Everest 2021: Summit Wave 2 – Wrap Up

At least 50 people summited on Tuesday morning, May 12, 2021. This takes the total to over 150 for the first two summit waves of commercial clients. By my count, there are as many as 350 clients with their Sherpas yet to make a summit attempt. We may see a few more for Thursday, May 13 summit morning. See the Tracking Table for a complete update.

Lhotse Climber Lines

There are several huge teams but one that dominates 8000-meter mountains now, Seven Summits Treks. They went up on May 10 and thus this report from Summit Climb‘s Sherpas who were doing a carry to the South Col. The good news is they are all cleared out now and no there team has so many people all going at once so hopefully, the rest of the season will be more rational. So much for the government’s plan to address crowding.

10 May – Everest News: My Name Is Tenji Sherpa. I am leader of SummitClimb Sherpa team. I am 38 years old with 2 kids, 1 girl, 1 boy. When i started working, I was a kitchen boy, now I’ve summited Everest 15 times. Today our group of 7 Sherpas each carried 6 oxygen bottles, 1 tent, and 5 epigas cans up to camp 4 on the south col. Our rucksacks were 35 kilos each. Its a very hard climb up the steep icy cold Lhotse face. We left c2 at 9pm and we used oxygen. Another team was climbing the face at the same time as us. They are about 100 foreign members and 100 Sherpas, all trudging up in a long line. There is no way our 7 Sherpas could pass 200 while climbing this blue ice face so we had to wait for 2 extra hours. At 8am we deposited our loads at c4 on the cold windy south col with the other 80 or so tents. On our way down we waited for 80+ people (same group) adding 2 hours to our descent, reaching c2 at 4pm.


Wave 2 Summary

Climbing The Seven Summits had a good evening with 17 total summits.

We are very happy to announce that the first team of Climbing The Seven Summits ctss have successfully reached the top of the Everest this morning between 6am to 8am Nepal time. Most of they have already descent to camp 4 and enjoying the well deserved soup and tea and rest of team on their way down to C4. Huge congratulations to all the team who summitted this morning and wishing all a safe descend to base camp!

Name lists of ctss team summitted today on 12th May, 2021:

Members:
1) Steve Steven, USA
2) Michale Neal, USA
3) Dr. Michale Peterson, USA
4) Ryan Argenta, USA
5) April Leonardo, USA
6) Rob Su, USA
7) David Morgan, Australia

Sherpa/guide team:
1) Lhakpa Rangdu Sherpa (IFMGA guide).
2) Pemba Gyaljen Sherpa (IFMGA guide).
3) Tenji Sherpa (IFMGA guide).
4) Pemchhiri Sherpa (IFMGA guide).
5) Ashis Gurung (Aspirant Guide)
6) Pemba Tashi Sherpa
7) Ang Tsering Sherpa
(😎 Nima Rita Sherpa
9) Rinjee Sherpa
10) Lhakpa Tsering Sherpa

Mingma G was going on his summit push without oxygen while the rest of his clients and Sherpas with Imagine Nepal are on O’s along with him. They report these summits, including three Nepali sisters. No update if Mingma G summited with or without supplemental oxygen.

Congratulations to 3 sisters and our team members.
1. Nima Jangmu sherpa Nepali
2. Tshering Namgya sherpa Nepali
3. Dawa Futi sherpa Nepali
& other team member
4. Dawa tenjin sherpa Nepali
5. Kili (kilu) pemba sherpa Nepali
6. Phur galjen sherpa Nepali
7. Nima dorjee sherpa Nepali
8. Furtemba sherpa Nepali
9.Dawa gyalje sherpa Nepali
10. Ms zhang ying- chinese
11.Mr wang zhong-chinese
12.Gao li-chinese
13.Mr liu sen-chinese
14. Mr huang weiji -chinese
15. Mr Sirbaz khan- pakistani

Seven Summits Treks continue their takeover with more clients summits and an unknown number fo Sherpas but perhaps ten or more given their past ratios:

@sevensummittreks International Everest Expedition team members started (8am onward) to take the top of the Mt. Everest (8848.86m).

Summiteers:

1) Noel Hanna 🇮🇪
2) Amin dehghan 🇮🇷
3) Abdul W. Waraich 🇨🇭
4) Martha Aletta Jager 🇿🇦
+ Nepalese Sherpa

Dreamers Destination Treks said that Pemba Dorjee Sherpa (his 21st Everest summit) with Tseng Ko-Erh (Taiwan), Nima Gyalzen Sherpa, and Nima Lhamu Sherpa made the top at 7:00 am this morning. They added, “Note: With this the Sherpa family updated their own Guinness Record as the most siblings to have scaled the world’s highest peak together from Nepal side in the spring climbing season.”

Kaitu Expeditions had summits but the Managing Director only listed himself.

Peak Promotion put two members and two sherpas on the top at 7:40 am. They were Jitendra Gaware, Jigmat Tharchin, Pasang Sherpa and Phurba Sherpa.

Supported by Shangri-La Nepal Treks, Taylor Sweitzer finished his Grand Slam with his Everest summit at 4:54 local time along with Phura Sherpa, Tensing Gyalzen Sherpa, Panuru Sherpa, and Lapka Sherpa.

Pakistan Sirbaz Khan summited Mt Everest at 6.05 am. He summitted Annapurna last month. He has summited K2, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, Lohtse, and Manaslu.

