineering to anyone interested. You probably know that mountaineering is my personal passion. I have several climbs coming up: Denali, Shisha Pangma and Orizaba plus another big one in the works for 2008. I will do real time dispatches for most of these like I have always done. So I am "vested" in all this stuff. The Everest season still has a long way to go, so thanks again for your visits and feedback. If you are enjoying my coverage, then I am accomplishing my goal.

May 16, 2007 - updated

Two Korean Deaths Now Reported - update
An independent Korean news source has reported two Korean climbers have been killed by rockfall on the southwest ridge. Again, my sincere condolences to their family and friends. Here is the report:

Two South Korean mountaineers hit by falling rock died o