Que the Weather!
Well, right on schedule a somewhat unexpected snowstorm, complete with lightening and thunder, rolled into the Everest camps. Climbers stopped in their tracks, literally, to wait it out. Needless to say, this put a bit of a chill on talks of an early summit. But we will see. As I had mentioned before, it uncanny how the weather is excellent in April then turns ugly on May 1st almost every year – happy May Day!
Everest 2010 Weekend Update May 1 (updated)
There are good weeks and bad weeks on Everest, a bad week is when someone dies. On Monday, April 26, Hungarian climber Laszlo Varkonyi was swept into a crevasse by an avalanche on the North Col. A desperate search ensued, however, by Thursday, the search was called off. Teams on the south, while aware of the north side events, continued their acclimatization rotations with many climbers spending the uncomfortable night at camp 3. The weather continued to play nice and Sherpas took the fixed line all the way to the South Col on the south and to camp 3 on the north. They are now being supplied with oxygen bottles, stoves, fuel, tents and other suppliers needed to launch summit bids. Both camps are roughly at 8000m. As of today, the ropes are not fixed to the summit from either side.
Climbing for a Cause
As we spend the last day of April monitoring the climbers on both sides of Everest, I thought it would be good to look at their motivations. Climbing historians know of the famous 1923 George Mallory quote, “Because it’s there” but others have more personal reasons. The primary action on both sides right now is working on their acclimatization through rotations to from low to high camps.
Climbing the Lhotse Face
On one of my Everest climbs, I was told outright – “If you can’t get to camp 3 in under 5 hours, you are out.” After a discussion with my grim reaper on people skills, the logic of the statement made sense. Speed is your friend on any mountain, much less the highest in the world. The Lhotse Face is the eastern side of the world’s 4th highest mountain Lhotse, 8516m or 27,939 feet. Many climbers attempt Lhotse itself in pursuit of all 14 8000m mountains or as a difficult 8000 meter mountain. The route is identical to climbing to the South Col but takes a hard right, upwards, just above the Yellow Band to the technical and rocky summit. But the Lhotse Face is the gatekeeper to all of this.
Climbers Climbing plus Avalanche Update
News travels quickly on Everest. Teams on both sides are sadden by the avalanche incident and have a heightened awareness of the dangers of high-altitude mountaineering. However, they push on knowing that danger comes with the sport. For teams on the north is has been a difficult few days with the avalanche on the North Col. The missing climber is László Várkonyi is a well known Hungarian climber. I contacted Ang Tshering Sherpa who is the Founder and Chairman of Asian Trekking who provided them with logistical support. He sent me this immediate reply for which we deeply thank him:
A Request from Alan Arnette
As you know, I only cover Everest each year to raise awareness and research money to cure Alzheimer’s. Today, I am asking you to vote to help. I am not asking for money, just your vote. It is easy and if you appreciate what I am doing on my site you will help.
Is The Search for Irvine’s Camera On?
The weather on both sides is proving difficult even stopping the Sherpas from fixing the route above camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. So most climbers are resting in their -40F sleeping bags, reading or playing cards in the dining tents. The Sherpas continue to carry oxygen bottles to camp 2 in anticipation of further carries to the South Col. IMG reports over 130 and Altitude Junkies 70 already at C2. A strong Austrian team lead by Jochen Hemmleb could be searching for the infamous camera of 1924 British climbers George Mallory and Sandy Irvine. As I reported February 3 this year with my interview with Everest historian Tom Holzel; he had made significant progress in narrowing the search area for the camera. He posted the map and GPS coordinates on his site and the race was on.
Avalanche Update and Icefall Incident (updated)
UPDATE: In a statement by climber David Klein on expeditions.hu, he and his partner Laszlo Várkonyi were involved in the avalanche and Laszlo is still missing. Original story: I received an email overnight from Duncan Chessell of Chessell Adventures. He is leading an expedition along with Adventure Dynamics on the north. Jamie McGuinness of Project Himalaya, passed through Duncan a first hand account of yesterday’s accident on the North Col. Over on the south, the Icefall continues to be tricky with a small incident that did not hurt any climbers but created a period of anxiety.
North Col Avalanche (updated)
There was a large avalanche near the North Col on Monday, Tibet time. Before going further, remember that breaking news of accidents from Everest, especially from the north side, in almost every case is inaccurate. The early reports from multiple teams are contradictory. Some say it was a rock fall but most eyewitness are saying it was a large serac or cornice that collapsed near the fixed ropes.
The Realities of Everest
The north has become quite busy in spite of some difficult weather, meanwhile on the south, climber after climber has slept at camp 3 – their ticket to the summit – and are back at the lower camps.