Everest 2012: “Trapped”

For the first time in several years, teams are dealing with a lot of unknowns on Everest. There is a combination of confidence, determination and a bit of anxiety among the leaders who are now working together to provide safe passage for all the climbers. Both sides have their challenges but wind is the common theme.

A Cold Truth on the North

Let’s start with a clear statement on the North from Alex Abramov with 7 Summits Club who only yesterday posted he felt “trapped” at ABC not wanting to go back to base camp but not able to go higher due to the winds

Today we spent a night at the North Col (7000m). I do not remember last few years such a heavy night. A very strong wind was, beater, very cold.

Australian Andrew Lock attempting a north summit without supplemental O’s put it on the line:

The jet stream really is giving us a hard time this season. It’s not just colder but we are being constantly blasted by gale force winds. There’s no chance for a summit in these conditions. It’s going to be a waiting game for a while but even when things ease, it will be a tough climb.

Dodgeball on the South

On the South, it looked better yesterday but was what climbers call a “sucker hole” and several teams did climb the Lhotse face in brutal conditions according to Adventure Consultants who is holding at Camp 2:

Right now we are all in a holding pattern at Camp 2. Jet Stream winds persist, despite yesterdays relative lull (sucker ‘hole) which meant some folks had a punishing night at Camp 3.

IMG’s Eric Simonson puts it bluntly:

The jet stream has been parked right over the top of Mt Everest the last few days, and winds up high have been ripping. Current forecasts have the high winds persisting for several more days. IMG leaders Greg Vernovage and Ang Jangbu report that the fixing crew has been unable to move beyond the Yellow Band and have not yet reached the South Col. The wind has also been knocking a lot of rocks down the lower part of the Lhotse Face, near to the climbing route. We have decided to hold off sending the IMG climbers up to Camp 3 until things settle down a bit, so IMG guides Mike Hamill, Andy Polloczek, Justin Merle, and the guided and hybrid climbers are having a good acclimatization rotation up at Camp 2.

Valiant efforts

But not everyone is waiting as Kenton Cool explains their aborted attempt:

Monday dawned cold and windy, the plan was to climb up and ‘tag’ Camp 3 with some other folk. We left Camp 2 on the back of a very bad night’s sleep, the wind kept everyone awake so it was a number of grumpy people that left around 7am. The climb to the bottom of the Lhotse face was fine, it was a little cold but nothing too bad…..all of a sudden just beneath the face the wind picked up and never left. It was brutal, gusting maybe 50-60mph but never less than 30. For me it was a no brainer, having experienced bad weather all over the world I didn’t need to risk frost bite on a simple acclimatisation run to Camp 3. I turned around and trotted back to camp to a welcomed cup of hot tea.

Forest and Trees

It is easy to get lost in all the detail so let’s step back and look at the big picture. First and foremost, it is only May 2 meaning there are 29 climbing days left on the south; more on the north. Second, while concerning, avalanches, rock fall and cold and windy conditions are part of Everest. So while a bit more extreme this year it comes with the territory and expedition leaders and experienced climbers are used to dealing with these challenges.

All eyes are on the weather maps watching for the build-up of monsoons off the Indian coast. Usually this helps move the jetstream north thus lowering the winds. Historically, it happens like clockwork in mid May.

Some teams will re to base camp on the south to wait for safer conditions while others will push the envelope and check-off Camp 3 or the North Col. There are no rules on Everest and this is what separates expeditions. By the way, this is also what makes climbing Everest challenging and exciting for anyone pondering if it has become “irrelevant”.

A closer look at the schedule shows a trip to Camp 3 only takes 2 days – up and down. Then the summit push from base camp takes about a week thus we have about 10 actual climbing days left with 29 days remaining – a nice cushion!

Finally, in 2005, the jetstream sat on the summit throughout early May forcing the latest first summit day in 45 years of climbing Mt. Everest, May 21st. Norgay and Hillary did it on May 29, the earliest was April 4 in 1984.

As I continue to say, climbing Everest is all about patience. The route will get set, the winds will let up, the climbers will climb.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything