autumn Climbing Around the World
We are well into the autumn climbing around the world including the Himalayan as well as the traditional shoulder season climbs around the world including Carstensz Pyramid (4, 884 m) in Indonesia and the Mexican volcanoes. So far all looks good with no serious incidents reported. There are no current attempts on any of the world’s 14 8000 […]
Climber Deaths: Junko Tabei, Mike Powell – Different Worlds, Same Love
This past week two climbers died. They were about as different as they could be: Junko Tabei and Michael Powell. Why do I write this post? These two represent ends of the climbing spectrum. People who embraced the sport, and motivated others. Now, thru their deaths, they are shining a light on ambition, achievement and acknowledgement. Junko Tabei 1939-2016 For […]
Helping Nepal: Himalayan Stove Project
Like so many of my readers, George Basch made a trip to Nepal that changed his life forever. Today he is the “Chief Cook” of the non-profit Himalayan Stove Project. They provide clean cook stoves to thousands throughout Nepal and are truly changing lives. You can help by funding a stove for only $150 that will reduce […]
autumn Himalayan Climbing – Second Half
With all the 8000er climbs over, the autumn Himalayan climbing season shifts to the lower 7,000 meter peaks including Ama Dablam. Also, the first Ascent of Burke Khang is still on as other first ascent attempts have ended. Everest – over But first some house cleaning on the Everest attempts. Both Everest teams of Kilian […]
Nobukazu Kuriki on Everest Summit Push – Updated: Its Over
UPDATE: 13 OCt ’16: It appears Nobukazu Kuriki has ended his Everest attempt from Tibet via the Hornbein Couloir or the normal route. He posted on Facebook he spent 11 days at Camp1 (normal route) and also experienced waist deep snow on the North Face. Also high winds were buffeting Everest creating concern for safety and success. […]
Death on Colorado’s Longs Peak
Over the weekend the popular Colorado 14, 000 foot mountain, Longs Peak, saw the first death of 2016. According to rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park, the victim was a 61 year old man from Greeley, Colorado. He was on a section called The Narrows when he slipped on ice and fell approximately 100 to 150 […]
autumn Himalayan Climbing Update 6 – Winding Down
Record summits continued over the weekend on Manaslu while Cho Oyu saw many summits plus some interesting twists. Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki is still on Everest but continues to fight deep snow while tough weather stopped the Junkies on Dhaulagiri. Finally RMI ended their effort on Shishapangma after the death of one of their Sherpa members. For all practical purposes the main action […]
autumn Himalayan Climbing Update 5 – Summits and Deaths
Since my last update there have been a large number of summits on both Manaslu and Cho Oyu but stalled attempts on the other peaks. Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki continues his effort on Everest but has been stopped for the moment by bad weather and deep snow. This is what caused Kilian Jornet to abandon his attempts a […]
autumn Himalayan Climbing Update 4 – Bad Weather, Summits Soon
My last update spoke of the legendary excellent autumn weather but predictably, teams are now experiencing heavy snow that has any thoughts of summit pushes on hold … for a few days. Most teams have spent multiple nights high above their base camps and feel ready to make their summit pushes when the conditions allow. Also a new […]
autumn Himalayan Climbing Update 3 – Great Weather
Finally the legendary excellent autumn weather has arrived on the world’s highest peaks. Team and climbers alike are reporting “bluebird” days with clear skies and no wind. This makes even the hardest acclimatization day a joy. Most commercial teams focus on Everest in the spring because it is usually a two month event and takes […]