The variable weather is creating confusion with some teams, while others being more patient seem to have the timing just right. And we have summits\u00a0on the north side last night! There are a few teams trying again tonight. The winds are supposed to begin to calm.<\/p>\n
Several teams at\u00a0the South Col late Thursday night (Nepal time) were hoping to summit early Friday\u00a0morning. Some left, while others just stayed in their tents. The winds were gusting and whipping tents making them miserable at 8000 meters.<\/p>\n
Those who left returned before reaching the Balcony using up their precious oxygen supplies. There was no Os for a second attempt, and probably little energy.<\/p>\n
SummitClimb<\/a>‘s Nepal team,\u00a0who wins the award for the shortest updates of the season, posted:<\/p>\n We just received a radio call: Everest summit very windy: many teams turning back = no summit.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n They did report\u00a0over on Lhotse: 2 more members just summited with 2 Sherpas.<\/p>\n Mingma Sherpa with Dreamers Destnation\u00a0noted the toll on the climbers:<\/p>\n Many tried Summit today but they returned back to south col because of high wind. Some news are out which said members and sherpa got frostbite.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In 2008, I had a similar experience. I climbed just below the Balcony but felt I was going too slow and turned myself back. However, once I got back to the South Col, I felt great and thought I should try again. Thankfully, calmer heads prevailed plus I didn’t have enough oxygen bottle to try again so I return the Camp 2. On the down climb, I realized how spent I was. The best decision was to retreat and climb\u00a0another day – which I did to the summit in 2011!<\/p>\n But these decisions are extremely difficult. The notion of ‘summit fever” sets in. This is a real phonenoum. You know\u00a0you can climb\u00a0higher. You are so focused on reaching your long time goal, that common sense becomes secondary. Having an experienced, trusted climbing partner is key to making good decisions. Just like in life, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.<\/p>\n Camp 2 on the south side is pretty busy. If you look at the tracking table<\/a>, you can see who is there. Simply put, most of base camp has moved to Camp2, often also called Advanced Base Camp on the south side.<\/p>\n It is located on a rocky section to the climber’s left as you ascend from Camp 1. It is about an hour, more\u00a0or less, from the base of\u00a0the Lhotse Face. Needless to say the views are stunning, especially at sunset.<\/p>\n Most climbers have spent anywhere from 3 to 6 nights already here with prior acclimatization rotations. Teams have full time cooks and dining tents so it is fairly comfortable. But, and this is a 1st World Problem :), there are no generators, no WiFi and no heaters – oh my!<\/p>\n A similar scenario is happening on the north side at Advanced Base Camp. But yaks can ferry gear there so they have a few more luxuries depending on the team.<\/p>\n However on both sides, climbers\u00a0are 100% focused on the days ahead.<\/p>\n The previously forecasted window of 21-26 seems to be holding but, and this is a biggy,\u00a0\u00a0big winds expected on the 22nd. Also the atmosphere is warming up a bit so the extremely cold temp of -40F may warm to a balmy -20F on \u00a0the summit.<\/p>\n Communication<\/strong><\/p>\n The good news of this push is that\u00a0the majority of the teams are lead by long time Everest guides on both sides. They have worked together, and generally communicate well. They support one another as needed in emergencies.<\/p>\n This does not mean there won’t be crowds but hopefully, teams move steadily. Last year one large team moved so slowly that others were stuck behind them using up precious oxygen and getting frostbite.<\/p>\n Adventure Consultants <\/a>reports\u00a0in from C2:<\/p>\n Everest Expedition 2017 – May 18 Dispatch – Camp 2 – This evening we are back in Camp 2. Another early start with a midnight breakfast had us climbing through the icefall well before dawn. We were escorted up to the first ladder by our Base Camp dogs, Blizzard and Gale, whose claws seemed to grip as well as our crampons. Above Camp 1, the hot temperatures in the Western Cwm delivered as usual and night time temperatures rose considerably.<\/p>\n Now we are staged at Camp 2 we are in a better position to take advantage of favourable weather conditions when it occurs. It is important to be in the right place on the mountain when conditions improve, as we need a 5 day period to travel from Base Camp to summit. By staging at Camp 2 we reduce that to 3 days, so it’s easier to be opportunistic. Tomorrow we will rest here and study the weather forecast when it arrives in the afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Ang Dorjee and Paul will move to Camp 3 tomorrow, good luck to them.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n IMG<\/a> still has\u00a0 a fair number\u00a0of climbers at base camp waiting for the final push. The weather appears to be getting better\u00a0day by day so this strategy will most likely work again this year. \u00a0Last year IMG had one of the last teams to summit. For their climbers at C2 they reported:<\/p>\n At evening check-in, the Team was doing great and looking forward to a rest day tomorrow. We are keeping our eye on the weather and looking forward to heading up the Lhotse\u00a0Face soon. High winds are predicted for the upper mountain tonight and tomorrow so the timing is perfect for the rest\u00a0day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I get a request daily to report\u00a0on specific\u00a0teams or climbers. There is a lot of national and personal\u00a0pride out there\u00a0– all well deserved. glad to do this when there is unique news but many smaller team simply\u00a0don’t update enough.<\/p>\n Anyway here is a shout out to the Greek team<\/a> at C2! Climb On!!<\/p>\nSummit Fever<\/h3>\n
Windows, Weather and Communication<\/h3>\n
South Updates:<\/h3>\n
North Updates – Summits!<\/h3>\n