Bodies on Everest
My wife and I signed the “body disposal form” and sat quietly for a moment. That was in 1998 prior to my first 8000 meter climb, drugstore Cho Oyu. We were offered three choices: leave on mountain, return to Kathmandu or return home. We choose to leave my body on the mountain if I died. […]
Everest Deserves Respect
Over four days in May 2012, around 250 Westerners and 270 Sherpas and Tibetans support climbers summited Mt. Everest. For many, attaining highest point on Earth was the culmination of endless training, personal sacrifices and hard work to achieve a meaningful and fulfilling lifelong dream. Yet it is common within the greater climbing community to […]
What is Wrong with Everest
An opinion piece … Everest is not for the inexperienced, the novice or someone looking for a walk-up. There, I stated the obvious, or did I? OK, so much for the drama! But as the 2013 season gets closer, I have noticed a few disturbing trends. You would think that after 10 deaths on Everest […]
Everest 2012: Season Recap: A Study in Risk Management
If there was one phrase to sum up this season where over 500 people summited Everest, it might be: risk management. There were signs from the beginning that the Everest 2012 season would be different when Sherpas establishing base camp at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall reported that the upper mountain looked “dry”. Once […]
Everest 2012 Team Locations
Welcome to Alan Arnette’s Everest 2012 coverage Last 2012 Everest News – 31 May 2012 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, check unconfirmed estimates: Total at base camps: 446 westerners plus 500 Sherpas totaling 946. […]
Everest Base Camp – Himex Style
I’ve been in many base camps but I knew I was somewhere special when I was told “… and this is our garbage tent.” Welcome to Everest Base Camp, Russell Brice style. In 2011 while climbing Everest, I spent the afternoon with Brice getting to know this man and how he runs his expedition base […]
Everest 2012: The Summit Routes
Along with my annual coverage of Everest, I always update information on the climbing routes on Everest. I am surprised that there is always something new. For Everest 2012 season, I want to discuss an acclimatization technique that is becoming more common on Nepal expeditions, the climb of nearby Lobuche Peak. Lobuche Acclimatization Lobuche […]
Communicating from Everest – 2012 Update
I receive many questions on how I did my live dispatches for the 7 Summits so I put together this short tutorial for anyone wanting to communicate during an expedition from anywhere on our planet. While staying in touch is mandatory and part of an expedition for me, some people want to get away from […]