Everest 2024: Icefall Misery

Khumbu Icefall 2016

I’m getting reports from climbers who completed their first rotations to Camp 1 and are now back at Everest Base Camp on the Nepal side that the Icefall is quite challenging this year. Some say it takes ten hours to navigate the route to Camp 1, which has an amazing number of “zig-zags.” The number of ladders is extremely low, under five. Another team drops climbing in Tibet. And no search on Shishapangma this spring. #everest2024

Everest 2024: Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 11–First Summits

Part 11 of Everyday Everest, my new Podcast series, drops today with chapters 31 and 32. I’ll continue my annual coverage as usual.

Based on my 2020 Virtual Everest series, Everyday Everest follows a fictional team of nine climbers and their personal Sherpas from leaving home to trekking to base camp, acclimatizing, and finally, on their summit push, returning home. I’ll have a twenty-minute episode a few times weekly for the next two months.

In Part 11, our protagonist, Harper, gets excited as tGuide John Paul tells the team, “Good news, everyone. The first commercial team summited last night. The storm held off, and they threaded the needle. 20 Japanese members with 22 Climbing Sherpas.” John Paul told his team over breakfast. “Japan has very strong climbers.”

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

Everest 2024: Climb Here, But Not There!

This is the late April Everest 2024 Weekend Update. The headlines are significantly more positive than last weekend: Permits are a bit higher, which is good for the local economy but not so good for the mountain. The fixed ropes, aka the route, are all the way to Camp 2, thus opening the path for Sherpas to establish the upper camps and for clients to begin acclimatizing. #everest2024

Everest 2024: Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 10–Climbing the Lhotse Face

Part 10 of Everyday Everest, my new Podcast series, drops today with chapters 31 and 32. I’ll continue my annual coverage as usual.

Based on my 2020 Virtual Everest series, Everyday Everest follows a fictional team of nine climbers and their personal Sherpas from leaving home to trekking to base camp, acclimatizing, and finally, on their summit push, returning home. I’ll have a twenty-minute episode a few times weekly for the next two months.

In Part 10, our protagonist, Harper, takes the Lhotse Face, ”

 Wanting to pass another climber, Harper makes eye contact with him. No words were spoken; only a nod was exchanged. Harper unclipped her ‘biner while keeping the jumar attached. Harper reached around him to clip the ‘biner back onto the rope ahead of him. He stood still not wanting to make any movement that might throw both of them off balance. Harper took a few small steps around him and reached back to unclip the jumar. Now successfully past, Harper reattached the jumar and continued climbing higher. ”

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

Everest 2024: Weekend Update April 21: Route to C2, Permits Catch Up

This is the late April Everest 2024 Weekend Update. The headlines are significantly more positive than last weekend: Permits are a bit higher, which is good for the local economy but not so good for the mountain. The fixed ropes, aka the route, are all the way to Camp 2, thus opening the path for Sherpas to establish the upper camps and for clients to begin acclimatizing. #everest2024

Everest 2024: Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 9–Summit Date Planned

Part 9 of Everyday Everest, my new Podcast series, drops today with chapters 28, 29 and 30. I’ll continue my annual coverage as usual.

Based on my 2020 Virtual Everest series, Everyday Everest follows a fictional team of nine climbers and their personal Sherpas from leaving home to trekking to base camp, acclimatizing, and finally, on their summit push, returning home. I’ll have a twenty-minute episode a few times weekly for the next two months.

In Part 9, our protagonist, Harper, and the team discuss what day they should target for their Everest summit, “Claudia smiled in admiration, “So, May 19th, it is!” Aaron dropped his head, deep in concentration. Dutch took center stage, “Today is May 2nd, so that’s 17 days from now. We have to get back up to C2 then overnight at C3, and back here.” Michael leaned in, “I think we need four days for the C3 rotation and at least six days for the summit push and return. That’s ten days on the mountain, meaning we have seven days for rest and weather delays. Pretty tight.”

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

Everest 2024: Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 8–Suffering at Camp 2

Part 8 of Everyday Everest, my new Podcast series, drops today with chapters 25, 26 and 27. I’ll continue my annual coverage as usual.

Based on my 2020 Virtual Everest series, Everyday Everest follows a fictional team of nine climbers and their personal Sherpas from leaving home to trekking to base camp, acclimatizing, and finally, on their summit push, returning home. I’ll have a twenty-minute episode a few times weekly for the next two months.

In Part 8, our protagonist, Harper, and the team arrive at Camp 2 to continue acclimatization. The Mt. Everest Guides lead, John Paul, begins to explain how acclimatization works: “‘Acclimatization’ is a strange word that evokes many emotions. Fundamentally it means adapting the human body to an altitude where it was not designed to survive. Even though the percentage of oxygen in the air on Everest’s summit is the same as on a beach in Rio, there are fewer molecules available to inhale. That’s because there is less atmospheric pressure; thus, the oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide molecules spread out. It’s the opposite of what a diver experiences with the pressure increasing as a diver goes deeper. Harper feels more weight, more pressure, whereas a climber has less available oxygen. That’s why it’s called ‘thin air.’”

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

Everest 2024: Route to Camp 2 & April 18–A Day of Remembrance

Climbalaya 2024 CBC

Good news from Everest: the route through the Khumbu Icefall is complete through Camp 2, around 21,000’/6400. This opens the route for Sherpas to begin building C1/2 and for members to begin their acclimatization rotations shortly thereafter. Everest permits lag last year’s record of 478. As of April 15, 2024, the government issued 274 permits to foreigners compared to 338 in 2023 as of the same date; this is 20% less. While bad for business, this is good for the mountain. #everest2024

Everest 2024: Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 7–Into the Cwm

Part 7 of Everyday Everest, my new Podcast series, drops today with chapters 22, 23 and 24. I’ll continue my annual coverage as usual.

Based on my 2020 Virtual Everest series, Everyday Everest follows a fictional team of nine climbers and their personal Sherpas from leaving home to trekking to base camp, acclimatizing, and finally, on their summit push, returning home. I’ll have a twenty-minute episode a few times weekly for the next two months.

In Part 7, our protagonist, Harper, and the team climb through the Icefall and into the Western Cwm. The team’s oldest member, Jim, is struggling. “Any advice?” He asked their guide, John Paul, who had been close by his side all morning. “Slow, steady, and make sure you are always clipped in. No need to rush. We are making good time.” Jim appreciated the positive spin. #everest2024

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

Everest 2024: Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 6–Into the Icefall

Part 6 of Everyday Everest, my new Podcast series, drops today with chapters 17, 18 and 19. I’ll continue my annual coverage as usual.

Based on my 2020 Virtual Everest series, Everyday Everest follows a fictional team of nine climbers and their personal Sherpas from leaving home to trekking to base camp, acclimatizing, and finally, on their summit push, returning home. I’ll have a twenty-minute episode a few times weekly for the next two months.

In Part 4, our protagonist, Harper, makes her first trip into the Khumbu Icefall. She was nervous following Mingma, her climbing Sherpa, “Mingma looked at her as Harper took a second carabiner off her harness. He went across first. Clipping in ‘biners to the two safety ropes on either side of the ladder, he stepped onto the first rung, then the second and without so much as a pause, he was across, standing there staring at her. Harper could almost hear him in a deep John Wayne drawl; “OK, kid, I showed you how to do it, now get on with it.” #everest2024

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything