{"id":26318,"date":"2017-05-02T10:23:08","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T16:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=26318"},"modified":"2017-05-05T15:50:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-05T21:50:00","slug":"everest-2017-climbing-picks-back-winds-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/02\/everest-2017-climbing-picks-back-winds-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest 2017: Climbing Resumes after Winds and Tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

While 2017 has been what I term a “normal” season, as we enter the midpoint on May 1st<\/sup>, there\u00a0are signs of trouble. The winds continue to be the wildcard this season, stalling many teams from continuing their acclimatization rotations.<\/p>\n

Almost all the reports on the south side include the words windy and cold. Obviously this makes for uncomfortable climbing, but this is not unexpected on any 8000 meter mountain.<\/p>\n

When the wind forecast calls for gusts over, say 40 mph, many teams will hold tight instead of risking frostbite or worse. In spite of days with this forecast, some go anyway and then are forced to retreat. This just in today, 2 May, from\u00a0Summit Climb<\/a> on the South side:<\/p>\n

High winds. We are evacuating camp 2 now, down to base camp.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sounds a bit dramatic with the word “evacuating” but most likely, they are simply extremely uncomfortable and are not willing to take the risk. Other teams are moving up to C2 so we will see what they report.<\/p>\n

The emerging issue is that if the winds continue to delay acclimatization rotations, the possibility of hundreds of climbers clogging the routes may materialize. It is way too early to sound the alarm, but worth monitoring at this point.<\/p>\n

Ueli Steck<\/h3>\n
\"Ueli<\/a>
Ueli Steck in the Western Cwm. courtesy of Ricardo Pena<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Sunday, 30th April, Ueli Steck died from a massive fall of Nuptse just above Camp 1<\/del>\u00a0Camp 2. He was acclimatizing\u00a0for his Everest-Lhotse traverse project. The details remain unknown on why he fell but climbers at Camp 1 reported seeing a climber fall from high on the rocky slopes.<\/p>\n

The family has announced<\/a> Ueli will be buried in Nepal in a traditional Buddhist ceremony and a memorial\u00a0will be held in his home country of Switzerland at a later date. I updated my post<\/a> announcing his death with all the recent details.<\/p>\n

I contacted many climbers at Everest Base Camp for their reaction and all were shocked, some to the point of considering ending their own efforts. The major guide companies gathered their members together to provide the facts and gave their teams time to process what had occurred.<\/p>\n

A death of such a talented, skilled and public figure always shakes the climbing community to it’s core and if you are actually on the same mountain, the impact is even more dramatic.<\/p>\n

David Tait<\/a> said it well from EBC:<\/p>\n

The death of Ueli Steck, the impromptu departure of a troubled member of our team and the inclement high altitude weather has taken a toll on the team’s mood over the last few days.<\/p>\n

Some of the team knew Ueli well, others, like me, had only met him once or twice. However, regardless of this disparity the sense of loss was felt by all. It was an intensely sad day – much letting of emotion, the likes of which I have rarely seen before. In an odd way, I felt privileged to simply witness this passing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The coverage of his death was widespread and respectful. I cannot say the same for some of the comments from a handful of\u00a0readers. A few articles outside of the regular adventure, outdoor media I would suggest reading include the New York Times OpEd<\/a>, New York Times announcement<\/a>, New Yorker<\/a>,\u00a0Planet Mountain<\/a>, Forbes<\/a>\u00a0and on his training techniques, an excellent article at Climbing<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0There are many more so Google to find them.<\/p>\n

UPDATE 3 May 2017:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

New information is coming out that contradicts the original reports. Now it seems that Ueli was climbing Nuptse across from Camp 2, not Camp 1 as originally reported. This makes better sense since the route to Nuptse’s summit is directly across from Camp 2, not Camp\u00a01. But as to why he fell remains a mystery.<\/p>\n

This report from Swiss Info<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Acclimatization on the South<\/h3>\n

The major activity this week, weather permitting, is for climbers to climb to 7000 meters or around Camp 3 on the Nepal side. Some will sleep at Camp 3 while others will simply climb to the camp then return to Camp 2. All of this is to force the body to chemically adjust to the lack of available oxygen at these altitude. As I say, reaching Camp 3 is your ticket to the attempt the summit. If you can’t reach C3, then you are probably not ready.<\/p>\n

This from\u00a0Ronnie Muhl’s Adventure Global<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The AG team have completed their acclimatization and now await that first weather window. Neil slept at C3 two nights ago and dropped some gear higher up on Lhotse the day after and Anshu is currently resting in BC. The winds have been strong, but should start dropping towards the end of the week. Exciting times. We will keep you posted.Another Delay in the Icefall<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Icefall Delays<\/h3>\n

On 2nd May, Tuesday, climbers reported a collapse that stopped all movement for 2.5 hours until the route could be repaired.<\/p>\n

Jim Davidson<\/a> with IMG’s Classic team said:<\/p>\n

Safe at camp 1. Trip up slow & cold as route gone in 2 places. Img guides & Sherpas did great job fixing. On to camp 2 tomorrow.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jim also told me that there were 40 people standing in place\u00a0waiting for the route to be repaired. This brought back memories of 2014 while waiting for a similar repair, the serac released off the West Shoulder of Everest taking 16 lives in a blink of an eye. I am sure there was high anxiety for Jim and his fellow climbers.<\/p>\n

This picture\u00a0taken by Ben Jones with Alpine Ascents has become iconic for the 2017 season. This is near the top of the Khumbu Icefall where the glacier begins to tumble\u00a0down creating\u00a0huge crevasees. While deadly, it is also beautiful in a striking manner.<\/p>\n

\"Khumbu<\/a>
Khumbu Icefall 2017. courtesy of Ben Jones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NO O’s<\/h3>\n

James Brooman<\/a> climbing on the Nepal side without using supplemental oxygen, left EBC with the intention to tagging the South Col, or 8,000 meters. This is higher than those who do use O’s touch before the summit bid.<\/p>\n

It is critical that the body be pushed as hard as possible, and that means crossing that magic line of 8,000 meters before they go for the summit at 8,848\u00a0meters in a few weeks. James posted:<\/p>\n

Target time from Camp 3 to Camp 4 is 6 hours, for a total distance of 0.8 miles. Pitiful, right! It\u2019s like climbing in slow motion. Let\u2019s hope it\u2019s not too<\/i> slow-motion! I\u2019m feeling strong and more acclimatized than ever, so I hope that is within my grasp.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Constant Communications<\/h3>\n

We are seeing\u00a0more updates directly from Camps 1 and 2 in the Western Cwm this season. It seems that the guide companies are bringing their Thuraya IP satellite modem<\/a>, or similar device,\u00a0up there.<\/p>\n

This is a $3,000 device that provides “unlimited” high speed internet access for $3,000 a month. You will not find the low cost companies doing this but I guess this is one of the difference between paying $30,000 versus $65,000.<\/p>\n

Personally, I think they should leave them at base camp and focus on climbing, not posting to Facebook. Kind of funny for me to say this as I have blogged from the South Col!<\/p>\n

Higher on the North<\/h3>\n

Teams are making regular rotations on the north side and report calmer conditions early this week.<\/p>\n

Ricky Munday<\/a> said this as they returned the ABC enjoying the benefits of acclimatization:<\/p>\n

I hiked with George today from interim camp 5,800m to Advanced Basecamp 6,400m. We stopped every hour to eat and drink, but still managed to arrive in only 5 hours, compared to almost 6 hours in our first rotation. I feel good here, and ate some noodle soup and drank some tea as soon as I arrived. The weather is good, with sunshine, no snow and little wind. Everything we left in the tents has been thrown around by the recent strong winds. Last time, it was very windy and snowy for the last hour. Tomorrow is a rest day, then the following day we’ll climb to the North Col (7,010m) and try to sleep there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A similar sentiment from John Anderson<\/a> with Iowans on Everest:<\/p>\n

Mountain life has been interesting – I think I have spent more time being miserable than having fun. I am, however, now back at base camp after doing our acclimatization program. Basecamp (at 17k) is super comfortable (lots of O2!) after being in high altitude for the last week and a half. Our acclimatization schedule was: climb high, come back down, rest (i.e. let your body get used to the new elevation). Climb a little higher (1500-2000 ft or so), come back down, rest. Move to higher camp repeat. Climbing the highest peaks in the world is super slow. When I get frustrated about how long everything takes up here I just keep in mind that every headache I get from going to a new elevation is partially due to my brain swelling up. Patients is a virtue!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Only a Summit Separates North and South<\/h3>\n

I think it is easy to think of climbing Everest from Tibet or Nepal as climbing different mountains, and in many ways it is. But I was struck by Japanese climber\u00a0Nobukazu Kuriki<\/a>\u00a0whom is climbing alone, without\u00a0O’s on the north side, post showing his SPOT tracker. He is at Advanced Base Camp.<\/p>\n

Click on this image, and look at the glaciers. You can easily see the Khumbu Glacier falling off the south side of Everest and the Rongbuk Glacier\u00a0off the north side. Such a\u00a0fine line that separates these two worlds:<\/p>\n

\"Kuriki<\/a>
Kuriki Spot 2017. courtesy of Nobukazu Kuriki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Sounds of Climbing on Everest<\/h3>\n

Ferran Latorre<\/a> posted this video of going thru the Khumbu Icefall with a comment that it is as lovely as it is dangerous. He is hoping to complete climbing all 14 of the 8000ers with Everest this season.<\/p>\n

What strikes me about this short video is not only scenery but the inclusion of the Sherpa chanting. This brings back a visceral memory of climbing with Kami, hearing his prayers as we made\u00a0steady progress higher. I have a strong memory of being in our tent at Camp 1 last year, again falling asleep to Kami’s prayers for safety.<\/p>\n

This is what makes climbing special in Nepal.
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