Everest 2012: Australian Redo, Settling into EBC
Everest Base camp is alive! More teams arrived today including Himex and Adventure Consultants. The glacial outpost is full of yak bells, banging pots and pans, laughs, talks and 1000 yard stares. The Sherpa Train IMG reports having their Puja (more on this later) so their Sherpas are now headed higher to establish camps. They are sending 11 Sherpas to Camp 1 and another 33 to Camp 2! Think about those numbers. But more impressive is that they will make these trips is less than half the time of a fully acclimatized Westerner. Amazing people in so many ways. Bandar, climbing with the IMG Hybrid team (they have a dedicated Western Guide) posted about their Icefall training and impending departure back to Lobuche Peak for acclimatization. I like his point about valuing rock adn ice climbing skills to be comfortable on Everest: After learning those techniques we headed out to the Khumbu Icefall to practice climbing steep slopes on fixed lines and rappelling. It was here that I really learned the value of my technical rock and ice climbing over the past few years. With the rope handling I do while climbing, most recently in chamonix while climbing the Arete Cosmiques and other ice and mixed climbs, I was very very comfortable doing what was necessary. I would recommend to anyone who wants to climb everest, become proficient with technical techniques first. They are invaluable. Australian Redo Australia’s premier climber, Andrew Lock, just announced he is back for a solo, no O’s North side attempt. Lock has summited all 14 of the 8000m mountains, except Everest, without O’s so he is back for a try sans gas. He last attempted this in 2011 but backed off in unsafe conditions. I climbed with Andrew on Shishapangma in 2006. He will be a joy to follow. A class act if there ever was one and a man of humility and humor as shown in this excerpt: Yes, its back to Everest time. Talk about deja vu. Same city, same hotel, same mountain, same objective. I’d better finish it this time or I’ll run out of things to say. Base Camp Life The Blog of the Day is from Ian Ridley as he describes a day a EBC. It is short but descriptive. Click the link to read it all: The sun hits my tent at about 7.45am and the temperature quickly rises within the tent from an overnight low of -14 to + 28 degrees c in little more than an hour. As well as the warmth waking you there is the drip drip sound of water falling onto your sleeping bag or worse still on to your face as the condensation that froze during the night quickly melts from off ceiling of the tent. During the night moisture from your breath has also frozen around the top of the sleeping bag like a giant frozen lion’s maine. Everest continues! Climb On! Alan Memories are everything
No Everest Traverses in 2010
It seems the Chinese are playing havoc with the more ambitious Everest climbers this spring. Not content with a “simple” summit, several climbers wanted to do various forms of traversing Everest. This involves climbing from one side to the summit and then down to the other side’s base camp. Some climbers wanted to then return thus a double traverse. It is now clear the Chinese are not issuing permits for such climbs probably based on their desire to keep a successful double traverse in reserve for a national climber. However, not to be denied, two former Everest summiters, David Liano and Bill Burke, will be attempting what they call a double ascent this spring. Bill posted this on his website: My current plan is to complete a double ascent of Mt. Everest, which has also never been done: ascend and descend on the North side in Tibet, travel to Nepal and then ascend and descend on the South side. I will be joined by my good climbing friend from Mexico, 30-year old David Liano. David is a highly accomplished mountaineer, having climbed the Seven Summits and summitted Mt. Everest twice from the South side. Mingma, who was my Sherpa last year, and is now part of my family, will be my Sherpa again this year on this unguided climb. I have chosen to climb the North side first for three reasons: (1) if I am able to make only one summit (e.g., because of weather or fatigue), I want it to be on a North side climb since I have already climbed Everest from the South side, (2) generally Everest teams on the North side summit earlier in the season than teams on the South side and (3) I will be able to acclimatize on the North side without having to go through the deadly Khumbu Icefall three times (the North side does not have an icefall). There had been two other traverse plans previously announced. Gavin Turner who wanted to complete the never before accomplished double traverse and and another from Australian Andrew Lock, who has competed all 14 8000m summits. Andrew wanted to do traverse north to south without supplemental oxygen. This to be his last climb of his multi-year project. I have no official word from Andrew as to his plans but Gavin has now switched to Annapurna and still hopes to attempt the Double one day. Bill and David will be climbing with Asian Trekking. I wish all these climbers the of luck on all their efforts. Climb On! Alan
Andrew Lock: Everest 2010 Traverse
Andrew Lock, hospital the eminent Australian climber who has climbed all 14 8000m peaks has made a startling announcement for this upcoming 2010 spring season: Andrew plans to return to Mt Everest in the pre-monsoon season (April-May) of 2010 to complete one final climb in his Summit 8000 project. Having climbed all fourteen of the world’s 8000 metre mountains, medicine his plan is to summit Mt Everest for a third time but this climb will be a traverse from Tibet to Nepal, oxygenless. This will be interesting since I have been told that the Chinese are not issuing permits for a traverse. But Andrew is one not to be told no. He is an amazing individual and a talented speaker and climber. This would an appropriate finish for his quest and I hope he does it. I wish him the of luck. You can follow his progress via his website Climb On! Alan PS Those who want to make an immediate contribution, there is a quick and easy way to do so. By texting “HAITI” to “90999” a donation of $10 will be made to the Red Cross and charged to your cell phone bill.