Everest 2018: Summit Wave 3 Recap – Sherpa Death on Everest
A Sherpa has died while over 140 people summited Everest on Wednesday morning, May 16. But a series of oxygen system failures stopped at least one team. Look for another day of summits on Thursday as May 17 was the date many teams had target last weekend as the winds calmed. Last night was clear, winds were not an issue and about the usual temperature -4F/ -20F. Here’s the recap. Sherpa Death Lam Babu Sherpa from Kurima Solukhambu died on May 15. Details are unclear but he is said to had snow blindness. He was on the Nepal side reported missing on 14 May above the South Col. The rescue team based at Camp 2 by Seven Summits Treks was reportedly unaware of the situation. I have confirmed all of this with Gyanendra Shrestha, the Ministry’s representative at EBC. This is the second Sherpa to die on an 8000 meter peak this spring. Ang Dawa Sherpa (32) from Solukhumbu died on 14 May at the Makalu base camp after having altitude related sickness at Camp 2 after their summit. Oxygen At least three Tibet teams experienced failures of the oxygen regulators in mid climb. Alpenglow sent the warning out to other teams after they had 10 of 39 regulations fail near the 2nd Step. They reported, and I’ve confirmed, that Transcend and Furtenbach both also experienced failures. Adrian Ballinger turned his 26 person team around and the guides and Sherpas gave up their regulators to keep the members on supplemental oxygen. Adrian told me, “Most happened above 8500m (it was almost like fireworks with our regs and Transcend Himalaya regs failing in rapid succession on the 2nd step). But multiple failures occurred lower, as low as 7900m on descent. The failures were not while attaching/detaching bottles. They were mostly while climbing. Some were “explosive” with oxygen forming big loud plumes out the top of the reg; others were quieter but caused rapid emptying of bottles.” He went on to say ” “Explosions” was a figure of speech.” They were using oxygen cylinders, regulators and mask from the UK’s Summit Oxygen. Adrian added “We tested every reg and mask at 6400m (abc) before taking them up hill. This problem did not manifest until very high on mountain.” Adrian and his team certainly showed their experience and professionalism with how they handled this potential disaster. They are back to at least ABC now with no injuries. Its unclear what their next step is but Furtenbach immediately stepped forward and offered their regulators they used that are known to be good, if the Alpenglow wants to do another attempt. You can read the realtime updates and a statement from Summit Oxygen at this link. Jim Morrison who was on the team posted this first person account: Just follow the rope to the roof of the world, About a thousand feet to go and two more steps and ????but instead it went like this. I was just to the ridge where you can see into Nepal and chaos came over the radio. The Alpenglow team 15 minutes ahead of us that started from 8300 meters and was doing great had a sudden batch of oxygen regulators fail. A moment later my backpack emitted a venomous roar and all my precious oxygen dissipated into 8500 meter air. Nbd we have backups so I just waited for Adrian and explained what happened. We replaced and moved on up through the first step where the radio did its thing again. And then on cue my regulator blew, all backups were being rushed to the other team, and we were out! So… Mingma my spiritually enhanced friend from Phortse just took his mask and handed it to me. We descended and shared the one mask, me on it and him refusing to take it. An incredible swift climb turned to a different adventure. Everyone is safe, I’ve written more than a tweet, I’ll see Mingma in the fall and learn more from this Lama ???? @adrianballinger @protectourwinters So we can come back and so can our kids. Also Kara Stinson reports in: My team was involved in the mass oxygen equipment failure at 28,500ft on our summit push. Our oxygen regulators began to fail en mass at an extremely dangerous altitude and location. With the selfless help of our Sherpa and guide team, we all were able to get to a safe altitude alive while keeping our fingers and toes. Can’t quite wrap my head around the events of this morning yet, but extremely grateful for the safety of my team. As predicted, it was a big night on the Nepal side with close to 100 summits. There were records broken and first time summits across the board. Records 48 year-old Kami