Everest: 4 Weeks, Unlimited Oxygen, $117,000
For several years, I have been writing about the bifurcation of the Everest guiding business. In other words, the separation between the low-end operators and the high-end is growing larger each season. Now as we began to think about 2018, it is clear that Nepali operators like Seven Summits Treks are making huge inroads into […]
Himalayan Database Now Free!
In a major strategic change, the Bible of Himalayan climbs will now be free and available for download to anyone after November 1, 2017 in late November 2017 from their website. The Himalayan Database (HDB) has been the final word on whether a climber summited one of the high peaks in Nepal and Tibet for […]
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: More Summits, More Attempts!
“It ain’t over till it’s over.” – Yogi Berra Surprise on Dhaulagiri – 5 Summits! No for Carlos We have been following the efforts of 78-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan on Dhaulagiri. They tried twice in September to summit including once going up the wrong couloir. By the time they discovered their mistake, it was too […]
Everest and K2 in the Winter
Will there be a winter summit of Everest and finally on K2 this winter? This is always a question as we approach winter. And teams usually keep their plans quiet. The recent suspects include Alex Txikon on Everest and the Poles on K2. To claim a true winter ascent of a northern hemisphere peak, the summit […]
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: Surprise Summits!
This week has shown never say never about climbing big mountains. When people say it’s over, it may be just starting. When people say it’s impossible, someone proves them wrong. Manaslu wound down this week with a few more summits, a first summit was accomplished in Nepal and a missed summit was corrected in Pakistan. […]
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: Lhotse Begins, Manaslu Summits, Burke Khang
Lets start with the most exciting news out of the Autumn Himalayan climbing season, the attempt on Lhotse’s South Face. But also worthy of acknowledgment are the large number of summits on Manaslu and another attempt on the unclimbed Burke Khang. Lhotse – South Korean Returns South Korean, Sung-Taek Hong, 51, along with Spanish climber […]
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: Manaslu Summits, Dhaulagiri Over
With a period of excellent weather on Manaslu, teams are making their summit pushes and over 150 have aready summited this week. However, deep snow on Dhaulagiri has ended the Autumn summit bids. Dhaulagiri – Over for the 78 year-old 78-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan on Dhaulagiri has ended his 8th attempt over nine years […]
British Climber Dies on Manaslu
The Nepali agency Himalayan Guide’s owner Ishwor Paudel is reporting that Philip Harvey, 46, of UK nationality has died as he was descending from Camp 3 on Manaslu. He was reported to have been suffering from “severe altitude sickness”. This is the first death on Manaslu this season where there are 255 foreign permits issued […]
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: Manaslu Summit Rush, Dhaulagiri Stalled
After a few days of heavy, deep snow on Manaslu, the hordes are prepared to push hard this week. Look for huge crowds at all camps and competition on the narrow summit. Meanwhile rain at base camp and heavy snow above has stalled all efforts on Dhaulagiri. Dhaulagiri – Rain and Snow 78-year-old Spanish climber […]
World Alzheimer’s Day starts with You
September 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day and with it comes the normal volume of news with huge numbers – millions, billions and trillions – trying to capture the scope and size of the problem, people impacted and costs and it comes with scary words like crisis, tsunami, and urgent. But, with respect to these stories, […]