Everest 2017: 4 Found Dead in Tent at South Col – Updated
A horrible tragedy today on Everest. 2 foreigners and 2 Sherpa “guides” were found dead in the same tent at the South Col, 8000 meters. Rajan Pokhrel broke the story a few minutes ago on the Himalayan Times It was very windy and many teams choose to stay in their tents and not go for the summit. Update 2: Sources, reporters and officials now say report was wrong Update 1: as usual with stories like this, differing information will emerge. However, my main points remain the same. It doesn’t matter if one person died, four or 40. There are long overdue changes in the way Everest is guided and climbed. I will break my rule and speculate here that it is most likely they died from carbon monoxide poisoning by using their stoves in the tent without proper ventilation. source The dead were part of a new “guiding” company on Everest: Multiple sources at the base camp also confirmed that four persons belonging to a new trekking company have gone out of contact since Sunday after they were last seen near the Balcony area. “We are trying to verify all evidences before naming the victims,” a liaison officer at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation said. My Opinion This is not just sad, it is totally irresponsible – to die from carbon monoxide poisoning is to break a basic rule of camping. The foreigners paid the “guides” to take care of them. While I promote self sufficiency, and will suggest the “climbers” should have also known better, these so-called Sherpa “guides” clearly did not do their job – if this is what they died from. Sherpa “Guides” A few years ago, Nepal started to call every Sherpa a Guide in an effort to elevate their status and promote that climbing in Nepal was safe. I commented then that that is like calling every person on an airplane a pilot. This public relations ploy by the Nepal government has to stop – the press believes then, uninformed people believe them and people die as a result. This has to be the breaking point. How many parents will continue to stand by and let their children die – yes a lot of children are going to Everest these days. On the north side there was an entire expedition with teenagers. While they had no problems, this encourages other teenagers to seek fame and fortune with an Everest summit – and it never happens. In my last blog post I talked about one family demanding that the body of their son be recovered from a 200 meter crevasse at a cost of $60,000+ and risking the lives of the Sherpa rescuers – this is ridiculous and irresponsible. Their son got “separated” from his Sherpa “guide” and he died. Sherpa is not Sherpa Tim Mosedale wrote an article a few days ago on his observation on the so-called Sherpa “Guides” on Everest. It is even more pertinent tonight: A couple of ‘Sherpas’ have been helped down from The Balcony this morning by some members and Sherpas (note the lack of ‘quotes’ this time) from a team who were on the way back to The South Col from their successful summit bid. This is exceedingly worrying and I’ll tell you for why. In the good old days Climbing Sherpas tended to be ethnic Sherpa or at least people who lived year round in a moderate altitude environment. This (usually) gave them a bit of a genetic advantage from the outset of the expedition. Added to that a lot of the expedition staff used to have previous experience of being on Everest and so they knew the route, they had an idea about what was expected of them, they understood the foibles of dealing with members and their various needs, they understood the importance of summit day protocols and knew where they needed to be within a certain timescale if they were going to successfully get their member to the summit and back again safely. In short the Climbing Sherpa staff would cumulatively have tens of Everest summits under their collective belts and they were experts in their field. I’ve just been told by Kame, my Sirdar, that from his village (Pangboche) there used to be 64 Everest Climbing Sherpas … and now there are 13. All that expertise has been lost and the general level of professionalism has been drastically diluted. A lot of the (cheaper) expedition providers are recruiting inexperienced ‘Sherpas’ on below average wages who have no idea about putting on their own crampons (let alone assisting their members) who are used pretty much as load carriers. These guys are goat herders, or have a small parcel of land that they tend during the monsoon, or are vegetable sellers and they are brought from a sub 1,000m environment to work on Everest with the promise of summit bonuses beyond their wildest dreams. This is yet another example of what I would call a toxic mix. Inexperienced members are perhaps introduced to ‘Pasang, who summited Everest last year’. ‘Oooo’ say the group. But what they don’t realise is that he only just got away with it and he is operating at a level where he can barely look after himself let alone assist them in an ultra hypoxic environment. Over the years there’s been a huge dilution in the cumulative experience of staff whilst at the same time there’s been a net increase in inexperienced or poor expedition providers. When you combine this with a decline in the amount of experience of the members who are accepted on board it’s a worrying equation. On the one hand there doesn’t seem to be any due diligence or sense of accountability on the part of the expedition operator. On the other hand the member who finds out that their company of choice has had fatalities on every expedition for the past 5 years seems to think that ‘it won’t happen to me’. I don’t know what the answer is except to offer these salient pieces of advice … if the price sounds too good to be true
Everest 2017: Wind Returns with Vengeance, Costly Body Retrievals
There were summits early morning of 23 May, but it may not have been the best choice to push it. Teams turned back, some never left camp and those who made said it was difficult. Meteorologist Chris Tomer told me “full on Jet Stream on the summit”. He advised his member, Ricardo Pena, to stay at the South Col, which he did on 23 May. Meanwhile the family of a climber who died over the weekend are willing to put more lives at risk to get their loved one home. And the admired traverse is not what was advertised. North Gets Hit Big winds hit the north side around midnight on 23 May. This is a startling report from George Kashouh with SummitClimb: Jet stream has hit the summit. Woke up to 100kph winds. I thought I was dreaming but my tent ceiling was nearly on my chest. Tent poles snapped and tent itself is shredded. I seriously thought I’d be blown off the mountain inside the remains. The door was on the ground and I was able to unzip it and slide my oxygen bottle out. Next I escaped myself with a mitt on a me hand and a glove liner on the other while some of my gear blew out into the sky. I tried to sit on my tent to keep whatever gear remained inside but was losing feeling in my fingers. I called for help and my friend Les saw me sprawled over the remains of my tent and threw me a rope. I was able to get into his tent along with Ian. Winds continued to get worse. After the sun came our expedition leader must have seen my tent which looked more like a prayer flag in the wind and checked on us. He was two feet in front of us but we couldn’t hear a word he was saying. He motioned for us to leave our tent and go to his. A short time later the second tent I was in was destroyed. I had left mine tent with my sleeping bag, harness, water, food, and backpack. Not sure if any of that is still there. Our leader who has been a mountain guide for decades including seven times on Everest said he has never seen winds like this before in his life. Currently we are taking turns sleeping and sitting against the wall of the tent to try to maintain this one which already has tears. All members are safe.Danish Everest solo, No Os climber Rasmus Kraghat, calling for help from 7700m on North side There is no update on George but Danish climber Rasmus Kragh was reported in trouble. His home team told me: There are some worrying news about Rasmus. He arrived back at 7.700 last night after a long day out without oxygen. He says he had to abandon his attempt at 8.500m due to high winds. South Side Hit As Well, But Summits Garrett Madison put over 20 on the summit with the winds: Today at the top of the world it was clear but very windy, we had to work hard for this summit. Feeling grateful our whole team of 20+ climbers, made the top. Other teams never risked going up in the winds. Rare North-South Traverse Claims in Question Janusz Adamski named his Everest attempt “No Oxygen Solo Everest 2017 – First Polish Traverse of Mount Everest Expedition.” So when it was announced that he was successful with this Facebook post on 21 May, it was assumed he didn’t use supplemental oxygen and had no Sherpa support: TODAY MORNING TIME NEPALESE JANUSZ CONQUERED MT. Everest from the north, and then he went down on the south side first and the fifteenth of the polish world traverse mountains. At the moment, JANUSZ IS ALREADY SAFE AT CAMP 3 Nepalskiej side. Tomorrow night will occur at the level of Janusz Takeover by Andrew CB Ziółkowskiego and attempt to get through to Kathmandu. The Polish mountaineering media and community were correctly proud, but there were problems The media started making corrections: [Update] Initially, we administered the Janusz climbing without the use of oxygen from the cylinder. This information proved to be false. The Problems So first, he used supplemental oxygen, 2) he hired a Sherpa to carry gear and 3) he, apparently, didn’t have a permit that allowed him to cross from China into Tibet over the summit of Mt. Everest. In summary his “No Oxygen Solo Everest 2017 – First Polish Traverse of Mount Everest Expedition.” was illegal, supported and used supplemental oxygen. But his announcement said it was as advertised and very successful hailing him as the first Pole to accomplish such a climb. However, upon questioning, he is backed off his claim with these additional comments: Due to the time required for peaceful acclimatization, I need help carrying tents “booking” space in C1/C2. The rest of equipment + mountaieering activity and summit push solo. and With Andrew we met yesterday and we are coming down slowly to lukli. With Kronikarskiego Duty I’ll clarify that the traverse I made alone with oxygen from camp 3 (8250 M), which was necessary to transfer the 20 pounds of gear needed to safely continue the action on the south side of the mountain. His Kathmandu agency told me he did not have a legal permit to cross into Nepal from China and was briefed in Kathmandu before receiving his permit to climb from Tibet. There was no mention of a traverse. It appears his plans changed for good reasons but I am a bit confused as to why the post on 21 May failed to mention all those details. But the big issue is the permit. I hope he can explain that We will see where this goes. Body Retrievals – Risky and Costly The family of Indian climber Ravi Kumar, 27, wants his body retrieved “The bereaved family wants the body at any cost,” said Chowang Sherpa, managing director of Arun Treks and Expedition, the agency handling Kumar’s expedition. Apparently this means even at the risks of the 8-12
Everest 2017: What Really Happened to the Hillary Step
As we wait for more summits this week, let take a look at one of the most talked about stories from Everest 2017 is the fate of the Hillary Step. First reported as “gone” now Nepal officials are saying it’s just fine, just covered with snow. For those outside the climbing community, and for many inside, this seems like a silly discussion as we all know mountains move, change, grow and collapse all the time. So what if the Hillary Step changed? Latest News – 23 May early morning in Nepal Nobukazu Kuriki has left Camp 2 to ascend to the West Ridge then the Horbein Couloir and on to the summit. Kilian Jornet may give his speed run another try. He already set a record with a 26-hour push from Base Camp to the summit and Madison Mountaineering puts 6 members, 3 Guides, 13 Sherpas on the summit morning of 23 May. Sir Edmund Hillary First, lets look at some basic information. The Hillary Step was named after Sir Edmund Hillary who came upon it with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953 as they approached the summit. It is located between the South Summit (28,500′) and the true summit (29,035′). It is often described as a nearly vertical rock face with a height of around 12 metres (39 ft) at 28,839 feet. Hillary described it as noted in Hillary and Norgay: To the Top of Mount Everest By Heather Whipple: National Geographic put it this way: Scraping at the snow with his ax, Hillary chimneyed between the rock pillar and an adjacent ridge of ice to surmount this daunting obstacle, later to be known as the Hillary Step. 2015 Earthquake The devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 was 100 miles away from Everest yet shook the ground severely. I was in the Western Cwm the day for the earthquake and can personally attest to moving ground and massive avalanches off Nuptse, Lhotse and the West Shoulder of Everest. It is obviously plausible that large unstable boulder like the ones that define the Hillary Step could have moved. The recent case study for this was in New Zealand where the highest peak, Mount Cook lost 93 feet off the summit in 1991 due to a rock avalanche. 2016 Discovery News broke early in the 2016 season by climber, David Liano that the Hillary Step was gone. He took pictures, posted on his blog and the second guessing began. Hillary Step 2016 left, 2014 right. courtesy of David Liano The two arguments came down to 1) it is covered with snow and is still there and 2) the 2015 earthquake caused the massive boulders that defined the crack toppled in the quake. Given it was covered in snow, no one could make a definitive conclusion however many tried. If you want to explore this further a good start is with Mark Horrell‘s investigative report on his blog from last year. I posted this in 2016: A few days after these summits, David Liano set the Everest climbing community abuzz with a Facebook post suggesting the 2015 earthquake had moved the rocks on the Hillary Step and it was now a snow slope. I consulted with multiple operators and Sherpas who have collectively over 100 Everest summits and had been on the Hillary Step after David. They felt the rocks had not collapsed and it appeared dramatically different due to an unusual amount of snow. Later in conversations with 2016 summiteers, they said the Step was a simple snow slope that looked nothing like the pictures for previous years. It may be next year if the snow blows away that the real shape of the Step will be known. 