A Sherpa has reportedly died, and not a lot of details, and a Nepali Army Capitan needed rescue after summiting, and at least thirty-five more people summit bringing the season total to over sixty-six.
The Himalayan Times report the death of Phurba Sherpa near Yellow Band above Camp III. He was part of the Nepal Army Mountain Clean-up campaign. This brings the season’s death toll to five, with three Sherpas dying in the Icefall in early April and American Doctor Johathan Sugarman passing away at Camp 2 on May 1. The Times also reported that Nepal Army Captain Dipendra Singh Khatri needed rescue just below the South Summit after summiting.
Summits were reported by Elite with thirty and 14 Peaks with four Chinese climbers and one Sherpa climber.
There are masses of climbers from almost every operator spread out from Camp 1 to the South Col on their summit push. Brit Kenton Cool is going for a non-Sherpa summit record of sixteen with his client and one Sherpa.
Other 8000ers
Lhotse saw the first commercial summits by climbers going directly from the South Col to the summit without returning to base camp. They included Nadia Azad, Naila Kiani and Pasang Temba Sherpa. But not everyone made it, as reported by Pioneer:
Due to an unfortunate communication error originating from the summit to our base camp, we regret to inform you that adverse weather conditions, characterized by strong winds, have impeded progress. As a consequence, Bhagwan and Dandu were compelled to retreat from a position merely 20 meters shy of reaching the summit.
Makalu had eleven summits by six Sherpas with five clients and legendary Ecuadorean guide Oswaldo Freire. There are teams ready for the summit of Kangchenjunga. Carlos Soria, Sito Carcavilla and their Sherpa reached Camp 3 on Dhaulagiri while their summit push targeting May 17. This is Carlos’ fourteenth attempt. He has Dhaual and Shish remaining to finish the 8000ers.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
Nepal RECORD Permit Update as of May 14, 2023
Government officials say they will not issue any more Everest climbing permits this season, stopping at a record of 478. The previous Everest record was 408 for the 2021 season of 408. Nepal issued climbing permits for 1,176 climbers from 80 countries for 27 peaks. Looking at Everest only, China has the largest representation with 97 members, followed by the US at 89, India–at 40, Canada-21, and Russia-20. There are 44 countries represented by three or fewer climbers.
These permits have generated $5.8M in royalties for the government. Almost all of this revenue stays in Kathmandu, with some in various personal pockets and none to the Sherpas, porters, or other high-altitude workers. The Nepal Ministry of Tourism posted these foreign permit tallies as of May 14, 2022:
- Everest: 478 on 47 teams
- Lhotse: 156 on 17 teams
- Ama Dablam: 79 on 8 teams
- Nuptse: 63 on 6 teams (only a few will attempt to summit, most will stop at C2)
- Makalu: 63 on 9 teams
- Annapurna I: 54 on 5 teams
- Kanchenjunga: 44 on 5 teams
- Himlung: 41 on 5 teams
- Dhaulagiri: 37 on 4 teams
- Manaslu: 15 on 4 teams
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
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