Everest 2017: Palpable Excitement as Teams Move Higher
Base Camp on the Nepal side is quickly becoming lonely as many teams left in the cold dark early morning hours of Wednesday 17 May, 2017. A similar pattern is occurring on the north, but several left yesterday. 10 or more teams left Everest Base Camp on the Nepal side this morning. I estimate 200 people (foreigners and Sherpas) on the move today all to Camp2, so we may hear a comment or two on waiting to cross ladders in the Icefall. See the location table for details. While this may seem like a lot of people, Everest is a big mountain – on both sides 🙂 and can handle this many people. On May 21, 2011 when I summited, I was the fourth person on the summit from the south side and 125 people summited that day. I never waited a moment up or down. Also, as I have detailed before there has been a 30% attrition of foreigners due to illness, and personal issues that has reduced the south side from a record year to a big year. Time to Climb The sense of excitement is palpable, even over the internet, but more so when you talk live to one of our climbers at Everest Base Camp. I spoke live with my climbing buddy Jim Davidson as he sat in his tent preparing to leave in a few hours. He sounded strong, calm and confident. He is with the IMG Classic team. You can follow Jim on his Inreach. Jim told me before he left this morning: I am still in Everest base camp, on Day 57 of this trip. Phew, what a long journey. The 57 days have been long. The 40 years have been long, since Dad first directed me to the polar and exploration section of the Concord Free Public library and I started reading Everest books. It is hard to believe that there are no more training, workouts, skills development, practice sessions, workouts, ramp up peaks, intermediate goals, or rotations left until I get to try climbing Everest. The time to climb Everest is actually here! James Brooman, also with IMG is climbing without supplemental oxygen. He has shown that he is a smart, strong climber. He posted today: I am both excited and nervous. The big boss here rightly noted that the only reason to be nervous is if you are unsure of what you are doing. At least for me – without Os – I am also stepping into the unknown above 8,000m. I should perform well up there, but who knows. The final couple of hours was just described to me as ‘crippling’. I’m not scared, just worried that I might not perform as well as I want, or be physically unable to make it. In any case, I’m going to give it every single thing I have. Everything else is out of my control, so I’m focused only on what I can control. The Summit Climb team on the Nepal side are a bit ahead of every and moved to Camp 3 on the 18th, this should put them on the summit early Sunday morning, 21 May – if the weather is kind. Japanese Changes of Plans Nobukazu Kuriki announced a major change in plans. He had been on the north side aiming to climb via the Supercouloir but will switch to the south and attempt to summit via the West Ridge to the Hornbein Couloir, the same route that almost took his life in 2012. He cited “blue ice on the north wall” and the risk of high winds for the switch He obviously is not satisfied with taking the standard routes on either side. He plans to summit on 23 may. North Big Push 7 Summits Club’s Alexander Abramov said their two teams are well on their way: 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 Zawtar – 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 teams are also on the move, but a couple are holding tight for a couple more days. Remember on the north side climbers can climb into June unless the monsoons create bad weather. The difference is no large Icefall on the north side that becomes more unstable as the temperatures warm into June. Climber’s Stuck on ‘Holiday’ In a strange twist, some climbers who flew to villages in the Khumbu to rest up before their summit push are now stuck there unable to get back to ECB and join their team for the summit push. Fog has shut down helicopter flights in Namache and Lukla. Personally I never went down valley to “touch grass before the summit” fearing catching new bugs from new people, but honestly, I never considered not being able to get back due to bad weather! Hopefully they will get back today or tomorrow. Rory McHugh posted: We’re trying to get out of this place and back up the hill for a summit push but the fog has set in and there have been no helicopters flying in or out of Lukla or Namche today. Feels like Groundhog Day. The same song plays on a constant loop in the background of the Barista Cafe. One by one each of us go off in a tantrum about one thing or another. At least we take turns. We’ve had a good rest break here and I now feel like I’ve recovered from a lousy stomach upset but we want out bad.P Please someone lift this fog and let us get out of here. Kami Sherpa Update Many of my long time readers know that I summited both Everest and K2 with Kami Sherpa plus we went thru the 2015 earthquake together, standing side by side in the low clouds with avalanches crashing off Nuptse and Everest into the Western Cwm, the ground shaking under our feet. Obviously I deeply
Everest 2017: Teams Prepare for Huge Summit Push
Teams are on the move! Right on schedule, and it is now or never .. Instead of a peaceful calm, the lag time since most climbers competed their acclimatization rotations – as much as two weeks – is starting to wear on them But there may be other pressures at work. Maybe because weather forecasts from multiple services agree. Or perhaps with the monsoons now starting in India, and moving north. Or maybe it is simply the unsaid is now being said – it is now or never – for this season. Teams on both sides are preparing to move up the mountain aiming at summits starting as early as 18/19 May but most are targeting 23-25 May, next week, based on the current forecast … and that is the problem with Everest 2017. Most Challenging Weather Forecasting in 14 Years Respected Austrian operator Lucas Furtenbach on the Tibet side this year commented on the weather and weather forecasters: All Everest meteorologists agree: they have never had experienced a season in which it was so difficult forecasts for the Everest. And once they have created. If you want anything different. The weather this year is definitely the key factor. So far, there have been two very short weather window from both north and south of a few. Yes, there were approx. 20 summits of north and again so many from the south. This year first was atypical way of reaching the summit north. Michael Fagin with Everest Weather made an interesting comment to me today: I have been forecasting here since 2003 and never seen a season like this with forecast model runs changing every 12 hours. Let that sink in. Michael has been watching the weather on Everest for 14 years, and this year is the most difficult. Trivia, on the majority of my 8000 meter climbs, Michael has provided the forecast. He went on to comment on the impending start of the monsoon season which usually brings an end to climbing on the Nepal side: As you might know once we get that start of the monsoon we “usually” start to have the jet stream shift to the north and “general” bring some “reasonable” summit winds. So when you put all this together along with meteorologist Chris Tomer‘s notion that the next “windows” are suggested to be two days each on either side of 22 May: 18-21 or 23-25, it is time to climb. Summits Take Days First to say the obvious for long time Everest followers, you just don’t leave base camp and go to the summit … you move steadily higher, retracing steps and camps. Generalizing as some teams go faster or slower, the chart shows both sides are similar with team skipping the lowest camps and launching their summit bid from the high camp after spending a short time there. Ideally, teams want 7 days of low winds and low precipitation, but would settle for 1 days on both sides of the summit day or 3 days of winds under 30 mph/50 kph. So if you are targeting summit on May 18, you need to leave base camp on May 15th, um two days ago! Similarly if you are looking at May 25th, Monday the 22nd is your day. Maybe a day earlier as insurance. This is the time when expedition leaders earn their money. The right choice with right weather, they are heros. The wrong choice … Bottom line is that teams are either on their way or preparing now. North with elapsed days South with elapsed days CBC 5182m EBC 5300m ABC 6500m 2 C2 6400m 2 North Col 7000m 1 C3 7150m 1 C3 8300m .5 South Col 8000m .5 SUMMIT 8850m 1 8850m 1 ABC 6500m 1 C2 6400m 1 CBC 5182m .5 EBC 5300m .5 TOTAL 6 6 So with this as background, let’s take a look at what teams are saying on both sides, at least those who are willing to be public. But keeping secrets on Everest is similar to a Trump Whitehouse 🙂 History Lesson But before everyone gets into a mass panic, take a close look at this chart I use all the time. It shows we are about to enter the sweet spot of Everest summits 17-23 May. In other words, we are right on schedule!! North Plans 7 Summits Club is heading for summits in the window most others are targeting: Today, our second team out on the climb from Base Camp. In order to mount 22 of May. It includes the Pole Yanush Kohansky. He goes to a new world speed record for climbing all seven peaks – 129 days. Our first team today, spent the night at the North Col camp and goes into 7800. Climbing is scheduled for 19 May. Wonderful weather. Excellent condition of the route. Status of participants is excellent. Summit Climb, as represented by Ricky Munday posted: I’ve eaten a giant pot noodle for breakfast and drunk two cups of tea and now it’s time to move up the mountain to begin the summit rotation. The boys are breaking the journey to ABC by sleeping at interim camp tonight (5,800m), but I’m trying to cover the whole 22km in one day – I don’t like interim camp and will have an extra rest day at ABC. We’re still targeting 23rd May for our summit bid.Thank you all for your overwhelming support. As we move into the final phase of the expedition, a reminder that I’m climbing Everest in memory of my twin uncles Micheal & Patrick, who were both taken by cancer. The Iowans are also looking at the 23rd: After looking at the weather and consulting with our Sherpas and other teams, we are heading up to ABC the day after tomorrow (18th). We will watch the summit weather carefully and make changes accordingly, but right now we are planning for a May 23 summit date. No word from Nobukazu Kuriki on his no Os attempt. I’m really pulling for him as this
Everest 2017: Winds Return Thwarting Nepal Summits
After a few good days when the winds ignored the forecasts, they both came back into alignment. High winds now and expected for tomorrow. South Summit Turnaround Larry Daugherty climbing with Adventure Ascents turn 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 While it is heartbreaking to turn back at the South Summit, given it is under two more hours and about 500 vertical feet to the summit, this is not all that unusual. The winds come mostly from the west so when climbing from the South Col, they are blocked, until you reach the South Summit – and then it can become a hurricane. So turning back is the right decision to avoid severe frostbite or worse. Once this happens it is extremely rare to try again as the climbers are very tired, supplemental oxygen is low and probably the weather that stopped this push, is still around the next day. Tough break for these guys but the right and courageous decision. More Attempts? I cannot confirm this but it was rumored that a large Chinese team with Seven Summits Treks was supposed to head up and summit about now, but there is no update. Alos, the north side seems to have been quiet on Wednesday the 17th, but there are always independents climbing on both sides we never hear about. UPDATE: 7 Summits Club is heading for summits in the window most others are targeting: Today our second team enters the ascent from the base camp. With a view to rise from 22 may. In its composition janusz kochanski. Goes to a new world record for the duration of climbing at all 7 Peaks on 129 days. Our first team today, slept on the northern saddle and today goes into camp 7800. Ascension Set for 19 may. The weather is great. The condition of the route is good. Excellent condition of the participants. Fight! More as it develops. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2017: Summit Wave 1 Recap
Wow, what a big night on both Everest and Lhotse, 16 May 2017. Many teams either ignored poor weather forecasts, believed the good weather forecasts or simply said they would go and take whatever the mountain allowed – many achieved their dreams early this morning. With so many summits, the fear of crowds is quickly diminishing but all remaining eyes are on the weather forecasts. Believe them or not! A Split Jet It seems the Jet Stream that normally is parked on top of Everest almost the entire year, is spitting off what I call “mini-jets” (I am sure there is a scientific name for this 🙂 ) These high speed flows are reeking havoc on both sides – at times – and then disappear. This has made forecasting this season challenging to say the least, according to Chris Tomer. The next “windows” are suggested to be two days each on either side of 22 May: 18-21 or 23-25. I expect the activity to slow down a bit over the next few days as teams prepare to head up. However 100 Chinese rumored to be climbing from the Nepal side tonight, 17 May. I posted a play by play as the summits were happening last night so I will not review every detail but let’s look at the big picture and what is up next. North Summits: Adventure Peaks with 2 members, 1 guide and 2 Sherpas. Mollie Hughes became the 16th female to summit from both sides of Everest with her summit along with Jon Gupta. See the previous post for complete list. Our buddies over at India’s Transcend continues their solid performance with four more teenagers on top along with six Sherpas. There were other summits but not reported yet. South Summits Ascent Himalayas aka Ireland to Everest had a big night with 17 total summits including several first. See the previous post for details. Adventures Global put two on Everest from Nepal. There were other summits but not reported yet. Lhotse Summits Lhotse is in desperate need of coordinating rope fixing similar to what happens on Everest. In 2016, three were no summits because no team was willing to fix the ropes after a Sherpa fell to his death while setting the route. This year, it appears there were duplicate rope fixing efforts. Australia’s Everest One‘s home team told me: Allan Cohrs and Raul Helander summited 5.20pm Nepal time. They fixed their own ropes along with Angelu Sherpa and Chirring Sherpa. Meanwhile Seven Summits Treks is reported to have put 10 on the summit – 7 Sherpas, 1 Norwegian, 1 Bulgarian and an Indian. They also said they fixed the lines: First Summit of Mt.Lhotse 2017 : Route fixed by climbing sherpa guides of Lhotse Expedition organized by Seven Summit Treks and 14 Peak Expedition company. 01 Norway , 01 Bulgarian and 01 Indian climbers reached to the Summit of Mt.Lhotse at 5pm My K2 summit buddy, Al Hancock, looks to be on the next push. And another Ascent Himalayas team, this one on Lhotse, made the top and also fixed ropes: AH Lhotse Expd 2017 update by Mingma Tsiri Sherpa(Everest Base Camp)After the 100 % success on Mt Everest this morning approx 9:45am Our Lhotse Team member John Snorri Sigursson(Iceland) and Cian O Brolchain(Ireland) together with Tsering Pemba Sherpa(IFMGA GUIDE) & Ang Chhiring Sherpa summited Mt Lhotse at 04:20pm.This is the first summit of Mt Lhotse(8516m) this season. Tsering Pemba with other climbing guides fix the route all the way to the summit.They started to summit at 11:00 pm.John Snorri(Iceland) became the 1st Icelandish to summit Mt Lhotse(8516m) and Cian O Brolchain(Ireland) became the 4th Irish to summit Mt Lhotse(8516m).We Ascent Himalayas team congratulate our member and climbing for the successful summit. There 100 permits issued for Lhotse so it will continue to see activity through the remainder of this season. There should be plenty of fixed ropes. 🙂 Extra Proud Moments For every climber, summiting is special but for some they are completing a huge project. Over on Dhaulagiri, Peter Hámor summited thus finished all 14 of the 8000 meter peaks. According to the Himalayan Database his first 8000er was Everest in 1998 with supplemental oxygen and tried again in 2014 without but only reached 7800 meters. Romanian climber Horia Colibasanu summited Everest from Tibet also without supplemental oxygen, the second for his country. This was his 8th 8000er. His home team posted on facebook: He made it!!!! Horia reached this morning, 6.20 RO hour, the highest point on Earth, the peak of mountain Everest, after a long summit that lasted 12 hours. “It was very, very hard, and very, very cold”, he said. Last Chance While not finished, noted German Alpinist Ralf Dujmovits is trying to get Everest without supplemental oxygen gave us this update: See his page for pictures. Yesterday I came back from another acclimatization loop on the Tibetan side of Mt. Everest. I spent one night in CII (7,700 m) where I had a relativ good night – beside some slight disturbance from my stomach which told me at 3 a.m. to leave the tent in less than 20 seconds…. In this picture – taken by a Tibetan Highporter of a Chinsese expedition- you see me zig-zagging up the snowridge leading from the North Col to CII. In the background you see Pumori (7,161 m), Cho Oyu (8,188 m) and Gyachung Kang (just below 8.000 m, from left to right). It was a beautiful, almost windstill day – until I reached the camp side where snowfall and some wind started. I’m here to undertake my 8th and definitely last attempt to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen. Everest is the only of the 14 8000m peaks on which I used oxigene during the summit climb (early October 1992). Since then I tried six more times to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen. Each time something went wrong or circumstances were not good enough. . . Disappointments? Over on Kanchenjunga, it appears the three Sherpanis (also fellow K2 summiters in 2104) turned back below the summit for lack of fixed ropes. This is the second event like
Everest 2017: More North Summits 16 May, South Underway – Update 3
The north side of Everest continues with solid results. Over 30 people are under way on the Nepal side tonight but no word yet on result or conditions. with 17 summits and probably more. The winds were supposed to pick up around noon on the south side, and perhaps the north but we’ll see what the climbers report. “Both Sides Club” Mollie Hughes just tweeted she, Jon Gupta with Lhakpa Sherpa and Lila summited making Mollie the youngest British female to summit from both sides of Everest. You can follow their descent on the tracker here Mollie joins a small club of female climbers who have summited Everest from both the Tibet and Nepal sides: Teenage Summits The Transcend Indian team continued their success with four more teenagers on top along with six Sherpas. For those curious about the teenagers with Transcend. Their home team gave me some additional information today: I would like to mention here that in spite of the young age of all these climbers, our core team of trainers & instructors have made sure that they have received ample training before being to an expedition like Everest. To be very specific, our’s is definitely not the type of Adventure Company that promotes to take a weekend trekker to the Mt. Everest. To give you a very basic idea of what goes into our training, after the initial selection based of physical and mental tests, the climbers are sent to one of the first and oldest Mountaineering Institutes of India for their Basic Mountaineering Course. Over here, these candidates are not only trained in the techniques of Ice & Rock Craft but made to trek through one of the toughest mountain terrains. The amount of load the climber carries along with the tough terrain, makes this trek a nightmare to most. And only those who have successfully cleared this course with the highest merit are taken to the next level: Winter Training. In this part, the trainees are made to experience almost the same weather conditions, terrain, etc., that one would find on an 8000m peak like Everest. And only after the trainee has cleared all these physical and mental aptitude tests, he/she is taken to the Everest. More North Summits – UPDATE 1,2 and 3 Amical reports summits at 3:05 am in good weather. Not confirmed but Adventure Peaks has put climbers on the summit from Tibet. Horia Colibasanu summited without supplemental oxygen. Nepal Side Pushes – UPDATE 2 Adventure Global said Anshu Jamsenpa and Furi Sherpa summited. A 19 member group from Ascent Himalaya aka Ireland to Everest is attempting the summit from Nepal summited: UPDATE: Big Summits from Nepal AH Everest/Lhotse 2017 Update: Mingma Sherpa(EBC). The Everest team made the successful summit of Mt Everest at 9:45am local time. The team consists of 8 members and 9 climbing sherpas which was leaded by Pasang Tenzing Sherpa,Furtemba Sherpa & Narendra Shahi who are the internationally certified IFMGA GUIDES. They made a 100 % success on Everest making the following records. 1:Torkjel Hurtig (Norway) became the youngest to summit Mt Evrest from south side at the age 0f 28 who was supported by our climbing guide Yukta Tamu(Nepal). 2:John Burke(Ireland) became the first to summit from Clare and we thanks to our climbing guide Tamting Sherpa(Nepal) for his great help and support for his successful summit. 3:Viridiana Alvarez (Mexico) summited Mt Everest (8848m) on her 34th Birthday and thanks to our Climbing Guide Narendra Shahi for a great birthday gift. 4:Adriano Freire(Brazil) also made to the summit of Mt Everest(8848m) on his first attempt together with his personal guide Furtemba Sherpa & Tsering Dawa Sherpa(Nepal) who followed and support him all the way from EBC. 5:Allan Meek (UK/Welsh) summited Mt Everest (8848m) on his first attempt with his climbing guide Nawang Jangbu Sherpa (Nepal) 6:Andre Spica (Norway) summited Mt Everest (8848m) on his first attempt with his climbing guide Ang Dorjee Sherpa (Nepal) 7:Une Prestholt(Norway):After 2 bad years on Everest.Une finally made to the summit of Mt Everest together with Dawa Tashi Sherpa(Nepal) 8:Richard Brook (Australia) made the successful summit of Mt Everest (8848m) on his 3rd attempt. We Ascent Himalayas family would like to congratulate all our members & climbing guides for the successful Everest Expedition 2017.And also we thanks to Pasang Tenzing Sherpa (Everest Team Leader) for his great guidance throughout the journey and Mingma Tsiri Sherpa for his great management during the expedition and keeping us updated with all the details. Lhotse Pushes Cian O’Brolchain and John Snorri Sigurjónsson and Allan Cohrs are nearing Lhotse Dhaulagiri 8000er Finisher Peter Hámor completed his 8000er with a summit of Dhaulagiri. The Slovakian summited all 14 of the 8000er without supplemental O2. I’l update this post as I get more information. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2017: Ropes Reach Summit from Nepal Side
A team of Sherpas and members from the Gurkha team summited Everest from the Nepal side between 1:00 and 2:00 pm Monday 15 May 2017. They fixed the final section from the Balcony to the summit opening the route, in theory, for other climbers. The weather window is short and appears to close around noon on Tuesday 16 May when the Jet Stream moves back on top of Everest. But, and maybe I need to put this in every post title 🙄 when it comes to weather this year, if you must make a prediction, do so often! Everest is a Beehive of Activity It is challenging to summarize the activity on both sides of Everest today as team, press and climbers reports are extremely inconsistent. Even when I contact people actually there I get different stories. But this is certain – climbers are climbing Mt. Everest as you read this. There is currently a tiny weather window on the south side that allowed around 25 people to summit 15 May. Another 40 are reported to be at the South Col to try tonight. On the north, there have already been summits and more are trying tonight. And, please let this sink in, there are hundred(s) of people sitting at base camp on both sides watching this first wave, content to see if history proves true and the winds calm, and a longer window opens as we approach the end of May. Gurkhas Summits 10 It appears that seven Sherpas and three members reached the summit but details are scarce for an unknown reason. More Summits on South? With the ropes to the summit, it might be easy to think all is good, but hold on. Adventure Consultants has been climbing Everest since 1992. Ang Dorje Sherpa their most Senior leader has been on most of them, so when AC talks, people should listen. This is what they posted today: Congratulations to the Gurkha Team and their Sherpa collaborators who fixed ropes to the summit of Everest today. Great job guys. This paves the way for others. The gates are open. We’ll be tuning in the weather for our summit bid. I’m hoping lots of folks decide to take advantage of the coming ‘micro’ weather windows to relieve crowding pressure. It’s nice to think we might be moving soon, after all it is mid May. But Ascent Himalaya said they expect to summit tonight 16 May – Nepal time. They have 8 members with 8 Sherpas: The Everest team left from camp 3 to camp 4 this morning at 7:30am and they will be take around approx 6hrs to reach to camp 4 today.Their plan is to make a summit tomorrow morning(16th May 2017)and we will update about that later this evening when they make a decision. North is Perfect, Forecast is Bad and Climbers Are Everywhere Some teams report perfect base camp weather while others see a window too small to push and yet others are trying to thread the needle tonight. Ricky Munday with Summit Climb posted: On the weather front, we had some disappointing news from Dave last night that the anticipated weather window from 21st had moved out to the mid-20s of May. Our latest possible summit date due to logistics is likely to be 29th May or so, so it’s squeaky bum time at the moment. Just to show there is no “group think” on the north side, Jon Gupta and Mollie Hughes with Lhakpa Sherpa and Lila are moving up looking to summit on 16 May: Everest Update (from Camp 3, 8300m!!) // Here we go…SUMMIT ATTEMPT!! Before you get to excited for us – we are trying in a small(ish) window which isn’t perfect. After MUCH umming & aahh’ing & studying of complex weather charts we are going to ‘give it a go’ on the very early morning of 16th May. This isn’t a rash decision & we could well turn back & return to Base Camp empty handed. If so we rest & wait again…but we will try. Either side of us are some strong winds & a little precipitation. But, as a small strong team we might just be able to work with it & push through! We have had 4 really hard days to reach high camp 8300m where we are now & id be lying if I said we weren’t tired. The next 4 hours is all about drinking, eating & resting. “Getting to the top is optimal, but getting back down is mandatory” Ed Viesturs Anyhow, we will see what the weather does for us & if it allows us to the top. You can follow us on the trackers all through the attempt here Thanks so much for all the support so far – it’s been truly incredible. Please buckle up & hold tight & I will update as soon as I can either way!m (but it might be a few days!) And the Transcend Indian team that made the first summit this year have their second team at Camp 2 on the north. They have 4 members and 6 Sherpas. Lhotse Soon With this small window, the Lhotse climbers have their chance to share in the spotlight. By their schedules show summits perhaps as early as tonight, 17 May in Nepal and other teams on 19 May, but with this weather, it may be off by a day either way. Remember that Lhotse is 2,400 feet lower than Everest but shares the same exposure to direct westernly winds. Ascent Himalayas is on the move with their Sherpas, Narendra Shahi & Pemba Nuru Sherpa,Tsering Pemba Sherpa and Ang Chhiring Sherpa and members John Snorri Sigurjónsson and Cian O’Brolchain. Also my K2 summit buddy, Al Hancock is heading up with teammates from Seven Summits Treks. Weather Forecasting Accuracy and Source Winds have been the major story on the south side this year. While the north had seen it’s share of winds, they have not been the impediment there as they have on the south. Many teams, climbers and families back home are looking
Everest 2017: Weekend Update May 14
The second week of May 2017 finally brought summits on Mount Everest. The ropes were set to the summit on the north side and then 18 people summited, including Lhakpa Sherpa with her 8th summit, a record for female climbers. Update: a small team of Sherpas may try to fix the ropes to the summit on the Nepal side Monday 15 May during tiny weather window. But most teams continue to look at 21 May as main summit opportunity, some could try a quick run before. 2017 is looking to be one of those years on Everest that is very difficult to navigate. North teams have experienced a mix of weather from great to harsh, while on the south, is has been difficult almost from day one. The forecast calls for a window of a couple of good days but then it shuts down as quickly as it opened leaving climbers stuck in high camps uncertain of their next move. For a few teams, they brave this uncertainty and succeed. But the gamble is huge. Long time Everest pros are content to sit back and see what happens, not risking their staff or members with unnecessary risks. But the waiting is taking a huge toll, especially on the south side for some, others take it in stride. A flu bug seems to be ravaging the Khumbu valley and has an impact on climbers. EverestER has seen more patients thus far than in the entire 2016 season – and over half are Nepalese. Some teams already have a 30% attrition from health and personal reasons exacerbated by the delays. This next week shows the usual tiny weather windows and teams are positioning themselves to be ready if and when they materialize. This first wave on both sides could be record setting with such pent up demand. I’m reminded of a conversation I had with American climber and guide Dave Hahn earlier this year. Dave was famous for being one of the last to summit year in year out. He set the non-Sherpa record for summits at 13. AA: Over the years you were often one of the last parties to summit Everest. Was this by design to avoid the crowds or just the way things worked out? DH: It was by design, for several reasons. While it is far more convenient for guides and guide companies to get Everest wrapped up in early May, the mountain can be a lot tougher for “normal” folks when it is bitterly cold, the route isn’t well-established and there are too many people going high all at once. So I was often waiting for better -easier- conditions and for the crowd to thin out. That strategy wasn’t always working anymore… the spring season was getting so busy that the crowd was no-longer thinning out. With that, let’s review where we are and what to expect. 1st Summits! With a bit of a mystery, the Chinese Mountaineering Association rope fixers on the north side stopped at 8300 meters, Camp 3, and said the commercial operators needed to take over. After a confab at base camp, nine Arun Trekking Sherpas working for the Indian team of Transcend Adventures finished the job and the route was opened to the summit on 11 May 2017. The Sherpa rope fixing team included: Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa, Lhakpa Gyalgen Sherpa, Sanduk Dorjee Tamang, Tenzing Chhotar Sherpa, Karma Gyaljen Sherpa, Mingma Nuru Sherpa, Fura Tshering Sherpa, Lakpa Sherpa and Pasang Chhiri Sherpa. 1st Team Summits Close on their heels was the first of two sub teams of the Indian company Transcend Adventures. Six teenage climbers summited along with ten Sherpas on 13 May, marking the first non-Sherpa summits of the season. These climbers deserve all the admiration of any Everest summiter for a climb well done. Great job team. On the same day, Lhakpa Sherpa at 44 set a female record for most Everest summits with her 8th time to stand on the top of the world. Climb Up, Climb Down On the south side, a tiny weather window was seized to take the ropes from the Balcony to the summit, but usual for this year on the Nepal side, the winds returned along with cold and the rope fixing team never even left the South Col, returned to Base Camp to regroup. Several stronger than usual climbers had positioned themselves as high as Camp 3 ready to shadow the Sherpas and claiming the first summits for foreigners on the south side in 2017. But as the Sherpas were forced down, the climbers had no choice but to follow. Watch and Wait On a roller coaster of emotions, for some, teams now sit at base camp wondering when their time will come. The south is clearly more in flux in 2017 than the north. On the north long time Everest north side climbers like 7 Summits Club’s Alex Abramov has already moved his team to the high camps anticipating something on 18 May. But the huge Chinese team of over 80 people are content to watch from base camp … for now. On the south, team after team fled base camp for the thick air lower down in the Khumbu. Now most have returned to EBC to stand watch. How Late is Late? Wth patience thinning, some climbers are simply giving up, acquiescing to the unpredictability of Everest and the physical and mental demands of living at 17,300 feet. But that may be a mistake. I looked back at some Everest history and found my own post in 2005 saying: The summits on May 21, 2005 were the latest first summit day in 45 years of climbing Mt. Everest. Norgay and Hillary did it on May 29, the earliest was April 4 in 1984. Fickle Weather But the frustration is real. Climbers, families and watchers keep asking what’s going on with the weather this year? Long time operators like Eric Simonson of IMG simply says: I reminded the guides of my Everest trip in 1997 when we waited at EBC for 17 days after the C3 rotations before we had a good weather window to go for the summit. Hopefully it does not
Everest 2017: First Team Summits on North, New Female Record
If there is one thing that is predictable about climbing Mt. Everest it is the unpredictability. Currently some teams must feel like a yo-yo. They were heading higher, but then retreated. However one team kept going and separately, a record was set for female summits on Everest. Record 8th Female Summit 44-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa set record with 8th female summit on Tibet side 13 May. Lhakpa, who once worked in a 7-Eleven shop in Connecticut, has three children and once summited eight months after the birth of her first daughter and while she was two months pregnant with her second child. Her first summit was in 2002. She was quoted : … wanted to show that Nepali women have the courage and endurance to perform their best despite all their hardships. Transcend Adventures The Indian team of Transcend Adventure put 6 members on the summit along with 10 Sherpas. These were the first non-Sherpa summits of 2017. Transcend is an Indian owned adventure company with offices in Kathmandu. They run climbing trips and helped the youngest woman to summit Everest, Indian Malavath Purna, 13 years 11 months on May 25, in 2014 from the north side This year they have 23 teenage members with an equal number of Sherpas. Three of their young climbers have left the expedition for personal or health reason. The Sherpas, who also work with Arun Trekking, fixed the ropes to the summit a few days ago. Transcend posted on their site that they were leaving for the summit late night 12 May from Camp 3. They were reported reaching the 2nd Step around 2:00 am. They told me the winds picked up in early morning between 3 – 5 am but otherwise were not an issue. Their home team does not report any injuries or issues and said half the team was back at ABC by 6 pm with the rest not far behind. Transcend posted: 6 Climbers from the Transcend Adventures Indian Team have reached the summit of Mt. Everest along with 10 Sherpas as listed below. Every climber and sherpa have returned safely returned to lower camps. 3 Climbers have already reached ABC and the rest will reach in about 2 hours. Transcend Adventures once again salutes the lifelines of Himalayan Climbing: The Sherpa People. Mr. Krishna at 9:05 a.m Mr. Bharat Thammineni Suresh Babu, Durga Rao Mr. Satya Rao at 8:40 a.m, Mr. Nagaraju Sundarana at 8:20 a.m. There were 10 Sherpas that summited: Pemba Chhepal Sherpa, Thame Purba Sherpa, Sethang Tashi Chhumbel Sherpa, Gumsa Norbu Sherpa, Makalu Pasang Dorjee Sherpa, Thame Phura Tenzing Sherpa, Thame Kami Temba Sherpa, Thame Sonam Tashi Karma Dorjee Sherpa, Phortse Lakpa Tshering Sherpa, Thame It has become very popular for expedition operators to take teenage Indians on Everest expeditions. They receive a lot of publicity before and just after their climbs, but it is unclear that this moment transfers to longer term advantage. Ameet Singh told me: these are stories that need to be told daily wage labourers in india earn as much as the porters do on the trail to EBC this boy is a living example of the opportunity in adversity in india today the nonlinear growth and expectations that india has amongst its poor and underprivileged. Everest is a means to climb out of social inequalities. Everest is much more for some among us over others. Congratulations to the members and their Sherpas for staying with it during some challenging conditions. The next team of Transcend climbers should head up as soon as possible. North Teams Move Up and some Sit tight As I have mentioned several times this week, the weather on the north side has been calmer than on the south, but the uncertainty of how long the winds will stay away kept some teams from even trying yesterday. But others are moving into position for their summit push. George Kashouh talked about Summit Climb’s plans: Still no news on the weather. We know an expedition made it to the summit this morning so the first success has already come in. The winds look high for the next few days and we might even descend back to the village again. Today I went for a two hour walk with some friends down to some tents where local Tibetans sell food and trinkets. I was hoping to resupply on some snacks but they only really had tea and beads. On the return I took this video of base camp and you can see it’s a bit windy. I’m not too concerned about the weather since we have plenty of time at the moment. Our expedition usually is one of the last to summit and although no one likes