{"id":22733,"date":"2016-05-15T18:19:46","date_gmt":"2016-05-16T00:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=22733"},"modified":"2016-05-15T22:20:56","modified_gmt":"2016-05-16T04:20:56","slug":"everestlhotse-2016-wave-3-summit-major-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/15\/everestlhotse-2016-wave-3-summit-major-push\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest\/Lhotse 2016: Wave #3 Summits and Major Push On"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again the Everest 2016 teams are getting summits from the Nepal side but they\u00a0are having to work\u00a0for it dealing with high winds and deep snow.<\/p>\n

Russell Brice told me by email “When they [Himex Sherpas] made the route to the summit the snow was thigh deep between South Summit and top of Hillary Step.” When I climbed the same route in 2011 to the summit, I found the snow between the South Summit and Hillary Step not a factor\u00a0at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile teams on both sides of Everest are moving into position\u00a0for the next wave of summit attempts.<\/p>\n

Wave 3<\/h3>\n

In Wave 3, the Adventure Global team summited at\u00a0at 6.45 am on 15 May. They\u00a0included Kevin Farebrother, Jason Snell, James Roth, Furi Sherpa, Lhakpa Sherpa, Tendi Sherpa. \u00a0Their base camp team posted\u00a0that they stayed at the South Col last night due to fatigue.<\/p>\n

Everyone is doing well, but they are exhausted and as a result a little concerned about descending the steep terrain to Camp 2 feeling weary, so they have decided to sleep at the South Col tonight, leave early morning and descend all the way to Base Camp.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Seven Summits Treks noted that Mr. Jingchaun Jhang and \u00a0Mingma Tinduk Sherpa summited at 7:10am. I’m sure there were other summits but am not aware of them at this posting.<\/p>\n

Summit Challenges<\/h3>\n

For a revealing look at exactly\u00a0what this year’s Nepal summiters are dealing with, Jagged Globe<\/a>‘s David Hamilton, a very experienced Everest guide, posted this\u00a0excellent recap<\/a> of\u00a0their summit on 13 May. This paragraph captures it all:<\/p>\n

At approximately 07.15 we reached the South Summit just as the winds rose to 30 knots plus. This was accompanied by blowing snow and visibility of less than 50m. I was strongly of the view that continuing to climb upwards in these conditions was unacceptably dangerous and aimed to cancel the ascent. I consulted with the two most experienced Sherpa guides with the team (Pem Chhiri and Nima Gyalzen) and they suggested resting in a small hollow just below the South Summit for a short while to see if conditions would improve. I was skeptical of this, as I feared that the wind strength would increase.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Low Winds?<\/h3>\n

With a forecast of more moderate winds, multiple teams are moving up both sides of Everest looking for summits\u00a0on May 18th<\/sup>, 19th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup>. \u00a0A computer generated weather forecast, not curated by humans, show low winds for the next several days. As always the \u00a0expeditions professional weather forecasts from experienced sources.<\/p>\n

\"May<\/a>
courtesy of Mountain-Forecast.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Who is Left?<\/h3>\n

Many teams are on the move but not all are reporting their\u00a0position or plans. We started the season with 289 Everest Nepal permits. Many members have\u00a0left due to illness and other reasons, perhaps\u00a0as many as 50. We have\u00a0already had 20 members summits thus leaving\u00a0about 200 left and not all of those will go for the summit.<\/p>\n

Everest ER suggests over 150 people – not clear who this includes. My own estimate is closer to 300 including members and Sherpas on the Nepal side and close\u00a0to 150 on the Tibet side.<\/p>\n

The large Chinese team (25) hosted by Seven Summits\u00a0Treks already had 1 member summit and the collective military expeditions\u00a0totaling 60 (UAE, Indian, etc) are difficult to track. In any event, these teams are reported\u00a0to be moving up now:<\/p>\n

NEPAL<\/h4>\n