Rita Sherpa set the individual summit record at 22 with his summit at 8:30 am 16 May 2018. He broke the record he shared with Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa with his 2017 summit. He says he wants to get to 25 then retire. He was guiding a Chinese team of nine members for Seven Summits Treks who all summited with eight other Sherpas. Lhakpa Sherpa broke her own record for most female summits with another today, her ninth. Her first summit was in 2000 followed by 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2016, 2017 and 2018. She lives in the U.S. She was climbing with 7 Summits Club and summited at 5:40 am. She has said she wants 10 summits. Kenton Cool broke his own record for most UK summits at 13 when he guided Ben Fogle, Mark Fisher who was filling the climb for a documentary. There were also three Sherpas along, names not listed, to the summit. Nepal Summits Gyanendra Shrestha, the Ministry’s representative at EBC said there were 41 foreigners and 53 Sherpas summited today. Adventure Consultants reported summits at 5:43 am 16 May 2018 by Guy Cotter and Leow Kah Shin. Ascent Himalayas put 12 up there including Ole Hovestad becoming the youngest Norwegian to summit at age 23. Jagged Globe was
Everest 2018: Oxygen Failure on North Side – Urgent – No Casualties
Everyone is safe, including guides, Sherpas, and members but there is a serious situation on the North side of Everest early Wednesday morning 16 May. Teams are turning back from the summit. I spoke live by satellite phone with Adrian Ballinger, founder of Alpenglow, at 6:47 am, Everest time. He was at 8500 meters, near the 2nd Step on the Tibet side when he said they had 10 of 39 oxygen bottle regulators fail and had to turn back. Everyone was safe and below C3 at 8300 meters as of our conversation. The regulator controls the flow of oxygen between the bottle and the mask. If it fails, there is no oxygen in the mask. Alpenglow was using Summit Oxygen (SO) systems. I reached out them but could not connect with such short notice. I have used SO several times with complete success. Adrian was strong to say he was not criticizing SO but wanted to get the word out that there may be a bad manufacturing batch out there in use. He has used SO for 6 years with no problems. The guides and Sherpas are now without supplemental oxygen as they gave up their regulators to the members and all are safely descending. Adrian said the regulators spontaneously failed without warning within 3 minutes. He said all members were below Camp 3 now, but there was a large Chinese team above. He was not sure what oxygen system they use. Furtenbach also used Summit Oxygen and promoted a special mask developed for them to run at 8lpm and just reported all members have summited with no issues. In my experiences over 16 years, this is an extremely rare event. I will update this post as new information is available. Update at 9 am Everest time from Adrian: “all alpenglow now at or below c2, 7700m. 4 more regulator failures since we spoke (all 4 recent failures happened between 8300 and 7700).” Alan
Everest 2018: Hillary Step or Slope?
One of the hot topics readers have asked about is if the Hillary Step is still there or not. There have been no comments thus far on the state of the Hillary Step from Sherpas or other climbers that have been in the area. The question is if it is still there or not after the 2015 earthquake. Hillary Step or Slope? It is often described as a nearly vertical rock face with a height of around 12 metres (39 ft) at 28,839’/8,790m feet just above the South Summit and 200’/60m below the summit. News broke early in the 2016 season by five time South side summiter, David Liano that the Hillary Step was gone. He took pictures, posted on his blog and the second guessing began. Then last year, 2017, guide Tim Mosedale posted on Facebook “The Hillary Step is no more” and that promoted denials for the Nepal Government. Government says it OK CNN reported last year that Gyanendra Shrestha from the Nepal Tourism Board and Ang Tshering Sherpa, the President of Nepal Mountaineering Association, as saying that Mosedale is mistaken. Shrestha said the step had been completely covered by snow so it “made it easier for climbers.” “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.” Guides Say its gone But the two American guides, Garrett Madison with eight summits and Ben Jones with four told Outside Magazine last year that it was gone. Madison was quoted “The boulder formally know as the Hillary Step is gone. It’s pretty obvious that the boulder fell off and has been replaced by snow. You can see some of the rocks below it that were there before, but the gigantic boulder is missing now.” Sherpas say it still there Last year, Mingma Tsiri Sherpa who has nine summits told the Daily Mail, “The fixed lines are more to the right of the step (than before). We’re now walking on the snow whereas before we had to walk on the rocky side. That is the reason for the confusion.” And 15 time summiter, Pemba Dorje Sherpa said “The Hillary Step is as it was before, but a large stone above it has fallen” Verdict? I’ve been eager to hear what the observation is this year so I’ve asked a long time experienced guide to see if his team can take a high-resolution picture and to see if we can decide if it is still a Step or now a Slope. UPDATE FROM 2018: Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2018: Summit Wave 3 – Update 1 – O’s failure on North Side
Urgent: Oxygen Failure on North Side Everyone is safe, including guides, Sherpas, and members but there is a serious situation on the North side of Everest early Wednesday morning 16 May. Teams are turning back from the summit. I spoke live by satellite phone with Adrian Ballinger, founder of Alpenglow, at 6:47 am, Everest time. He was at 8500 meters, near the 2nd Step on the Tibet side when he said they had 10 of 39 oxygen bottle regulators fail and had to turn back. During our call, he said everyone was safe and below C3 at 8300 meters. The regulator controls the flow of oxygen between the bottle and the mask. If it fails, there is no oxygen in the mask. Alpenglow was using Summit Oxygen (SO) systems. I reached out them but could not connect with such short notice. I have used SO several times with complete success. Adrian was strong to say he was not criticizing SO but wanted to get the word out that there may be a bad manufacturing batch out there in use. He has used SO for 6 years with no problems. The guides and Sherpas descended without supplemental oxygen as they gave up their regulators to the members. All are safely descending. Adrian said the regulators spontaneously failed without warning within 3 minutes. He said all members were below Camp 3 now, but there was a large Chinese team above. He was not sure what oxygen system they use. Furtenbach also used Summit Oxygen and promoted a special mask developed for them to run at 8lpm and just reported all members have summited with no issues so this may be a localized issue. In my experiences over 16 years, this is an extremely rare event. I know the Summit Oxygen team well and they have the utmost focus on quality as do the other oxygen system suppliers. I will update this post as new information is available. Update at 9 am Everest time from Adrian: “all alpenglow now at or below c2, 7700m. 4 more regulator failures since we spoke (all 4 recent failures happened between 8300 and 7700).” This is the official statement from Alpenglow at 10 am Everest time Due to a mass equipment failure, teams on Everest have stopped their summit push and have descended below 7,700m. All members, guides, and Sherpa are safe and accounted for at this time. Both of our Alpenglow Expeditions teams, along with other teams on Everest, were utilizing an industry standard supplemental oxygen system during their summit push. When multiple of the team’s oxygen bottle regulators malfunctioned, the team made the difficult decision to stop their summit push and return to lower elevation. Since this time, it has become apparent that a defective batch of oxygen bottle regulators was released. Multiple teams using the same device have experienced similar oxygen system failures. There are no reported injuries at this time. Update from the supplier of the Summit Oxygen system Neil Greenwood. I spoke with him five hours after Adrian’s call and he told me: With regard to the report from Alpenglow Expeditions that they suffered regulator failures on the North Side of Everest at 8500m. It is very difficult to ascertain the cause of such a failure at this time without being able to inspect the equipment. The manufacturing and testing process of the regulators has not changed, nor have any of the materials used or our suppliers and all of the regulators supplied to Alpenglow for the 2018 season had been previously used. The connection and disconnection procedure of the regulator to a cylinder is particular to this application and if the dynamic O ring is broken in the process it can cause problems, however, I suspect this is not the case in this situation. Based on the information we have from Adrian Ballinger – the failures occurred within 3 mins of each other at 8500m, leads me to suspect that the pressure relief valve (PRV) has functioned. The PRV is a safety mechanism to protect the low pressure side of the regulator from high pressure. If this is the case we will need to investigate what caused the developed pressure to increase and thus the PRV to function. I must at this point again restate my earlier point that at the moment this is guess work and until I see the equipment I won’t know for sure what the cause was but I’m extremely glad to know that all the team members are safe. In my experience this level of regulator failure is extremely rare. There may be one or two but not 10 like Alpenglow experienced. They were Summit Oxygen regulators not POISX or Top Out but here is where it gets complicated. A guide can use Brand A oxygen bottle, Brand B regulator and Brand C mask so trouble shooting a problem is difficult. Also, it is standard procedure to switch oxygen bottles as they run empty. Alpenglow had at least one swap near Mushroom Rock. These devices are a bit fragile and if you screw the regulator onto the bottle with the incorrect angle, it can cause the seal to not be solid and leak. Also, if dirt or water gets in the seal it can cause problems. I’m not suggesting “operator error” by the extremely experienced Alpenglow team but more of a comment for others in the future. UPDATE 1 Tibet – North Furtenbach Adventures said all of 5 members of their classic team with 5 Sherpas summited safely are now going down. Alpenglow Expeditions have turned back due to Oxygen systems failure Ani Lhakpa Sherpa summiting for the 9th time on 16th of May from North Side. (Local Nepali time at 5:40AM). New World Record for women! Breaking her own record. Nepal- South Kami Rita Sherpa summited for a record 22nd time with a Seven Summit Treks team Adventure Consultants reports summits at 5:43 am 16 May 2018 by Guy Cotter and Leow Kah Shin: Guy Cotter calls from the summit of Everest: “What an amazing place to be”. In perfect
Everest 2018: Summit Wave 2 Recap, Sherpa Death on Makalu
Monday was expected to be large given the ropes were now set to the summit on both sides of #Everest2018 but a small wind event, that was predicted, seemed to stall almost all the teams on both sides. Its unclear if there were any summits from the Nepal side and only a handful on the the Tibet side. As we enter late Tuesday night 15 May on Everest, conditions are noted to be perfect with clear skies and little wind. This will be what I call Summit Wave 3. Tibet Summits on Wave 2 There were over 12 summits early Tuesday morning 15 May. Reports have Kari Kobler putting 2 members, 1 guide and an unspecified number of Sherpas on the top from the Tibet side. Kari noted on his site that there were high winds last night: Usually the teams start from Camp III at 8300 m at night around 21-23 PM. As the wind was strong that night, the team of K & P is only started at 01 am. A small team from Climbalaya treks & expeditions also summited from the both this morning. Congratulations to Valentyn Sypavinn , Alexander Shalaev, Evgenii Pushkarev , Pema Sherpa , Pema Sherpa and Pasang Dawa Sherpa for successfully reaching the highest point on earth , the summit of Mt. Everest at 9:44 am Nst. Steve Palin and Jon Gupta, not content with just nabbing Everest (and the other 7 Summits for Steve), went on to summit Lhotse last night and apparently want to attempt Nuptse. For Jon this will be his second attempt of Nuptse this season, as he tagged along with Guy Cotter a couple weeks ago. They turned back within 100 meters of the summit due to poor conditions. On a disturbing note, renowned Sherpa, Lam Babu Sherpa reported missing above the South Col since 14 May. Lhotse Over on Lhotse, Satori Adventures had a good night with 5 members and six Sherpas making the summit including Kuntal Ajit Joisher whom I interviewed earlier this season. Sherpa Death on Makalu The Himalayan Times is reporting a 32 year-old, Ang Dawa Sherpa from Solukhumbu, has died at Makalu base camp from altitude related issues. He was with a four person Chinese team and began developing issue at Camp 2 after he and one member had summited over the weekend. Busy Tuesday/Wednesday The weather is reported as “perfect” from teams on both side who at the high camps tonight in Nepal. Looks like it may be a busy night Tuesday night with Adventure Consultants private, Jagged Globe team on the South, Furtenbach, Alpenglow on the North and more and more. Kenton Cool and Ben Fogle are at the South Col expecting to attempt the summit tonight. Michael Lutz with Furtenbach posted about a difficult night last night, Tuesday 15 May: 15/5/18: Quick update from camp 3 (8300m): Last night we had a terrible snowy storm which was incredible cold. When I woke up (still no oxygen unlike basically everybody else) I was terrified: I couldn’t feel my hand and feet, and felt miserable. So now I am walking also with O (maybe next time without, then????). One last dance tonight (starting at 10pm) and see you then again in base camp in a couple of days! Patrick McNight is on his summit push and noted many people on the north side headed higher, “Many people headed toward camp 3 right now. We can see probably as many as 40 in a row between c2 and c3. Glad we are going later.” you can follow Patrick on his GPS tracker. Best of luck to all for a safe and positive experience. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2018: Weather Stalls Summits
Looks like there will be limited activity on Everest from Monday night to Tuesday, May 14 morning. The weather forecast, from all sources, showed a “squall” coming in and it appeared right on schedule. There were supposed to be 100 climbers attempting the summit early 15 May. Many teams are now at Camps 1, 2 or 3 or even at the highest camps with limited comms so not much is being reported. But also the weather on Monday has stalled many teams. Jagged Globe reported in from Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face: Stalled in Camp 3. The team are preparing to spend a second night in their least favourite camp. Along with about 30-40 climbers from other groups they set out for Camp 4 on the South Col after 08.00. However, it soon became clear that the weather was a lot worse than forecast. After 3 hours in strong winds and driving snow they returned to Camp 3. If the weather allows they will try again for Camp 4 tomorrow. What is interesting is that they posted on previous day, At last the good weather arrives in the upper Khumbu. A calm night preceded a beautiful morning and the Jagged Globe team set off from Camp 2 at 08.40. PG turned back within an hour and the remaining 3 climbers with David and Pem continued to Camp 3 in hot conditions, taking 5-6 hrs. We believe the rope fixing team reached the summit this afternoon and the route to the top is open. We are on target for Camp 4 tomorrow and the summit on 15 May if weather conditions allow. Tim Mosedale reports what a changing situation it is upon the Nepal side: Meanwhile Rupert and I had stayed at Camp 3 on the night of the 13th and he started heading up to The South Col with Jabbu (and me down to C2 logistics to attend to). After a couple of hours it became evident that the weather was back with a vengeance so Rupert returned to C3 for another night. Ironically the late afternoon proved to be quite glorious and this morning it looked to be an almost perfect summit day. But if he’d struggled on to The S Col he could well have jeopardised his bid in the process (most people turned back from their S Col attempts yesterday so he’s not the only sensible person). Guy Cotter, Adventure Consultants Private, and his member aiming for Everest and Lhotse went to C3 Monday and said it was tough: An early morning start saw Guy and Kah Shin leave Camp 2 in more cold and windy conditions at 6.40am. They made good time up to the base of the Lhotse Face, though Guy described it when they got there at 8.30am as ‘white out and blowing snow’. Gnarly conditions on any mountain, let alone Mt Everest! Back at EBC, Luke Timmerman posted “Chilly, clear and calm this am at Everest Base Camp. Our team is patiently waiting for our shot at the summit. We’re all watching weather forecasts closely.” along with a nice shot: The strong Russian 7 Summits Club also talked about the conditions: Today, Alexander Abramov called from the North Col of Everest. The first group under his leadership successfully and quickly climbed today from 6400 to 7000. In just 3.5 hours. They were forced to trail, as it snowed a lot. All members are well and cheerful. They send greetings to friends and relatives! Tomorrow morning they will go at 7700. So goes Everest, or any 8000 meter peak or your own backyard 🙂 OK, so few if any summits from Nepal on Tuesday 15 May and no reliable reports from teams on the Tibet side. Relax and take the day off? However, one thing I’ve learned with 16 years of all thing Everest is never say “take the day off” I am in contact with {mountain} and monitoring developments so if anything changes, which it will, I’ll update this post. Climb On Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2018: Summit Wave 1 – 1st Foreign Summits from Nepal – Update 3
With good weather on Sunday into early Monday morning, Mt. Everest has become a beehive of activity with at least 50 summits thus far. Teams on both sides are currently climbing from base camp to the higher camps in anticipation of making their summit bids through this week. A small front moved through on Monday afternoon, slowing progress for a day on the Nepal side. All times and dates are local to Everest. See where they are on the Location Table 1st Foreigner Summits from Nepal Side We have the first foreigner summits of the #Everest2018 spring season. Leaving the South Col around 10:45 pm and it now appears from his GPS Tracker that Steve Plain summited around 6 am Monday 14 May, 2018 thus will break the record for climbing the 7 Summits when he gets back to base camp. He was with Jon Gupta and Pemba Sherpa. He needed to summit by 22 May to break the record. The current record is 126 days and as of today, 13 May he is at 117 days. UPDTAE 1: Mingma G Sherpa along with Chinese double amputee Mr Xia Boyu were also going up and left the South Col at 8:00 pm Sunday 13 May hoping also summit Monday morning. No word on their status at the moment. They made it!: Mr. XiaBoYu, Mr.liu yi,Ms. wu jie Mr. lok kee siu , Mr. mikey foreal, Mr.ajie hu and Mr.gao li reached everest summit with their sherpa tamting, Mr. kili pemba sherpa,Mr.pasang gomba sherpa ,Mr.ang tsering, Mr.dendi sherpa,Mr.dawa Gyalje Sherpa . Ms.Nima jangmu became first nepalese woman to summit everest and lhotse together in one season Madison Mountaineering has 2 members and 4 Sherpas on the summit at 8:50 am: Team Member : Mr . Anthony Peter Michael Andrew Middleton(UK) , Mr. Edmund Philip Wardle(UK) Mountaineering Guide : Mr Dawa Phinjo Lama, Mr Phurba Ridar Bhote , Mr Kul Bahadur Thapa Magar, Mr Sangbu Bhote Seven Summits Treks reports summits: This morning Taras Pozdnii, Roman Horodechnyy and Dmytro Semerenko all from Ukraine along with their sherpa Nga Tashi, Mingmar and Lambou Sherpa climbed Mt. Everest. Muri Lingi (India) with Pemba Chhoti Sherpa, Rahul Gupta (India) with Lhakpa Temba and Chhonorbu Sherpa, Dabuti Sherpa (Nepal) with Pasang Gyalzen Sherpa also conquered the world’s highest peak this morning. Ascent Himalaya: Moa Hundseid(25/Norway) just summit now approx 8:50 am together with Pasang Tenzing Sherpa & Angduk Sherpa.She is the youngest Norwegian lady to summit Mt Everest. Our team members Viridiana Alvarez(Mexico) & Dean Christopher Carriere(Canada) has successfully summitted Mt Lhotse(8516m) at 04:00pm along with our climbing guides Pemba Sherpa(Phortse),Tsering Dawa Sherpa(Rolwaling) & Tsering Pemba Sherpa(Rolwaling).Tsering Pemba Sherpa summitted Lhotse in 2017 and he was the main guide to fix the route last year being the first team to summit Lhotse. Update 2 Ropes to Summit from Tibet The rope team left Camp 4 on the Northeast Ridge and got the ropes to the summit. Also, Nepali Anish Luitel climbing open behalf of Scouts around the word tagged along with them and became, I believe, the first non-rope team meter to summit from the Tibet side this spring. He carried the 2019 world Jamboree Flag was on the top of the world. Update 3 Jagged Globe reports winds are back on South Side: Stalled in Camp 3. The team are preparing to spend a second night in their least favourite camp. Along with about 30-40 climbers from other groups they set out for Camp 4 on the South Col after 08.00. However, it soon became clear that the weather was a lot worse than forecast. After 3 hours in strong winds and driving snow they returned to Camp 3. If the weather allows they will try again for Camp 4 tomorrow. Summit Rope Team One more shout out to the excellent work done by the rope fixing team on the Nepal side team at 3:30 pm, on 13 May 2018. 1. Mr. Pasang Tenjing Sherpa 2. Mr. Pasdawa Sherpa 3. Mr. Lakpa Dendi Sherpa 4. Mr. Jen Jen Lama 5. Mr. Siddi Bahadur Tamang 6. Mr. Pemba chhiri Sherpa 7. Mr. Tenzing Gyaljen Sherpa 8. Mr. Datuk Bho Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2018: Weekend Update May 13
As last week was so quiet, this upcoming week will be like riding a wild horse. It appears, the winds have finally calmed and the jet stream has moved away from Everest thus allowing the ropes to be set to the summit on the Nepal (South) side Sunday afternoon and perhaps early Monday morning on the Tibet (North) side. Hold on tight, its summit season! The Big Picture While there has been chatter on the Nepal side that the ropes are in late, actually they are pretty much on time comapred to previous years. It appears there will be summits daily until the weather moves back in. I’m more hopeful than I have been over the last several season that we may see a safer season filled with limited problems like bottlenecks and crowds. I base this on several private comments I’ve received over the last few days that there is a sense of calm at the base camps. Also, while there is always controversy, there hasn’t been the high profile public spats we’ve seen in the past. Maybe there are just happening in private – as they should 🙂 Everest by the normal routes, Southeast Ridge and Northeast Ridge have become what I call “formula climbs”, similar to Denali, Mont Blanc or Aconcagua. The guides use the same route year in, year out and know the terrain well. They know where to set up camps and what to expect. In other words there are limited surprises. This has resulted in Everest death rates dramatically lower comapred to 20 years ago. Also improvements in oxygen delivery, clothing and boots have reduced the incidents of frostbite. If it happens these days, it is probably a mistake by the climber (or guide) and not an equipment failure. Weather Outlook – Summit Door Wide Open! Chris Tomer of Tomer Weather Solutions last week made the call that the jet stream will retreat from the Himalaya around May 11 thus the summit door would swing wide open for optimal summit conditions from Dhaulagiri to Everest. Today he feels “…the ingredients are coming together for a big week of summits on most of the 8,000m Himalayan peaks. The jet stream moves away and summit temperatures warm as the week wears on. There are two wildcards. One is small chance for snow early in the week, and second is whether the jet stream returns over the weekend.” Nepal Update – Ropes to Summit! Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Liaison Officer based at EBC, Gyanendra Shrestha texted me that the ropes were fixed to the summit at 3:30 pm, on 13 May 2018. The team was formed by Mr. Pasang Tenjing Sherpa, Mr. Pasdawa Sherpa, Mr. Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, Mr. Jen Jen Lama, Mr. Siddi Bahadur Tamang, Mr. Pemba chhiri Sherpa, Mr. Tenzing Gyaljen Sherpa, Mr. Datuk Bhote. They did a great job in what must have been bone chilling cold – temperatures hovering around -20F/-28C. They all work for Himalayan Guides and also support Madison Mountaineering. Steve Plain hoping to break the time record for the 7 Summits is leaving for the summit late Sunday 13 May. He along with Jon Gupta and Pemba Sherpaplan to summit 14 May and meeting his deadline of 21 May by a week. You can follow his climb on his GPS Tracker. Mingma G Sherpa along with Chinese double amputee, Mr Xia Boyu are hoping also summit Monday morning. It appears there are many, many teams preparing to summit at the end of the week when it should a bit warmer but summits will probably occur daily now. Tibet – Summit Monday? The rope fixing team was planning on leaving Camp 4 around 27,500’/8,400m early Monday 14 May. There are climbers trailing them. A team of 9 from 7 Summits Club is also heading upon hoping to summit on 17 May. Both “speed” teams, Alpenglow and Furtenbach are doing well with the Furtenbach “Flash” team reaching the North Col 23,000’/7,000m after only arriving in Tibet 7 days ago. They both heavily use “pre-acclimatization” techniques before arriving. Nepali Anish Luitel climbing on behalf of Boy Scouts around the world is hoping to summit in a day or so. Fantastic picture posted on Facebook by Dmitriy Klimchuk as he was climbing! “Today came to 7.700, accidentally caught the internet, storming the summit supposedly from 14 to 15 may. Hello everyone!” The Other 8000ers Lhotse – Summits! Ascent Himalayas reported that their team summited Lhotse: Our team members Viridiana Alvarez(Mexico) & Dean Christopher Carriere(Canada) has successfully summitted Mt Lhotse(8516m) at 04:00pm along with our climbing guides Pemba Sherpa(Phortse),Tsering Dawa Sherpa(Rolwaling) & Tsering Pemba Sherpa(Rolwaling).Tsering Pemba Sherpa summitted Lhotse in 2017 and he was the main guide to fix the route last year being the first team to summit Lhotse.We would like to congratulate all our member for the successful summit. Last week we saw six climbers summit Lhotse There are 88 climbers for Lhotse this season. Cho Oyu – Summits! Rolfe Oostra with 360 Expeditions summited Cho Oyu: SUMMIT OF CHO reached this early AM. Sheena And Roger with Phemba reached the summit at 1030 am and 11 am. Superb news! A HUGE congratulations to them. Paula’s high point was a wee bit lower having dug deap but the summit wasnt for her this time. AMAZING news, they all worked hard and dug deap! Now its down time. A huge well done to Rolfe and Phemba for helping make this all possible and of course our amazing 360 climbers. Sheena Roger and Paula. I should add Sheena now holds the record of the oldest British woman to have summited Cho oyu ! Taken from Charleen who was there with us in 2016! AMAZING!!! Also, Bulgarian Atanas Skatov summited with no Os. Makalu – No Update There was a small summit team that made it two weeks ago. There are 27 climbers that are must likely on their summit push bit no solid updates. They include Warner Rojas and Carina Ahlqvist. Dhaulagiri – Summit Plans The 26 people on Dhaulagiri have had some of the worse weather
Everest 2018: Winds Calming, Summit Pushes Begin
OK, it finally looks like the real deal is on for #Everest2018. Multiple teams are reported to be leaving base camps on both sides to get in position for summits between May 14-20. Other teams are content to let this first wave pass, then to look at the next window. The long term forecast had called for winds to calm on 11 May as a huge high pressure system moved on top of Everest perhaps for two weeks. Of course, we will see what really happens but if this scenario occurs, it will allow the close to 700 people (members and support) on both sides to spread out. The winds didn’t calm on Saturday 11 May but now, reports are coming in from both sides that the winds are calming. The rope fixing team on the South side had hoped to finish the route Saturday 12 May but stayed at the South Col due to the winds. They hope to finish the job on Sunday the 13th. There are several teams at Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face prepared to do their summit push look at topping out around dawn on Tuesday, 15th. Mingma G. Sherpa and his team are at the South Col hoping to get it done a day earlier. On the Tibet side, there are a few people at the North Col hoping to follow the rope fixers to the top. Its unclear when they will leave but almost certainly close to the Nepal schedule. A Lhotse summit attempt is underway now, 2:00 am Sunday 13 May. Visit the Location Table to see my estimate of where the team are now. Summit pushes have begun on Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, Kanchenjunga, Makalu and hopefully Dhaulagiri. Over on Manaslu, a Swiss team abandoned their effort due to avalanche conditions. And not good news on the search for Shishapangma climber Bulgarian Boyan Petrov, a helicopter took two passes over the route he was last seen on. They took video and pictures that were analyzed back at base camp yielded no evidence he was there. Also a search team arrived at his tents at both Camps 2 and 3. They found his tent but no signs of him. I’ll have a more complete update on tomorrow’s Weekend Update. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2018: High Winds Persist
As we get into summit time, I will be posting several times a day when new information dictates. The winds were forecasted to calm on 11 May but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Reports from the Nepal side calls for climbers to stay put as the winds continue to gale at all altitudes. The summits hoped for on Saturday and Sunday maybe delayed. This picture tells us all from base camp on the Nepal side at 7:30 am Saturday 12 May 2018 Boyan Petrov Missing on Shishapangma The Simrik Air helicopters have made two passes without sighting Petrov. He now has been missing for eight days. The hope is he is in a tent at Camp 2 or 3. There is still hope he is alive. The Bulgarian Boyan Petrov (45), was climbing solo, without supplemental oxygen or a radio. He left base camp on 29th April but stayed behind as teammates left Camp 2 on 3 May due to poor weather. He was spotted through a telescope on 5 May but nothing since. Petrov’s wife, Radoslava Nenova, has made an appeal for donations to fund the rescue attempt on her Facebook page. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything