After a record breaking spring season on Everest, the mountain will see no rest this summer and now autumn.
summer: Kilian Jornet
As I previously reported, Spanish speed climber Kilian Jornet will attempt to set a speed record by climbing from the Rongbuk Monastery (Tibet) to the summit in a single push. He expects to take around 20 hours to summit and about 35 hours to descend. Kilian and his three partners are already in Tibet. He expects to start the climb in a few weeks.
autumn: Nobukazu Kuriki
And now Japanese climber, Nobukazu Kuriki, will return for his sixth autumn (post-monsoon), no O’s, climbing alone, attempt on Everest. His previous try have been met with drama and injury. He has lost nine fingers on Everest in 2012 during a thwarted attempt on the West Ridge of Everest. In 2015, he reached a bit above the South Col before deep snow forced him to stop.
Now at age 33, he will climb from the Tibet side. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter (EN), Twitter (JP)and his website. He always brings a large film crew along to document his experience, primarily for the Japanese market.
Climbing alone is his “style” of climbing. He has solo climbs of McKinley (2004), Aconcagua, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro all in 2005 and Carstensz Pyramid in 2006. Plus these 8000m climbs: Cho Oyu (2007), Manaslu (2008), and Dhaulagiri (2009). He attempted Annapurna last spring without a summit due to weather.
Kuriki has a loyal following in Japan and raised over 20 million yen (USD $200, 000) on his crowdfunding site. You can read more about Kuriki at this link.
These are the stats for summer and autumn attempts, so you can appreciate the difficulty of what these men are attempting. The last successful autumn summit was in 2010. For both of these climbers, the north side of Everest is cold and windy, even more so as winter approaches. In the end this may be the determining factor for their summit.
Best of luck to all,
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
9 thoughts on “2016 summer and autumn Everest Attempts”
Hi Alan. A bit off topic here but I enjoyed the gear videos you posted a few years ago. I found it quite helpful to see someone showing the gear they use throughout an expedition. Is it possible for you to post an updated gear video with the gear you are currently using?
Thanks Scott, my gear page is pretty up to date with everything I currently use on expeditions. I’ll try do another video before the next big one. Thanks, http://www.alanarnette.com/climbing/gearlist.php
Impressive challenge. Does solo climb means he has no crew to support him ? Just wondering how he could have all the necessary gear, food, for such a long and difficult climb. Could you please explain.
Alain, I wrote about this for his 2014 ‘solo’ attempt:
As a side note on the “alone”, there is a fair amount of controversy about Kuriki’s claim of “solo” given he had Sherpa support at some level and used the ladders in the Icefall that were set by other teams or Sherpas. I prefer the term alone or unsupported above C1 instead of solo but that is what gets sponsors. The term “unaided” is also used.
The first true “solo” was Reinhold Messner’s August 20, 1980 north side climb truly alone – no Sherpas, no teammates, no one else on the mountain, no ropes, no ladders, no Oxygen. It is virtually impossible to be “alone” on Everest these days. Even this year, with the two other teams on the South side, there were over 50 people.
Author Jennifer Jordan notes that Alison Hargreaves became the second person to summit Everest unaided in 1995 – “although she had plenty of company on the North Ridge she went solo – no Sherpas, no teammates, no one else’s ropes or camps. and no oxygen. She even refused cups of tea from others on the Ridge with her.”
Given the Korean and Polish teams on Everest/Lhotse this year, Kuriki was not “alone” at Camp 2 in the Western Cwm. Also his base camp team sent Sherpas up to the West Ridge to help him down.
Thanks Alan for sharing those interesting perspectives.
Practically, even if you could meet other climbers on the way, you would need sufficient volume of food to recharge and survive…how is it possible to carry this by being alone ?
Your welcome. Remember that Everest is usually climbed in “seige style” where multiple camps are established with tents, food and fuel. And the summit attempt is launched from the highest camp and usually last under 24 hours thus no need to carry a lot. Kuriki has experience on other 8000ers thus is capable of summiting Everest in this style.
Thanks for your additional clarification. So if I understand well, he has a crew setting-up gear, camps, preparing food, and the only part which is solo is the climb in between camps. Is it correct ?
Ahh come on Alain, you know better than that. He mostly sets up his own camps but may have some support in terms of his cameraman to at least a mid camp. This kid is strong and determined. I want to give him every props appropriate.
I understand, it is indeed impressive, and wish him all the best…he has strong skills and tough mental.
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