2017 Opinions So now we move into 2017 and Tim Mosedale, one of the first westerners to summit Everest this year on 16 May, took photos and made the declaration that “the Hillary Step is no more” Tim reported: The route from the South summit is reasonably technical and, shock horror, there’s no Hillary Step. The next thing you know we’re on the summit enjoying the views and the sense of achievement. It’s official – The Hillary Step is no more. Not sure what’s going to happen when the snow ridge doesn’t form because there’s some huge blocks randomly perched hither and thither which will be quite tricky to negotiate. Officials Say No Change But hold on, CNN is reporting that Gyanendra Shrestha from the Nepal Tourism Board and Ang Tshering Sherpa, the President of Nepal Mountaineering Association, are saying Mosedale is mistaken: “This is a false rumor,” Ang Tshering Sherpa said. “After this news surfaced … I checked with Sherpas, climbers, and officials at the Base Camp. Hillary Step is intact.” He said the rock face had been covered by “excessive snowfall … so some people assumed it had collapsed.” Shrestha said the step had been completely covered by snow so it “made it easier for climbers.” And that is why I love this sport! Climber Impact First, I have heard no one say that summiting Everest was soooo much easier this year because the Hillary Step was gone. 🙂 It does appear to be a long snow slope, and to my eye it looks like the large boulder to the climber’s left on ascending has “moved”. Now, is this simple a optical illusion, or has the snow covered so much that we really can’t tell? Perhaps, but the before and after photos are fairly clear. Jamie McGuinness, posted one of his photos from 2008 next to Tim’s: And with that, let the games begin! Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2017: Huge Wave 3 with a Traverse and Speed Summit
As I posted in almost real-time, there were many summits on Monday morning on both sides and there were some surprises! Here is a quick update of summits and information not in my last post North Updates: The Russian team 7 Summits Club lead by legendary Alexander Abramov put more on the summit. I have lost count but believe it is over 20, maybe 30, including support: Like an hour ago, said Alexander Abramov, today, 22 May at 4:30 am Nepal time the whole team reached the summit of Everest. Successful descent guys! At 6 am Moscow time all were already in 8300 and continued the descent. Peaks reached Valery Tebiev Daniel Briman, Eugene Kravt, Aznaur Akka, Alexander Abramov (in the 8-th time) . Transcend continued a very successful season with a male/female team including Aparna Prabhudesai from the city of Pune, India, an entrepreneur, marathoner, social worker. Good on them for naming their Sherpa support: A summary of our Team 3: 6 climbers and 6 Sherpas made it to the summit, while one woman climber had returned before the summit. They had reached the summit between 5:20-6:45 a.m. local time. The Sherpa Guides that made it to the summit are: Tenzing Chhotar, Pasang Dorjee, Mingma Nuru, Lakpa Gyalgen, Karma Gyaljen, Samduk Dorjee Tamang The total number of climbers from the Transcend Adventures Indian Team who have reached the summit so far, now stands at 16 Climbers and 22 Sherpas One of my favorite writers this year was Ricky Munday with Summit Climb. He turned back on his summit bid and explains in an excellent post on Facebook. Click to see his pictures and read the rest of his post. My appetite was severely affected by the altitude. After a big 10-hour, 900m climbing climbing from the North Col to Camp 2 (7,900m), all I was able to eat was a handful of peanuts, a protein bar and two mini Babybel cheeses. I could smell George’s freeze-dried meal and I almost vomited. For two nights, I had very limited intake. This lack of calorie intake was completely unsustainable, but I couldn’t force anything more down. I made the difficult decision not to continue with the team, and to descend. I was unwilling to put my life at risk or to become a burden to the team. South Updates I already provided updates on many commercial teams but a few more are just coming in. Asian Trekking for the Greek team: Asian Trekking’s Eco-Everest members Mr. Michail Evmorfidis and Mr. Antonios Sykaris along with our HAS Mr. Pemba Tshering Sherpa, Mr. Ki Dorjee Sherpa and Mr. Tshering Chhosang Sherpa left South Col (Camp 4)last night at 10 pm and successfully sumitted MT.EVEREST today on 22nd May 2017 at 10:30am.They spent 5 minutes at top and now descending. We are so happy for their great achievement and pray for their safe return. Elisabeth Revol reached the summit of the Lhotse Kilian Jornet’s Speed Climb Kilian Jornet summited but ended his speed attempt due to illness stopping at ABC on north. His team posted on Facebook: Kilian Jornet reached the summit of Everest at midnight of 21st to 22nd May (local time) in a single climb without the help of oxygen or fixed ropes. He reached the summit via the north face of the world’s highest mountain (8,848m) following the traditional route. Kilian Jornet began the challenge at Everest Base Camp Base near the ancient Rombuk monastery (5,100m) on May 20 at 22h local time (+5:45 GMT). At 12h15 local time of May 22nd he is back in the Advanced Base Camp (6,500m) where he confirmed summiting Everest at midnight, 26 hours after beginning the ascent. 38 hours after starting the temptative, he has arrived to the Advanced Base Camp of Everest, he explained: “Until I reached 7.700m I felt good and was going according to my planning, but there I started to feel stomachache, I guess due to an estomach virus. From there I have moved slowly and stopping every few steps to recover. However, I made it to the summit at midnight”.Due to this indisposition, Kilian Jornet choses to conclude the attempt, and stay in the Advanced Base Camp and not returning to the Rongbuk as planned. Once we have more information about the challenge, we will inform through the channels of Summits of My Life. Rare North-South Traverse The Chinese have rarely issued permits to traverse from north to south but it appears it happened over the weekend by Polish climber Janusz Adamski as reported on his Facebook page first Polish solo Everest Traverse without O’s by Janusz Adamski (summit on 21st), Descended safely to camp 3 on summit day. UPDATE: There are many questions now being raised from use of oxygen, Sherpa support and illegally traversing without a permit. According to the Himalayan Database there has only been 34 traverse and only one without supplemental oxygen, Jozef Just, who died in the process. Deaths and Rescues The body of missing climber Ravi Kumar was found: The body of an Indian climber was spotted on Mount Everest on Monday, after he went missing two days ago while descending from the world’s highest peak. Sherpa rescuers spotted the body of Indian climber Ravi Kumar, but it was impossible to retrieve the body, said Thupden Sherpa of Arun Treks and Expedition. It appeared that Kumar had fallen some 200 meters (650 feet) below the route, he said. EverestER provided a public update on the long-line rescue and how they have been working with all the teams throughout the mountain on health issues. Click to read the entire post:: But we’ve been doing over the radio consult to the people having health problems at camp 2 and above. Over the radio night consultation was done, last night on a climber who was left between camp 3 and 4, and spent the night outside the tent in that area. Capt. Folini of Fishtail air with the help of our own Lakpa Norbu tried to bring him down via longline four times yesterday but failed to do so
Everest 2017: More Summits, Rescues and Dots – Updated
Monday morning 22 May, aka Wave 3, was as big as we expected with well over 100 new summits on both sides of Everest. The weather remains good for most teams. The body of missing Indian climber was found taking the death toll to six on both sides in 2017. With a full week to go, I estimate well over 350 total summits on both sides and perhaps as many as 150 more to come. This is a rundown of the results. I apologize for not mentioning every name so click on the links to see them by team. Also, I try to mention the Sherpas when possible. I find it sad that some teams simply give the members names and not even mention the Sherpas. South Summits Big Day Adventure Consultants put 16 on top of Everest early Monday morning. Also the AC team summited Dhaulagiri: Great news just in from Dhaulagiri – the whole team summited at 5.25am! Congratulations to Claudia, Tom, Jon, Charlotte, Iza, Dhiren, and AC guides Guy Cotter, Dean Staples and Lydia Bradey. A huge congratulations goes to Jb Chandesris who submitted at 6.55am without supplementary oxygen! IMG had a good day with 27 on the summit including my dear friend Jim Davidson, There were 10 foreigners, 15 Sherpas and 2 guides. Also my 2011 fellow Everest teammate, Karim Marino Mella Nazir, return for another summit. IMG still has perhaps 20 more members positioned at C2 ready to summit. Speaking of old friends, Al Hancock got his Lhotse summit Madison Mountaineering put 7 on top very early – before sunrise. They assisted with a climber with frostbite costing some their team their summit. Well done. The combo Mountain Madness/Mountain Trip had 12 on top Adventures Global had a rather unique summit by Anshu Jamsenpa: We are very proud to announce that Anshu Jamsenpa has just summited for the 5th time and for the second time this season. That is the first time that a woman has summited twice in one season on two separate occasions. Mountain Professionals helped Chris Bombardier with severe hemophilia summit. There were no major issue reported on the south side but there was talk of one “large” team that clogged up the route. North Summits Continue Arnold Coster put members on the summit Monday morning but reported high winds, other teams did not: Team summited Everest this morning, but not everybody. Some turned around due to heavy winds, but all are in good health.Everybody is descending to the North Col now and will probably spend the night there before reaching ABC. Rasmus delayed his self supported oxygenless attempt last night due to wind and will try again this evening. Transcend Adventures put more members on the summit from the north with 6 in total consisting of Teens:2 boys 2 girls and 2 adult women. Iowans for Everest got their summit around 4:30 am. I’ll try to get more from them in the future. Kilian Jornet’s Speed Climb Kilian’s speed run to the summit of Everest from the Rongbuk Monastery started at 6:00 pm Sunday night. It was expected to take 20-30 hours. The last report had Kilian at 7500 meters. Update: Kilian Jornet summited but ended speed attempt due to illness stopping at ABC on north side: source Kilian Jornet reached the summit of Everest at midnight of 21st to 22nd May (local time) in a single climb without the help of oxygen or fixed ropes. He reached the summit via the north face of the world’s highest mountain (8,848m) following the traditional route. Kilian Jornet began the challenge at Everest Base Camp Base near the ancient Rombuk monastery (5,100m) on May 20 at 22h local time (+5:45 GMT). At 12h15 local time of May 22nd he is back in the Advanced Base Camp (6,500m) where he confirmed summiting Everest at midnight, 26 hours after beginning the ascent. 38 hours after starting the temptative, he has arrived to the Advanced Base Camp of Everest, he explained: “Until I reached 7.700m I felt good and was going according to my planning, but there I started to feel stomachache, I guess due to an estomach virus. From there I have moved slowly and stopping every few steps to recover. However, I made it to the summit at midnight”. Due to this indisposition, Kilian Jornet choses to conclude the attempt, and stay in the Advanced Base Camp and not returning to the Rongbuk as planned. Once we have more information about the challenge, we will inform through the channels of Summits of My Life. Rare North-South Traverse The Chinese have rarely issued permits to traverse from north to south but it appears it happened over the weekend by Polish climber Janusz Adamski Adams as reported on his Facebook page first Polish solo Everest Traverse without O’s by Janusz Adamski (summit on 21st), Descended safely to camp 3 on summit day. Deaths and Rescues But not everyone has had a good weekend. The Himalayan Times reports that five climbers were helicoptered from as high as Camp 2 on the Nepal side suffering from altitude related illness. This is in addition to the three deaths and one missing climber that occurred over the weekend. Update: the body of missing climber Ravi Kumar was found: The body of an Indian climber was spotted on Mount Everest on Monday, after he went missing two days ago while descending from the world’s highest peak. Sherpa rescuers spotted the body of Indian climber Ravi Kumar, but it was impossible to retrieve the body, said Thupden Sherpa of Arun Treks and Expedition. It appeared that Kumar had fallen some 200 meters (650 feet) below the route, he said. More “Borrowed” Gear Tim Mosedale reports that their gear has been stolen again, this time at the South Col. He has several members that have yet to summit: Another 7 bottles of Os have gone missing from our supply – this time from The South Col. Given what’s been unfolding over the last couple of days with failed summit bids and fatalities it doesn’t surprise me …. but I do wish people would let
Everest 2017: 3 New Deaths, 1 Missing
The Everest season has turned tragic as scores of climbers summit on the south side and more are on their way. The fickle weather of 2017 has finally calmed calling to the climbers to finish their quest. There have been deaths on both sides. While few details are provided, it appears these were associated with altitude, not weather. Meteorologist, Chris Tomer, told me just now that the good weather we discussed over the past few posts will continue with one exception: Looks about the same from my vantage point…jet streak arrives on 22nd with wind flare. The earlier they summit the better Deaths This is what has been reported by expedition operators to the Nepal government and then to the press. Families are usually notified by the companies before going public. Fifth death: Vladimir Strba, 50 from Slovakia, died near Balcony on south side. Fourth death: 54-year-old Francesco Enrico Marchetti, 54 from Australia, at 7500m while descending from summit on Tibet side. Third death Roland Yearwood,50 from USA Alabama, on south side reported, and Ravi Kumar is reported missing after getting separated from guide at Balcony. A search team was dispatched hours ago. The previous two deaths were: Min Bahadur Sherchan, 86, died from unknown causes at Everest Base Camp Ueli Steck dies on Nuptse acclimatising for Everest-Lhotse traverse Deadly Everest I posted this yesterday along with a summary of the Sunday morning summits and it is more valid today as we are now at the historical average of deaths: This is part of Everest. Each year, on average, around 6 people die. This year has been safer than normal thus far. The common causes of death include altitude related illnesses – complicated by poor decision making when symptons first appear. In other words, turn back immediately upon any sign of altitude sickness – this is known by everyone but followed by few. The summit pushes thus far have reported cold temperatures and there have been cases of frostbite. Guide are reluctant to talk about this as it reflects poorly on their leadership and decision making. Also it is not surprising for a guide service to have a death and never report it publically. All this just re-enforces that every climber should come to Everest self sufficient with proper experience, knowledge and judgment to take care of themselves in any circumstance. To depend on others is to ask another human to take responsibility for your life, something you would never do at home, so doing so at 28,000 feet is simply silly when it can be avoided. This is a summary of deaths on both sides thru Spring 2016. As you can see both sides have about the same % -~3.7%: 282 people (168 westerners and 114 Sherpas) have died on Everest from 1924 to June 2016 or 3.7% Of the deaths, 109 died attempting to summit without using supplemental oxygen. Of the 282 deaths, 70 died on the descent from the summit or 25% The Nepalese side has seen 4,863 summits with 176 deaths through June 2016 or 3.6% The Tibet side has seen 2,783 summits with 106 deaths through June 2016 or 3.8% Most bodies all are still on the mountain but China has removed many bodies from sight. The top cause of death was from a fall, avalanche, exposure and altitude sickness From 1923 to 1999: 170 people died on Everest with 1,169 summits or 14.5%. But the deaths drastically declined from 2000 to 2015 with 5,832 summits and 112 deaths or 1.9%. However, two years skewed the deaths rates with 17 in 2014 and 14 in 2015. The reduction in deaths is primarily due to better gear, weather forecasting and more people climbing with commercial operations. Monday, 22 May will be big There are probably 150 climbers headed up right now, around 11 pm 21 May. They should start summiting around 4:00 am Monday morning. Weather is reported still good but there are reports of one large team clogging up the route. As I discussed in How to Mange the Crowds on Everest, now is the time to be strategic. While deaths will occupy the news, we need to remember that are hundreds of people climbing and they could use our positive energy. I wrote this now for my long time climbing buddy Jim Davidson. You can follow Jim on his Garmin InReach: You are on your way my friend. It looks like you left the South Col early, that is good this means you should summit just as the sun peaks over the horizon between 4 and 5 am early Monday morning! You are climbing Everest. You leave the South Col, Camp 4, and climb the Triangular Face, it might feel steep. You are probably in a line of the climbers, relax – slow-simple-steps. Your breathing is slow and steady. All you hear is the sound of your own body bringing the oxygen in; releasing it a rhythm that will be your friend for the next 8 hours. It is dark, your headlamp lights up the white snow against your green Lowa boots. You are climbing Everest. After 4 hours you will reach the Balcony. Sadly several people died over the last 24 hours in this area so you may see a dead body. There is nothing you can do but take care of yourself. Focus. Take a break. Sit on your pack. Let your breathing slow, let your heart rate slow. Drink, eat the foods we discussed. Look around. It is a clear night. Look up, with no moon, you can see every star ever created – at least that what it feels like. You are climbing Everest. Getting up, slip your pack back on. It holds your lifeline, your oxygen bottle, food and water. Adjust your oxygen mask, your headlamp, clip back into the fixed rope and start walking. It is easy leaving the Balcony. Your crampons are getting good purchase on the hard packed snow. You follow the rope, and the boot path. You are climbing Everest. All of a sudden the angle increases. Your slow pace slows down even more. It is OK, this is as it should be. You are where your
Everest 2017: Death, Summits and Thefts – Update
Sunday morning, 21 May, had a death on Everest at the Balcony as reported by the Himalayan Times. Few details are available. Update: Fifth death: Vladimir Strba, 50 from Slovakia, died near Balcony on south side. Climber Missing: Ravi Kumar missing after getting separated from guide at Balcony Fourth death: 54-year-old Francesco Enrico Marchetti, 54 from Australia, at 7500m while descending from summit on Tibet side. Third death Roland Yearwood,50 from USA Alabama, reported, few details. Blind Austrian climber Andy Holzer summited on north with Furtenbach Adventures Friday night thru Saturday morning looks to have been big on the south as the winds calmed for a day or so. Meanwhile, a serious breach of trust occurred at the high camp on Lhotse. Good Weather on Southeast Ridge = Summits This is a headline many have been waiting for. Adventure Consultants made a nice post as part of their team made their way up the Southeast Ridge between the Balcony and the South Summit. This is a section rarely talked about and I made a post on it earlier this season. First they posted on their progress: Down here in base camp we have just received a call from Ang Dorjee that he and Paul have been moving well and are now 30mins below the South Summit, 8690m, the second highest point on earth. Travelling now along the true south east ridge it sounds like they are still experiencing a bit of wind, but at this point it doesn’t appear to be slowing them down as they continue to make good progress. Then the good news that AC put their member,Paul Pheby, on the summit plus Chhuldim Sherpa (Ang Dorjee) from Pangboche – his 19th summit. My first climb on Everest in 2002 was with Ang Dorge and he is the younger brother of Kami Sherpa whom I summited Everest and K2 with. Also on the summit for AC were Ringin, climbing Sirdar, from Khumjung, Nepal – 4th summit,Pemba Nuru Sherpa from Pangboche, Nepal – 1st summit, and Rinji Pal den Sherpa from Thame, Nepal – 1st summit Most teams reported good conditions Friday night into Saturday morning but Adventure Global suggested winds at the South Col stalled some members. This has been common this year with moments of high winds followed by calmer periods. If you are getting ready to leave and the winds are gusting to 60 mph, you stay put – good decision.: We are very excited to announce that Anshu Jamsenpa, Furi Sherpa and Karma Sherpa summited about 45 minutes ago. This is Anshu’s 5th summit and the most by any Indian lady ever. Congratulations to Anshu, Furi and Karma. We are extremely proud of you. Neil and Tendi decided to stay at the South Col and not to push, because of the wind. They will reconsider their options later today. Seven Summits Treks said they had 60 people going to the summit, no word on results. It is good that this large team got their chance and can clear off the route. The other large team is the Indian Navy who, I believe, also had their attempt but tweeted only a few climbers on the summits Summit Climb said they put a couple on the summit and said more were coming but nothing was made public. The Himalayan Times said the death was an American on the SummitClimb team but this has not been reported by Summit Climb. Murari Sharma, Managing Director at Everest Parivar Treks handles the local logistics for Summit Climb made the report based on contact with base camp. Mimgma Sherpa, Dreamers Destination said he had a first on Everests: Elton Ng also reached the summit together with Tsang Yin Hung and Zhangjianguo this morning at 6am. Mrs Tsang Yin Hung officially registered her name as first Hongkong lady to Everest. Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki made it to Camp 2 and should now climb up to the West Ridge for his summit attempt via the Hornbein Couloir. But not everyone is ready to push to the top quite yet. Ben Jones with Alpine Ascents said: After looking at forecasts we feel it is going to be much better to wait a couple more days for our summit push. The team is in great spirits and doing very well. The weather looks to be getting much better in a few days so we will just rest here at Camp 2. Back at EBC – Nepal, Himex is finally ready to move. Guide Bruce Hasler posted: We’ve made the plan to head up to Camp 2 tonight starting our summit attempt. Looking at this stage for summit bid on 25 but possibly 26th. There have been multiple summits today which is great to clear some folks off the hill. Still many people looking for their window of weather in next 2 days. Hoping it all goes smoothly and we get the wind to behave. Once again stay tuned… Summit shots 2013 The weather on the south has been tough the last couple of days. While some teams summited, others wisely turned back. Jangbu Sherpa, Himalayan Treks and Expeditions said: On 18th May our team went to south coll with all the confident and strong on 19th summit plan. Unfortunately because of bad Wendy speed 90/100 pre hrs…spend 24 hrs at camp 4 … we decide to decent down now We all are safely arrived at base camp. North And the last of three Transcend Adventures Indian Team posted that they had reached Camp-2 and would be moving to higher tomorrow. Based on the weather they will make the summit attempt. The details of the team members will be shared soon. Other north teams that could summit at any time include: Furtenbach Adventures with 17 climbers (foreign/Sherpa/Tibetan)Arnold Coster Expeditions with 15, Iowans for Everest with 2, Transcend Adventures with 15? and Summit Climb with 20+. Update from Furtenbach: Summit !! Today at 7.10 in the morning, all participants were at the summit. Windstill and -26 degrees. With Andy Holzer , the first blind man has reached the summit from the north. He is the first blind man at the summit of Everest. And he
Everest 2017: Weekend Update May 20
This last week was big, especially on the Nepal side with the ropes fixed to the summit by the innovative Gurkha team along with first summits form that side. However, this upcoming week could be the biggest of the 2017 season. With the weather on the south side still the big story, team after team have moved into position to attempt the summit over this weekend. Meanwhile last week (and even last night) a few teams took risks – some succeeded, others didn’t. While there have been a few sporadic reports of frostbite, and reports of helicopter evacuations; thankfully no further deaths have been made public, if they have occurred at all. That said, as late as Saturday morning 20 May Nepal time, summit reports noted very cold still air temperatures, add in a bit of wind and … update: Long line helicopter rescue for climber above C3 (Nepal side) failed Saturday afternoon 20 May update: Kilian Jornet begins his run from the Tibet side to the summit of Everest. Weather Woes Not to dwell on the weather too much, at least in this post, it bears repeating what Michael Fagin with Everest Weather told me this week: I have been forecasting here since 2003 and never seen a season like this with forecast model runs changing every 12 hours. Another trusted weather advisor, meteorologist Chris Tomer agreed and suggested that there will be a few days each on either side of 22 May: 18-21 or 23-25. He further suggest a “wind plume” arriving quickly on the 22nd so climbers need to be down or not headed up during that period. Thanks for this big picture Chris, his members and those of other avoid services more details. Summit Sweet Spot Please forgive me for repeating this but it bears it given the siren of complaints about the delays in base camp, fixing ropes and “late” summits. Please take a close look at this chart I use all the time. It shows we are in the sweet spot of Everest summits 17-23 May. In other words, right on schedule!! source: Himalayan Database Sleepless Nights – for those at Home! Clearly the next week will be tricky. I don’t want to add anxiety to any friends and family but this is the reality of climbing Everest for those back home: nervousness, sleepless nights, no news, mixed messages – all culminating with that call or message that everything is fine, coming home soon. The next time you are at a party and someone who has read Into Thin Air, now an Everest expert, begins to tells you (after their fifth G&T) how everyone has climbed Everest, how easy it is because there is an escalator to the summit, and … walk away before you begin to tell them about how YOUR summit night went 🙂 You have already had enough. North Summits Continue On the north side, 7 Summits Club’s Alexander Abramov claimed victory with summits on Friday morning. One of the happiest moments last week must have been for 26 year-old Mollie Hughes who became the youngest British to summit from both sides of Everest. She was with Jon Gupta and Sherpas Lhakpa and Lila. The young Transcend Indian team continued their success with four more teenagers on top along with six Sherpas. While not finished, noted German Alpinist Ralf Dujmovits is trying to get Everest without supplemental oxygen on the north side to finish his 14 without Os. Also headed up now are the Iowans for Everest, Arnold Coster‘s team, the Furtenbach organization and at some point, Alpenglow South Summits Began On the South it was a mixed bag once again as the weather continued to play with the climbers. As I have detailed ad nauseum, the weather forecasters are as frustrated as the climbers this season on the south side. It appears that high pressure was playing favorites this year by keeping the clouds, wind and moisture sequestered on the Nepal side while occasionally leaking over to the Tibet side just to keep teams honest. The end result has been a steady stream of summits on the north and occasional summits on the south – sometimes with a bold gamble by leaders on both sides. Again, thus far this has been a relatively safe season. Perhaps the lessons from last year, or the last 50 years have sunk in with new expedition leaders. On 19 May, a few teams took off from the South Col intending to summit in difficult weather. Thankfully, they turned back to try another day. Hard to Turn Back One of the more poignant post came from Larry Daugherty climbing with Adventure Ascents who turned back at the South Summit due to winds. Also with him was Thomas Wilkinson and Brandon Fisher. Larry posted: Mountain clearly in charge Our team turned around at the south summit due to building wind – disappointed but safe at C4 However, one of their members, David Snow stayed back for another attempt. Not willing to give up, David found that elusive balance between giving it everything he could without giving himself to the mountain. Well done, well done David. He posted early Saturday morning: After being in Nepal for over a month I’ve discovered a few things. For years, you can plan, ponder, prepare every last detail, and stand where no other mountain is higher and still not reach your goal. After 7 hours of climbing in the wind our guides made a choice to turn us around at the South Summit. Disappointment and discouragement were higher than we were. But we were also reminded just a few feet off our route why this is the world’s highest graveyard and why there’s wisdom in listening to those who have been where you have not. Refusing to be done with the climb, I discovered mother nature controls summiting big mountains and not once but twice was crushed by attempts that would not happen. I witnessed strength and determination in my climbing buddies Thomas Wilkinson Larry Daugherty Brandon Fisher who could have summited a peak twice as high as Everest. The majesty of the Himalaya has changed my DNA. I’ve made eternal friendships from the trek to base camp and with mountain guides that could have formed
Everest 2017: Start, Stop Start, Summits
The variable weather is creating confusion with some teams, while others being more patient seem to have the timing just right. And we have summits on the north side last night! There are a few teams trying again tonight. The winds are supposed to begin to calm. Several teams at the South Col late Thursday night (Nepal time) were hoping to summit early Friday morning. Some left, while others just stayed in their tents. The winds were gusting and whipping tents making them miserable at 8000 meters. Those who left returned before reaching the Balcony using up their precious oxygen supplies. There was no Os for a second attempt, and probably little energy. SummitClimb‘s Nepal team, who wins the award for the shortest updates of the season, posted: We just received a radio call: Everest summit very windy: many teams turning back = no summit. They did report over on Lhotse: 2 more members just summited with 2 Sherpas. Mingma Sherpa with Dreamers Destnation noted the toll on the climbers: Many tried Summit today but they returned back to south col because of high wind. Some news are out which said members and sherpa got frostbite. Summit Fever In 2008, I had a similar experience. I climbed just below the Balcony but felt I was going too slow and turned myself back. However, once I got back to the South Col, I felt great and thought I should try again. Thankfully, calmer heads prevailed plus I didn’t have enough oxygen bottle to try again so I return the Camp 2. On the down climb, I realized how spent I was. The best decision was to retreat and climb another day – which I did to the summit in 2011! But these decisions are extremely difficult. The notion of ‘summit fever” sets in. This is a real phonenoum. You know you can climb higher. You are so focused on reaching your long time goal, that common sense becomes secondary. Having an experienced, trusted climbing partner is key to making good decisions. Just like in life, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Windows, Weather and Communication Camp 2 on the south side is pretty busy. If you look at the tracking table, you can see who is there. Simply put, most of base camp has moved to Camp2, often also called Advanced Base Camp on the south side. It is located on a rocky section to the climber’s left as you ascend from Camp 1. It is about an hour, more or less, from the base of the Lhotse Face. Needless to say the views are stunning, especially at sunset. Most climbers have spent anywhere from 3 to 6 nights already here with prior acclimatization rotations. Teams have full time cooks and dining tents so it is fairly comfortable. But, and this is a 1st World Problem :), there are no generators, no WiFi and no heaters – oh my! A similar scenario is happening on the north side at Advanced Base Camp. But yaks can ferry gear there so they have a few more luxuries depending on the team. However on both sides, climbers are 100% focused on the days ahead. The previously forecasted window of 21-26 seems to be holding but, and this is a biggy, big winds expected on the 22nd. Also the atmosphere is warming up a bit so the extremely cold temp of -40F may warm to a balmy -20F on the summit. Communication The good news of this push is that the majority of the teams are lead by long time Everest guides on both sides. They have worked together, and generally communicate well. They support one another as needed in emergencies. This does not mean there won’t be crowds but hopefully, teams move steadily. Last year one large team moved so slowly that others were stuck behind them using up precious oxygen and getting frostbite. South Updates: Adventure Consultants reports in from C2: Everest Expedition 2017 – May 18 Dispatch – Camp 2 – This evening we are back in Camp 2. Another early start with a midnight breakfast had us climbing through the icefall well before dawn. We were escorted up to the first ladder by our Base Camp dogs, Blizzard and Gale, whose claws seemed to grip as well as our crampons. Above Camp 1, the hot temperatures in the Western Cwm delivered as usual and night time temperatures rose considerably. Now we are staged at Camp 2 we are in a better position to take advantage of favourable weather conditions when it occurs. It is important to be in the right place on the mountain when conditions improve, as we need a 5 day period to travel from Base Camp to summit. By staging at Camp 2 we reduce that to 3 days, so it’s easier to be opportunistic. Tomorrow we will rest here and study the weather forecast when it arrives in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Ang Dorjee and Paul will move to Camp 3 tomorrow, good luck to them. IMG still has a fair number of climbers at base camp waiting for the final push. The weather appears to be getting better day by day so this strategy will most likely work again this year. Last year IMG had one of the last teams to summit. For their climbers at C2 they reported: At evening check-in, the Team was doing great and looking forward to a rest day tomorrow. We are keeping our eye on the weather and looking forward to heading up the Lhotse Face soon. High winds are predicted for the upper mountain tonight and tomorrow so the timing is perfect for the rest day. I get a request daily to report on specific teams or climbers. There is a lot of national and personal pride out there – all well deserved. glad to do this when there is unique news but many smaller team simply don’t update enough. Anyway here is a shout out to the Greek team at C2! Climb On!! North Updates – Summits! 7 Summits Club who left base camp a few days ago reported their first
Everest 2017: Summit Wave 2 Underway
Team after team pulled into Camp 2 on the Nepal side and Advanced Base Camp on the North. Some are going to the summit 18 May Thursday night looking to summit early Friday morning 19 May. The weather looks to be marginal and high winds are currently reported. Summit Waves To try to maintain some kind or organization, for years I have called these summit pushes “waves”. I loosely define them as when a large group of teams try to summit during a somewhat defined weather window. I called the last set of summits Wave 1 lead by Transcend on the north and the Gurkhas on the south. Today is Wave 2 with 7 Summits Club on the north and Summit Climb on the South. I expect Wave 3 to be when all the commercial teams now staged at camp2 move to the South Col and try to summit between 21-25 May Of course, there are always independent climbers and small teams that squeeze in a summit attempt and I’ll note them as I can, but you can imagine how difficult it can be to track some of these teams, especially if they don’t want to get any publicity. Finally, if there are deaths or serious injuries, you may not find me to be the first to report them. With all the communication technology on Everest, rumors get out quickly. My commitment is to report these tragic events only after I can confirm them and not based on hearsay. Also, only after families have been notified. South Happening NOW in HIGH Winds Summit Climb is reporting their team left the South Col for the summit around 8:00 pm Thursday night. Satori Adventures is also reported to be on their push Satori team on South. My friend Kuntal Joisher tells me they have a strong team comprising of 1 australian, 2 italians, 1 japanese, 2 indians. All very good climbers with 7000 and 8000 meter experience under their belt. They are supported by a strong Sherpa team with 1:1 sherpa ratio. All climbers are using Os. Another company, Mega Adventures is also on their summit push. In Position As I said, there are at least nine of the major western guide companies currently at Camp 2. Adventure Consultants sums up their situation at Camp2: Now we are staged at Camp 2 we are in a better position to take advantage of favourable weather conditions when it occurs . It is important to be in the right place on the mountain when conditions improve, as we need a 5 day period to travel from Base Camp to summit. By staging at Camp 2 we reduce that to 3 days, so it’s easier to be opportunistic. Tomorrow we will rest here and study the weather forecast when it arrives in the afternoon. Alpine Ascents left a day later than the others from EBC – Nepal. They are targeting the last couple of days in this theoretical weather window. AAI does something most team don’t – spend a night at the South Col before and after their summit bid. They stock extra oxygen since it is at 8000 meters and it takes a bit more logistics plus a slightly longer weather window all at one of the highest prices on the south side at a minimum of $65,000. They feel this is safer and increase their member’s success. They have put 271 people on the summit, 0ne of the highest of all the commercial operators. It will be interesting if the conditions support that strategy this year. Ben Jones reports in: Our team has been patiently waiting in Basecamp for good weather over the last week and we are now ready to head up for our summit attempt. We will continue to monitor the weather over the next few days but our plan is to summit on the 24th. If the weather’s not looking good then we have some options of resting at Camp 2 until it does look good again. Right now we feel pretty good about the 24th or 25th. I will continue to update you as we go and then Lakpa Rita will be updating here as we begin the ascent from the South Col through the night. If the weather cooperates we will go to Camp 2 tomorrow, followed by a rest day at Camp 2. Then we will spend one night at Camp 3 before heading to the South Col. Once at the South Col we will rest the following day before heading up to the summit sometime between 11pm and midnight beginning on the 23rd in the morning of the 24th for an early morning summit. The team is excited and ready to start the climb! Thanks for following us on this journey, and we will update as much as possible, so stay tuned. North 7 Summits Club is on the move right now: Alexander Abramov from Tibet: 31. Day on 17 May. Club expedition 7 Summits Mount Everest in 2017. Today, our team had a rest – 3 days resting at base camp – once again emerged from the base camp towards the summit. Plan: climb to the summit on 22 May. We are now at 5800 tomorrow – ABC. Now Sergey Larin with three participants in the camp 7800 meters. Tomorrow they go to 8300 and in the night – in the assault. Other team are moving from base camp to Advanced Base Camp and even higher. A few climbers are staying at base camp holding out for better weather, and probably fewer climbers on the route. 2017 Summit Experiences There have been over 200 summits thus far, perhaps many more, so we are starting to get a good understanding of conditions high on both sides of Everest. Sounds like the conditions on the north side are very good this year and mixed on the south – even the Hillary Step. has changed!. The condition reports are unexpected with what we have seen thus far during the acclimatization rotations on both sides. Sean James with Adventure Peaks was