| South Col Route | ||||||
| BC | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | Summit | |
| Adventure Consultants | ||||||
| Alpine Ascents Int. | ||||||
| Altitude Junkies | ||||||
| Asian Trekking Eco | ||||||
| Australian Everest | ||||||
| Himex | ||||||
| IMG | ||||||
| Jagged Globe | ||||||
| Kari Kobler | ||||||
| Laserer-alpin | ||||||
| Mountain Link | ||||||
| Mountain Madness | ||||||
| Mountain Trip | ||||||
| Malta Everest | ||||||
| Peak Freaks | ||||||
| RMI | ||||||
| Summit Climb | ||||||
| 7 Summits | ||||||
| Northeast Ridge Route | ||||||
| BC | ABC | C1 | C2 | C3 | Summit | |
| Adventure Dynamics | ||||||
| Adventure Peaks | ||||||
| Chessell Adventures | ||||||
| Project Himalaya | ||||||
| Summit Climb | ||||||
| 7 Summits | ||||||
| e= climb ended, x=last reported location, x+ = on summit bid, -x = descending h=high point. | ||||||
| Summit number = client/sherpa Locations are estimates derived from public websites | ||||||
Preliminary 2010 Team List
January 17th, 2009Comparing the Routes of Everest
March 9th, 2010
South Col Route
In a few weeks climbers will trade their warm homes and soft beds for two months of bitter cold, extreme heat and mind numbing oxygen deprivation as they seek to stand on the top of the world.
After deciding to climb Everest, climbers must choose their route. There are over 18 named routes on Everest and a couple that are still unclimbed. The vast majority of climbers use two routes: South Col or the Northeast Ridge Standard aka North Col route.
Both sides have their pros and cons. Up until 2007, the trend was for more climbers to choose the north due to lower costs. But with the Chinese restricting permits over the past few years, the south side has retained the lead as the preferred route primarily due to commercial operators wanting to reduce uncertainty and to limit their risks.
Let’s briefly compare both sides:
South Col Route
| Pluses | Concerns |
| Beautiful trek to base camp in the Khumbu | Khumbu Icefall instability |
| Easy access to villages for pre-summit recovery | Crowds, especially on summit night |
| Helicopter rescue from base camp if necessary | Cornice Traverse exposure |
| Slightly warmer sometimes with less winds | Slightly longer summit night |
Northeast Ridge Route
| Pluses | Concerns |
| Less crowds | Colder temps and harsher winds |
| Can drive to base camp | Camps at higher elevations |
| Easier climbing to mid-level camps | A bit more difficult with smooth or loose rocks |
| Slightly shorter summit night | No opportunity for helicopter rescue at any point |
Now let’s take an in-depth look at both sides Read the rest of this entry »
Interview with Lei Wang: 7+2 is her Dream
March 2nd, 2010
Lei Wang
Lei Wang may be about to accomplish something by her calculations only nine other people have done thus far: stand on top of the 7 Summits and ski the last degree to north and south poles – assuming she summits Everest about 3 months from now.
Growing up in China, Lei spent her weekends catching fish and shrimp but not thinking of climbing mountains and adventure. Her dream was to be a doctor, a scientist or maybe a writer. Her parents never considered her hidden passion for exploration.
But all that changed when she stood on top of Kilimanjaro. Something spoke to her and she went on to climb five more of the seven summits and ski to both poles. When she discovered that no Chinese woman had climbed the 7 Summits, her resolve was set.
She attended Beijing’s Tsinghua University graduating with a degree in computer science and then moved to the US in 1995 to attend UNC-Chapel Hill. After a few years in the workplace, she returned to school and graduated from Wharton Business School with her MBA. But at this junction in life, she choose climbing and adventure over the traditional post-MBA route. Lei said of her decision: Read the rest of this entry »
A.C. Sherpa: Everest last of the 7 Summits
March 1st, 2010Ang Chhiring Sherpa now lives in Mercer Island Washington, just outside Seattle. And this man has a dream of helping those back in his native Nepal. With his hopeful summit of Everest this spring he will have completed the 7 Summits he started with his summit of Denali on June 17, 2009.
His cause is to raise money for his Himalayan Women and Children Foundation. Also to raise money and awareness for the health clinics, schools, hydroelectric project and airplane strip that he intends to establish in the Salleri area of Solu Khumbu, Nepal.
A.C was born in Nepal and came to the US to join his brother and graduated from Mercer Island High School. When he returned to Nepal, he was inspired as he told his local newspaper:
“One of the reasons that I personally wanted to take this responsibility is because Sir Edmund Hillary, climbing one time, gave so many things to Sherpas — four high schools, six medical clinics — in the district area, but didn’t reach the village area.”
He and his wife, Dr. Allison Han, a dentist, have since free mobile dental and medical clinic in Salleri, Nepal.
Here is AC on YouTube: Read the rest of this entry »
Reinhold Messner: Mental Toughness
February 27th, 2010
Reinhold Messner
Most people, even non-climbers, know the name Reinhold Messner. He is arguably the finest Alpinist of all time. His firsts in climbing are legendary and include the first summit of Everest without supplemental oxygen and then he reported the feat on the North side – solo. He was the first climber to summit all fourteen of the 8000 meter peaks without supplemental oxygen.
The Italian climber defined what today we call style with his minimalist approach; climbing without ropes or support staff (porters, Sherpas) when possible.
In the attached excellent documentary, he speaks a length on the mental challenge of climbing and that it took him a longtime time to learn how to manage his mind, especially when climbing solo. Read the rest of this entry »
Interview with Mike Farris: Alone on Everest
February 23rd, 2010
Mike Farris
A constant debate within the climbing community is not what you climb, but how you climb. Style. It is all about style. Mike Farris found himself in the middle of this argument on the summit of Everest last spring.
He climbed with style but paid a price with the removal of portions of seven fingers, both big toes, and portions of six smaller toes.
Climbing pundits will rate Reinhold Messner as a superior climber to Ed Viesturs even though both climbed the fourteen highest mountains on earth without supplemental oxygen. Messner climbed new routes and Viesturs used standard routes. Messner had superior “style” according to the pundits.
Mike had over 30 years of climbing under his belt. He is an experienced rock and ice climber and a veteran of five 8000 meter expeditions including K2. Read the rest of this entry »
Interview with Anne-Mari Hyryläinen: The First Finnish Woman on Everest?
February 21st, 2010
Anne-Mari Hyryläinen
Finland is usually associated with Nordic sports like ski jumping and cross country skiing. Now Anne-Mari Hyryläinen wants to make history by being the first Finnish woman to summit Everest.
An accomplished marathoner, she saw Mount Everest for the first time while bicycling from Lhasa to Kathmandu. She stopped at the north side base camp and the dream was born.
Her training has taken her to Europe and Asia including Mount Blanc (traverse, Goutier 3-summits route) and several 6/7000 meter high peaks in Nepal (incl. Tukuche Peak, Chulu West, Kang Guru).
She currently lives in Dubai with her husband so the cold and harsh weather of Everest may be a welcome change from the heat and sand of the desert! While training for marathons she experiences the hardships of the coldest of conditions which is excellent preparation for Everest. Read the rest of this entry »
South Side Update from IMG’s Eric Simonson
February 19th, 2010
Eric Simonson
Last week we looked at the north side of Everest for 2010, now let’s have a quick look at the south for 2010 through the eyes of IMG’s Eric Simonson.
As many know, IMG is one of the largest operators on Everest and the other highest peaks around world. They were featured on the Discovery Channel’s Everest: Beyond the Limit in Season 3, which aired in late December.
A Towering Serac in the Khumbu Icefall
By my count we are approaching over 20 teams for spring so it will be quite crowded.
Safety is always the primary concern of climbers and operators so I wanted to see if there are any plans to address the notorious bottleneck sections like the Yellow Band and the Hillary Step.
Also with so many large (and experienced) operators now focusing on the south side, would they begin to work more closely on route fixing similar to what had been done on the north side earlier last decade.
Last year, we saw instability in the Icefall that produced not only drama for television but serious angst with the climbers and most importantly and tragically, took the life of Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa. Read the rest of this entry »
North Side Update from an Expert: Jamie McGuinness
February 9th, 2010
Jamie McGuiness
It is about a month before teams from all around the world pack their duffel bags for the flights to Kathmandu. Thus far the south looks like business as usual with about 16 teams already announced. To put this in perspective, in 2007, when we saw a record number of Everest summits, there were about 17 teams on each side.
One question for 2010 is how the north will shape up. It has been a few years since climbing was open from the north. The Chinese closed Everest with their desire to celebrate the 2008 Olympics in Beijing by taking the torch to the summit.
This created difficulties in getting permits and access to routes in 2007 when they did a practice climb and again in 2008 when they took a torch to the summit. In 2009, violence in Lhasa resulted in China closing Tibet to foreigners for most of the climbing season. Read the rest of this entry »
Interview with Ellen Miller – the Quiet Climber
February 7th, 2010
Ellen and Nima Tsering Sherpa
Ellen Miller is a quiet climber. She is so quiet that many people would never know the achievements of this accomplished athlete and mountaineer. For example, she is the only woman to summit Everest from both sides within the span of one year.
I first met Ellen in 2002 on the expedition where she summited from the Nepal side. She was a quiet and confident person with a natural bent towards giving encouragement to others. She was clearly the strongest climber on our team.
I remember on summit night as we all left the South Col together, watching her and Ang Dorge Sherpa disappear up the Triangular Face at an amazing pace. They were one of the first to summit that night.
Ellen, a long time Vail resident, is no stranger to mountains. She has summited Cho Oyu, Mustagh-Ata, Denali, Ama Dablam, Aconcagua, and Kilimanjaro in addition to the volcanoes of Ecuador and all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks. Read the rest of this entry »
An Urgent Request from EverestER
February 6th, 2010
Luanne Freer
The Everest base camp medical clinic “Everest ER” will be on the mountain in April 2010 for our 8th season (!) As always, we offer services to base camp climbers, support staff and trekkers-through in support of our mission to prevent and treat illness at high altitude and to use proceeds for care from non-Nepalis to subsidize free or low cost health care for our Nepali friends. The 2010 staff will be comprised of myself, Lakpa Norbu Sherpa (our faithful logistics coordinator,) Dr Steve Halvorson, and Dr. Peter Hackett, longtime HRA volunteer and world renowned altitude expert (and Everest summitteer!) will join us for the month of May. We plan to carry out a research project aimed at answering a plaguing question a high altitudes everywhere – what’s the best treatment for high altitude “Khumbu” cough? Read the rest of this entry »
Interview with Eugene Constant: Turning Back from Everest
February 5th, 2010
Eugene and his mom
Not everyone who attempts Everest, succeeds. And I should know! Last spring French climber Eugene Constant made an attempt with Russel Brice’s Himex team – complete with the Tigress Production cameras rolling for season three of Everest: Beyond the Limit.
Climbing Everest was his dream. He had trained for years, even managed a delay of one full year after the Chinese pulled his team’s permit due to the Olympics conflict in 2008. He was determined to do his best and to raise money for his cause.
However, Eugene called a halt to his climb. Often we focus on the summiters so I thought a visit with Eugene would represent a refreshing view from the other side of an Everest climb. Read the rest of this entry »
Search for THE Camera: a brief visit with Everest Historian Tom Holzel
February 3rd, 2010
Kodak Camera
Once again, an Everest expedition is trying to solve the who done it mystery of Everest: did George Mallory and Sandy Irvine summit Mt. Everest in 1924? You see Sandy Irvine, who went missing on Everest’s North side in 1924, had a camera.
A plan is emerging for a new search for the missing camera that could solve the mystery once and for all. We have seen this headline but this time is very different – there is a clue and a map!
Before we take a look at this effort, a tiny bit of background of the north.
The north side of Everest is steeped in history with multiple attempts throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s. The first attempt was by a British team in 1921. Mallory led a small team to be the first human to set foot on the mountains flanks by climbing up to the North Col (7003m). The second expedition, that of 1922 reached 27,300′ before turning back, and was the first team to use supplemental oxygen. It was also on this expedition that the first deaths were reported when an avalanche killed seven Sherpas. Read the rest of this entry »