Lhotse Summits from Everest

As has become fashionable, climbers linked Lhotse after their Everest summit. They return to the South Col, typically sleep a bit then downclimb to just above the Yellow Band where they climb up to the Lhotse High Camp. They sleep a bit more then go for the summit of the 4th highest peak. This is what these climbers just did as reported by Nepali logistics company owner, Iswari Paudel

Kenton Cool along with Dorjee Gyalzen Sherpa summited the world’s fourth highest peak Mt. Lhotse at around 11:00am. He becomes first foreigner of the season to scale Mt. Lhotse this season, Kenton Cool made it to the top of mountain in less than 29 hours after scaling the world’s highest peak Mr. Everest at around 6:15 am‬ yesterday & becomes first Briton to climb Mt. Everest 15 time. Congratulations to Garrett Madison, Madison Mountaineering, entire team & Sherpas.


Who’s Left?

Well, the short answer is many! The winds are expected to pick back up on the 14th so we may see another summit wave tonight, May 12 with summits on the 13th but teams will risk being hit by winds on the descent. I fully expect some, perhaps many to try. The issue is the jet stream will move from south to north across the summit for maybe as long as a week starting on Thursday. Thus the next window opens after May 20th. So teams are motivated to get it done now.

As for how many people are left to make a summit attempt, here’s my math which could be off but is my best guess is given the shrowd of secrecy on Everest and the censorship from the government this year.

Nepal issued 408 member permits. Between normal attrition (sickness, boredom, gave up, injury) and COVID, perhaps 100 people left for home before the airport closed. Over 150 summited this week leaving 158 members (408-100-150). Each member has at least 1 Sherpa, maybe 1.5 so another 200 to 240 Sherpas making the overall total 358. Maybe 50 given many teams have generous support ratios these days.

Looking at the weather window between May 20 and May 25, that’s plenty of time for these hundreds to spread out and not have a repeat of 2019. However, if the jet lingers, or the outer bands of a cyclone hits Everest and dumps snow, all bets are off.

Probably the most interesting climb yet to come is from Kilian Jornet and David Goettler who, allegedly, will attempt a true traverse between Everest and Lhotse starting with the West Ridge of Everest. Oh, and with no O’s. This has never been done. They’ve completed their acclimatization and are on weather watch like the rest.

However, it may be yet another hurry up and wait with all international flights canceled in and out of the Kathmandu airport. Personally, I think EBC is safer than Kathmandu at the moment.

Dhaulagiri – Over for Carla and Topo

We knew it was over, but Topo adds his thoughts on Dhaulagiri:

Shortcomings!!!
Didn’t get to the top this time but had a great time in #Dhaulagiri with @carla.perez.ec!!! Had to turn at about 7800m at the beginning of the infamous “traverse” in the classic route up the NE ridge after a couple whumfs and about and hour thinking if some praying was going to keep the snow together. At the end, gravity seemed stronger than any negociation and I decided that it wasn’t going to be a good day to play with avy conditions.
Believe it or not, I’m super proud of this attempt because although we weren’t trying a new route, to climb an 8000m peak breaking all the trail, carrying all your gear, without fixed ropes, and not following anybody was an experience that taught me a lot.
The door is open and we just have to persist trying! Now just a rest and plan the next move…
@eddiebauer
📸 by @tjtriage of me, arriving to C1 at 5850m. Big smile, no summit this time but who cares about the top when you gave it all?

Also, the Northwest Ridge for Slovak Peter Hámor and the Romanians Horia Colibasanu and Marius Gane after they escaped an avalanche while sleeping in their tent at Camp 3.

Travel Update, including how to leave Nepal and Pakistan

The US asks its citizens not to travel to Nepal. source Nepal is now at level 4, the highest health threat level. from their website:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Nepal due to COVID-19, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country. Subsequently, on May 10, the State Department elevated the Travel Advisory for Nepal to Level 4 – Do Not Travel. For further information, please visit the State Department travel webpage for Nepal: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Nepal.html.

Currently, regularly scheduled commercial flights departing Nepal are not available. On May 11, the Government of Nepal (GoN) extended the flight suspension through the night of May 31. The U.S. Embassy has requested that the GoN permit the operation of charter flights by airlines providing service to the United States. We are awaiting word of GoN approval for the operation of such flights.

If you have not done so already, U.S. citizens who wish to depart Nepal should register their interest with the Embassy by completing the following online form found at: https://bit.ly/3eUPFC0

While not as desperate as Nepal, Pakistan is also at level 4 according to the US State Department:

Do not travel to Pakistan due to COVID-19. Reconsider travel to Pakistan due to terrorism and sectarian violence. Some areas have increased risk

Nepal Oxygen Needs

Caught flat-footed and unprepared for the pandemic’s sudden rise from nearby India, the need for oxygen throughout Nepal is critical. Planes are flying in hundreds of cylinders, ventilators plus machines to extract oxygen from the atmosphere but it’s not enough. The need is estimated at over 25,000.

Nepal’s Ministry of Health and the Nepal Mountaineering Association are requesting all oxygen bottles on Everest, estimated at over 3,000, be donated to Kathmandu hospitals after used for climbing. Each bottle could provide three hours of oxygen to a patient.

The Nepal Times gives this update:

On Monday, there were additional 9,271 new infections and 139 fatalities. The number of active infections is closing on to 100,000, and the total confirmed cases exceeded 400,000 on Monday. Nepal’s test positivity rate is exceptionally high at more than 40%, which is double India’s average. Even then, public health experts say it is a gross underestimation because of the limited number of tests.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

Video Version of this Post

145 views
Everest 2021: Recap of Summit Waves 1 & 2

The Podcast on alanarnette.com

You can listen to #everest2021 podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Anchor, YouTube, and more. Just search for “alan arnette” on your favorite podcast platform.

Share this post: