update<\/strong>: Kilian\u00a0Jornet<\/a> begins his run from the Tibet side to the summit of Everest.<\/p>\n Not to dwell on the weather too much, at least in this post, it bears repeating what\u00a0Michael Fagin with Everest Weather<\/a>\u00a0told me this week:<\/p>\n I have been forecasting here since 2003 and never seen a season like this with forecast model runs changing every 12 hours.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another trusted weather advisor, meteorologist\u00a0Chris Tomer<\/a>\u00a0agreed and suggested that there will\u00a0be a few\u00a0days each on either side of 22 May: 18-21 or 23-25. He further suggest a “wind plume” arriving quickly\u00a0on the 22nd so climbers\u00a0need to be down or\u00a0not headed up during that period. Thanks for this big picture Chris, his members and those of other avoid services more details.<\/p>\n Please forgive me for repeating this but it bears it\u00a0given the siren of complaints\u00a0about the delays in base camp, fixing ropes and “late” summits. Please\u00a0take a close look at this chart I use all the time. It shows we are in the sweet spot of Everest summits 17-23 May. In other words, right on schedule!!<\/p>\n source: Himalayan Database<\/p>\n Clearly the next week will be tricky. I don’t want to add anxiety to\u00a0any friends and family but this is the reality of climbing Everest for those back home: nervousness, sleepless nights, no news, mixed messages – all culminating with that call or message that everything is fine, coming home soon.<\/p>\n The next time you are at a party and someone who has read Into Thin Air,<\/em>\u00a0now an Everest expert, begins to tells you (after their fifth G&T)\u00a0how everyone\u00a0has climbed Everest, how\u00a0easy it is because there\u00a0is an escalator to the summit, and … \u00a0 walk away before you begin to tell them about how YOUR summit night went \ud83d\ude42 You have already had enough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On the north side,\u00a07 Summits Club\u2019s Alexander Abramov<\/a>\u00a0claimed victory with summits on Friday morning.<\/p>\n One of the happiest moments last week must have been for 26 year-old\u00a0Mollie Hughes<\/a>\u00a0 who became\u00a0the youngest British to summit from both sides of Everest. She was with\u00a0Jon Gupta<\/a>\u00a0and Sherpas Lhakpa and Lila.<\/p>\n The young \u00a0Transcend<\/a> Indian team continued their success with four more teenagers on top along with six Sherpas.<\/p>\n While not finished, noted German Alpinist Ralf Dujmovits<\/a>\u00a0is trying to get Everest without supplemental oxygen\u00a0on the north side to finish\u00a0his 14 without Os.<\/p>\n Also headed up now are the Iowans for Everest<\/a>, Arnold Coster<\/a>‘s team, the Furtenbach<\/a> organization and at some point,\u00a0Alpenglow<\/a><\/p>\n On the South it was a mixed bag once again as the weather continued to play with the climbers. As I have detailed ad nauseum, the weather forecasters are as frustrated as the climbers this season on the south side.<\/p>\n It appears that high pressure was playing favorites this year by keeping the clouds, wind and moisture sequestered on the Nepal side while occasionally leaking over to the Tibet side just to keep teams honest.<\/p>\n The end result has been a steady stream of summits on the north and occasional summits on the south – sometimes with a bold gamble by leaders on both sides. Again, thus far this has been a relatively safe season.<\/p>\n Perhaps the lessons from\u00a0last year, or the last 50 years have sunk in with new expedition leaders. On 19 May, a few teams took off from the South Col intending to summit in difficult weather. Thankfully, they turned back to try another day.<\/p>\n One of the more poignant post came from\u00a0Larry Daugherty <\/a>climbing with Adventure Ascents<\/a>\u00a0who turned back at the South Summit due to winds. Also with him was\u00a0Thomas Wilkinson<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Brandon Fisher<\/a>.\u00a0 Larry posted:<\/p>\n Mountain clearly in charge However, one of their members, David Snow<\/a>\u00a0stayed\u00a0back for another attempt. Not willing to give up, David found that elusive\u00a0balance\u00a0between giving it everything he could\u00a0without\u00a0giving himself to the mountain. Well done, well done David.<\/p>\n He posted early Saturday morning:<\/p>\n After being in Nepal for over a month I’ve discovered a few things.<\/p>\n For years, you can plan, ponder, prepare every last detail, and stand where no other mountain is higher and still not reach your goal. After 7 hours of climbing in the wind our guides made a choice to turn us around at the South Summit. Disappointment and discouragement were higher than we were. But we were also reminded just a few feet off our route why this is the world’s highest graveyard and why there’s wisdom in listening to those who have been where you have not.<\/span><\/p>\n Refusing to be done with the climb, I discovered mother nature controls summiting big mountains and not once but twice was crushed by attempts that would not happen.<\/span><\/p>\n I witnessed strength and determination in my climbing buddies Thomas Wilkinson<\/a> Larry Daugherty<\/a> Brandon Fisher<\/a> who could have summited a peak twice as high as Everest.<\/span><\/p>\n The majesty of the Himalaya has changed my DNA. I’ve made eternal friendships from the trek to base camp and with mountain guides that could have formed in no other way. My wife continues to elevate her rock star status. I’ve realized once again across all 7 continents and all the experiences this wonderful world affords, what really matters is what’s back home.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Summits<\/strong><\/p>\n Ascent Himalayas<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>aka Ireland to Everest<\/a> had a big week\u00a0with 17 total summits including several first. See this\u00a0post<\/a>\u00a0for details. Adventures Global<\/a> put two on Everest from Nepal.\u00a0Horia Colibasanu s<\/a>ummited without Os.<\/p>\n Just In<\/strong><\/p>\n Satori Adventures<\/a>\u00a0put 5 members and 5 Sherpas on the summit early Saturday morning, 20 May. This is one of\u00a0the teams that tried the earlier day but bad weather forced them to stay at the South Col and extra night. They had prepared for this contingency with extra oxygen.<\/p>\n Kuntal Joisher<\/a><\/span><\/span> reported in for their team:<\/p>\n When they started from South col it was quite windy. However once they were on the mountain the winds subsided and 5 of the climbers reached summit at 6.45 nepali time. One japanese climber reached at 7.15. They all descended together. They reported of a very cold summit day. But as far as I know all climbers are in good condition.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Mega Adventures<\/a>\u00a0turned back on their summit push.\u00a0Summit Climb<\/a>\u00a0posted they hit high winds but was unclear on their exact status.<\/p>\n Watching<\/strong><\/p>\n And my Colorado climbing buddy Jim Davidson<\/a> is on a life long quest to summit Everest.\u00a0He arrived\u00a0at Camp 3\u00a0early\u00a0Saturday morning and is expected to summit\u00a0early Monday morning Nepal time.<\/p>\n Nobukazu Kuriki<\/a>\u00a0announced a major change in plans. He had been on the north side aiming to climb via the Supercouloir but will switch to the south and attempt to summit via the West Ridge to the Hornbein Couloir, the same route that almost took his life in 2012.<\/p>\n Tim Mosedale<\/a> confirmed what was rumored last year – that the rock formation that defined the legendary feature called the Hillary Step had changed either\u00a0by the 2015\u00a0earthquake or by the way mountains have forever- wind, rain and erosion.<\/p>\n He posted:<\/p>\n It\u2019s official \u2013 The Hillary Step is no more. Not sure what\u2019s going to happen when the snow ridge doesn\u2019t form because there\u2019s some huge blocks randomly perched hither and thither which will be quite tricky to negotiate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As regular readers may remember in 2016, it was reported the Hillary Step was \u201cgone\u201d. Speculation ranged from the rocks that defined the 50 foot high crack had collapsed in the earthquake to it was just covered in snow. Now we know.<\/p>\n It does appear the a large boulder to the climbers left is missing. But you and\u00a0count on thousands of suggests on which rock, how far, when, by whom \ud83d\ude42 .. \u00a0If you want to explore\u00a0this further a good start is with Mark Horrell<\/a>\u2018s investigative report on his blog from last year.<\/p>\n Regardless of the what, how and when we can see the one of the most famous features in mountaineering has changed. Time will tell what impact this has on climbing to and from the summit.<\/p>\n 2017 Hillary Step by Tim Mosedale<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hillary Step 2016 left, 2014 right.\u00a0courtesy of David Liano<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hillary Step\u00a0around 2011<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lhotse, the close neighbor of Everest saw summits this past week and will get a few more next. As I detailed last week, coordinating rope fixing was a bit of a challenge.\u00a0Iranian climber Azim Gheychisaz<\/a>\u00a0claimed to have finished all 14 without supplement Os with his summit of Lhotse.<\/p>\n Disappointment on Kangchenjunga<\/a> when climbers\u00a0neared the summit, still facing hours of climbing, they ran out of fixed ropes. Dawa Yangzum Sherpa<\/a> posted:<\/p>\n We are safely back in Base Camp now, and we are discussing whether to attempt the summit again on May 23 or 24. That will depend on a lot of factors, especially the weather. Physically, we are feeling very good, and could definitely go for another attempt. This year, no one has been able to climb Kanchenjunga yet, and some of the climbers are beginning to leave Base Camp and head back to Kathmandu.<\/p>\n The main reason for the turnaround was the depth of snow, and how far we had to continue to climb above 8,000 meters. After 12 hours of climb from Camp IV through deep snow, we had reached all the way to 8,175 meters. But there was another six hours of climb, about 400 meters of vertical ascend, and it seemed very risky to continue, especially due to the deep snow, and the fact that the climb was all above 8,000 meters, essentially the death zone. Unlike most of the other 8,000 meter mountains, Kanchenjunga requires a lot of horizontal climb within the death zone.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n For another perspective, Chris Burke’s post “How could a summit push\u00a0go so wrong<\/a>” is a good read. Finally on Kang,\u00a0Traverse team, Simone Moro, Tamara Lunger and Arjun Vajpa are still reported to go for their attempt starting in a few days.<\/p>\n Peter H\u00e1mor<\/a>\u00a0completed his 8000ers with a summit of Dhaulagiri. Adventure Consultants<\/a> is heading to the summit this weekend as is 78 year-old Carlos Soria<\/a>.<\/p>\n Over on Annapurna, the summit bid has\u00a0started on the NW Face but has ended for the only team this spring on Cho Oyu<\/a><\/p>\n It’s a big week for the majority of the remaining climbers\u00a0on both sides. Many will summit this weekend or early next week. A few will lag\u00a0waiting for the crowds to clear or gambling for better weather.<\/p>\n It’s been a safe season thus far in spite of the wild weather on the south. The number of climbers\u00a0have not been an issue\u00a0on either side as there have been\u00a0just enough tiny windows to spread everyone out.<\/p>\n The next few days could\u00a0help define\u00a0the 2017 season as a normal, albeit windy, season where hundreds of climbers\u00a0from around the world achieved their dreams.<\/p>\n Best of luck to all and I wish them\u00a0a positive experience regardless of the result.<\/p>\n Climb On! P.S.<\/strong>\u00a0I will be doing one-liner updates on the location table<\/a> page and\u00a0creating stand alone\u00a0short posts several times a day as we get into the height of the activity. If you depend on Facebook<\/a> to be notified be aware they don’t show every subscriber every post (don’t ask!) so the best way to be updated is to subscribe<\/a> to email notifications. Your email will never be used for anything else and you\u00a0can unsubscribe at any time.<\/p>\n My mom, Ida, \u00a0died from this disease in 2009\u00a0as have\u00a0four of my aunts. It was a heartbreaking experience that I never want anyone to go through thus my ask for donations<\/a> to non-profits where 100% goes to them, and nothing to me.<\/p>\n Everest 2017: Start, Stop Start, Summits<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nWeather Woes<\/h3>\n
Summit Sweet Spot<\/h3>\n
![\"Everest](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Everest-Summits-by-Day.jpg?resize=695%2C371\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSleepless Nights – for those at Home!<\/h3>\n
North Summits Continue<\/h3>\n
South Summits Began<\/h3>\n
Hard to Turn Back<\/h3>\n
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<\/span>\u00a0Our team turned around at the south summit due to building wind \u2013 disappointed but safe at C4<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\nThe\u00a0large Indian Navy<\/a> team was supposed to start their summit push late Friday night but reports are in that they have returned to the South Col\u00a0citing high winds at 100kph\/60mph. Their Twitter feed posted:\u00a0<\/del><\/b> Tomorrow the team is likely 2 climb 2 SouthCol & enter the death zone (8000m). Likely summit push early morning 21May<\/p>\nBig Changes at the Hillary Step!<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Hillary](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/13166123_1091923964200470_1601850100381499230_n.jpg?resize=480%2C480\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Class](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/hillarystep_small.jpg?resize=300%2C324\")
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Other 8000ers<\/h3>\n
Big Week Ahead<\/h3>\n
\nAlan
\nMemories are Everything<\/p>\nWhy this coverage?<\/h3>\n
![\"Ida](\"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/IMG_00471.jpg\")
<\/a>I like to use these weekend updates to remind my readers that I am just one guy<\/a> who loves climbing. With 35 serious climbing<\/a> expeditions including four Everest trips under my belt and a summit in 2011, I use my\u00a0site<\/a>\u00a0to share those experiences, demystify Everest each year and bring awareness to Alzheimer’s Disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"donate](\"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/donate100alzheimersround.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThis Weeks Posts:<\/h3>\n