Everest 2013: A Sherpa Finally Talks About the Fight
On April 27th, s 2013, a fight broke out on Everest with ramifications that still echo four months later. It involved Sherpas and three European climbers. The Europeans have had many interviews, and press releases to describe the events. The Sherpas lacking the means or perhaps the desire, had remained silent. Now, one of the Sherpas who was directly involved in the fight has spoken publicly. Tashi Sherpa, 30, who worked for International Mountain Guides (IMG) was on the Lhotse Face on April 27th plus at Camp 2 where the real violence broke out. He was a member of the rope fixing team. He was interviewed by freelance reporter Deepak Adhikari in Kathmandu in his native language. The interview was translated into English and posted on the website Outside Online. This is the first time we have heard a Sherpas’ version of the incident directly from a Sherpa who was there. There have been numerous accounts from the three Europeans involved, plus blog posts from Western Guides and expedition operators, some claiming to represent the Sherpa’s viewpoint. See the list at the end of this post. Throughout this post I refer to Tashi Sherpa by his first name to avoid confusion with any other Sherpa as it is a common last name used by the Sherpa people. The attached images were provided by film maker Elia Saikaly who was at Camp 2 throughout the incident. A Brewing Storm? This continues to be a story because of the long term implications for Sherpa-Western climber relationships. Or more specifically, the changing Sherpa culture. While I remain convinced the fight was more of a personality conflict that was brewing for years, there seems to be an underlying “resentment” within the Sherpa community that has not been openly expressed until now. But to be clear, this is one Sherpa speaking only for himself. The story of the fight dominated Everest news throughout the spring season and generated numerous follow-up stories across the world. It was used as an example of everything bad about Everest from commerm, to crowds, to taking advantage of the Sherpas. The Fight The big picture is that the Sherpas were setting the fixed line on the Lhotse Face to Camp 3. This is hard, physical work that can be dangerous if ice or rock falls and hits a climber. Earlier, all the commercial teams were asked to attend a meeting to coordinate the rope fixing. While suggested, it was not a mandatory meeting but most teams send a representative. This is standard procedure and has been going on for a decade on Everest. The professional climbers involved did not attend the meeting. The normal process was to leave the rope fixers alone on the Face to minimize interference and potential injury. It was also a sign of respect for a job in which the Sherpas take great pride. A European team of Simone Moro, Ueli Steck and their photographer Jonathan Griffith choose to climb that same day to acclimatize at their previously establish camp high on the Lhotse Face. They had a permit to climb and every right to be there. They were attempting a new route on the West Ridge starting from Camp 2 so acclimatizing up to the South Col was appropriate thus climbing the same route as the commercial teams. Upon seeing the Europeans climbing, the Sherpas asked them stop, but they refused saying they would be careful. He Said – He Said From this point on, the story becomes he said – he said with dramatically different versions based on the 10+ public interviews with the European climbers and the one with Tashi Sherpa. Simone Moro, the most vocal of the European climbers, simply stated and was consistent that “… we didn’t bother anyone, and we climbed fast, alpine style to Camp 3 and when we went to our tent they just exploded.”5 Tashi summed it up this way “The three ignored our warning and climbed up. Ueli grabbed Mingma’s chest, and Simone used foul words.”1 The Europeans say they did not kick ice on the Sherpas.2,3,8 Moro claims the Sherpas threw ice at them.6 Tashi said the Europeans kicked ice onto them injuring an Adventure Consultants Sherpa.1 Oddly, he said they lied about this incident in earlier reports saying the Sherpa fell by himself and hit his face on the ice. Steck said he used his hands to protect himself as a Sherpa rappelled into him.8 Tashi claims Steck rushed the Sherpas, grabbed a Sherpa by the jacket and pointed his ice axe at him.1 Both sides agree there was cursing and yelling on the Lhotse Face but a different levels of intensity. Simone Moro admits saying “Mother******, what are you doing?”6 Tashi reported that Moro said: “We will see; we will talk with the f******g Sherpas. We will come there and see.”1 The Sherpas felt extremely disrespected and insulted according to Tashi. He goes on to say they felt an apology was required before moving on. Back at Camp 2, Simone said they were in their tent when a mob of Sherpas (100) approached them, throwing rocks 8. Tashi says it was just the rope fixing team and more Sherpas gathered curious about the commotion. Tashi said as they went to the Europeans tent to get an explanation and apology for what happened on the Lhotse Face a western guide “assaulted” one of the Sherpa and a brawl erupted.1 Other reports note a guide did attempt to stop the rock throwing by knocking a stone out of a Sherpa’s hand. Tashi admits Moro was kicked or punched by an unnamed Sherpa. He denies threating to kill anyone.1 Moro, Griffith and Steck are adamant that their lives were threatened. 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Agreement Both side do agree on some things. The Europeans credit Melissa Arnot for stopping the fight along with IMG’s Greg Vernovage 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 The Europeans state the fight was a result of years of building resentment from the Sherpas towards Western climbers who under pay and under
Everest 2013: Season Recap: Summits, Records and Fights
Everest 2013 was a good year for most climbers but a difficult one for the professionals. Overall it could be termed a normal year with little drama with one large exception. As of February 2014, capsule the final 2013 numbers on the Himalayan Database showed that 658 climbers made the summit. There were 539 from the south and 119 from the north side. 9 did not use supplemental oxygen and there were 8 confirmed deaths. This brings the total summits to be around 6,871 by 4,042 different climbers, meaning that 2,739 climbers, mostly Sherpa, have multiple summits. The south side (Nepal) remains more popular with 4,416 summits while the north (Tibet) has 2,455 summits. Overall 248 people (161 westerners and 87 Sherpas) have died on Everest from 1921 to 2013, 140 on the Nepal side and 108 from Tibet. Since 1990, the deaths as a percentage of summits have dropped to 3.6% due to better gear, weather forecasting and more people climbing with commercial operations. Annapurna remains the most deadly 8000 meter mountain with three deaths for every summit (211:69) or 32% . For many climbers, they accomplished a life long dream, returned safely home to a family who have started to breath again. With an unparalleled lifetime experience, for some their lives were changed forever. Big Expectations As the season began, 2013 was shaping up to have something for everyone with the usual number of people attempting records for their country, nationality, disability, speed or routes. One competition that attracted a lot of attention was between 80 year-old Japanese, Yuichiro Miura and Nepalese Min Bahadur Sherchan at age 81. They would compete for the oldest male to summit. Mr. Sherchan held the current record, summiting in 2008 at age 76. Another big objective for several climbers was to summit both Everest and Lhotse, back to back. Mexican climber, David Liano stated his goal to summit Everest from each side. Also, the always seen but rarely climbed Nuptse, was attracting a lot of attention with an all women team attempting the peak. Finally, the climbing community was excited about three small teams of world-class professional climbers attempting to put up new routes, the first in over a decade. For all the critics, Everest still attracted significant interest and the lure to professional climbers seemed irresistible. Lessons From 2012 The season started as all Everest seasons do with Sherpas making the trip to Everest Base Camp in March to stake out a spot at the base of the Khumbu Icefall. They started building rock walls for cooking tents and carving out platforms for sleeping tents. Meanwhile climbers from all around the world finished their training and made last minute gear s as they arrived in Kathmandu in late March. With the low snow year and extreme rock fall danger from 2012 topping everyone’s worry list; it was good news when the Sherpas reported that Everest looked ‘normal’. Even after a highly publicized previous year with ten deaths and Himex pulling out mid season, Everest remained popular with over 1,000 people living at the Base Camps on both sides. The South side had 29 teams with 315 permits issued for Western climbers. All told, over 600 people would attempt Everest from Nepal in 2013. On the North, it looked to be a quiet season with only ten teams having permits for 100 Westerners. Adding in the Tibetans and Sherpas, about 200 climbers would attempt the North side of Everest. Knowing it was crowded, the south commercial guides and lead climbing Sherpas met several times to discuss how to avoid a repeat of long waits of 2012 at the Hillary Step and on the Lhotse Face. They planned on dual lines where possible and a new descent route on the Hillary Step. They agreed to share summit plans to avoid a huge crush of climbers that exacerbated the congestion. But most of all they hoped for a long summit window allowing the hundreds of climbers to make their attempt in an orderly manner. The Weather The normal weather pattern looked to be in play with a good April, followed by poor early May then the traditional weather window starting around May 15th. The sweet spot for Everest summits is between May 13th and May 22nd with 70% of the summits historically occurring during this period. The Icefall Doctors got an early start to fixing the ropes in hopes of allowing climbers to begin their rotations quickly and spread out the summit bids. All was going well until April 7 when Mingmar Sherpa fell to his death in a crevasse in the Western Cwm. This was the first death for 2013. With the season underway, the weather did not play by the rules and the second half of April was cold and snowy delaying the Sherpa teams from fixing the lines to the summit on both sides. But the progress was sufficient so that by May 1st many climbers had spent several nights at Camp 2 on the South and the North Col on the North. However, the weather delays had created uncertainty as the Sherpas tried to fix the line up the Lhotse Face. First it was dry, then a huge snowfall stopped everyone; then the winds came. The Sherpas became frustrated as climbers piled up at Camp 2 waiting to take their rotation to Camp 3, the ticket to the summit. The Fight On April 26, the world’s attention once again focused on Everest for all the wrong reasons. A heated exchange of words high on the Lhotse Face started what was to be an unnecessary chain of events for all involved. Professional climbers, Simone Moro, Ueli Steck and their photographer Jon Griffin decided to climb the Lhotse Face the same day the Sherpas were fixing the rope. The Sherpas, fixing the rope, saw them and asked them to stop climbing. The professionals refused and harsh words were exchanged. Reliable reports told of promises to continue the argument back at Camp
Everest 2013: Ladder on the Hillary Step? A Bad Idea
At the end of each Everest season, operators and officials review the results. They look mostly at the number of summits, deaths, and the issue of congestion at the bottlenecks. There were over 600 summits this year and Everest took nine lives in 2013, ten in 2012. For 2013, this process has begun with gusto as recent articles discussed doubling the permit fees as a way to address crowds and installing a ladder on the Hillary Step to address congestion. I think both proposals are bad ideas. By the way, Nepali Min Bahadur Sherchan, 81, has abandoned his summit climb and is already back in Kathmandu. He held the male age record at 76 but lost it to Japanese Yuichiro Miura who summited last week at the age of 80. Sherchan had trouble getting funds for his expedition and left EBC days after almost every other teams had completed their expeditions due funding and sponsorship from the Nepal government arriving late. Mountain conditions had already begun to deteriorate. It appears Everest 2013 is now over. Ladder on the Hillary Step The Hillary Step at 28,750 feet is a short section of moderate rock climbing. It is the last obstacle before reaching the summit. The Step itself is about 40 feet high at an angle of 45 to 60 degrees. For all climbing Sherpas and most climbers, it is a simple obstacle easily climbed using the ropes installed. In 2013, a second route was installed bypassing the Step entirely for climbers descending from the summit. From what I can tell it was not used by many people as it was hard to find on the descent and required a steeper rappel down than the normal route. Also, in 2013, the congestion was not so severe that people felt compelled to find an alternative. Waits of 15 to 30 minutes were reported by some climbers but most people never mentioned waiting at all. On the ascent, most people will use their jumar to pull their way up the rope, others will more elegantly use footwork to climb slowly using the rope only for protection from a fall. On the decent, the vast majority of climbers with use an “arm-wrap’ technique where they wrap the rope around one arm to provide support as they slowly drop down the rocks. Some back down, other will go face first. Occasionally a person will use a belay device for maximum protection but taking significantly more time. The actually movement is not difficult. What makes it difficult is fatigue, the altitude and having your vision obscured by goggles and wearing an oxygen mask. The suggestion is to put a ladder on the Hillary Step to only aid climbers descending, but it is entirely unclear how that would ever be managed. I do not support a ladder on the Hillary Step in any form. Climbing at the Hillary Step is fundamental and climbers should have this level of basic rock climbing skills before coming to Everest. If a climber is going too slow or having extreme difficulty on the Step, then they may be in danger of a tragic event on the descent from the summit and should turn around to save their own life or avoid a rescue that would put others at risk. I believe having the ladder would undermine the overall difficulty of Everest and encourage those who lack the fundamental skills to take the risk supported by greedy operators. There are better ways of potentially making Everest safer without making it easier. There is a ladder on the North side at the Second Step at 28,248 feet installed by the Chinese in 1975. That section, about 120 feet high with near vertical sections, is completely different from the Hillary Step. It is significantly more difficult and requires expert skills to climb. Without the ladder, almost no summits would occur on that side. Before the ladder, a Chinese climber in 1960 climbed the Step in his bare feet. As the story goes he took off his boots to stand on the shoulders of a teammate to gain access to climbable rock. Conrad Anker, a world-class alpinist, free climbed the Second Step in 2007 after removing the ladders. This was in an attempt to recreate the Mallory and Irvine experience of 1924. Anker rated the Second Step at a 5.10 grade. The Hillary Step is often classified as class 4. But again, it is altitude that makes Everest hard in the first place. Doubling Fees The second proposal begin floated is to double the permit fees on the South. The concept is to reduce the number of people using affordability. Again, I think this is a poor idea. For most people who climb Everest, money is not their top concern; it usually is time away from work. If they have the ability to pay $40,000 to even $75,000, another $10,000 will not stop most people but further encourage ‘people with means’ to climb Everest for bragging rights further distancing Everest from any kind of spirit of mountaineering. Most likely the increase will have two consequences. The first would be to shift climbers to the Chinese side which is already less expensive due to permit fees charged by the CTMA. The second would be to encourage more short cuts by budget operators to keep member prices as low as possible. Operators potentially would cut salaries, reduce qualified Sherpa support, use more basic food, eliminate paid weather forecast services, use less expensive group gear. A myriad of cost cutting that could impact safety. In 2013, I was told by one reputable guide that a local Nepalese guide service charged members USD$18,000. One way to do this was that they allegedly paid their Sherpas USD$700 for the entire season, a wage much lower than what is mandated by the Ministry of Tourism. Most Sherpas are paid thousands of dollars depending on their role. Solutions? First, what is the problem on Everest that attracts attention? Usually it is the
Everest 2013 Team Locations
Welcome to Alan Arnette’s Everest 2013 coverage My coverage is based on my own 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. Latest Everest News – May 31, 2013 A sincere and deep thank you to everyone who made a donation to one of the Alzheimer’s non-profits. That is why I do this. Very rough, unconfirmed estimates: Total at base camps: 415 westerners plus 625 Sherpas totaling 1040. 658 combined summits from both sides 63% summit to attempt rate. 8 total deaths. Start or stop email notifications of new posts using the form in the lower right corner of this page This page only list the 2013 team locations, click here for the daily 2013 coverage now ended South Col Route (map) Everest only TEAMS (members/western guides)29 teams, 315 climbers, 500+ Sherpas/Staff EBC C1 C2 C3 C4/SC Summits(climbers/Sherpas) Adventure Consultants (10/4) e 11/22 Adventures Global (5/0) e 2/2 Alpenglow (2/1) e 2/4 Alpine Ascents Int. (12/3)(4/1) e 18/21 Asian Trekking Eco Teams (26/0) e 14/21 Berg Adventures (3/0) e 2/2 Himalayan Ascent e 1/2 Himex (12/2) e 12/12 IMG Classic (25?/1?) e 24/20 IMG Hybrid (8?/3?) e 0/7 Jagged Globe (10/3) e 13/11 Mountain Trip (3/1) e 1/4 RMI (3/2) e 2/3 Patagonia Brothers(2/1) e 3/2 Peak Freaks (8/3) e 6/8 Pune Indian (6) e 3/? Rolwaling (7/2) e 7/8 Summit Climb (7/1) e 7/5 Tim Mosedale (6/1) e 4/4 USAF 7 Summits (6/0) e 4/4 others e 276 SOUTH TOTAL (est) 539 Northeast Ridge Route (map) TEAMS (members/western guides)10 teams, 100 climbers/125+ Sherpas/Staff CBC ABC C1/NC C2 C3 Summits(climbers/Sherpas) AMICAL (4/0) e 4/? Asian Trekking (5/0) e 5/4 Adventure Peaks (9/2) e 8/6 Altitude Junkies (10/1) e 4/7 Kobler & Partner e 6/9 Summit Climb (15/1) e 11/12 7 Summits Club (13/4) e 10/9 others e 24 NORTH TOTAL (est) 119 e=climb ended, x=last reported location, x+ =on summit bid, -x =descending h=high sleep point, t=touched not slept. Summit number=member/Sherpa. Locations estimated from public website. Please refer to each expedition’s site for current information. Contact me to add/remove your team from my coverage. I did similar coverage for the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012 seasons. I summited Everest on May 21, 2011 and have climbed Everest four times – 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2011. If you will forgive the self promotion, Outside Magazine posted in February 2013 an extensive interview with me where I talk abut my childhood, mountains, Everest and of course Alzheimer’s. I appreciate their interest and help. They even said I was “one of the world’s most respected chronicler of Everest” If you receive value from my annual Everest coverage, please consider a donation to one of these Alzheimer’s nonprofits, 100% for Alzheimer’s, none for me. thank you. Click this link to understand my personal journey with this disease 8 Confirmed 2013 Everest deaths Mingma Sherpa, 47, from Lukla, working as Icefall Doctor slipped into crevasse in Western Cwm. DaRita Sherpa, 37, from Phortse working for IMG died from sudden cardiac or cerebral event at Camp 3. Family fund at this link Sergey Ponomarev climbing with 7 Summits Club died at Advanced Base Camp on the north side presumably of a heart attack. Lobsang Sherpa, 27,from Kharikhola working for Seven Summits Treks fell down Lhotse Face. Alexey Bolotov, 50, from Russia, has died from a fall. He was climbing with Denis Urubko on a new route on SW Face Namgyal Sherpa, 35, Kathmandu and Bangdel Khotang, died on North Side Sung Ho-Seo, 34, of South Korea was attempting the climb without supplementary oxygen and died on his way down the mountain. Mohammed Hossain, 35, from Bangladesh, died on the descent after summiting. A death has been reported on Lhotse. Xiaoshi Li, 58, died climbing Lhotse. An earlier report of Hsiao Shishlee, proved to be the same person. Please click this link for the discussion page including on the Simone More/Sherpa Conflict. [poll id=”-2″]
Everest 2013: Weekend Update May 26
This past week was about as good as it gets on Everest. The winds were manageable, look the crowds tolerable and the summits plenty. There was little drama as the 2012 season neared the end. Every day we saw multiple summits on both sides. However the North side took the full force of high winds, as usual. Sadly, there were also deaths this past week. There were about 300 summits this week alone, well over 600 for the season. But they were orderly and the waits at the usual suspects were reported by climbers to be under half an hour. It appears the leaders learned from last years problems. But more than anything, having nine days of summits compared to only two made all the difference. The Week in Review The week started strong with over 75 climbers reaching the top on Monday. This included the Everest Trilogy by Kenton Cool and Dorje Gylgen who summited Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse – this had never been done in a single push from Base Camp. Dorje Gylgen did not summit Nuptse. Also, on top was Brit Dan Hughes who made history and attracted unwanted attention from the Nepali authorities with his live BBC interview from the summit. Samina Baig, became the first Pakistani woman to summit. Samina’s brother, Mirza Ali did not summit – there was some confusion about this. The teams on the North side pushed hard through harsh winds, some made it, some held tight, some reed. During the week, a Japanese climber died on the North side in the harsh environment. He is reported to still be attached to the fixed line near the exit cracks. The action really picked up mid week as the winds finally abated. Six Indian students, all age 16, from Sanawar India made the summit along with their guides, leaders and Sherpas. 80 year-old Japanese Miura Yiuchiro summited, setting an age record. Dave Hahn got his 15th summit, a non-Sherpa record. Melissa Arnot set an American female record with her fifth summit. Lakpa Sherpa holds the female record with six summits. Phurba Tashi with Himex tied Apa Sherpa for the most Everest summits with 21. There were multiple other firsts and history but I leave it to them to share their success with the world. A sincere congratulations to each climber for their effort regardless of the result. Of note, Russell Brice, Himex, had a very good year ending this week with 22 summits on Everest alone. He also put climbers on the summit of Nuptse and Lhotse. I’m sure he is proud of this year after a difficult 2012. These are some of teams who enjoyed success: 7 Summits Climb: 11 climbers, 6 Sherpas Adventure Consultants: 9 climbers, 10 Sherpas Altitude Junkies: 4 climbers, 7 Sherpas Peak Freaks: 6 climbers, 8 Sherpas Jagged Globe: 12 climbers, 12 Sherpas Patagonia Brothers: 3 climbers, 2 Sherpas Himex: 11 climbers, 11 Sherpas International Mountain Guides Classic team: 16 climbers, 17 Sherpas Mountain Trip: 1 climber, 4 Sherpas SummitClimb South: 8 climbers, 8 Sherpas SummitClimb North: 11 climber, 12 Sherpas Asian Trekking Eco Everest: 12 climbers, 16 Sherpas See the complete list on the location table As the week ended, the helicopters were busy. Many climbers choose to ride share back to Lukla or even to Kathmandu and not trek out through the Khumbu. On the North, some teams are still at Base Camp waiting for drivers from the CTMA to shuttle them back to Nepal. Several teams still had Sherpas removing all the tents, oxygen bottles and gear from the mountain. Within a few days, Everest will be quiet once again. Deaths This week there were four deaths. In addition to the one mentioned earlier on the North, Lee Hsiao-shih, 57 from Taiwan was reported to have died on Lhotse. Sung Ho-Seo, 34, of South Korea was attempting the climb on the South without supplementary oxygen and died on his way down the mountain. Mohammed Hossain, 35, from Bangladesh, died in his tent a few hours after successfully summiting from the South. There have been nine deaths for 2013, four were Sherpa. None were attributed crowds. Final Summit? Determined to summit, 81 year-old Nepali, Min Bahadur Sherchan, is reported to have left Base Camp Sunday, May 26th with 5 Sherpa. He is attempting to regain the age record from Japanese Yuichiro Miura’s who summited this week at the age of 80. I have it confirmed he will go for the summit this week unless something major occurs preventing it. Mr Sherchan was born on 20 June 1931. A collapse in the Icefall on Saturday was said to have closed the route and ending the season but there has been no official word the Icefall is closed and teams continue to report movement by their Sherpas from the high camps back to Base Camp. The issues with climbing this late in the season include warmer temperatures and unstable weather. The monsoons have already started with reports from Kathmandu to Lukla of heavy rain. This will eventually reach Everest resulting in heavy snowfall. But of more immediate concern is the melt associated with warmed days. In Camp 2 there is usually a river of water running into the Western Cwm. On the Lhotse Face, the anchors holding the fixed lines are melting out thus no longer holding the rope secure. And in the Icefall, the movement, combined with the warmer temperates increases the chances of falling seracs or avalanches. All of this conspires to have the Icefall Doctors stop maintaining the route at the end of each May. Next I will continue to post updates as news warrants. Dave Hahn and Scott Woolums reported Saturday there are still climbing teams on the South side. Look for my final season recap this next week. Thanks again for following this year, but more than anything else, thank you for your donations to an Alzheimer’s non-profit. I am not informed of the donations by name but only know that some of you have
Everest 2013: Cleaning the Mountain, 9th Death
As most members are in Kathmandu or even home, the Sherpas continue to work hard on Everest. This end game on the expedition is called ‘cleaning the mountain’. Simply put, cheap it means that everything they brought, they take back down. That goes for tents, oxygen bottles, some ropes and anchors, garbage, everything. Throughout the season even the human solid waste was collected and processed down valley at one of villages. It is not a prefect system as human solid waste is left above Base Camp. On the North side, there are few rules and waste is a big problem. All the commercial expeditions are required to put down a USD$15,000 trash deposit as part of the permitting process on the South side. This helps to motivate the teams to leave no trace but sometimes smaller or one-time teams may not follow the rules. Eric Simonson, IMG, does a nice job of characterizing the situation at Base Camp: The Sherpas did the last carries this morning, and everyone is safe and sound off the mountain. Well done! We are pleased to have seen 46 summits from our 2013 IMG team (44 on Everest, 2 on Lhotse). Most of the climbers have now departed Base Camp. Some are hiking and some are catching a ride on a helicopter, so everyone should be back in Kathmandu in the next couple days. Greg and Jangbu will be leaving in the morning, while sirdar Ang Passang will be staying a few more days, working with his crew to finish drying tents and getting everything packed up for the yaks and porters. Gear in good shape will go to our storerooms in Gorak Shep and Pangboche, and items requiring repair or dry-cleaning will go back to Kathmandu. Per the rules of our permit, all burnable garbage goes to the incinerator in Namche, all cans and bottles go to Kathmandu for recycle, all human waste goes to the designated burial site (in the soil) down towards Lobuche, and all empty O2 cylinders go back to Kathmandu for re-export. Only after we have fulfilled all these conditions will we get our $15,000 garbage deposit back. Last Summit? A twist has occurred for 82 year-old Nepali Min Bahadur Sherchan, trying to regain the male age record. It has been reported on Japanese Yuichiro Miura’s Facebook page that a major collapse in the heart of the Icefall has effectively closed the route. They are now planning on using helicopters to return to Base Camp. This is the post: Due to weather condition Helicopter was unable to fly into EBC & C2, today. They will try tomorrow morning. Today, there have been major collapse in the Icefall. Luckly no one was hurt but the part of Ice fall route have been destroyed and route has been closed. Few climbers and sherpas had to return back to C2. I am waiting for official word the Icefall has been closed thus ending Nepali Min Bahadur Sherchan, effort to regain the age record. There is always a chance the Doctors will find a way around the collapse. It is not clear how many teams still had gear above the Icefall. Usually the route is open until everyone has cleaned their camps, normally until June 1st. Triva Tim Ripple, Peak Freaks, posted a couple of interesting items on his blog. The Nepal Ministry of Tourism now requires a photo of your face on the summit to give you summit credit. Tim also noted that the power will be shut off in Namche for 6 months as they replace a dam that provides hydro-electric power to the area. 9th Death A ninth death has just now been confirmed. A Japanese, still unidentified, died on the North side below the top of the exit cracks on May 20th. It is unclear if he had summited but eyewitness reports believe he was descending. Climb On!AlanMemories are Everything
Everest 2013: More Summits, It is Not Over!
Climbing Everest is all about timing. And a few climbers are proving that they can sneak in a few summits after the masses have left. On the North, the second team from SummitClimb summited 19 in what was termed ‘high winds’. Part of their team was Leifur Orn Svavarsson, reported to be the first Icelander to summit from the North. On the South, Manish kumar Deka of Assam, India summited with his Sherpas. They were climbing with Arun. Senior Battle In the ongoing battle for records, 81 year-old Nepali, Min Bahadur Sherchan, is reported at Base Camp. I have from a solid source that he is strong and feeling well so there is a good chance he might summit and retain his record of a summit at age 76. As you know it was broken this week by 80 year-old Japanese Yuichiro Miura. He had better hurry as the Icefall is melting out as the days warm up and the monsoons get closer. Triva For those climbers trying to get home, the nice traditional way (not using a helicopter to Kathmandu!), they are being delayed by the heavy rain both in Kathmandu and in Lukla. Personally, I have both trekked and flown out from EBC after an Everest climb. I prefer the trek as it give you time to wind down and let what happened sink in. With the season almost over, a few interesting reports are coming out. Double amputee, Canadian but from Nepal, Sudarshan Gautam, 30, summited but fell near the Yellow Band on May 21st. He was rescued using a ‘long line’ from a helicopter. This was a record for an alpine helicopter rescue as it was at 7800 meters. They did not land but dropped a line that was attach to the injured climber. A report at Montagna.tv says the Nepal Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation is considering raising permit fees as a way to control crowds on Everest: Once the royalty is increased the number will be controlled automatically,” he opined, adding, “the climbing holiday will have effect on overall Nepali tourism”. “The climbing holiday on the one hand decrease government’s income while on the other will also hamper tourism sector,” Nirola said adding that the raise in royalty is the only option. Similar reports have been floated in the past with no action. Everest 2013 could be a record year for summits with around 500 on the South and 150 on the North. The most ever was in 2007 with 633 summits. The deaths of eight, thus far reported, is sadly within the expected range for this number of summits. The highest death toll on Everest was in 1996 with 15 deaths. To keep some perspective, many of the world’s most popular mountains – Mont Blanc, Aconcagua, McKinley, have similar death tolls. That said, clearly any death in the mountains is devastating for family and friends. Summit Reports Once climbers get back to Kathmandu or home, they often seize the opportunity to document their experience while it is still fresh in their minds. Nelson Dellis, who climbed on the North with Altitude Junkies, has written what I consider an outstanding report on his experience. it you have been following Everest all season, this is simply a must read for his humility, and honesty. An excerpt from the Blog of the Day … Once I reached that point (about 8000m—officially in the “Death Zone”). I sat down and looked out at the Himalayan expanse and just started sobbing. I don’t know really why, but I guess at that moment I suddenly felt completely defeated. I thought of all the people I was going to disappoint, especially myself, but I just couldn’t get myself up and keep climbing. What was the point? Another good report is from Chris Jensen Burke on her Lhotse summit. Bob Kerr discussed his vision problem on summit night. Georgina Miranda who summited has a very brief pre-report with a paragraph I liked: … no more than 10 minutes later my friend’s guide managed to recognize me through my oxygen mask and down suit and asked why I was crying and then told me, “you already turned around once 2 years ago, you are not turning around again.” He then talked to my Sherpa, they adjusted my oxygen and he asked me to follow them for an hour and see if I felt better and that I was only 5-6 hours away from the summit. Fortunately, I started feeling better, and at 5 am the sun rose over the whole world and I was filled with warmth and knew that my sign had been clear as day and there was no turning around. There will be more and I will try to highlight the standouts via posts or on Twitter. Climb On!AlanMemories are Everything
Everest 2013: Summit Wave 8 Recap
If this was the last night for Everest 2013 summits, advice it was a good one. But I learned a long time ago that just when I think it is over, there are a few more teams sneaking up! We had over 50 summits Thursday morning. First up is 80 year-old Japanese Miura Yiuchiro summits, setting an age record. He is an amazing man who I met in 2008 in the Khumbu Icefall. Very friendly and seems to enjoy life to the fullest! By the way, he had multiple injuries from skiing along with some surgeries and then summited Everest for his 3rd time. An inspiration to us all. Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall and Tshering, Kaji & Gyaljen, with RMI made the summit. Their member had to descend with a bad cough. This was Dave Hahn’s 15th summit, a non-Sherpa record. The team with Patagonia Brothers also summited. And Tim Mosedale made his second summit of the season with his final few members. Also the group from Rolwaling put 15 on the summit. Himex put 22 on the summit. It seems waiting for the last minute paid off for Mr. Brice! Asian Trekking put their final few on top. As I mentioned over the past few days, this weather window seems to be breaking down thus closing the spring season. But we will not know if someone wants to make a last minute attempt until the Icefall is closed by the Doctors. But there is still work to be done by all the teams to break down the high camps thus the Icefall will be open for another week. On the North, there is no real closure so it is the start of the monsoons that effectively closes that side. There are some small independent teams who might still make push. I continue to update this blog through my final update. Personal Note (repeat from yesterday) With the season winding down, a quick note to say I will do a comprehensive recap of the entire season that looks at all the action, both good and bad., in a few days after the last summit. Also, I will continue to cover the climbing activity around the world on a regular basis, but not as frequently as Everest. if you have subscribed you will see a notice every few weeks but certainly not daily like this month! Thanks to everyone who has followed along, those who made thoughtful comments, sent me emails but especially to those who made a donation to Alzheimer’s causes. Please remember that I am just one guy who loves climbing. With 30 serious climbing expeditions including four Everest trips under my belt and a summit in 2011, this site tries to share those experiences, demystify Everest each year and bring awareness to Alzheimer’s Disease. My mom died from this disease a few years ago as did two of my aunts. It was a heartbreaking experience that I never want anyone to go through thus my ask for donations to non-profits where 100% goes to them, and nothing to me. If you are interested in hosting a fund raiser of having me speak at an event, please visit this link. Climb On!AlanMemories are Everything
Everest 2013: Summit Wave 7 Recap and Summit Wave 8: Update 3
Update 3 80 year-old Japanese Miura Yiuchiro summits, setting an age record. Over 50 summits on reported early Wednesday morning by Asian Trekking Dave Hahn, Benegas Brothers and Tim Mosedale with their remaining teams summits. This was Dave Hahn’s 15th summit, a non-Sherpa record. Himex put 22 on the summit. Update 2: Asian Trekking reports a summit Wednesday morning by Douglas Scarborough and Phurba Sherpa and Ngima Dorji Sherpa . They summited at 5:40AM after leaving the South Col at 7:00 pm last night. Dave Hahn, Benegas Brothers and Tim Mosedale with their remaining teams are all either on top or above the South Summit. No updated from Himex yet. 80 year-old Japanese Miura Yiuchiro posted on his Facebook page: 4:00am local, the team is about half way to South summit. Yuichiro’s condition is good. May be 4 more hours to the South summit and another 2 more hours. Weather stable, no wind, Yuichiro’ Condition is good. Update 1: Teams are on the way tonight, early Thursday morning in Nepal and Tibet. Dave Hahn, RMI, is climbing tonight. Could be Dave’s 15th summit, a non-Sherpa record. He is with fellow RMI Guide, Seth Waterfall and three Sherpa: Tshering, Kaji and Delgin. The member developed a tough cough and had to descend. Another good day Wednesday May 22nd. There were summits on both sides. This weather window has been incredible allowing climbers to reach the summit in overall good conditions. But it is coming to an end and now the remaining teams must be feeling a sense of urgency. Everest veteran Dave Hahn with 14 summits is climbing and made this post: on their plans to summit today … the complication is that the weather forecast is kind of breaking down for those days and might be kind of dicey weather – We will have to see. We figure that will be our one chance and so it is up or down for all. Things should be moving around a fair amount for these next couple of days…we will see what happens. Overall there have been about 500 summits for this season from both sides with another 50 to come keeping 2013 in line with recent years. There have been 8 deaths on both sides. Wave 7 Recap Wednesday morning’s good conditions enabled several climbers with unique backgrounds to summit. There were summits on North Side with Adventure Peaks (14) and Altitude Junkies who put 11 on the summit including Edita Nichols, the first Lithuanian woman to summit. Melissa Arnot and Tshering Sherpa summited from South. She builds her American women’s record now with 5 summits. Mountain Trip put their member on the summit with four Sherpa. Carlos Pauner summited thus completing climbing all 14 8000m mountains without supplemental oxygen. Similarly, South Korean Kim Chang-Ho topped out a few days ago becoming the first Korean climber to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen and the first Korean to finished all the 14, 8000meter mountains without using supplemental oxygen. It took him 7 years, 10 months and six days, as noted by the Korean Alpine Federation, breaking the previous record of 7 years, 11 months and 14 days set by Jerzy Kukuczka from Poland. Alpine Ascent put another 16 on top including the Arabs with Altitde team: Michael Horst just radioed down that the team is standing on the summit! They report that the weather is good with some moderate wind and that the views are amazing. Guides Michael Horst and Vern Tejas, climbers Sheikh Mohammed al Thani, Raed Zidan, and Masoud Mohammed, and cameraman Elia Saikaly are together on the summit joined by our amazing Sherpa; Kami Rita, Phura Temba, Ang Pemba, Lakpa Nuru, Nawang Jangbu, Fura Kancha, and Passang Kajee. All together, Alpine Ascents has summited another 13 climbers today! This is a historic moment as Sheikh Mohammed al Thani is the first Qatari to reach the summit of Everest and Raed Zidan is the first Palestinian. And from the tiny country of Andorra, Domi Trastoy Diaz summited at 8:45AM becoming the first Andorran to summit and making his country very proud! Wave 8 RMI, Patagonia Brothers, Himex and a few last independents are going for the summit tonight. It will be good to keep an eye on conditions for tonight. I will update once again throughout the day. Personal Note With the season winding down, a quick note to say I will do a comprehensive recap of the entire season that looks at all the action, both good and bad., in a few days after the last summit. Also, I will continue to cover the climbing activity around the world on a regular basis, but not as frequently as Everest. if you have subscribed you will see a notice every few weeks but certainly not daily like this month! Thanks to everyone who has followed along, those who made thoughtful comments, sent me emails but especially to those who made a donation to Alzheimer’s causes. Please remember that I am just one guy who loves climbing. With 30 serious climbing expeditions including four Everest trips under my belt and a summit in 2011, this site tries to share those experiences, demystify Everest each year and bring awareness to Alzheimer’s Disease. My mom died from this disease a few years ago as did two of my aunts. It was a heartbreaking experience that I never want anyone to go through thus my ask for donations to non-profits where 100% goes to them, and nothing to me. If you are interested in hosting a fund raiser of having me speak at an event, please visit this link. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2013: Summit Wave 6 Recap and Summit Wave 7 – Update 3
Update 3 Mountain Trip just sent this note out: We just received a call from the summit, we have 5 on top right now! 7.25am, Yahoo! Conditions sound perfect, very light winds, no crowds. Sounds like things started out very windy and have improved through the night. That’s super good news here. We have Manoj Vora, DaWang Chu Sherpa, Serki Sherpa, Gombu Sherpa and Norbu Sherpa enjoying the view. Manoj and all the sherpas sound good, no problems. Carlos Pauner summited completing thus completing climbing all 14 8000m mountains without supplemental oxygen Melissa Arnot and Tshering Sherpa summit from South. She builds her American women’s record now with 5 summits. Summits on North Side with Adventure Peaks, more to come. Update 2 35 climbers reported tonight on the South with final big push Wednesday night. Weather is slowly getting worse so tonight and Wednesday may be the last chance this season. North climbers reported past 2nd Step. Melissa Arnot checked in at the South Summit. 81 year-old Nepali, Min Bahadur Sherchan, is still at EBC. 80 year-old Yuichiro Miura at South Col. Update 1 Conditions are reported good tonight by AAI: The forecast look good with winds in the 15 to 25 mile per hour range with possible higher gusts. There may be some cloud cover here at base camp, but it looks like our climbers will be well above it while they climb at over 8,000 meters. The temperature will be in the vicinity of -20 C or -4 F, balmy and warm for this altitude Looks like Melissa Arnot is trying again tonight. Two deaths just reported from Monday’s summit push: Sung Ho-Seo, 34, of South Korea was attempting the climb without supplementary oxygen and died on his way down the mountain. Mohammed Hossain, 35, from Bangladesh, died in his tent a few hours after successfully climbing the summit. This makes 8 deaths for the 2013 Everest season with 4 of those being Sherpa. Another big morning with climbers from many teams summiting. The good weather continues even though last night the winds were “brisk” at 20 mph. Another wave tonight and tomorrow should wrap things up on the South with a couple of exceptions. On the North summits will continue for a few more days depending on the weather. Wave 6 Recap There were summits from IMG’s third team, aka Classic, with 10 summits this morning, 42 for the season, Asian Trekking had 14 and Adventure Consultants with 16 summiters, 100% success for them. It has been a good season for commercial guides, Jagged Globe also had 100% with 24 summits. The students from Sanawar India summited. They are 16-17 years-old: Guribadat Singh, Prithvi Singh Chahal, Ajay Sohal, Shubham Kaushik, Fateh Singh Brar and Raghav Jonneja. Also from India to summit was Arunima Sinha with Nima Kancha Sherpa and Pemba Tshering with Asian Trekking. With this summit she became the first female amputee, with an artificial leg below her left knee. As for the new descent route on the Hillary Step, IMG noted: IMG guide Justin Merle reports that he rappelled down the new descent route at the Hillary Step and says that it is a good option. All the IMG climbers are now below the South Summit heading down, so that is good news. I am not sure how many members used the new descent. It will be interesting to debrief a few upon their return home. On the North, Kari Kobler put 14 on top. They climbed from Camp 3 to the summit in 6:30 minutes. With the team was Silvio Mondinelli the famous Italian mountaineer making his third Everest summit. He was the 13th person to climb the 14 8000m mountains without supplementary oxygen. He was attempting a ‘speed’ climb with Ecuadorian Tima Patricio. No update on that effort as of this post. Amical put members on the summit from the North. Austrian climber Rupert Hauer with Amical, had just summited Shishapangma and now was on Everest but aborted his summit push to give aid to another climber suffering vision problems. Very unselfish. Wave 7 I can’t believe I even am counting to seven given last year we only had four summit pushes. Several teams still remain on the South including Himex, RMI, Mountain Trip, Tim Mosedale and several independents. Alpine Ascents has a team called Arabs with Altitude including: Mohammed Al Thani, Masoud Kalafchi,Raed Zidan and camerman Elia Saikaly. They are climbing now. The Arabs With Altitude have been resting, hydrating, and rebuilding their strength today at the South Col in preparation for their summit push tonight. The weather report continues to look good for our climbers. The winds have picked up a little since yesterdays forecast, but they are still relatively low and manageable. There are only a few other teams planning to climb the mountain tonight. Everything is looks to be lining up for great summit conditions! On the North, Altitude Junkies is at Camp 3 climbing to the summit tonight, Tuesday may 21st for a Wednesday, May 22nd summit. Adventure Peaks reported attrition after a long, tough season on the North. This include Bob Kerr who developed vision problems and did an audio update safely back at the North Col. This from AP: Greetings from Top Camp, 8250m. Unfortunately 2 of our team have had to return down from 7800m. Paul and Jenny made the difficult decision that she was not moving strongly enough, Bob was suffering with blurred vision in one eye. They are now returning down from the North Col and will soon be in Advanced Basecamp. Nelson Dellis, Altitude Junkies, made this post from Camp 2 as they prepared to go on the summit bid: Holy hell, what a rough day. We started our summit push yesterday as we left for the North Col. It felt easier this time, even though we were all dreading it. I guess Phil’s secret rotation from last time made a difference. Most of us rocketed up there in just over three hours.