Everest/Lhotse 2016: Winds Let Up for Next Summit Push
After the surprise wind storm on Tuesday 17 May, the winds seem to have let up on Wednesday 18 May and teams at the South Col are preparing to give it a go tonight – in a few hours actually. Potentially close to 200 people. Those positioned at Camps 2 and 3 will move up to the South Col for their summit attempts hoping to top out on the 19 of May. Punishing Night Those that spent last night and today at the South Col were punished. I had a similar experience in 2003 when we expected good weather but it turned ugly and were forced to spend a night at the Col. Usually you squeeze 3 or 4 people into a tent for a few hours – not a big deal – but when you need to spend 30 hours … You try to sleep but at almost 8,000 meters it is difficult, and you try to eat but there is no desire. Every time the winds calms, you perk up hoping the storm has passed but then it comes back with double the force. For those who reed to a lower camp to spend the night, the mental and physical game is even tougher. They have just used a lot of energy to go higher, along with a lot of mental focus only to be asked to retrace their steps lower. All in all these events are a true test of determination, and for some strength to go higher. A Cyclone Plays with Weather Mix Meteorologists Chris Tomer of Tomer Weather Solutions based in Denver has been providing weather forecasts for climbers on Everest, the Karakoram, South America and Denali for several years now. He gave me his thoughts today on what Everest and Lhotse climbers might experience over the next several days, and it involves a Tropical Cyclone! As the 2nd Everest summit window closes fast will there be a 3rd window for climbers? The answer is “Yes” with an important caveat. The caveat is Tropical Cyclone 01B. Tropical cyclone 01B developed off the coast of India and will hug the coast of India as it tracks into the Bay of Bengal over the next 5 days. To be clear, Tropical Cyclone 01B will NOT deliver a direct hit to Everest. But, it will slightly influence the larger weather pattern over Everest by dropping atmospheric pressure levels and possibly increasing humidity levels. So, how reliable is this 3rd Summit Window? If you just look at summit winds the answer is that it looks pretty good this weekend. And get this: There could be a 4th window early next week. But, as Tropical Cyclone 01B approaches the chances for snowfall on Everest increase at the same time. It will be a balancing act with more weather risk than what is considered normal. It will be critical for Teams to stay up-to-date with every new weather update. Meteorologist Chris Tomer Tomer Weather Solutions Crowds? Meanwhile, there might be some crowding as teams seem to be in a rush to push for the summit. Nepal Tourism Board representative, Gyanendra Shrestha, based at Everest Base Camp reported there could be as many as 474 people summit just from Nepal over the next four days! He outlines the season thus far and provides this estimate based on talks with team leaders at base camp. These numbers include the military expeditions that are sometimes left out of the permit numbers. May 2016 Summit Days Sherpas/High Altitude Workers Foreigner Summits Day Summits Total Summits 11 9 9 9 12 3 3 6 15 13 13 14 27 42 14 2 1 3 45 15 13 9 22 67 16 11 9 20 87 2016 summits thus far 51 36 87 18 58 41 99 186 19 110 97 207 393 20 70 56 126 519 21 21 21 42 561 Estimated total 2016 summits 310 251 561 18 May Nepal Departures for South COL for Summit (representative, not full list) Adventure Consultants – 10:00 pm Furtenbach – 7:00pm Madison Mountaineering Summit Climb Alpine Ascents Asian Trekking Altitude Junkies more Climbing as Usual from Tibet Over on the Tibet side, while there has been quite a bit of frustration posted about how long it has taken to get the lines fixed to the summit, long time Everest climber and leader of 7 Summits Club, Alexander Abramov thinks everything is right on schedule: usually we climbed Everest from 20 to 25 May … There is nothing strange happens – it happens every year. Chinese (Tibetan) climbers are going to go to complete the processing of the route, the expedition is expected in full combat readiness In fact a team of 8 from 7 Summits left the North Col just now targeting the summit for 20 May. Best of luck to all. 18 May Tibet Departures from North Col for High Camps (representative, not full list) 7 Summits Club Adventure Peaks Asian Trekking Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest/Lhotse 2016: Huge Winds Stop Summits
After a span of six consecutive summit days, the jet stream got revenge today with high winds that have stopped summit pushes and even forced some teams to re to lower camps to wait out the storm. This is not unusual. In fact, most of the summits thus far this year have been in high winds, but not quite this high! To state the obvious, when winds are gusting over 30 mph (48kph), the risk of frostbite dramatically increases – even with the worlds finest down suits. Fingers and toes get numb, climbers struggle to breathe and even move; visibility becomes limited with blowing snow. In other words, its miserable and life threatening. While its difficult to get an exact count, there are literally hundreds of members and Sherpas now above Camp 2 (21,000 feet) on the Nepal side staged for their summit bids. Many are at the South Col where the winds are the highest. Reports of tents being shredded are coming in. IMG reported reing from Camp 3 back to Camp 2 to wait out the winds. Madison Mountaineering delayed their summit bid and will stay at South Col for Wednesday night. he base camp team for Alpine Ascents posted this update. It is their standard program to spend a night at the South Col before heading to the summit. Alpine Ascents Everest 2016 climbers and sherpas team arrived south col 26000 feet at 2.00 pm. It was very challenging day for them with strong wind approximately 45 mile per hour, but ours team keep continues and and able to pulled thru.the challenging part was setting tent at 26000 feet with blowing hard. team did not gave up they wait several hours and able set tents, got hot fluid and foods. every one is doing well and in great spirit, they are all laying in their warm sleeping bags. The plane for tomorrow is rest day. Right know it starting to snowing and wind still blowing hard. hoping to calm down soon. Similarly on the Tibet side, there are at least 100 at Advanced Base Camp and above waiting for the Chinese to finish setting the rope to the summit – this has been an ongoing source of frustration on that side this year, but nothing really out of the ordinary as it has been the pattern for many years now. Robert Kay with Altitude Junkies has provided a stream of updates that tell the story: I’m at Camp 3. I was 2nd fastest! I’m at Camp 4, worst weather ever My climb is over. I’ve never suffered like this. 2 big days to get to base camp then relax & warm! We r wet and cold with wind up to 85 mph. I’m in a 3man tent with 3 Sherpa. No sleep tonight. The wind just died and the team is going to try. I am uncertain. Whether this lull will last is the big question and climbers will have to make a tough decision. Their base camp contacts may contact their weather forecasters for guidance. If it appears the jet stream has parked on top of Everest, then this may last, if it is a micro-event (that is very difficult to forecast) then it might let up. I remember in 2011 being in a similar situation with high winds from the time we arrived at the South Col about 9:00 am until 9:00 pm that night. All of a sudden, the winds stopped and we left for the summit. They picked back up as we made the turn at the South Summit, gusting to 30 mph, but we were still able to summit. I’ll update this post as more information is available. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest/Lhotse 2016: Wave #3 Summits and Major Push On
Once again the Everest 2016 teams are getting summits from the Nepal side but they are having to work for it dealing with high winds and deep snow. Russell Brice told me by email “When they [Himex Sherpas] made the route to the summit the snow was thigh deep between South Summit and top of Hillary Step.” When I climbed the same route in 2011 to the summit, I found the snow between the South Summit and Hillary Step not a factor at all. Meanwhile teams on both sides of Everest are moving into position for the next wave of summit attempts. Wave 3 In Wave 3, the Adventure Global team summited at at 6.45 am on 15 May. They included Kevin Farebrother, Jason Snell, James Roth, Furi Sherpa, Lhakpa Sherpa, Tendi Sherpa. Their base camp team posted that they stayed at the South Col last night due to fatigue. Everyone is doing well, but they are exhausted and as a result a little concerned about descending the steep terrain to Camp 2 feeling weary, so they have decided to sleep at the South Col tonight, leave early morning and descend all the way to Base Camp. Seven Summits Treks noted that Mr. Jingchaun Jhang and Mingma Tinduk Sherpa summited at 7:10am. I’m sure there were other summits but am not aware of them at this posting. Summit Challenges For a revealing look at exactly what this year’s Nepal summiters are dealing with, Jagged Globe‘s David Hamilton, a very experienced Everest guide, posted this excellent recap of their summit on 13 May. This paragraph captures it all: At approximately 07.15 we reached the South Summit just as the winds rose to 30 knots plus. This was accompanied by blowing snow and visibility of less than 50m. I was strongly of the view that continuing to climb upwards in these conditions was unacceptably dangerous and aimed to cancel the ascent. I consulted with the two most experienced Sherpa guides with the team (Pem Chhiri and Nima Gyalzen) and they suggested resting in a small hollow just below the South Summit for a short while to see if conditions would improve. I was skeptical of this, as I feared that the wind strength would increase. Low Winds? With a forecast of more moderate winds, multiple teams are moving up both sides of Everest looking for summits on May 18th, 19th and 20th. A computer generated weather forecast, not curated by humans, show low winds for the next several days. As always the expeditions professional weather forecasts from experienced sources. Who is Left? Many teams are on the move but not all are reporting their position or plans. We started the season with 289 Everest Nepal permits. Many members have left due to illness and other reasons, perhaps as many as 50. We have already had 20 members summits thus leaving about 200 left and not all of those will go for the summit. Everest ER suggests over 150 people – not clear who this includes. My own estimate is closer to 300 including members and Sherpas on the Nepal side and close to 150 on the Tibet side. The large Chinese team (25) hosted by Seven Summits Treks already had 1 member summit and the collective military expeditions totaling 60 (UAE, Indian, etc) are difficult to track. In any event, these teams are reported to be moving up now: NEPAL Adventure Consultants Alpine Ascents Altitude Junkies Asian Trekking Furtenbach Adventures High Adventure Expeditions IMG Hybrid IMG Classic 1 IMG Classic 2 Madison Mountaineering Summit Climb Tim Mosedale 360 Expeditions TIBET On the North, teams have made excellent progress in spending acclimatization nights at the North Col and higher. There are multiple individuals climbing without using supplemental oxygen – the Tibet side seems to attract them more than the Nepal side – and have almost touched 8000 meters on their rotations. Similar to some teams on the south about a week ago, there is some degree of frustration that the lines are not fixed to the summit. Dutch climber Peter Boogaard noted on his blog: The skies are bright, no clouds, no wind but…. no fixed ropes beyond 8300 m. For whatever obscure reasons the CMA (Chinese Mountaineering Association), which is responsible for fixing the ropes doesn’t proceed. On the Nepalese side everything is ready and the first summit attempts are underway. There are all kind of rumours why the Chinese delay but basically nobody knows. Teams headed up from Tibet include: Asian Trekking Alpenglow members Alpenglow No Os Adventure Peaks Summit Climb 7 Summits Climb see my estimate of where every team is now on the mountain at the location table. Hillary Step Collapse? David Liaño who summited on 13 May made some news with a Facebook post that the 2015 earthquake caused the rocks that define the Hillary Step to have collapsed. He noted that the Step has been reduced to a benign snow slope and posted this picture: This was David’s fifth summit of Everest from the Nepal side and sixth overall and I fully respect his opinion. I consulted with multiple operators and Sherpas who have collectively over 100 Everest summits and had been on the Hillary Step after David. They felt the rocks had not collapsed and it appeared dramatically different due to an unusual amount of snow. This will be another great story for the press that will live for decades. We will probably not know for sure if there was any movement until the snow melts or blows away enough for the rocks to re-emerge. I assume some of the commercial guides will take a closer look this next week. In any event, getting up and down the Step will be much easier in 2016 and should not result in any delays. Lhotse Ropes Ah, my nemesis seems to have been lost in the Everest shuffle. There are a number of Everest climbers that want to add a Lhotse summit on their way back from the South Col. And there are a handful of climbers who want to summit the old fashion way, from base camp. One report said the ropes had been fixed through the Lhotse Couloir to the summit but an avalanche had taken them out
Everest/Lhotse 2016: Fast Summit Start Slows with Wind
Gambling that the current high winds will let up during the summit climb, multiple climbers and at least one team, Adventure Global are on their push to summit Everest. Most teams however are looking at topping out on the 18th or 19th of May. Fast Start to the Season After a fast start to the season with an impressive team of Sherpas fixing the ropes to the summit on May 11th, a couple of high profile climbers who were under the radar at base camp, made a stealth climb to summit on the heels of the Sherpas to claim first foreigner summit status. What I called Summit Wave 1, on May 12th, the UK’s Kenton Cool got his 12th summit while guiding member Robert Richard Lucas. Sherpa Guides Pemba Bhote and Dorchi Gyalzen summited with them. 13 minutes later, Mexican climber David Liano Gonzalez and Pasang Rita Sherpa also summited. This was Liano’s fifth summit and he was planning on not using supplemental oxygen. Next was Wave 2, when targeting a very short weather window, climbers from Himalayan Experience (Himex), Jagged Globe and Asian Trekking pushed thru high winds and some felt, deep snow, to put 25 people on the summit on May 13th. All climbers are reported to be back at either Camp 2 or Base Camp. Greg Paul with Himex, summited at age 61 with two artificial knees. Today, Wave 3, May 14th more climbers are fighting high winds as they move towards the summit. I will post an update on their status when more information is available. Summit Conditions It takes about seven days from Everest Base Camp on the Nepal side to reach the summit and back: climb to Camp 2 and spend 2 nights, climb to Camp 3 and spend a night, then climb to South Col and leave that same day for the summit, hopefully summit early the next morning and return to South Col or Camp 2 and finally return to base camp. Climbers can tolerate poor weather on the first and last couple of days but for the summit push, they need winds lower than 30 mph/48 kph. Wind speeds higher than that can easily result in frostbite or worse. Lite snow is acceptable but when combined with high winds can create dangerous blizzard conditions and even following a fixed rope, can result in climbers getting lost or going too slowly to summit and using up all their supplemental oxygen. Going too slowly and not turning around is one of the largest contributors to death while on the summit push. Finally a condition called hoar frost can create dangerous conditions when the humidity from air, or even from climbers, crystallizes creating a thin layer of ice on surfaces, including a climber’s down suit, making everything look like an ice sculpture, obscuring visibility and creating cold conditions. This happened to several teams in 2012 on their summit push forcing most to re. Most reputable teams a weather forecast from sources like Michael Fagin in Seattle, Meteotest in Switzerland or freelance sources like Chris Tomer in Denver. These provide guidance as to incoming fronts and wind speeds. Other teams “draft” off the larger well established teams saving a tiny amount of money relative to the overall expense but increasing their risks., not to mention poor style. Tibet As of this post, the ropes have not been set to the summit by the Chinese on the Tibet side. This has stalled most summit plans. Seven Summits Club made an attempt but stopped lacking fixed ropes and poor weather conditions a few days ago. Meanwhile there are climbers above the North Col, mostly those acclimatizing while attempting to climb without supplemental oxygen, but there have been no summits in 2016 thus far. I expect to see a massive push once the ropes are in and a good weather window emerges, perhaps as soon as May 18/19, similar to the south. Still Early To state the obvious, it is still early for Everest. I have posted this chart before of the summits from Nepal but you will see a significant number of summits well into lateish May. And on the North where there is little worry about a melting Icefall that needs to be maintained by the Icefall Doctors, summits can regularly go into early June. This is a time when the leadership of the teams must explain this and exercise patience. Joining the rush based on peer pressure can be a huge mistake. Normal Season As I have been saying for a few weeks now, Everest 2016 continues to behave like a ‘normal’ season down to the weather conditions. Also as noted, there have been warm temps at base camp but these warm conditions have not had a serious impact on the upper mountain and in fact, the snow conditions are more like a cold season up high with a layer snow at the South Col which is usually barren rock. With at least another 200 foreigners and that many Sherpas still waiting for their summit opportunity, the hope is for several days of low winds. This will allow teams to spread out and reduce potential crowds. My sincere hopes for a continued safe season for all. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest/Lhotse 2016: Summit Wave #2 has Success – Updated
After a few individuals – three foreigners and three Sherpas – summited just after nine Sherpas fixed the route to the summit, the first commercial teams are seeing success on Friday morning, May 13, 2016 Himex sent their entire team up and are reporting that all six have summited about 9:00 am along with at least that many Himex Sherpas. They had 5 members climbing, plus 1 guide and at least 6 Sherpas. Update: The summitters were: Richard Grant Hunter, Andreas Friedrich, Tracee Lee Metcalfe, Jacob Wilem Ottink, Gregory Scott Paul, Semba Takayasu, Lakpa Nuru, Ngawang Tenjing, Ngima Sona, Phura Namgya, Son Dorjee, Sonam Tashi Jagged Globe has at least two climbers on the summit around 9:45 am local time. They were near the South Summit just past 8:00 am. They had four members plus at least that many Sherpas. Update: JG reported the summits as David Hamilton, Nick Talbot, Mary Scannell and Steve Waterman with Sherpas Pem Chhiri, Tamding, Nima Gyalzen, Chhimi and Ang Rinji. They descended to the South Col where they spent the night. Asian Trekking Asian Trekking reports Jelly Veyt, Tahar Manai and Julian David Moutain also summtied on 13 May at 10:31 am along with Dawa Tshering Bhote At this point, the climbers are both elated and exhausted. Most arrived in the full light of the morning sun after climbing for 8 to 12 hours, mostly in the dark. There will be hugs, smiles and definitely tears. Hopefully, no one forgot their cameras as selfies and poses with their Sherpa will be in order. The Sherpas will take a lot of pictures including of themselves. These days, the Nepal Ministry ask for a full picture from head to toe with your eyes and face showing to grant you a summit certificate. In respect for the mountain, most people will not stand on the very top as that is where Miyolangsangma, the Tibetan Buddhist goddess lives. Congratulations to all and safe climb back to camps. Names and details on this updated post when available. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest/Lhotse 2016: Sherpa and Western Summits
For the first time since May 24, 2013, climbers officially summited Everest from Nepal. First this year was the rope fixing team of nine Sherpas then on their heels were two Sherpas and two UK climbers. A slew of other teams are on stand-by but the weather is closing the window quickly so it will be a race to see if anyone else summits in the next few days. Sherpa Summits A team of nine Sherpas from multiple teams completed the rope fixing to the summit from the South Col on Wednesday, May 11, 2016. These were the first summits since Jing Wang claimed a summit on May 23, 2014 – which is disputed by many not only for her using a helicopter to bypass the Khumbu Icefall but some even claim she did not summit at all given the absence of proof. The previous summit was on May 24, 2013 by Lhapka Nuru Sherpa (Thami) at 6:00 am. The nine Sherpas who fixed the rope this year were reported as Gyalzen Dorje (Himalayan Experience), Ang Pemba (International Mountain Guides), Nima Tshering (Himalayan Guides), Sera Gyalzen (Asian Treks), Pasang Tenzing (Ascent Himalaya), Mingma (Seven Summits), Mingma Tsiri (NCC), Ang Gyalzen (Arun Treks)and Lhakpa Tsering (Himalayan Guides) Western Summits On the heels of the Sherpas who broke the trail to the summit, Sherpas from HG Everest Expedition 2016 – Pemba Bhote from Hatiya, Sankhuwasabha and Dorchi Gyalzen, Khumjung, Solukhumbu summited along with Kenton Cool and Robert Lucas bringing the total to 13 in 2016 from the Nepal Side. This was Cool’s 12th summit of Everest. A few hours later, Asian Trekking announced that David Liano Gonzalez from Mexico summited Everest today at 8:24 am along with his climbing sherpa Pasang Rita Sherpa. He did not use Oxygen. This was Liano 6th summit of Everest. Standing By Multiple teams are staged from Camp 2 to the South Col waiting for a good weather forecast. They include: Madison Mountaineering. Jagged Globe, Himalayan Experience and others. Heavy snow is predicting for the next couple of days followed by high winds, but there there may be an 18 hour window of opportunity. This is narrow and risky. Many teams are content to wait for another week. Khumbu Icefall Instability The Icefall continues to be very unstable as I personally saw when I was there. There have been two events that have stopped climbing due to ladders being destroyed by falling ice in the past 24 hours. There were no injuries reported. Best of luck to all. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest/Lhotse 2016: A New Face of Everest Guiding?
Before I get to an interview with a new face on Everest, a quick update on the summit push news from the mountain. The ropes were fixed to the summit from the Nepal side on Wednesday, May 11. The Sherpas were from Adventure Consultants, Ascent Himalaya, Asian Trekking, Arun Trek, Himalayan Ascent, Himalayan Expedition, International Mountain Guides, Madison Mountaineering and Seven Summits Trek according to Russell Brice, Himex. This opens the door for the upcoming short summit window. I still expect to see over 100 climbers (members and Sherpas) on this first wave. Look for summits from the Nepal side early Sunday morning, May 15, 2016 – Nepal time. Climber Colin O’Brady reported that a small avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall stopped progress for 3 hours today but is fixed now – there were NO injuries North Summit Push? 7 Summits Club reported an abbreviated summit push apparently not waiting for the CTMA to fix the ropes to the summit: Our impulse to move sharply upward was stopped by snow and the lack of a fixed ropes. But this, in some sense, the audit showed the willingness of absolutely all the participants for the assault at any moment. Information from the Chinese changed about when they will finish fixing ropes to the summit. So there are many reasons to be fidgety. We are encouraged by the fact that no one in our team use it. Everyone understands that patience– it is a part of successful expedition. Mountain Rescue For some excellent news, the two Slovakian climbers Vladimír Štrba and Zoltán Pál who were trapped on the Southwest Face after being hit by a snow avalanche have been rescued by four Sherpas hosted by Seven Summits Treks. They are Mingma Gabu, Lakpa Thinduk, Ngima Dorchi and Ngima Wangdi. I’m sure this was filmed as there were helicopters attempting a rescue the prior day but stopped due to bad weather. A television crew for the Travel Channel had set up a team named ‘Everest Air’ as sort of a 911 on the mountains and were aggressively inserting themselves into many events, camera in hand. The team was hosted by Seven Summits Treks. In the Himalayan Times, one of Seven Summits owners, Mingma Sherpa used this event as a platform to answer critics that low cost outfits like his lack experience. They are the largest team on Everest this year with 45 members and have had twice that many in previous years reportedly charging as little as $20,000 per climber. He said: “It is an answer to all commentators, especially to the international expedition operators, who explicitly raised questions over the capability of Nepali companies including Seven Summit which started handling a large number of expeditions on its own.“ The Sherpas climbed above the two climbers, secured by an ice screw on the icy slope to set up a fixed rope. They were lowered to a safer spot of the slope and then descend to Camp 2. The injuries were described as minor and involved the eye of one climber. They were evacuated by helicopter from Camp 2 to Kathmandu. Interview with Lucas Furtenbach While on my Lhotse attempt, our camp was located next to the camp of an impressive and confident young Austrian, Lucas Furtenbach owner of Furtenbach Adventures. This was his first guided trip to Everest after establishing himself in Europe for the past 18 years. I had a chance to sit down with the 38 year-old from Innsbruck in his domed community tent for a talk, his young members all around working on their computers. Lucas employees 15 European IFMGA Guides and merged in 2014 with his business partner Harald Fichtinger who specializes in heliskiing and a mountaineering school. He also runs an outdoor film production company and had several cameras to record their Everest climb this year. They have run trips to all seven continents, including six 8000 meters peaks and to Greenland, Patagonia, Georgia and more. Lucas was a bit surprised as what he had seen on his first trip to Everest. He told me today via email that they are waiting for the second weather window as this first one does not seem to be to stable. His weather sources are forecasting heavy snowfall for May 12 & 13 and high winds from May 14 to 17. They are using Iceland-Trekking for their logistics and base camp services. Please meet Lucas Furtenbach: Q: What is your experience on 8000 meters mountains? Overall success rate for members on 8000m mountains above basecamp is around 70%. But we do not work with success rates as it is not always easy to communicate. K2 for example – we had to abort the climb due to safety concerns, success rate 0 would destroy our overall success rate. Anyway, we will openly communicate our statistics on Everest from our first season on as we think possible members need and want that. Q: What makes Furtenbach Adventures different from other guide companies working in the Himalayas? We follow our own acclimatization program. This involves altitude tents for 6 weeks at home and further acclimatization on other peaks than the final expedition goal. This program was developed in cooperation with Martin Burtscher, MD – researcher at University of Innsbruck and expert in high altitude medicine and acclimatization. This program makes the expedition duration shorter, makes members feel better during acclimatization with less symptoms of altitude, raises success rate and makes the dangerous prevention use of drugs like diamox or even dexamethason obsolete. And on Everest of course it means less rotations through the icefall. At our current expedition we have only 1 rotation before summit push but still 4 nights at camp 2 (we skip camp 1) and one night at camp 3 (we think this night is essential for safety and success. And if acclimatization process done right the night is not hard at all). We only work with European IFMGA guides on our expeditions. This is the highest qualification level worldwide and ensures safety on the mountain and in critical and / or emergency situations. We only use latest high end equipment. This involves the latest Summit Oxygen system with masks, regulators AND bottles. The newest Summit Oxygen bottles are almost 1 kg lighter than any other
Everest/Lhotse 2016: Stampede for the Summit
With a narrow summit window opening, many teams are rushing to make their summit bid while many veterans are content to wait this one out. In spite of the warm temps at Everest Base Camp, the summit conditions can be deadly and a few more days can make all the difference in conditions. There are two currently anticipated summit windows: May 14-16 and May 19-20, with more to come to be sure. Summit Chess South African Ronnie Muhl’s Adventures Global, Seattle’s Garrett Madison’s Madison Mountaineering and the Jagged Globe team are all reported to be pushing towards the top. There are many other smaller teams hoping to draft off these efforts so we may see upwards of 100 people on this first push of the season. As this chart shows, we are approaching the sweet spot of summit days with May 18th being the top day historically. Timing is always a chess game for the climbers – some believe early will beat the crowds, but others will just wait and let the eager ones go first. I always found it interesting that Dave Hahn who has 15 summits and is not on Everest this year, was consistently one of the last people to summit each year. What did Dave know? The ropes are now fixed just below the Balcony at 27,500’/8348m on the Nepal side and near 27,000’/8230m on the Tibet side. The Sherpas will fix to the summit over the next few days most likely as the teams follow them closely behind – a dangerous strategy if something goes awry with the rope fixing. You may get stalled or forced to re and use precious energy waiting at the South Col. Its Always Something Again, the season is progressing nicely with little drama – and that is a great thing!! But on Everest there is always something and I guess if one needs to find something to complain about it is the speed of the Sherpas fixing the ropes to the summit. Several small operators have made it the center piece of their Facebook and blog posts that they are being inconvenienced and delayed by rope fixers … Meanwhile other guides proudly declare that “our Sherpas have fixed the ropes …” For the record, IMG notes that Sherpas from these teams are fixing the lines: 7 Summits Treks, Adventure Consultants, Alpine Ascents, Altitude Junkies, Arun Trek, Ascent Himalaya, Asian Trek, Happy Feet, Himalayan Expeditions, Himalayan Holidays,Himex, Icelandic, IMG, Jagged Globe, Madison Mountaineering, Satori, and Summit Climb. That is 17 of the 34 teams on Everest this year. Climbers Caught in Snow Avalanche The two Slovakia climbers aiming to summit via the rarely climbed South West Face were caught in a snow avalanche while climbing just after the recent heavy snowfall. The Himalayan reports one climber is injured and needs rescue but helicopters have been stopped by bad weather. Note this is NOT the normal Southeast Ridge route even thou they ascend from just above Camp 2 in the Western Cwm. The climbers are Vladimír Štrba and Zoltán Pál. They are the only climbers on Everest this year not using one of the two normal routes. Illness Takes Toll I’ve commented on this before but it is worth repeating that many teams have lost multiple members. Madison Mountaineering says they have seen 3 of their 9 members leave due to medical reasons. Of course, I left our Altitude Junkies team with a upper respiratory infection. TA Loffler is in Kathmandu with HAPE, Furtenbach Adventures lost one of their seven members early on, Summit Climb lost a couple as have IMG and Himex and the list goes on and on. From what I can determine, none of these are a result of poor hygiene or any issue with how the expedition is being run but rather the result of altitude, ‘normal’ illness or just bad luck. In any event, the remaining climbers have been reduced from 289 to somewhere in the 225 range making the mountain a bit less crowded. Since 2000 according to the Himalayan Database, the typical member summit success rate is around 56% for members (foreigners, not Sherpas) who reach base camp: 1,728 summits for 3,624 who reached base camp on the Nepal side. The last time we saw member summit numbers under 100 from the Nepal side was in 2006 with 88 member summits. The most for both sides, members plus Sherpas, was in 2007 at 632 . Best of luck to all. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest/Lhotse 2016: Normal Season, Summit Windows Next
What can I say but 2016 continues to progress like the seasons of old – acclimatization rotations getting completed, ropes put up to the Cols and soon will be to the summits. Teams are eagerly awaiting that spat of calm winds that define the summit window. The summit window is rumored to begin around May 11, but in my opinion, only the overly eager will push to summit at that time as it is still extremely cold near 9000 meters and frostbite risks are real. Waiting another week is not a big deal. With the good overall weather, there should be – should be – a long series of suitable weather windows this year thus crowding should not be an issue on the Nepal side of the mountain. Good Conditions The Lhotse Face is reported to be hard packed causing some climbers a bit of leg fatigue as they need to occasionally kick their crampons into the hard surface. Snow is reported at the South Col, a but unusual as this area is usually wind blown. However the Triangular Face between the Col and the Balcony should have a layer of snow keeping loose rocks in place. Climbers will still wear helmets. On the South, team have spent nights as high as Camp 3 and on the North, the North Col. Touch Grass Many teams on the Nepal side are keeping the helicopter companies very busy by chartering choppers to take them to the lower villages for a few nights of rest and recreation; some teams have gone as low as Kathmandu and stayed in 5 star hotels. The cost can range from $2,000 to $5,000 depending on destination – one way – and is usually split among 3 to 5 people This has become quite common in the last 5 years. But it was Anatoli Boukreev who coined the phrase “touch grass” before the summit, and by that he meant walking down to one of the villages in the Khumbu, not flying 🙂 Risks Family and friends back home are usually starting to worry about the summit push, and rightfully so. By now, each climber has seen how they perform at relatively high altitudes – Camps 2 to Camp 3 or near 7000 meters. The guide blogs only talk about “how impressed they are with the strength of their team”. This is part of the letterhead and a standard comment each season. By reading the individual blogs you can get the real sense that the Lhotse Face is hard, the Icefall dangerous, and their bodies are fatigued. None of this is out of the ordinary. The real test is on summit night. The doubts about health and skills are now amplified. But this is where all the training (and hopefully experience) will come into play. Now is the time. Between now and then, the climbers need to rest, to recover from pushing themselves. They need to get their minds in the right place to push when needed and put all the small aches and pains behind them – to ignore the distractions and focus on the task at hand. This is not easy. This is another point where the team dynamics begin to play a role. By selecting whom you spend time around may make or break your mental ability to deal with summit night – postive will beget positive, negative, well will kill you. With the summit bids starting late next week, the next 7 days will be key. Recap Here is a recap that I have on my team location page: Season moves along nicely with no major issues Sherpas are ferrying oxygen and supplies to North and South Col Many teams have take a short trip back to Namche or even Kathmandu before the summit bid Rumors have ropes to summit by May 10, now to South Col on Nepal side More rumors have summit window on May 11 Teams slept at North Col and completed their acclimitization Rope fixed on North side to 27,000 feet Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest/Lhotse 2016: All Good in this Weekly Update
The spring Everest season continues to move along nicely. A bit of snowfall this past week slowed the rope fixers down but nothing seriously in spite of gripes from a couple of small western commercial guides that they were inconvenienced by the delays. South Many teams have now completed their acclimatization rotations to Camp 3 on the South side and are back at Everest Base Camp. The next step is to wait for the weather window when four to seven days of low winds are forecasted for the summit. Once that occurs, the mad rush will be on for many teams anxious to get it done. North Over on the North side, teams are at the North Col doing their acclimatization process. Winds are strong as usual but this year the temperatures are just as warm as on the Nepal side so it’s not quite as brutal as in previous years – but this is all relative as teams are reporting cold and windy at high camps on both sides! These are good conditions for those attempting the summit without using supplemental oxygen because as you know, those extra Os really help keep the body warm and reduce the risk of frostbite. Locations I am updating the chart where each team is located. You can see this and get a snapshot of the daily news at this link: http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2016/02/01/everest-2016-team-locations/ Illness and Evacuation I’m not really sure what is going in 2016, but my gut tells me there are more people getting sick thus ending their climbs, I was one of them. The ill range from young to old (like me at age 59), to those who have been there before, others ‘pre-acclimatized’ using altitude tents. Some got blood clots, others with upper respiratory infections. There has been a rumor that the bacteria in the upper Khumbu have become resistant to antibiotics, but I’m no doctor and this is a rumor … however I do now that I took copious amounts of antibiotics and it didn’t seem to help. I know many people view these drugs like they do Coke and Walmart but for many people they work. In any event, for those still climbing, and I am estimating it is down to 240 foreigners on the Nepal side, down from 289, bathe in Purell!! Annapurna Summits A few days ago 30 people summited Annapurna,after exhibiting great patience in waiting for a suitable weather window – even then, by most reports they threaded the needle and escaped. 77 year-old Carlos Soria made the top as did my K2 teammate Matt Du Puy and Chris Burke. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything