Background Articles

Dressing for Everest
What do you wear when the temperature goes from 100° F to 10° F in a matter of minutes? Oh and you have to carry everything in your backpack. Oh and the wind may go from calm to gale force. Ok, let’s not forget a blinding whiteout. Exaggeration, Hyperbole? No, it is the Western Cwm on Everest’s South Col route.

Clothing is one of the most important investments high altitude climbers make. It literally becomes a matter of life and death during the climb. The short answer to the dilemma is layers. In other words a well thought out system of varying weight layers of clothing that are easily removed or added as the conditions change.

There are three basic levels: wick, warmth and wind/snow. Let’s take them one at a time.

Removing the moisture from your skin is the key to maintaining a warm, comfortable and safe climbing environment within your clothing. There are several ways to manage this moisture. Most climbers were very lightweight capilene or merino wool next to the skin. This layer wicks the moisture away from the skin and, hopefully, evaporates.

The other advantage of this layer is that is dries quickly. You always hear never to wear cotton while climbing, this is because it does not wick nor dry. A layer of wet clothing against your skin can accelerate hypothermia, frostbite and even death. Many climbers have suffered this fate thus the importance of the base layer.

The next layer is for warmth. There are many choices here depending on personal preference and/or conditions. I like a medium weight pull over top or a full body suit such as the Mountain Hardwear Powerstretch suit. It is made of a medium weight fleece that breathes thus allowing moisture wicked away from the skin to pass through. Many climbers use fleece jackets.

The final layer is for protection against wind and snow. The standard for high altitude is down. There are two approaches - a full down suit or separate down jacket and pants. The full suit has the advantage of no gaps at the waistline. This is important when you are bending over to clip in or reaching for difficult holds. In high winds, this gap can “leak” and destroy your carefully designed cocoon. You can also sleep in a full suit and bring a lighter sleeping bag to the high camps. The disadvantage is that when it warms up, you cannot easily strip down. The standard procedure is to pull the top down and wrap the arms around your waist. This is very bulky and is still hot.

A separate down jacket has the advantage that it can be used in camps, during rest stops and during the climb. Paints have the same advantage. Down is the warmest insulating material but becomes useless when extremely wet. Primaloft or synthetic down avoids this problem but is not as warm. Most climbers select down for their critical layer at high altitudes.

Some climbers incorporate a gortex jacket and/or bibs as an outer layer in strong wind conditions where it is not extremely cold.

Finally, protection for the hands, head and feet complete the system. Again, layers apply here as well. I covered boots a few posts ago so the summary are cotton socks, double insulating boots and integrated gators to keep the snow out.

Hands are protected with lightweight “liner” gloves followed by a wind stopper type material on a heavier glove. And for the highest altitudes down mittens – not gloves – that create an inner air space to keep fingers warm.

The head is usually protected with a knit skull cap made of windstopper material. As conditions get worse a full balaclava that covers the nose. A cotton neck warmer is a must. Finally the down hood from the suit or jacket competes the cover. Glacier sunglasses that block 99% of the harmful light is a must sometimes combined or replaced by goggles in windy and blowing snow conditions.

As you can see, there are many levels, pieces and approaches that go into the climbing cocoon. It is expensive to get all this gear and also takes some time to get used to wearing the right layer for the conditions. The goal is always not to be too hot or too cold. Click here for a complete list of all my gear.

Training For Everest
How do you train your body to withstand a third of the oxygen in every breath, every muscle screaming for more blood while your insides literally are dying while you sleep? Perhaps an even better question, other than why, is how do you train your mind?

Veteran Everest climbers know what they will experience. First time climbers are shocked at the experience. My personal experience was difficult. I experienced a lung infection that stopped a climb and on another, my body simply refused to acclimatize above 23,000’. With the clear disclaimer that I am not a doctor and everyone should visit their own Doc before entering any kind of Everest training program, let’s talk from experience. Also there are many programs out there so this is just what I like for myself. So what is the best way to train your mind and body to make the top … and return, safely?

There are many approaches to athletic training all the way from the nightly jogger to the weekend warrior to dedicated amateur to the professional. Often it boils down to time and motivation. The vast majority of Everest climbers have full time jobs, full time families and cannot spend several hours a day for a year to get in professional shape.

The professional or highly dedicated will speak of VO2 max which is the maximum rate your body can move and use oxygen during periods of high stress or need. Another couple of terms are anaerobic threshold (AT) and lactate threshold which is when the chemical lactate acid begins to build in your blood stream and muscles thus preventing the body from functionally at full capacity. A qualified doctor or trainer can measure these levels through a series of treadmill and blood tests.

However, the essence of these measures and tests is to determine how to get red blood cells to your muscles and that is the key to climbing Everest. As I discussed a few postings ago, there is a third of the available oxygen on the summit of Everest thus making your heart, lungs and muscles cry out for more oxygen during the climb. Red blood cells, which carry oxygen rich blood to muscles, are increased in response to this lack of oxygen. However this takes time thus the acclimatization process where you “climb high, sleep low” to encourage the production of these red friends.

Training before you get to Everest must begin 12 to 18 months with a focused, intense and balanced exercise program – after a check up from your Doc. In my mind there are three major phases: foundation, aerobic/strength and peaking. The major groups to work on include: heart, lungs, abs, lower back muscles, thighs and calves.

continuing reading plus a sample training schedule

The most common boots used on Everest today are models that incorporate an insulating inner boot and a hard outer boot. The two most popular boots are the Olympus Mons Evo by La Sportiva and Millet’s Everest GTX aka Everest One Sport. These boots also have an integrated gator thus simplifying getting dressed in the morning and providing a closed environment for your foot. I used the One Sport for many climbs and never, ever got cold or wet feet.

Another options used by some climbers is a warm climbing boot such as Kolfach’s Artic Expe. It also has an inner boot that fits snugly inside the hard outer boot. Some climbers use an outer boot for maximum warmth in extreme temperatures. I also have used this boot on Denali and Aconcagua with no problems and without the outer boot.

The key to all these models is the inner boot. It is a soft, space-age material, Aveolite, that feels like a slipper but is extremely warm. Some climbers are starting to add even more warmth, however by stealing a page from skier’s book. Hotronics is a foot bed warmer that is battery operated.

As for socks, most climbers wear at least a thin wool sock and a heavy outer sock from companies such as Smartwool. Some prefer two thick socks but the key here is to buy the boot large enough to accommodate all that bulk.

As for the bewildering part? Feet swell at altitude and especially after long days. But how much? And do you buy a boot assuming yours will or will not? My experience has been to buy a size larger and find socks that fit you well.

The final part of the footwear decision are crampons – you know those spikes that keep you attached to the mountain– hopefully! My choice has always from models from Grivel, like the step-in G14. These are 12 point models with 2 of the points sticking out from the front used to grip steeper slopes or ice. This model comes with a plastic insert that reduces snow buildup under your foot and potentially eliminating the advantage of the crampon in the first place.

All this technology has a price. Boots will run between $500 to $850. Socks, $20 a pair. And another $190 for the crampons. A grand total of perhaps $1000! But then again, how much are your toes worth?

The Kumbu Cough
I have been to the Everest region five times and the Khumbu cough was my constant friend each time. Friend is a nice way of saying a constant companion - an annoying one but nonetheless a companion. BaseCampMD, the website of the medical clinic staffed each spring on the south side of Everest at Base Camp, has a nice medical explanation and article about the cough.

Basically it occurs when air brought into the lungs is too cold and too dry. Thus the lining of the lungs become inflamed and lose their ability to expel moisture and small particles. Bottom line is that in addition to an incredibly annoying cough, it hurts to breath.

You may say, so how bad can a cough be? Well, bad enough that you cannot sleep, ribs can get broken, you cannot breath when climbing and bad enough that all your climbing partners make you sleep in the toilet tent! But for me, it turned into a lung infection that killed any hopes of a summit in 2002. I clearly remember standing at 27,200' between the Balcony and the South Col, violently coughing, dry heaving and finally having zero energy to take another step.

In the category of misery loves company, here is an excerpt from BaseCampMD from a climber in 1924: "Finally, as we approached the level of 28,000 feet [8534 m], the summit being only half a mile away or less, I felt that, as far as I was concerned, it was hopeless to continue. I told Norton that he had no chance of the summit with me. My throat was not only extremely painful, but was getting almost blocked up—why, I knew not. . . . Somewhere about 25,000 feet [7620 m] high [on the descent], when darkness was gathering, I had one of my fits of coughing and dislodged something in my throat which stuck so that I could breathe neither in nor out. I could not, of course, make a sign to Norton, or stop him, for the rope was off now; so I sat in the snow to die whilst he walked on, little knowing that his companion was awaiting the end only a few yards behind him. I made one or two attempts to breathe, but nothing happened. Finally, I pressed my chest with both hands, gave one last almighty push—and the obstruction came up. What a relief! Coughing up a little blood, I once more breathed really freely—more freely than I had done for some days."

For those headed up there this year, the only advice I can offer is to wear a mask or bandanna over your mouth from Namche on. Use hard candy to keep your mouth moist, try to breath though your nose as much as possible and stay hydrated. Check out the BaseCampMD site for more ideas.

Michael, Can you explain what is going on with the "window"?

That is the million dollar question, not that I get a million dollars to do the forecast but I could if I could get this right every time. However, on second thought I truly doubt if I would ever come close to that figure even if I were perfect. I’m going to answer this question in multiple ways as it depends on teams needs.

Here is an example. Not that a group would be unsafe but if it is towards the end of the season, end of May, the group might be much more amendable  of so so summit conditions; winds at 25 to 35 knots vs. winds of 10 knots. It also depends on the strength of the group. Stronger teams could handle the higher winds.

Predicting when the winds are within “safe summit conditions”  is “relatively” not difficult. So predicting winds in the 25 to say 35 winds is not that difficult to predict as compared to the “perfect summit conditions”. However, sometimes the winds get stubborn and stay at the 40 knot range.

Finding that “perfect window“ is certainly a forecast challenge. Perfect wind being winds at say 6 to 20 knots is extremely difficult. For one thing we are talking about winds in the jet stream (Everest summit) and this is the region where the winds in much of May in some seasons exceed 100 knots. So, there just a few days in the year when winds are below 10  knots. 

Another challenge is forecasting models do not seem to resolve the wind speeds of 10 to 30 knots that well. The models many times put the winds in the 10 to 35 knot range.

Finally as a forecaster I have to be really careful in forecasting 10 knot winds.  I have seen many times when the forecast models show winds of 10 knots and they are 40 knots. so, I have seen many times when the forecast models show winds of 40 and they are at 10 knots or even calm.

How long have you been predicting the weather for Everest?

My first forecast was in the spring of 2003. With that being the 50 anniversary of the first summit of Everest I thought that was a good time to start. Another reason I started then was some climbers wanted a forecast for of 2003 so I thought I should  get the Everest weather forecast models tuned up first.

How difficult is it to predict Everest weather?

Having cut my teeth on forecasting for Mt Rainier since 1976 has certainly put mountain forecasting in perspective.With Mt. Rainier having the jet stream and the weather systems aimed it makes that a challenge and also the big source of moisture, the Sound and the ocean, close that also makes for a difficult forecast as well. Having said all that, “cutting my teeth on Rainier” made a great foundation for mountain forecasting and being able to accurately forecast for other regions but does not make Everest forecasting easy. Everest has it challenges as well and here is a very brief list of them:

- While many locations have real time weather observations Everest does not so it makes it difficult to get an exact read on what the real time weather is like. Of note there was a weather station set up on the South Col several years ago but it was difficult to keep the station running and there were some security (theft) issues.

- When a tropical storm moves in from the Bay of Bengal this type of pattern can produce copious amounts of precipitation. The problem is the forecast model output is very unreliable and at times totally understates precipitation amounts and understates the  wind.

- During the post monsoon season, September and October, is tricky since the forecast models do not give a lot of advance warning when the drier and stronger winds kick in.

How do climbers get your forecasts?

I deliver in multiple ways: email to laptops, short text messages to sat. phones, leave voice mail recordings on their phones, fax forecast to office and office sends to climbers, and they can call in to get the forecast.