Everest 2012: 1st Summits, More on the Way
Everest 2012 continues to surprise and meet expectations of many climbers. We have the first summits of 2012 on the South. The ropes are now fixed to the summit on the South and North side as the weather window holds. First 2012 Non-Sherpa Summit – Paraveneh Kazemi – Updated Feb, find 2013 Iranian female climber, Paraveneh Kazemi and Sherpa Nima Gyalzen, summited just behind the rope fixers but ahead of Chili team. They went on to summit Lhotse make her the first woman to summit Everest and Lhotse in the same season. She was on a permit with an International team of Prestige Adventure company. You can see her summit video on YouTube and on her website. Summits – Chile – Updated A very strong and experienced team from Chile summited before noon on May 18th, the first of the season. It took them 6 hours to reach the Balcony where fixed lines had already been set and about another 6 to summit. It appears they climbed from the Balcony to the summit without the benefit of fixed ropes given the reports that the Sherpa team setting the line reached the summit at 1:30PM. They did comment the winds picked up on the summit, not unusual, but have descended safely. They posted: At 13:50 hrs local Chilean expedition successfully achieved the goal of his journey: to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The group of 10 Chileans and 10 Sherpas, led by Rodrigo Jordan, arrived in good condition at the place, thus becoming the first expedicionen this season that accomplishes this feat. Update: As more information comes out it seems the Chilean team and the Sherpas fixing the rope basically summited together as shown by this audio post on the Chilean team site: The Sherpas who rigged rodrigojordan route give me the top …. sample of his infinite generosity and humility Apparently speed climber, Ueli Steck also summited without using supplemental oxygen. Well deserved congratulations to all. The weather looks good for their summits with somewhat high winds but under most team’s limits of 30 mph. Gusts could be uncomfortable. South Col Start Many teams are preparing to leave the South Col between 8 Pm and midnight Friday night, May 18, looking for summit early Saturday morning. Several audio dispatches commented on the long lines of climbers and Sherpas moving from Camp 3 to the South Col, some said 200 climbers, others 100 to 150. A post from Adventure Consultants reveals the impact of the crowds with part of their team delayed by 2.5 hours due to crowds traversing the Yellow Band and Geneva Spur. Our first summit team for the 2012 Everest season are poised and resting on the South Col before their summit bid begins tonight. Mike, Ang Dorjee and the main team left Camp 3 close to 6.00am and made good time getting to the South Col by 11.00am, despite crowded conditions. Dean and Iza left an hour later and hit a few traffic jams, arriving at the South Col at 1.30pm. This was still great time and means that everyone has time for a descent rest. The Yellow Band, a strip of limestone that crosses Everest is notorious for bottlenecks. The route crosses a thin crack where the ropes are now attached using bolts, not age old pitons. This allows climbers to move faster but there are several awkward moves required. But more importantly, this is really the first time many are climbing in full high altitude gear: crampons, heavy boots, down suit, oxygen bottle(s), oxygen mask, and goggles/sunglasses. It is like no other feeling and takes time to get used to and slows many, many people to a crawl. Oh and the altitude. Supplemental oxygen only makes a difference of 3000′ so their bodies feel like they are at 23,000 without supplemental oxygen. Ian Ridley has posted a picture on his blog of the climbers above Camp 3 heading towards the Yellow Band. He also commented on their schedule which may include returning to base camp. I encourage you to read his post. By the way, the Jagged Globe Sherpa who was injured by ice fall on the Lhotse Face is back in Kathmandu and expected to fully recover. The final climb to the South Col is another semi-difficult section where climbers feel the angle is almost vertical but really more like 45 degrees, still steep at 26000′ or almost 8000 meters. There are two ropes but it is very common for lines to develop. Again, don’t get too concerned about this because it is quite common every year. Yes, not the climbing situation but teams work through it. It really becomes becomes an issue if someone is not 100% or did not plan for enough oxygen. However, it can impact overall performance if the climber arrives extremely tired and not able to rest before their departure i around 12 hours later. At this point the climb really shifts to mental toughness and not letting things get to you. Strategy An interesting strategy is that of Alpine Ascents (AAI) where they take enough oxygen, food and fuel to spend a full 24 hours on the South Col. This approach allows them to move very slowly up from Camp 3 arriving late in the day, take a full rest day and leave for the summit the next night. They arrived on Friday and plan to summit on Sunday morning. Almost every other team moves quickly from C3 to the Col and gets 12 hours of rest, also on oxygen, before leaveing for the summit that night. They minimize their time (and costs) at the severe altitude to avoid the debilitating effects of the altitude. I interviewed Todd Burleson about this strategy in March and he said: Spending a rest day on the South Col has proved to be a great benefit for our climbers. In the12 years since we implemented the rest day on the S. Col almost every climber has succeeded in reaching the