Everest 2015: Season Summary – Summits Don’t Matter
Over 9, 000 people died in April 2015 from a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu. And no one summited Everest – from either side, from any camp. Summits don’t matter. As has been my custom since 2002, I will summarize the season but this time from my first hand experience as I was climbing Lhotse […]
Everest 2015: Team Locations
Welcome to Alan Arnette’s Everest 2015 coverage My coverage is based on my own summit and climb experiences, research, sources, and public information. I try to provide insight and interpretation of the activities ranging from routes to weather to the challenge of climbing Everest. I will be climbing Lhotse thus will be reporting from Everest […]
Everest 2015: Earthquake Devastation Spreading
I spent this evening speaking with helicopter pilots and people who have just returned from the earthquake epicenter regions. They say there are villages flattened, order with landslides and down trees seemingly obligating entire villages off the trail systems – these are areas trekkers never touch, nor apparently relief agencies at the moment. Many of […]
Everest 2015: Kathmandu and Everest, a Small Part of Nepal
My flight from Lukla to Kathmandu was uneventful, in fact more on time than many of my last trips. My gratitude of being met by US Special Forces and a dedicated team from Global Rescue services has quelled any concerns of personal impact. I know someone in the United States is looking after her citizens. […]
Everest 2015: Icefall Doctors and Helicopter Rescues – Justified or a Crutch?
The scope of the Nepal earthquake tragedy is a huge human disaster yet the climbing community is consumed with Icefall Doctors and helicopter rescues on Everest. I believe it is good to question and understand major life events yet I am sometimes dismayed how the climbing industry seems to literally consume itself with criticism that […]
Everest 2015: North Closed, South Res – a full recap
First, I want to say that this earthquake is a Nepal tragedy, not a mountaineering event. My deep, deep condolences to all of Nepal, victims, injured and homeless. No country deserves this, much less the gentle people of Nepal. I am now at the Panorama Lodge in Namche Bazaar, safe, with most of the Madison […]
Everest 2015: EBC Death Update
A very terse update due to intermittent Internet. Everyone is very tired, mentally spent. Sincere and deep condolences to everyone in Nepal impacted by this tragedy. Ice serac releases off Pumori caused by 7.9 earthquake near Kathmandu on Saturday The casualty count at EBC is 22+, s site many, many injuries ~ 40+++ as of […]
Everest 2015: First Steps in the Icefall
Long Expeditions are often filled with a lot of down time, sometimes by design to let your body adjust to the altitude and other times due to unforeseen events. Well we have had a bit of both thus far. I have been gone from home for 3 weeks so I’m ready to do some climbing. […]
Everest 2015: Weekend Update – April 19
I will try to do a weekend update each Sunday while on Everest/Lhotse. This update is all about the weather. We arrived at Everest Base Camp on Monday, store April 13 to heavy snow, and overcast skies – and that is the story of the week. Each day brought cold temps and culminated with a […]
Everest 2015: April 18, A Black Day with Lessons for all
It was one year ago today that a hanging wall of ice fell onto the Khumbu Icefall, the gateway to the south side of Mt. Everest, killing 16 mountain workers waiting for a ladder to be repaired that crossed a deep crevasse. Today, I’m at Everest Base Camp attempting to use almost the same route […]