waiting this is all completely normal. And Ricky Munday added: A number of other teams had moved up the mountain earlier this week with a view to making summit bids on 15/16 but the weather forecasts are now showing strengthening winds, so it’s not certain if we’ll see more summits tonight/tomorrow or in the coming days. Conversely, other teams, including the large Chinese team, had retreated back to base camp and below. South Climbers Repositioning Climbers on the Nepal side are anticipating leaving soon for their summit bids. One team left today from Everest Base Camp. Many are returning from their down valley rest in local villages and other spending the days at EBC taking day hikes. The fickle weather forecast is making any prediction practically worthless however, 16/17 May seems to be a brief window. After that there are hopes of more stable weather after 20 May. Jim Davidson with IMG reported going up to Pumori for a nice photo op of Everest: Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2017: North Side Teams in Full Summit Blitz – Update 3
With the ropes set on Thursday, 11 May 2017, the floodgates were opened and the teams on the north side are not waiting. Most seem to be aiming for standing on the summit between 14-17 May. This is a short post that I will update throughout the day if news comes in. UPDATE 3: 1st non-Sherpa Summit From Transcend Adventures: Summit!!!! At approximately 8:20 a.m. Beijing time, an Indian along with his Sherpa reached the summit of Mt.Everest! The Transcend Adventures Indian Team records the first summit of the season! Details of the climber and Sherpa will be shared in the successive posts. Stay tuned! UPDATE 2: Transcend Adventure team at 2nd Step at ~ 2:00 am The Indian team of teenager was reported to be pushing hard for the summit and was at the 2nd Step around 2:00 am. Sherpas on their overall team fixed the ropes to the summit earlier this week. No word on weather, but was reported windy, so they are showing their stuff with this effort. UPDATE 1: Teams turning back due to bad weather. Well it looks like Saturday, 13 May 2017 is not a great summit day on the north side for some teams. Iowans for Everest have returned to basecamp. They posted: We are physically and mentally ready for the grueling summit push, unfortunately the mountain is not yet ready for us. Bad weather on the summit (wind) has forced us back down to base camp. Well, I (Andy) came back down today. John was not feeling well when I did an overnight at 23k last week, so he is making up for lost time tomorrow by sleeping at the North Col and then heading back to base camp the next day (14th). We will wait for the next weather window at base camp. Frustrating, but this is all part of high altitude mountaineering. George Kashouh with Summit Climb confirmed the bad weather with their team not even trying today: Everest Update! I didn’t want to mention for this reason, but we were aiming to summit on the 16th of May. Some nasty weather has moved in so our plans have been delayed. Some other teams had gone up to ABC but had to leave and come back to base camp. At the moment, the weather looks nasty as far as we can see. One trustable forecast shows the pressure holding steady until May 24th. Hopefully that will change because at the end of May the monsoons roll in and after that it’s expedition over. The waiting game begins! Weather The winds were predicted to increase on both sides but as we have seen this year, the north can be calm while gales on the south. It appears that several forecasts calls for what I would term short moments of low winds but nothing like a long periods i.e. 3-5 days or a week. So this means that teams would have to brave high winds to be positioned at the high camps and when/if that “moment” arrives, climb hard and fast to summit and get back down equally fast. This will be a real test for those climbing without supplemental oxygen. This is a hard ask for any climber, but especially the inexperienced ones with only Kill under their belt, or a climber who is already tired starting off. Climbing in medium to high winds takes a ton of extra energy plus frostbite is a real risk. Let’s hope that the winds are calm now on the north and relax on the south as a lot of plans are being made right now. South Nothing new on the Nepal side other than now there is talk of a brief low wind moment on 14 May – Sunday where the Sherpas might be able to reach the summit on that side. If they do, you can bet there will be a few climbers on their heels. North It appears the majority of the teams on the north are planning to stand on the summit between 14-17 May. A few teams seem willing to patiently wait at base camp for the next window, whenever that may develop. The Indian team Transcend Adventures seems to one of the first to set off targeting a summit on the morning of 13 May 2017 Everest time. They had 23 teenagers supported by 23 Sherpas. I do know directly from the team that they split in two groups but indication of how ammy on this first push. I have reached out to them for more information but they posted: Summit Push: Team 1 of TA Indian Team is heading towards Camp 3 (pic). They will start the summit attempt tonight. 7 Summits Club posted they are aiming for 18 May: Expedition leader Alexander Abramov Everest from Tibet. Guys, we go up to the assault of Everest in an hour. The first group under the leadership of Abramova Aleksandra. Briman Daniel Kravt Eugene, Aznaur Akka, Tebiev Valery, Kohanskiy Yanush. Plan today, May 12 – Middle Camp. 5800. Tomorrow, on May 13 – ABC. The day after tomorrow, on May 14 – 15 May 7000. Then – 7700m. Then, on May 16 – 17 May 8300. Then the top and descend to 6400. The second group led by Larina Sergeya all day later.Wish us luck! Summit Rope Team Transcend posted the names of the Sherpas who got the rope to the summit: 1. Lakpa Nuru Sherpa, Sirdar, Thame Village 2. Passang Chhiri Sherpa, Thame Village 3. Fura Tshering Sherpa,Thame Village 4. Mingma Nuru Sherpa , Thame Village 5. Karma Gyaljen Sherpa, Phortse Village 6. Lakpa Gyalgen Sherpa, Thame Village 7. Tenzing Chhotar Sherpa, Thame Village 8. Samduk Dorjee Tamanag Pangboche 9. Lakpa Nuru Sherpa Phortse Village Lhotse I am getting multiple reports and communications that for the second year in a row, rope fixing on Lhotse is a big problem. Last year, when I was supposed to climb Lhotse and was there, the rope never got fixed after an Arun Sherpa died in a fall while fixing
Everest 2017: First Summits!!
Big, positive news from Everest, the ropes were fixed to the summit from the Tibet side on 11 May 2017 around 4:30 pm. Meanwhile, the Nepal side climbers are settling in for a bit of a wait with those ropes not expected to be fixed until 17 May. Cooperation on the North Side The ropes on the north side have been managed by a team of Tibetan and Chinese climbers based out of Lhasa. For years, there was a climbing school in Lhasa that trained climbers on rope fixing and climbing techniques. A similar function is performed in Nepal today by the Khumbu Climbing Center. For years, Russell Brice, Himex team, lead the rope fixing effort on the north. After 2008, when the Chinese effectively closed the north side in order to avoid any anti-Tibet protests while they took the Olympic torch to the summit, Brice moved to the Nepal side and the CTMA took over. This has been going fairly well, albeit with some teams complaining that the ropes were installed later than desired in some years. This season, 2017, brought some uncertainty when the rope fixers got the route set to Camp 3 at 8300 meters, then stopped work. I have asked sources directly on that side for the reason and they seemed as mystified as anyone for the work stoppage. In any event, the teams gathered to get the job completed. On the South, the Icefall Doctors have responsibility to fix the route from EBC to Camp 2, then Sherpas from multiple teams come together to take the route to the summit. The Icefall Doctors are paid thru permit fees, but the commercial Sherpas are paid a bonus and the material cost is funded thru additional money from the climbers, often included in the price of their expedition. Anyway, on the north this year, each climber at base camp was asked to pony up $135 to pay for this effort from 8300 meters to the summit. Usually the largest team takes ownership of fixing the ropes since they have the most support staff. In 2017, the Chinese team with something like 45 support staff and Transcend with around 25 Sherpas were the likely candidates. The Chinese team said they would get the ropes and anchors to 8300 meters but couldn’t go higher and still support their members. So the Transcend team stepped up to finish the job. A technicality here, actually the Sherpas are termed as working for Arun Trekking, a Kathmandu based guide company, but Transcend, an Indian company with an office in Kathmandu, has the climbing permit. Thus we are seeing that both companies are proudly taking credit for getting the ropes to the summit. Is anyone still reading this? 🙂 If you want to read even more, guide Zeb Blais has an excellent blog on the subject plus other activity on the north side. Certainly the climbers on the Tibet side are thrilled that the road is open and now they can finalize their plans to summit. Same Mountain, Different Weather So what is up with the ropes getting to the top from Tibet but the Nepal side is locked down with high winds and deep snow. Isn’t it the same huge rock? Well yes and no – the key word here is huge. I thought I would ask a world-class meteorologists this question and get a factual answer. Chris Tomer is a meteorologist in Denver Colorado and provides weather forecasting for climbers all around the world in addition to being a climber himself and forecasting for the huge recreational community in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. He is currently providing weather forecasting for climbers on Everest this season thru his company Tomer Weather Solutions. This is Chris’ take on the tale of two mountains: … it looks like the higher pressure readings are on the North Side. And we’re talking true mountain meteorology here. If that’s the case you’ll have a pressure gradient at the Lhotse Face and a dominate North Wind off the Lhotse Face/Everest/Lhotse massif that acts like a wall pushing the clouds and precip south or at least blocking it from flowing over that physical barrier. Tends to keep the North side cleaner right now. I do see where the absolute flow of moisture is heavier on the Nepal side and that fits with the idea that the higher pressure readings are on the Tibet side. So, what does this all mean? For the time being the North side is more stable. The north wind is holding the moisture on the Nepal side. So this explains why the north has been pretty nice, including an excellent day today to summit, but Chris suggests a change is in the air: However, climbers will still run into the same bitter cold higher on the mountain and unless they are climbing to the summit in the next two days their fate will be the same as the Nepal side with the jet stream returning in a few days. Light summit wind the next couple and some light snow for the Nepal side. Then jet moves back over summit and influences both Nepal side and Tibet side equally. So the window remains open for climbers ready to get to the summit. I won’t be surprised to see a slew of north summits before this window closes. North Updates This from Tony Mills with Adventure Peaks: The plan is definitely to go for a summit on the 16th but the window is very very slim, the weather isn’t behaving to well at the moment. If we don’t take this opportunity we may have to wait for at least another week, so we will be threading that needle to a certain extent. We can sit at abc for a day or two if it doesn’t work out we come back to bc. Other teams are on the move tomorrow as well so the 16th has some credibility, we’ll see!! Hopefully we can just get this done now! Brooks Entwistle, who arrived at EBC only last week, 2 May, after “pre-acclimatizing” at home made this