{"id":26496,"date":"2017-05-09T13:31:06","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T19:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=26496"},"modified":"2017-05-09T13:31:06","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T19:31:06","slug":"everest-2017-weather-playing-cruel-tricks-climbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/09\/everest-2017-weather-playing-cruel-tricks-climbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest 2017: Weather Playing Cruel Tricks on Climbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

All dressed up and nowhere to go! That is the story on Everest right now. Those staged at the high camps expecting the ropes to be fixed to the summit are disappointed. Those down valley relaxing in tea houses are smug and those at base camps are bored.<\/p>\n

On the Nepal side, the team of Sherpas trying to set the route from the Balcony to the summit didn’t leave the South Col yesterday as planned due to high winds and extremely cold temps.<\/p>\n

As we approach 10 May, climbers are getting a bit nervous about when the route will be open, but more importantly if the weather is going to cooperate this season.<\/p>\n

Snow and Rain …<\/h3>\n

I asked Michael Fagin of Everest Weather<\/a> for his thoughts on all the rain and snow and if the monsoon was starting early this year.<\/p>\n

The best source for monsoon related information for Asia is from the India Meteorological Department <\/a>(IMD). \u00a0IMD will issue a statement when the monsoon season has officially stated and I \u00a0have not seen a statement yet. It usually starts about May 20 in the south parts of the Bay of Bengal<\/a><\/p>\n

The IMD did issue a long term \u00a0outlook last month regarding the monsoon and stated that “the monsoon seasonal rainfall is likely to be 96% of the long term average.” Finally, there is a correlation with the monsoon season when have a La Nina, below normal sea surface temperatures \u00a0off the west coast of South American along the equator. We have had an La Nina <\/a>this past winter and this pattern \u00a0“usually” brings above normal rainfall during the upcoming monsoon season.<\/p>\n

No mention of if this leads to an early start of the monsoon season.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Asian Trekking<\/a> noted:<\/p>\n

The rope fixing up to summit of Mt. Everest (8848m) from Balcony (8400m) was postponed today due to bad weather. The team did not go beyond camp 4 today, as it was windy and very cold. They are returning to camp 2, and planning another date to fix the rope beyond balcony to summit. It has started to snow in Base camp and raining down valley. Will update more in later post.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Adventure Consultants<\/a> summed it up well:<\/p>\n

This morning we were all excited by the prospect of the rope fixing team, including our Sherpas, reaching the summit of Everest. However a deterioration in weather, with significant snowfall, has altered that plan. The fixing team had no choice but to retreat lower, and for now, all plans are on hold. A few teams were already high on the mountain, planning on maximising on the rope fixing, and the good forecast. For now the summit remains untouched, despite best efforts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Downtime<\/h3>\n

Ben Jones<\/a>, who posts very nice photos noted how Lhakpa Rita Sherpa (we summited\u00a0K2 together) and Gopal are passing the time – playing chess!!<\/p>\n

\"Lakpa<\/a>
Lakpa Rita and Gopal playing chess. courtesy of Ben Jones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lucas Furtenbach <\/a>posted this picture of his team relaxing in a nearby\u00a0Tibetan village. Hard to feel sorry for them if there are any delays! \ud83d\ude42 \ud83d\ude42 Actually they are back at base camp now.
\n\"furtenbach<\/a><\/p>\n

Plans<\/h3>\n

Also on the Tibet side, the Iowans<\/a> are making plans for a 15 May summit:<\/p>\n

Years of climbing successively higher, more difficult mountains and hard physical training over the last year are now being put to the ultimate test. We start our push to the top of the world this afternoon. The summit winds are low and the temperatures are manageable. The only downside is heavy snow this entire week: between 8 inches and 2 feet projected every day throughout our summit push. Challenging.<\/p>\n

If everything goes as planned, we will be in middle camp (19k) tonight: May 9; ABC (21k) on May 10; rest day ABC on May 11; North Col (23k) on May 12; Camp 2 (25k) on May 13; Camp 3 (27k) on May 14; leave for summit at around 11 PM on May 14; SUMMIT (29k) at around 7-8 AM on May 15; back to ABC (21k) by 6-7 PM on May 15. Rest day at ABC on May 16 or head down to BC.<\/span><\/p>\n

If we are successful we will be the first Iowans to scale Everest’s Northeast Ridge. This climb is for you, Iowa – we are Iowans for EVERest!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Illegal Climbing – follow up<\/h3>\n

Finally in a follow up to the story of the illegal climber on the south side, Dawa Steven Sherpa<\/a> CEO of Asian Trekking (the largest and most respected Nepali based guide company) told me:<\/p>\n

Hi Alan, saw your blog today about the illegal climber. We looked into it and he’s also climbed lobuche east and pumori illegally. Not only is he not repentant about his actions, you know he has atone further and insulted the people that have caught him on his FB.<\/p>\n

We also understand that he planned to make a movie out of this ‘adventure’ which would have sent a really bad message to potential visitors to peak. What ever his claimed motivations travelers like him are a danger to themselves and other on the mountain as well as threat to Nepal’s economy and attractiveness as a destination for responsible climbers who do thing the proper way.<\/p>\n

We are not taking this lightly. We will get the government to take the maximum possible action against him so people like him are discouraged from trying this sort of thing again.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Time for Respect<\/h3>\n

This is a serious situation. There have been other people assuming they can just enter Nepal, climb peaks without paying for a permit or following their rules. Imagine if you showed up on Denali without a permit, and flaunted it. The US National Park Service would enforce all the laws. Similar on Aconcagua.<\/p>\n

He was a guest in Nepal, just like anyone who enters any country on a tourist visa. If a law is broken, the government of that country has full legal rights to prosecute, fine, jail, etc. Nepal law says you must have permit to climb Mt. Everest and in that permit it has rules that must be followed. If you are caught above Base Camp without a legal mountaineering permit, you can be fined 2X the price of the $11,000 permit, deported, jailed, banned from climbing Nepal of 10 years. There is a member of the Nepal Government at base camp who has full authority to enforce Nepal\u2019s laws.<\/p>\n

Not only do we need to respect the mountains by adhering to ethics like Leave No Trace, but we also must respect the countries in which we climb<\/p>\n

Climb On!
\nAlan
\nMemories are Everything<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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