How Difficult is Climbing Everest?
One measure of climbing difficulty is the rating and climbing has a terminology of it’s own. You read that she just redpointed a 5.12c and wonder if this was something from NASA, or Congress. I have seen Everest described as a simple “walk-up” meaning that no actual climbing is involved so I thought a quick review of what defines climbing might be helpful. I will use the South Col route as the example.
The Ones Left Behind: An Essay
Climbers from all over the world are deep in thought as they go through the final stages for Everest 2010. The deepest thoughts may be reserved for the ones left behind.
Comparing the Routes of Everest
After deciding to climb Everest, climbers must choose their route. There are over 18 named routes on Everest and a couple that are still unclimbed. The vast majority of climbers use two routes: South Col or the Northeast Ridge Standard aka North Col route. Let’s look at both route in detail.
The Deadly Side of Everest
To start any article on climbing deaths, it must be said that every death is devastating to family and friends and should never be taken lightly. I have helped bury climbing partners on high peaks and never wish that experience on anyone. Sadly, capsule mountaineering often receives mainstream media attention only when someone dies and especially on Everest. This was never more true than during the 1996 season that saw 8 people killed in a storm and then in 2006 when another 12 died while climbing. According to Eberhard Jurgalski’s research website, there have been about 4,024 summits since 1922 with 218 deaths or a 5.4% fatality rate. Since 1990, the deaths have dropped to 4.4% due to better gear, weather forecasting and more rescue resources available, ironically, due to more climbers on the mountain. In 2009, about 281 people made it from the south and 60 from the north. There were 5 deaths. A record 500 people summited in 2007 evenly split between both sides, again with 5 deaths. I wanted to examine the true statistics behind Everest in the past decade and looked to research for some facts. Based on his tables, the north side fatality rate is more than 2:1 over the south with falls, altitude issues and exhaustion noted as the primary reasons. The difference is even more extreme when the deaths of 9 south side Sherpas are taken from the total, making the ratio of “member or member” climber deaths from north to south 8:1. Here is the summary: Reason North Ridge Route South Col Route Other Routes Fall 7 3 1 Altitude 8 2 1 Exhaustion 7 1 1 Unknown 5 1 1 Avalanche 0 3 2 Crevasse 0 4 0 Exposure 4 0 0 Heart 1 1 0 32 15 6 That the north side death rate is higher is not a big surprise. The north is traditionally considered slightly more dangerous given the exposure to the cold and harsh winds plus the technical nature of the Steps and exposed rock on the summit ridge. Due to lower costs, more independent climbers are on the north thus sometimes finding themselves alone in the event of a problem. Also, it seems that more climbers do not use supplemental oxygen on the north than on the south which also can accelerate altitude issues especially in the harshest of conditions. However, there is no strong correlation between deaths of independent climbers vs climbers on commercial expeditions. Finally, with the exception of 2005 through 2007, the south has had significantly more climbers thus more rescue resources in the event of a problem. Traditionally, commercial operators focused on the south thus fielding more Sherpas. As far as nationalities, the Nepalese Sherpas suffer the most with 10 of the 53 deaths this decade almost all on the south side from falls, avalanches and crevasse accidents. 6 South Koren climbers have died but no other single nationality has more than 4 deaths in the past decade. As far as operators, no one operator stood out since the majority of the non-Sherpa deaths were of climbers on private national climbs, large shared permits or were climbing independently. 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. However these numbers clearly show the north takes a stronger toll. But the real story is the role and impact of the unsung heroes – the Sherpas. Climb On! Alan
Welcome to Everest 2010
Welcome to the 2010 Everest Coverage. Even though most teams will not arrive in Kathmandu until late March, climbers are busy training, finalizing expedition members, organizing logistics and for some, making huge plans. Last year we saw over 300 summits and sadly, 5 deaths. For 2010, I am expecting a record number of summits after the nearly 500 summits set a single season record in 2007. There are several factors playing into this season. First, the north side should return to near normal with the Chinese allowing more teams to climb. For the past two years, permits were difficult, if not impossible, to obtain with the Chinese taking the Olympic torch to the summit in 2008 and again restricting permits due to violence in Tibet in 2009. After a near normal 2009 fall season for Tibetan 8000m peaks, including Cho Oyu, all indications are that teams will make a comeback on the north. Second, the world economy has stabilized thus enabling many climbers to once again separate themselves from the tens of thousands of dollars it takes for an Everest expedition – and the operators are most willing to cooperate! Finally, many local operators out of Kathmandu have improved their services while maintaining low prices thus attracting a new group of climbers. However, as always, safety should be everyone’s primary worry. In 2009, three climbers died on the north side, two who were climbing without supplemental oxygen. On the south, the Khumbu Icefall was extremely unstable and took the life of Lhapka Nuru on May 7th. His body was finally recovered in September 10th by a team of Sherpas from Asian Trekking. The Icefall dangers were so strong that some climbers refused to enter it and other teams including Russel Brice’s Himex, used nearby peaks to acclimatize in order to avoid multiple trips through the dangerous seracs. 2009 saw some maintenance on the mountain. Bolts were put into the Yellow Band on the South to improve the stability of the fixed lines and will speed climbers through this bottleneck. And for the mountain, several tons of garbage were removed through the efforts of Dawa Steven Sherpa’s Eco Everest Expedition. There were some first, as always, and a few brave efforts including Korean Park Young-seok new route variation on the Southwest Face after three previous failed attempts since 1991. Then the Kazakhstan team attempted the first true traverse from Lhotse to Everest and back down the West ridge but abandoned their effort with one member dying. Technology also stood out last year and I expect the same for 2010. The launch of Eddie Bauer’s First Ascent clothing line took center stage with an elite team dispatching every move with audio, video to a nice website. But the Discovery Channel’s filming of their series, Everest: Beyond the Limits is what many Everest followers are waiting on. They followed climbers with IMG and Himalayan Experience with high-tech infrared cameras, microwave links and Sherpa-cams. The series is schedule to debut on January 6th, 2010 on the Discovery Channel. A popular feature of my website coverage is tracking the location of climbers and teams. Similar to last year, a table will always be at the top of the main blog page showing team locations. I will update it as I recieve reliable information but remember it is high level and there may be team members at several different camps. Also, I will add new teams as we get closer to the start of the season. Please send me the name of a team and their website if you woudl like it covered. Next up is a look at some of the climbers for 2010 plus a big announcement of another attempted first on Everest. Climb On! Alan