Everest 2013: Interview with Rob Marshall – US Air Force 7 Summits
This interview with Rob Marshall is one of an ongoing series I do each season with Everest climbers. Not the famous, sponsored ones who get plenty of publicity but the regular people, who often have full time jobs, full time families and climb for the love of the climb. I welcome suggestions for anyone climbing in 2013 I should interview. Now here’s Rob: I first met Major Rob Marshall at the airport in Puenta Arenas on my climb of Antarctica’s highest mountain, Mt. Vinson. Major Marshal and Capitan Graydon Muller told me they wanted to do push-ups on the summit. Over the next few weeks, I got to know, respect and admire these men. You see they were not just out climbing mountains, they were setting records, making a difference and touching the lives of military personal around the world. After a series of life changing events, Rob set a goal to climb the 7 Summits with his Air Force buddies to honor the fallen. And they are, raising $60,000 for military charities in the process thus far. With a successful summit of Everest, the group would make history as the first military team to climb each continent’s highest mountain and the first United States military team to summit Everest. The Everest team includes: Maj. Rob Marshall, 34, a V-22 Osprey pilot, from Mercer Island, Wash., stationed in Amarillo, Texas Capt. Andrew Ackles, 29, a TH-1N instructor pilot, from Ashland, Ore., stationed at Fort Rucker, Ala. Capt. Marshall Klitzke, 30, a KC-135R pilot from Lemmon, S.D., currently an instructor pilot at the Air Force Academy in Colorado springs. Capt. Colin Merrin, 28, a GPS satellite operations mission commander from Santee, Calif., stationed at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Staff Sgt. Nick Gibson, 36, a reserve pararescueman and physician-assistant student from Gulf Breeze, Fla., stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Captain Kyle Martin, 29, an F-16 instructor pilot and mission commander from Manhattan, Kan., currently flying T-38s at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Oh, and about those push-ups in Antarctica: Please meet Major Marshall: Q: The Air Force 7 Summits Challenge has become personal for you. Why? When I started the project in 2005, it was simply an audacious project to highlight some of the positive aspects of the Air Force that I was proud of: teamwork, physical fitness, camaraderie, and determination. However, within two months of officially creating the Air Force 7 Summits Challenge, a tragic plane crash occurred while I was on a military training mission in Albania. Several of my friends died and it made me realize how short and fragile life can be. Then, a few weeks later, two of my Air Force Academy classmates were killed in a separate crash. I decided to dedicate our first climb in their honor and for all the men and women that had died serving in the Air Force since 9/11. I also wanted to find a way to support the surviving family members, so we started raising money for their children’s college education with every 1,000ft we climbed. That’s when the challenge became personal. Q: Rob, the project is not a military operation, how are the climbers funding each climb? With really good savings plans! We are an unofficial team and not sponsored by the Air Force or any other government agency, so all of our climbs to date have been paid in full by the individual climbers. However, we are hoping to offset some of the Everest costs through donations and sponsorship. Q: Chad Jukes, 28 of Ridgeway Colorado has recently joined your team. How did you talk him into joining the team given he lost his lower leg in Iraq? It’s with much disappointment that I have to say Chad Jukes won’t be joining us for the climb of Mt. Everest in 2013. Chad was really looking forward to being the first US Service Member amputee to attempt Everest, but we couldn’t secure the funding for his climb. Chad was in an Army convoy when an IED (improvised explosive device) detonated from a pothole and destroyed his vehicle, resulting in the loss of his right leg. Q: You are climbing for more than a summit. Please tell us a bit about the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. I first heard of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation was after the 2005 MC-130H that I mentioned earlier. The word went out though our Special Operations Squadrons that the charity would support the spouses and children of the men who died during the crash. Speifically, they ensure the children of fallen Special Operators can attend the college of their choice free of cost. We’re not talking about a small loan or just covering tuition. The SOWF, which was started after the tragic end to the failed 1980 Iran hostage rescue mission, takes the weight of worry off the widow’s shoulders by paying the child’s college room, board, tuition, a car, insurance, flights home for holidays, and even some spending money. It’s a fantastic charity that supports all members of the US Special Operations community, including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. I’m also excited to say we’re helping other military charities as well. We recently invited a non-profit group called “That Others May Live“, which supports the Air Force Combat Rescue community, to send some of their ‘Wounded Angels’ (injured Combat Rescue members) up to Everest Base Camp with us. My hope is that the epic journey into the Himalaya will help these Airmen in their recovery from both physical and emotional trauma. Mountains have a powerful way of healing and I hope we can develop an ongoing program to support military member’s recovery through mountain trips. Q: How can we help? There are two very easy ways to help us in our goal to take the Air Force to the Top of the World. First off, spread the word about this exciting challenge! The more American’s that hear about this positive and patriotic climb, the better. We are tired of all the negative news on the TV and in the press!!
Everest 2013: What is the Easiest Route on Everest?
A trick question, I know! In all seriousness there are no “easy” routes up Everest, search just degrees of difficulty. The so-called normal or standard routes are along the Southeast and Northeast Ridges via their respective Cols (click on the map to see the ridges). These are considered the most straightforward climbs that present the least amount of technical difficulty. But nothing is easy at those altitudes. Since Everest was first attempted in 1921, there have been many attempts and over 3500 successful individual summits along a variety of routes, 21 in total. Only two new routes on Everest have been opened since 1996: the North-Northeast couloir in 1996 by Russians Kuznetzov, Kohanov, Semikolenkov and in 2009 along the east side of the Southwest Face by a Korean team lead by legendary Park Young-seok. There are rumors of a new route attempt for 2013 by Denis Urobko and Alexei Bolotov. They are looking at the Southeast Face starting from the Western Cwm. However, none of the new routes have been easy. In addition to the pure climbing challenges, a vast assortment of political difficulties, wars, and rules have stopped and started climbers for almost 100 years. This is a limited timeline with a few highlights: The Survey Expeditions 1841: Sir George Everest notes the location of Everest during a survey from India 1846: Nepal closes borders to foreigners 1850’s: Tibet closes borders to foreigners 1856: Andrew Waugh finishes Sir Everest’s survey calculating Everest to be 8840 meters (29,002 feet) high 1907: British reconnaissance into Nepal maps Dudh Kosi valley to end of Khumbu Glacier 1913: British operates a clandestine reconnaissance into Tibet reaching within 60 miles of Everest 1914 – 1918: World War I 1921: Nepal allows one limited British exploratory party to Everest region with George Mallory declaring “…I do not much fancy it would be possible…” The First Attempts from Tibet 1920: The Dalai Lama opens Tibet to foreigners 1921 – 1938: Seven British attempts, all from Tibet, including the mysterious 1924 Mallory/Irvine expedition 1922: Seven Sherpas killed in an avalanche below the North Col. First recorded deaths on Everest 1939 – 1945: World War II 1950: China closes Tibetan borders after invading Tibet The First Summit and Nepal Expeditions 1950: Nepal opens borders to foreigners after China closes it’s borders 1951: Briton Eric Shipton’s expedition develops route to top of Khumbu Icefall 1952: Swiss teams attempt South Col route reaching 8500 meters 1953: First Everest summit via South Col Route (Hillary/Norgay) 1959: The Dalai Lama flees Tibet for sanctuary in India 1960: Chinese summit via North Ridge with team of 214 men and women (Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhau, Gingbu) 1963: West Ridge via Western Cwm with descent along Southeast Ridge – first Traverse (Tom Hormbein and Willi Unsoeld) 1975: Southwest Face (Scott, Haston) An Explosive Time for Summits and New Routes 1978: First summit without supplemental oxygen (Messner, Habeler via Southeast Ridge) 1979: China opens Tibet to foreigners 1979: West Ridge Complete with descent via Hornbein Couloir (Stremfeli, Zaplotnik) 1980: Reinhold Messner solo, without supplemental oxygen climb of the North Face 1980: North Face, North Col – North Ridge – North Face, South Pillar 1981: South Col Couloir – South Pillar – Southeast Ridge 1982: Southwest Pillar (Myslovski, Balyberdin) 1983: East Face – SE Ridge (Reichardt, Momb, Buhler) 1984: North Face via Norton Couloir (Macartney-Snape, Mortimer), North Wall (Ershler solo) 1985: Tibet – Nepal border opened for travel to foreigners 1986: West Ridge complete from Tibet 1988: East Kangshung Face (Venables) 1991: North Face (E Part to Norton Couloir) Commercialization Begins 1993: Nepal limits expedition to four/year with limited numbers and high permit fees 1995: Nepal allows more expeditions but keeps high permit fees 1995: NE Ridge complete 1996: The largest number of deaths in one day -3 north, 5 south; 15 deaths that year 1996: North-Northeast couloir (Kuznetzov, Kohanov, Semikolenkov) 2004: Central North Face – NE ridge (Kozlov) 2008: China effectively closes Tibet for Everest Olympic torch climb that year 2009: Southwest Face (east side) (Jan-chang, Ki-seok, Dong-min, Park Young-seok) 2009: China allows Everest climbers but sporadically delays boarder crossings in following year 2010: China sets climber age limits: 18 and 60 (Nepal only has minimum age of 16) Sources: Wikipedia, EverestHistory.com, MountEverest.net , 8000er.com, Himalayan Database An in-Depth Look at Both Sides of Everest A strong trend until 2007, was for more climbers to choose the north due to lower costs. But the Chinese effectively closed the north in 2008 for their Olympic torch climb and then in 2011, they increased the permit costs plus added more restrictions as to the use of Nepalese Sherpas and porters. For 2013 the total cost is about the same as for the south for a reputable commercial guided climb. See my recent post on “How much does it cost to climb Everest?“. That said, the north continues to attract climbers due to the history, less crowding and the appeal of Tibet. I am often asked which side is safer and my answer is pick your poison. The south has the Khumbu Icefall and the north has the Steps and weather. The north side fatality rate is higher than the south with falls, altitude issues and exhaustion noted as the primary reasons. However the spread narrowed in 2012 with the deaths of 8 south side climbers. In spite of the Icefall dangers, I think most operators will say the south side is slightly safer and maybe a bit easier. As I recently explained in my post “Bodies on Everest“, I wanted to examine the true statistics behind Everest deaths in the past decade and looked to research for some facts. Based on his tables and my updates, this is the summary from 2001 to 2012: Reason Northeast Ridge Southeast Route Other Routes Fall 8 5 1 Altitude 9 6 1 Exhaustion 9 1 1 Unknown 7 2 1 Avalanche 1 3 2 Crevasse 0 4 0 Exposure 4 0 0 Heart/Stroke 1 4 0 39 25 6 [poll id=”5″] There will almost always be deaths on Everest, that is the nature of high-altitude mountaineering. But the real story is the role and impact of the unsung heroes – the Sherpas. They have suffered 13 deaths the past 12 years almost all on the south side from falls, avalanches and crevasse accidents. With this background, let’s take a brief look at their pros and cons:
Everest 2013: Interview with Nelson Dellis – Memory Champion
This interview with Nelson Dellis is one of an ongoing series I do each season with Everest climbers. Not the famous, sponsored ones who get plenty of publicity but the regular people, who often have full time jobs, full time families and climb for the love of the climb. I welcome suggestions for anyone climbing in 2013 I should interview. Now here’s Nelson: Whenever someone tells Nelson they have trouble remembering names, he nods, smiles gently and tells them he once had that problem but recently memorized a deck of cards in 30 seconds. Oh, and so can you! Who is this mental giant? Truth be told, he is just a normal guy living in Florida who has taken on the world of memory for all the right reasons. And his favorite food is the Goji Berry, well actually its pizza for this 29 year-old. I first met Nelson on Everest (where else?). I was climbing to my tent high on the Lhotse Face when I heard my name. In my oxygen deprived state I looked around only see a smiling face waving to me from his tent. I managed a wave back and mumbled something about climbing on. I remember his face but not his name at that point … Nelson went on reach the Hillary Step but stopped short of the summit. More on that in a moment. We also share something else – Alzheimer’s in our family. Nelson lost his grandmother to the disease in 2009. It changed his life. He set out to better understand how our brain works, specifically memories and found that anyone can improve their memory skills. Now he is a champion in memory contests winning the 2011 and 2012 USA Memory Championship – an Olympiad for ‘thinking’ games. The competition is set up as a sporting event for Mental Athletes, with memory challenging tournament-style competitive events including memorization of: 117 names and faces, a shuffled deck of cards, an unpublished poem, speed numbers, and a list of 500 words. Born in London, his family moved to Florida when he was eleven. Now he is off to Everest, climbing the north side with Phil Crampton’s Altitude Junkies team. Please meet Nelson Dellis. Q: I want to start with Alzheimer’s and your Climb for Memory non-profit. Please tell us about your grandmother and how her Alzheimer’s changed you. My grandmother was the sweetest lady ever, but she passed away in 2009 due to complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease. After she passed, I was inspired to learn more about the memory and to see if there was anything I could do for my own brain so that maybe I wouldn’t suffer the same fate. One of the first things I discovered was the USA Memory Championship, a competition where people come together to memorize massive amounts of pointless information in a very short time. What impressed me the most about the competition was the fact that everyone who competed did not have a naturally good memory. Rather, they all had learned some memory techniques and simply trained their mind to do these incredible feats of memory (like memorize a deck of cards, 100s of digits, etc). As soon as I tried the techniques and saw that they worked, I was hooked. I kept training and training, always learning more about how my memory works and how to make it stronger and healthier. It’s now almost 4 years since then, and I feel like my brain is incredibly strong. Along the way, I decided to start a non-profit called Climb For Memory. I wanted to do 2 things: 1. raise awareness for Alzheimer’s Disease by doing something interesting and 2. find a way to spread my knowledge of brain health to as many people as possible. Climb For Memory made sense because I love climbing and thought that bringing the cause to some of the most beautiful and highest places in the world, might be a great way to gain some attention. You can learn more about my charity here where I also blog frequently about a lot of things memory related. Q: As the winner of several US Memory Championships, you are quite the celebrity on TV these days (CNN, Today Show, Dr. Oz, etc.). What is your message? My main message for people is that you shouldn’t just be satisfied with being physically fit – being mentally fit is equally important. I want people to know that mental health is something that can be achieved with some daily mental exercise, healthy diet, and physical exercise. Q: Everest. In 2011 you reached the Hillary Step and turned back. That was so close. What happened? ARGH! SO close. 280 vertical feet close, actually. I felt so strong that whole 2 month expedition. Even as we left for the summit at 8pm on May 12th, 2011, I felt unstoppable. When we reached The Balcony in just under 4 hours, I was feeling fantastic. But when we took a rest, drank some water, changed my bottled oxygen, and then put my oxygen mask back on to continue climbing, I realized that it had frozen and I couldn’t breathe properly through it (I was getting the supplemental oxygen, but no outside air). I panicked. I eventually figured out a way to breathe by creating an opening at the bottom of the mask, but it was pretty much me just breathing entirely the outside air and hardly any supplemental oxygen. Anyways, I climbed up to the South Summit with this issue and felt myself rapidly becoming insanely tired. And then suddenly I hit a wall. By the time I was about to go up the Hillary Step, I felt like I had nothing more to give, especially considering that I still had to save some energy for the descent. I remember being very “out of it” at that point, so I knew I had to make the decision to turn around quickly. So I did….it was seriously one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I
Everest 2013: Interview with Dawes Eddy – going strong at 70
This interview with Dawes Eddy is one of an ongoing series I do each season with Everest climbers. Not the famous, case sponsored ones who get plenty of publicity but the regular people, no who often have full time jobs, full time families and climb for the love of the climb. I welcome suggestions for anyone climbing in 2013 I should interview. Now here’s Dawes: The last time on Everest he lost 10 pounds off his 5′ 8″, 130 pound body, 8%. A loose rule of thumb is that if you lose 10%, you will probably not summit. Well Dawes Eddy did summit in 2009, becoming the oldest America to summit at the time – at a young 66 years old. And now he is going back – at age 70. This Spokane native, knows what he is getting into. He seems to have a body, and lifestyle, designed to live forever. Well maybe not forever but Dawes is doing everything he can not to live his golden years sitting in a chair watching television. For the past 23 years, his year round training routine includes running 8 miles three days a week, regardless of the weather, twice a week he puts in an hour with weights and swims 40 minutes. His favorite training peak is nearby Mt. Rainier with 65 climbs including 40 summits. His is quite intimate with Rainer coming close to death during a long fall down a very icy Gibraltar Chute in 1999. He broke his leg during that 2,000 foot fall but recovered and was back up there several months later. All this training allowed Dawes to climb the summit push on Everest from the South Col to the summit in a very swift 7 hours and 38 minutes in 2009. Dawes is part of an exclusive Everest American Senior Men’s Club that includes Bill Burke who claimed the American male age record by summiting only two days after Dawes at age 67. Some of the other members include John Dahlem, at 66 and 10 month who summited with his 40 year old son Ryan in 2010, Joe Drnek age 65 summited in 2010, Don Healy, 65 also in 2010 and Sherman Bull at age 64, summited in 2001. Carol Masheter at age 61 is the oldest American woman to summit back in 2008. The oldest woman to summit was Japanese Tamae Watanabe, age 73, in 2012 from the north. But setting the bar for everyone is Nepali Min Bahadur Sherchan who in 2008 summited at age 76. Not to be left out, Japanese Yuichiro Miura who has summited twice since turning 70, once owned the age record will try to regain it with his attempt this year at age 80. You may know Miura as being the “Man who Skied Down Everest” in 1970. However, all of this is not without risk, in 2011, Nepali Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya died during his attempt to set the record, he was 82. In 2004, American Nils Antezana, age 69, summited but died on the descent. But Dawes is not climbing for a record (but will be the oldest America to summit Everest if he succeeds), he is just going for the sake of health, climbing and the joy of pursuing his passion. Here’s Dawes: Q: Dawes, you are 70 and have already summited Everest. Why again? I love adventure and a challenge and my Everest climb in 2009 provided me with both. The 45 minutes I spent on the summit watching the sunrise was a very moving experience, which I would like to repeat. Chronologically, I’ll be four years older, but my definition of aging is defined as loss of function. My loss of conditioning and aerobic capacity the past 4 years has been minimal and I want to demonstrate that with the proper lifestyle choices, all things are possible into a person’s 70’s and beyond. Q On your website you promote a healthy lifestyle to slow the aging process. What are the critical components of this plan? Based on my personal experience the medical doctors have it right. Their advice to eat a well-balanced diet heavy on fruits and vegetables and to engage in physical exercise on a regular basis is right on the mark. I’ve been following their advice for over 40 years and am currently in much better physical condition than I was 50 years ago. Thanks to a quality diet and vigorous exercise, I currently weigh 2 lbs. less than when I graduated from high school in 1961. Q: This will be your second climb of Everest. Will you do anything differently the time? My plan is to maintain as high a level of endurance and aerobic capacity as possible and the acclimatization will take care of itself when I get to the mountain. Q: In 2012, you summited Denali in only 12 days (usually takes 21). How? We summited on the 12th day, but then it took us 3 more days to get back to the airfield. Fifteen days is still a respectable time and we were very lucky with the weather. We were the 2nd to the last plane to get out back to Talkeetna and the climbers behind us had to wait 3 more days to get out due to weather. Q: I often see a correlation between marathon runners and successful mountaineers. You have run over a dozen marathons, a dozen Half Ironman Triathlons, a 34.4 mile ultra-marathon and a 100 K Ultra marathon. How does this help with your high altitude climbing? I’ve always enjoyed endurance athletics like marathons and triathlons and training for those activities has directly contributed to my success as a mountain climber. I am amazed at what a person’s body is capable of if given the proper training and conditioning. Q: 2012 was a difficult year on Everest with rockfall and bad weather, any concerns for 2013? I try not to worry too much about things I have no control over. I worry about getting
Everest 2013: How Much Does it Cost to Climb Everest?
During my annual coverage of Everest, illness one of my most popular posts is about money; well how much money it takes to climb Everest. What most readers want to know is 1) how little do I have to spend and 2) where do I get it? This update for 2013 looks at both questions in detail. The Big Picture There are real costs involved to climb Everest and it is not the place to save money. However, doctor with guided expeditions charging from $30K to $100K, no it is confusing. You can sometimes get a deal, but don’t count on it given the popularity of Everest. Most leading commercial guides sell out months in advance each year. The Nepal and Tibet governments control much of the costs today with permit fees and requirements on wages and ment of Sherpas, cooks and porters so a base price has been effectively established. Prior to 2012, climbing from the north was significantly less expensive. However, in recent years the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) raised permit fees and imposed several requirements that made a Tibet climb similar to a Nepal climb for comparable expeditions. There are three ways to climb Everest: put together your own expedition, join a logistics only expedition or join a fully guided team. Some climbers believe a solo expedition in the Messner 1980 north style is the way to save money; however the notion of a solo climb is somewhat academic today. Before the explosion of commercially organized guides with dedicated Sherpas, ropes and ladders; a climber could go to the mountain (usually the north) and climb alone without using any of the common support systems. Some people try these days but end up using a ladder someone else put across a crevasse or a cook at base camp thus never really making a true solo climb. The you can really achieve is without Sherpa support and still the costs are significant. The majority of climbers use commercial expeditions because they spread the costs across multiple climbers thus reducing expenses and improving safety. On Your Own It is tempting to dream of planning your own Everest expedition. After all, anyone can fly to Kathmandu, a permit, food for 6 weeks; fly to Lukla or Lhasa, hire yaks and porters to get your gear to BC, establish your own base camp, cook all your own meals, determine your own weather forecast, make multiple climbs to ferry your own gear while establishing your high camps, pay for use of the fixed ropes, /rent oxygen, regulator, mask, summit, hire more yaks to get your gear back out or carry it yourself, and a ton of other stuff. It is certainly possible and done occasionally. However even these “independent” expeditions rely on some level of local logistics. If saving money is the goal, you will be disappointed. You might have been able to do all this for under $15K back in the last century but probably not today. Even the first Swiss and British expeditions were massive undertakings requiring funding on a national level. Cost Breakdown To get started on the costs let’s look at the south but the north is similar. There are fees every climber and expedition must pay – directly or indirectly: a climbing permit, liaison officer, visa, park fee, Icefall route management, fixed ropes, waste deposit, travel, insurance. At a minimum these total $13K even sharing the costs with 6 other climbers; for one person going alone, these base expenses soar to over $35K. Then there is gear, food, tents and more so the shared price increases to $25K minimum – bare bones – no oxygen or Sherpa support; anywhere. Add these in and now for a 7 person team you are at 35K and truly solo approaches $60K. Realistically, you would join a team to leverage the expenses, especially the permit, but you could try to hire your staff and pay for the normal group expense yourself thus I estimate a “do it yourself” south side expedition for one person with one Sherpa and two cooks will cost between $55K and $85K. This is my estimated break down and there are additional costs I have not included for example travel, insurance, etc. for the support staff required by the governments. PERSONAL TRAVEL $2,325 – $6,175 Airfare $1500 to $5000 depending on class and routing and excess baggage Transportation Kathmandu to Lukla $250 roundtrip per person Hotel and food in Kathmandu $300 to $700 depending on delays Nepal Visa $75 Immunizations $200 Getting to EBC $2,150 Yaks to and from Base Camp $150 per yak per day carrying 120lbs Porters to and from Base Camp $75 per porter per day carrying 60lbs Tea Houses and food on trek to EBC $20 – $100/person /day – 7 days $140 – $700 Park Fee $100/team Climbing Fees $16,000 – $48,300 Nepalese Liaison Officer $3000/team South Base Camp Medical support $100/person Permit $25,000 for 1 – $70,000 for 7 or$10,000 each Garbage and human waste deposit $12,000/team (refundable but not always) Icefall Doctors to fix route $2500/team Contribution to fixed ropes above Icefall $100/climber Weather forecast $0 to $3000 Puja $300 EBC and High Camps $9,900 Tents $3000 new (sleeping, cooking, toilet, storage at 4 camps for 3 people) Cooks $5000 per cook and assistant for 6 weeks Food and fuel $1900 per person for 6 weeks Climbing $8,525 Oxygen $500/bottle (5 bottles) $2500 Oxygen Mask (TopOut) $525 Oxygen Regulator $500 Climbing Sherpa $5000 per Personal Sherpa Misc $12,400 – 19,400 Medical kit $1000 Sherpas, cooks tips and bonus $250 – $2000 per individual depending on performance and summit Helicopter evacuation from EBC-South $5000 (not available on north) Rescue Insurance: $400 Personal Gear (down suit, high altitude boots, sleeping bags, etc): $7000 Satellite phone (own) $1000 to $3000 depending on usage gear allowance for Sherpas $1000 OK, so now that it looks cost prohibitive to climb solo or even very independently for most people, let’s look deeper at climbing with
Welcome to Everest 2013 Coverage
Welcome to my kick-off for Everest 2013 coverage! This will be my 11th season of Everest: 7 times providing coverage and another 4 seasons of actually climbing on Everest. I did similar coverage for the 2004, ask 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 are one of the close to 1 million viewers of my 2012 coverage, hello again, if you are new, welcome! My goal is to provide insight and analysis of what is going on up there with no favorites or agendas. I use sources directly from the mountain, public information and my own experiences to develop my posts. Usually I post once a day as the season gets started in early April and ramp up to almost hourly coverage during the intense summit pushes in mid to late May. I spend several hours a day to create these updates. You can sign up for (and cancel) notifications on the lower right sidebar or check the site frequently. Why do I do this? Well, one word : Alzheimer’s. I hope that you enjoy my coverage and make a donation to any of my selected non-profit partners as a tangible thank you. I never benefit financially from your donations. Just click on this button that is always on the top right sidebar. 2013 Overview So what does 2013 look like? Busy as normal on the south (Nepal) side if the pre-bookings are any hint. Many of the major guides are showing their expeditions fully booked or only a few spots left. The prices have remained steady on the south. The North is a different story, as usual. The Chinese raised their permit pricing in 2011 so the north side is no longer the bargain it once was. The major, reputable services are now charging $40K for a good trip. Almost double what it has been. This includes, permits, personal Sherpas, oxygen and all the normal services like stocked camps, cooks, tents and food. This is about same as a south climb but as usual you can always spend more. In the Fall of 2012, the China – Nepal boarder was closed forcing Cho Oyu and Shishapangma expeditions to scramble. Word from China and Nepal is that there will not be any such issues for Everest this spring but we will see what actually occurs. Look for a few unique expeditions again this year including a new route up the Southeast Face, perhaps a traverse from Lhotse to Everest or a flight from the summit. I know one major climber returning to do a “surprise” climb involving a first of some kind. I guess we will have to wait to see what it is. As always, there will be the clandestine search for the Mallory and Irvine camera lost in 1924 on the north side. 2012 was a difficult year on Everest with 11 deaths, horrible weather, and dangerous climbing conditions with falling rock and ice. You can read my season recap for details. The highest profile incident was when Russell Brice’s Himalayan Experience (Himex) team canceled their entire expedition half way through and went home due to the conditions. Brice will be back this year. But, for hundreds of climbers, 2013 will be about doing their , maybe touching the top of the world and coming home safely. I hope to bring their stories to you along the way. I have begun to create my annual team location table. If you have a team not listed, please let me know and I will add them if I can track them. If you prefer not to be mentioned, please contact me. I will post a few background articles and interviews between now and early April when the teams arrive at the base camps. If you would like to see anything special this year, post a comment or drop me an email. Here’s to a safe season for everyone on the Big Hill. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Preparing for Everest – 6 Months Out
On April 1, 2013, only six months away, Kathmandu will be teaming with aspiring climbers preparing to head towards base camp on the north and south sides of Mt. Everest. I would love to be there climbing the north side, but alas (sigh) 🙁 not in 2013; thus I will be covering the action from Colorado once again. Most operators are now sending emails titled “Everest 2013” and starts with the sentence “Welcome to our spring climb of the world’s highest mountain …” The heart skips a beat. It will be here in a blink so let’s take a look at what climbers are doing between now and then. There are three general areas: training, gear and mental preparation. TRAINING For most climbers, they have been training long before they made the financial commitment. Remember, climbers cannot be in the ” shape of their lives”, they have to be in “Everest shape” Some are CrossFit devotees, others prefer long runs, then there are those who are in the gym most nights after work. But for all, the key is a balanced training plan with work on strength, cardio and stamina. During the last 6 months, if they are on a plan, it will be a time of peaking then resting all while avoiding injury. I know for me, I focused on stamina as my primary goal the last six months with long days in my Colorado 14,000 mountains carrying a 40 pound pack. The good news is most climbers will never carry more than 20 pounds so doubling the load at half the altitude worked for me. For some, it is time to double down to get ready. Six months is not a long time but doable if they are already in good shape. Again, a balanced approach is : core strength, legs and calves, heart and lungs. Running intervals is an excellent technique. But above all, it is be a mistake to think one can get in shape on the trek in or during the acclimatization rotations. Once at altitude, the body slows down, the nutritional plan is not sufficient to build muscle and sleep cycles suffer. Besides that, getting to Base Camp is one of the experiences of the climb and a time to get to know your teammates and enjoy Nepal or Tibet; not a time to obsess over training – it is what it is at that point. GEAR One of the parts of climbing is all the gear! I know, I know … But if climbing Everest is not a great excuse to new stuff, I don’t know what is! However, I hope that every single piece has been “field tested” by the new owner before they land in Kathmandu. Nothing reveals a climber’s experience than showing up with boots or crampons still in the original box. Or maybe they have just upgraded, I hope. This is a good time to think about spending days and nights in base camp between rotations. What little things will make life more comfortable while gone? Perhaps books, videos of home, your iPod loaded up with music, movies and TV shows. Keeping a journal on an iPad or blogging? Think through recharging and backup, umm paper and pen! Want to call home? If daily then consider renting a sat phone or understand the limits of 3G on Everest (there are many). In any event, the point is to try everything back home to make sure there are no gear surprises. Try everything on, especially boots. This is tough for climbers who don’t live near a mountain, but everyone lives nears the outdoors, so put them on and talk a long walk. Yeah, the soles will get scuffed up a bit but that’s the point. Learn how they feel, work out the sock system; make sure the crampons fit securely – can you put them on while wearing your heavy gloves? Remember that feet swell at altitude. But of the highest priority, is to get the systems down cold. Swapping out layers, putting on crampons, helmets and goggles or sunglasses – all this should be second nature with no fumbling. Trust me if you are fumbling with gear while on the fixed rope, those behind will let you know … However, all this is more about safety. The last thing you want to do is find yourself not having the right glove or layering system on your summit push when the temps are far below OF and the winds are nearing the cutoff point. Or discovering your goggles don’t fit with your helmet on or your hood is too tight. These are show stoppers at 28,000’. This is a video I made in 2011 before my climb. I was very pleased with all my gear and today would stick with everything I said in this video. MENTAL PREPARATION So you have your gear, your training plan is on track but there is one last area that cannot be ignored – between the ears. Often climbers will say that an expedition is more mental than physical. The split is unique to each person but it is safe to say it is at least 50/50. To review the obvious; you are gone a long time from loved ones and the comfort of home, maybe 8 weeks. You are in an environment of extreme yet subtle pressures. You are dealing with the human dynamics of great, and not so great teammates. There are so, so many things beyond your control: weather, mountain conditions, route fixing, politics on the mountain. But all this is easy compared to the day you take that first step into the Icefall or up the Lhotse Face. Or that first step up the Triangular Face from the South Col or across the traverse towards Mushroom Rock. In spite of your gear shakedown, something always happens. Everyone gets sick at some point, everyone. And of course there are surprises – a crampon falls off, a glove blows away, your