Everest 2013: Summit Wave 5 Recap
With the good weather continuing, Everest is seeing a steady stream of climbers. A reported 135 climbers are pushing on Monday night and hoping to summit on Tuesday morning just from the South This long window had been predicted for quite a while so it is nice to see it develop. May 21st has been targeted as the day for over a week. This weather pattern has allowed a rather orderly stream of climbers with little to no summit delays reported at any of the bottlenecks on the South. The dual ropes on the Hillary Step seem to have also alleviated delays. One of the strategies used by the larger teams was to split them into sub teams. IMG actually had three teams and Summit Climb, 7 Summits Club, Himex and others also had multiple teams. This allowed them to reduce the traffic. I cannot tell if some of the other large teams did the same such as the Indian Army. In reality, Everest is a huge mountain, obviously, and can easily handle a summit push of 100 climbers as long as they are spread out. This happens normally as different people climb at different speeds. But if a team bunches together and climbs slows (think centipede) then it can cause everyone behind them to bunch up. Envision an 85 year-old man driving slowly in the fast line on the highway. The only problem is you cannot pass the geezer because it means unclipping from the fixed line thus putting your safety at risk. In some cases, a slow climber or two will step aside and let others pass, that is a bit of mountain courtesy, but it does not happen especially if that slow person is already struggling. I remember leaving the South Col with Kami Sherpa and seeing a line in front of us. We were clipped in but as Kami saw the slow climbers he unclipped, stepped to the side looked back giving me a ‘Bigfoot’ sideways look’ motioned with his hand, down shifted and we passed 20 to 30 people. Once clear, I was gasping for air. I was only 20 minutes out of camp with 7 hours to go! But this move allowed us to climb fast and be the third and fourth climbers on the summit that day out of 100. My lesson was to get out early, and climb fast to avoid the crowds On the North, it has been reported cold and windy, but that is absolutely normal for the north side of Everest. It is amazing how different the weather can be on that side. Altitude Junkies made this post today from the extreme conditions at Camp 2: The team is remaining at Camp 2 and will proceed to Camp 3 tomorrow. The wind speeds were double what were predicted, making it a risk for frostbite. This means the target summit date is now May 22. Wave 5 recap Over 75 made it on Monday morning with Jagged Globe, IMG and others reporting summits. The US Air Force 7 Summits Challenge team finished their project with climbers on the summit. Kenton Cool summited Lhotse completing his Nuptse, Everest, Lhotse swing, the first ever. Also, a first was Ellen Miller who climbed all three of these peaks, although at different season. She posted on Facebook: Gratitude to the Mountain Gods! On 5/16 I reached the summit of Nuptse, becoming the 2nd woman and 1st American woman to climb this peak and to complete the Everest Trilogy: Mt. Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse. I am now retiring from the world of extreme high altitude climbing, leaving life above 23,000 feet to the younger climbers!! On the North, 7 Summits Club put their second team on top as did Asian Trekking in what might have been tough conditions. There have been reports of climbers needing help but there are no details. This is part of climbing Everest as some people push themselves too hard or have unexpected health issues. There are no reports of any more deaths which is good news as we have seen six already this year. One nice point over the weekend was the summit of Pakistani Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman to summit, along with the twin Indian sisters, Tashi and Nugshi. They hope to inspire their countries by with photos of them raising their respective flags side by side on the summit. Samina’s brother, Mirza Ali did not summit. Finally, Dan Hughes with Jagged Globe summited on Sunday morning and did a live interview with the BBC from the summit. Now this report has the Nepal Government is questioning if he had the correct filming permit. I guess climbing the mountain was not enough of a challenge! More climbing May 21 – follow the Wave 6 Updates. Climb On!AlanMemories are Everything
Everest 2013: Weekend Update, Summit Wave 5 – Update 2
Wave 5, Update 2: IMG reports 21 on the summit this morning including the US Air Force team climbing. Conditions are noted as cold and windy. Jagged Globe reported 3 more on top: Nacer Ibnabdeljalil, Guy Munnoch and Guy Manning summited this morning with Sherpas, Dawa Gelji, Tashi and Karma. We believe this is the first Moroccan summit of Everest. All 24 members of the Jagged Globe climbing team have summited over 19/20 Reports are quiet tonight. Most teams are not reporting like last night. Nothing unusual, some do, some don’t. Wave 5, Update 1: 80 climbers reported climbing from the South Sunday night in cold, brisk conditions. Dave Hahn, RMI, just posted this as they are now at Camp 2 on the South looking to summit around the 21st.: Very much aware of the dramas playing out above us on the mountain. A number of our friends went to the summit safely and returned in these last couple of days. But, there’s also been some problems up high and much of the mountain was pre-occupied these last couple of days, especially today with trying to help a climber, incapacitated high on Lhotse. And the drama is still playing out. Lam Babu, our Sirdar, is putting together a team of Sherpas who will go up tonight and try to get that individual down the Lhotse Face. No further details are available. This week is why people come to Everest. We have had weather issues, false starts, res and summits. Sadly we also saw death. The week started on the heels of the Sherpas fixing the line on both sides to the summit. David Tait, climbing with the Sherpas, was assumed to the be the first Western to summit this year. He is already back home in London! Summit Week Looking at the weather forecast several teams pushed hard and took some risks to summit on Monday but then a shock came to the entire climbing world. World-class Russian climber Alexey Bolotov died on May 15 from a fall. The reports are still unclear as to precisely what happened, but it does appear he was alone, leaving his tent at 3:00AM, and somehow was rappelling (abseiling) when his rope was cut on sharp rocks. His partner, Denis Urubko, said he fell 300 meters and death was instant. There were comments that he was out to take photos. His body was recovered and is now back in Russia. Picking themselves up from this true tragedy, the Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse climbers continue to position themselves for the long awaited summit window predicted to start on May 16th. Several teams were now at the South Col and started their attempts on Thursday. Many made it but some started then reed as the winds picked back up and freezing fog moved in. Others stayed in their tents at the South Col. A large Chinese team made summits on the North With so many starts and stops, Thursday became a case study in risk management and how different teams evaluate conditions. As we entered the weekend, the winds seemed to calm, as predicted, and more teams continue their steady march towards the top of the world. There were climbs on Friday and Saturday with over 150 people claiming a summit. The weather had finally cooperated and the crowds and worries of long lines were nonexistent. Summits of Lhotse became common but a few climbers, went directly from Everest to summit Lhotse in under 24 hours. Only nine climbers have accomplished this. On Nuptse, an all women team from Himex made the summit. Brit Kenton Cool came along as he was looking to climb Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse in one push. Tonight he is on Lhotse after getting Everest yesterday, another first. There is a bit of controversy on Nuptse as Basque climber Alex Txikon who was with them posted they were 30 meters below the main summit and said he will defer to Ms. Hawley as to whether it will be counted as a summit. He said he stopped due to danger. But once again, a death cast a shadow on the community, especially the Sherpa, with the passing of Namgyal Sherpa who reportedly died at 8300 or 8100, meters on the North side on Friday. The details are unclear as to the cause of death. He was a key figure with 7 summits and one of the leaders in the Climb for Peace and Extreme Everest expeditions, a clean up climb. While it appears that most of the summits went smoothly, there were a few trouble spots (see the update above) including this report: Climber Manish Deka (Assam) and Athokpam Robert (Manipur) had to abort their summit push from South Col (26,200 ft) as climber Waribam James (Manipur) was evacuated by chopper due to worsening health problem while negotiating the climb between Camp 2 and Camp 3 (24500 ft). And another incident was reported on the North side stopping an entire Chinese team of 10 climbers There were many summits of wide interest including first for females, several nationalities and great efforts in climbing for causes. Congratulations to all of these. I listed many throughout the week during the coverage. One record to note is that of David Liano who summited from the North after doing the same on the South last week. He is the only person to climb from both sides in one season. The Big Picture We are right in the middle of the traditional weather window. As I have previously posted, the sweet spot for Everest summits is between May 13th and May 22nd with 70% of the summits historically occurring during this period. As always, the wind is the largest factor. This is a suggested forecast for the next few days from Meteotest and not to be used for climbing decisions: There are still well over 100 climbers who will take advantage of these low winds this next week. The “old dogs” in the Everest game Dave Hahn
Everest 2013: Summit Wave 4 Recap
Saturday night was busy on Everest and by Sunday morning there were over 100 summits from both sides. It will take while to know the exact numbers but the climbing conditions were reported as good as it gets. 120 climbers, advice both Sherpas and Westerners, were reported to be climbing Saturday night just on the South so it appears the expedition leaders did a good job of coordinating summit pushes. By my count there are around 400 going for the summit throughout this season from the South alone this year. No long lines or crowds were reported, in fact, Peak Freaks reported 15 minutes at the Hillary Step so the dual ropes must have made a difference. If you remember last year, there were waits of 2 hours. Thus far there have been four summit days with probably that many more to come. Last year there were less only two the entire season including for the rope fixers. History Several teams claimed success but for history, one stood out. David Liano, climbing with logistics from Asian Trekking and Sirdar Mingma Sherpa summited at 4:35 am Nepal time. Asian Trekking proudly posted this Congratulations !!! Great news. Asian Trekking’s International Everest member David Liano and Sirdar Mingma Sherpa summited Mt.Everest this morning at 4:35 am Nepal time. David Liano is now the first person to complete the double in one climbing season. Asian Trekking family extends hearty congratulations to them and wishes for the safe descent. And heartfelt congratulations also to Pakistani Samina Baig the 1st Pakistani woman to summit. Samina’s brother, Mirza Ali did not summit. I want to mention again the summit by 25 year-old Raha Moharrak. She is the first female and youngest Saudi Arabian to summit. For those following Melissa Arnot, who turned back from her attempt this week, she is back at Base Camp and says she is going to give it another go. This would be her 5th summit, an American female record. Summit Teams Please click the links to see all the summit names including the Sherpas who summited. On the South, Peak Freaks put 14 on top starting with Sean Mooney and Pho Temba Sherpa on top at 5:29. Jagged Globe was close behind with 18 Dan Hughes, Jagged Globe, summited and did a live interview with the BBC from the summit. He is trying to raise 1 million pounds for Red Nose Charity and has done an exception job this season. Asian Trekking reported 11 summits on the south. Summit Climb put their team 1 on the South. 7 Summits Club reports everyone from their first team (6+) made the summit from the North. Everest, Lhotse Doubles (Triples?) Meanwhile, several climbers went from their Everest summit to attempt Lhotse in a 24 hour period. The charge has been led by AAI Guide, Garrett Madison but also Mike Roberts of Adventure Consultants is in on the action. Plus there is Kenton Cool who has already summited Nuptse and summited Everest along with Dorje Gylgen Sunday morning will go for Lhotse as well. This would be a first if Kenton can make all three is the same push. This update from AAI: Woody Bailey becomes the youngest person to summit two 8,000 meter peaks in under 24 hours, a nice present for his 23rd birthday tomorrow! Alpine Ascents Expedition Leader Garrett Madison becomes the first person to have done two 8,000 meter peaks in under 24 hours twice, having also done so in 2011. Karma Sarke Sherpa and Ang Passang Sherpa become the the first Sherpa to do so. Alpine Ascents Guide Ben Jones and climbers Michael Grigsby and Martin Grieder have also completed the two summits in under 24 hours bringing the total number of climbers to have done so to only nine. Garrett, Ben, Woody, Michael, Martin, Karma, and Ang Passang can look across the South Col and up the Mt. Everest to the peak they were all standing on less then 23 hours ago. The weather is clear, the winds are calm, and it sounds like another amazing summit day for our climbers! Nuptse Speaking of Nuptse, Himex gave this update on the all women team and their Nuptse summit: After five hard days of rope fixing by Tashi, Ngima, Rita Dorjee and Phinjo Sherpa, our three members Ellen Miller, JingWang and your blogger Billi Bierling as well as our guide Francoise Marsigny summited this technical 7,864m peak on 16th May. “I am so happy we did it, however, without the ropes fixed by our Sherpas, this dream would not have come true for us,” said Ellen Miller from the United States. The British mountain guide Kenton Cool and the Spanish mountaineer Alex Txikon also took advantage of the fixed ropes and summmited the same day. “The Sherpas did a great job and the route was fantastic,” I heard Kenton express his gratitude for the rope fixing via the radio to Russell. Himex is looking to summit Everest on May 23rd at the end of the weather window. Congratulations to everyone. Look for more summits starting Sunday night for Monday morning, May 20th. It’s not over ’till it over! Finally take a look at Everest from the webcam. Climb On!AlanMemories are Everything
Everest 2013: Summit Wave 4 – Update 3
Update 3: There were over 100 summits Sunday on Everest. See the details in the Everest 2013:Wave 4 Wrap up. Summits continue with great conditions on the south. No issue with lines at the usual bottlenecks. This just in from Asian Trekking: Congratulations !!! Great news. Asian Trekking’s International Everest member David Liano and Sirdar Mingma Sherpa summited Mt.Everest this morning at 4:35 am Nepal time. David Liano is now the first person to complete the double in one climbing season. Asian Trekking family extends hearty congratulations to them and wishes for the safe descent. Summits are starting to roll in with members from Asian Trekking (11), hospital Jagged Globe plus Sean Mooney and Pho Temba Sherpa, and Peak Freaks. 7 Summits Club reports everyone from their first team made the summit from the North. Update 2: At 5AM Nepal time, climbers are at South Summit, next is Hillary Step then the summit. Normally takes 1-2 hours. If you have a loved one up there, it looks like a decent day to climb with winds could be gusting to 30 mph, temps -20F! Remember, they are dressed for this 🙂 The will tell us soon what the conditions are really like. A tip of the hat to all the climbers and Sherpas today but especially for the ones who saved and sacrificed to pay for the climb, trained hard and are now living their dream. —— Mike Roberts and Tendi Sherpa, Adventure Consultants, have summited, 120 are behind them minor update: teams are reported at the Balcony on the South side at 2AM which is about on schedule for a 7 AM summit. So far so good with no winds or crowds reported. The climb from the Balcony to the South Summit is, in my opinion, the toughest part of the entire expedition. It is dark, and cold. The sun has not risen and all you can see are the steps in front of you or a silhouette of the South Summit outlined by the moon. If you look carefully you can see headlamps ahead and behind you and even over on Lhotse. Looking at the stars takes your mind off the pain in your lungs and in your legs. But hearing your own breathing reminds you that you are you and you are climbing Mt. Everest. This from Asian Trekking from the South: The following 14 member and sherpa team of Eco Everest Diamond Jubilee Celebration Expedition 2013 Team 1 & 2 left Camp 4 (South Col 7950m) at 7:30 pm today. They are on their way to the summit. Weather condition is good. Name list of Members and HAS for summit attempt team 1. Dr. Nima Namgyal Sherpa – will lead team the first summit attempt team2. Ngawang Kalden Sherpa – Assist by3. Horacio Daniel Galanti4. Ang Mingma Sherpa5. Horacio Luis Cunietti6. Phurba Sherpa7. Allan Arthur Johnson8. Tenjing Dorji Sherpa9. Barnabas Borbely10. Pemba Tshiring Sherpa( Maila)11. Udo Ing. Ebner12. Phura Nuru Sherpa13. Susen Mahato1. Phura Jangbu Sherpa There are many people (around 121 total) so the decided to leave early to avoid traffic jams. —— Follow a Peak Freaks Everest summit live via SPOT tracker at bit.ly/10EKSoF From Asian Trekking on the North: Asian Trekking’s International Everest Expedition 2013 members and sherpas David Liano, John Tsang, Sirdar Mingma Sherpa and Pasang Dawa Sherpa are at Camp 3 (8300m) and are leaving at 11 pm tonight for summit. If David Liano summits from North side (Tibet) he will be the first person to summit both from South side (Nepal) and North side (Tibet) in one climbing season. Yoshiharu and Gyaluk Sherpa are at Camp 2 and Dawes and Phurba Namgyal Sherpa are at North Col. Update from 7 Summits Club on the north: We are at 8300. It is OK. Konstantin Morozov, Murad Ashurly, Jaroslav Sabyrbayev and Vitaly Simonovich. Guides: Alexander Abramov and Mingma. Wind is very strong. Start at midnight. Sergei Shevchenko went down from 8000 m. At 8100 m a corpse of a Sherpa lies. Probably the accident happened after hard climb on 15th of May… I hesitate to post his comment but it the reality of climbing. Bodies are seldom removed from these extreme altitudes and in many case is what the climber would have wanted. RIP. Update 1: Summit pushes are moving forward. Kenton Cool has just reported he has summited Nuptse along with the all womens Himex team and five Sherpas. He is planning on Everest tonight followed by Lhotse tomorrow. Several climbers including guides from Asian Trekking (14), AAI and Adventure Consultants (2) are planning to summit Everest Saturday morning then Lhotse immediately after. With the weather finally cooperating, it is the heart of the summit period today. Multiple teams and individual climbers are pushing to the summit Saturday night. Many have already left the South Col or Camp 3 on the North. A pair of climbers who have attracted a lot of well deserved attention, Samina Baig and Mirza Ali, brother-sister, are going for the summit tonight. He is not using supplemental oxygen. Several commercial teams are in place including Peak Freaks, more from IMG and Jagged Globe. There are many, many independents and climbers from teams who do not post updates. The North teams are making steady progress through the extreme high camps on that side. Altitude Junkies has 22 spending the night at Camp 1 near 7700m. Similarly the 7 Summits Club is nearby with half their team. David Liano, going for his second summit this season, is at Camp 2and moving to Camp 3 soon. Best of luck to all tonight. I will update this page throughout the push. I posted this last year and it was very popular so I thought I would post it again. The Descent – an Essay Sometimes reading Everest stories is like that old joke: “How do you make a million dollars and not pay taxes? Well first get a million dollars, then …” Wait! Something has been left out. Many
Everest 2013: Summit Wave 3, Sherpa Death – Update 2
Update 2: Multiple summits on Friday night from the commercial teams of IMG 3 members, 1 guide, find 7 Sherpas and Alpine Ascents putting 9 members, illness 3 guides, and 12 Sherpas. Alpenglow: 1 member, 1 guide, 2 Sherpa Update 1.5: Summits pushes underway leaving the South Col at 8:00PM. Winds are reported to be less than last night. Teams are reported above Balcony and heading towards South Summit in good conditions. Once again, I start an update with the death of a Sherpa. Namgyal Sherpa reportedly has died at 8300 meters on the North side on Friday. There are few details on cause of death but it is confirmed and his family has been notified. Namgyal, 35, was a mainstay in the Sherpa and climbing community with 7 summits but also one of the leaders in the Climb for Peace and Extreme Everest expeditions, a clean up climb. He was known for his camera and filming skills. He will be missed. I climbed with him on Shishapangma in 2007. My condolences to his family, teammates and friends. This is the 6th death this season, four being Sherpa. Summit Changes of Pace After an up and down night Thursday, teams are looking for something a bit more predictable on Friday. There are a lot of climbers already at the South Col but the big push happens Saturday night. Eric Simonson, IMG, kept us informed about one of his three sub teams as they left the South Col and turned back in harsh conditions. They are back down at C4 aka the South Col, and will presumably do another attempt tonight. It is possible to make a second summit bid if you have enough oxygen. But the real measure is willpower. If climbers were only out for a couple of hours from the South Col, they have an excellent chance of making another push, in fact, it may be better now that they have the experience. I know after my aborted 2008 attempt, I considered it after returning to C2. But the thought of climbing the Lhotse Face once again was enough to discourage me and gave into the will of the mountain. One of the common question is what happens to the body at 8000m. In a word, it is dying. Food is difficult to metabolize, rest is difficult and everything takes much, much longer than at lower altitudes. It is an inhospitable environment where most people minimize their exposure. Friday Night Plans Alpine Ascents gave this update on their Friday night plans: I have been pouring through numerous weather forecasts and relaying all the information I find up the mountain to the South Col where our guides are currently deciding if they will leave for their summit push tonight or hold out another day at Camp 4. We have enough resources to stay an extra day if the weather does not line up for us, but it looks like the conditions are trending toward a good summit window for tonight. The winds have started to calm down and have shifted toward the north. Several of the forecasts I review indicate that this means the winds will stay lower and manageable for several days to come. Garrett Madison is currently collecting information from other teams in the South Col on the numbers of climbers we can expect today and tomorrow. So far the numbers going for the summit tonight are not too great and it looks like there will be likely be more climbers tomorrow. With winds calming and crowds at a reasonable level it looks to me like tonight will be a go. There are many climbers ready to push for the top over the next few days including over 100 from India including a group of 16 year-old students, the Indian Army and a pair of twins looking to set a record. Fire in Thamel For those of you who have gone to the area of Kathmandu known as Thamel, there was a huge fire last night. Apparently a small fire broke out at a place across from Dolce vita, and then a gas cylinder exploded. All three of the Kathmandu firetrucks were dispatched but Pilgirms books and five other businesses burned to the ground. Luckily there were no fatalities. Climb On!AlanMemories are Everything
Everest 2013: Summit Wave 2 Recap
Today was a case study in approaches to climbing Everest. The weather forecast called for diminishing winds on Thursday, May 16 and that held true as teams left for the summit around 9:00 PM. But as the IMG team made their way up the Triangular Face between the South Col and the Balcony, they were hit by high winds and freezing fog. They reported a cloud cap over the summit and turned back. They are currently in their tents at the South Col along with several other teams who choose not to go last night. They are expected to attempt again Friday night but that could change. However, in yet another twist in this season, climbers from the Giripremi Pune team pushed on and summited around 8:00AM on Friday morning. No word yet on the total numbers but they had six summit climbers plus Sherpas. Summit Details Berg Adventures put four on the summit. I contacted their home team and this was relayed from Everest and Wally Berg directly: … the team left at 7:00pm last night and reached the summit this morning at 7:15 (Steve Whittington and Danuru Sherpa) and 7:30 (Todd Pendleton and Phu Tashi Sherpa). Conditions were tough with moderate to high winds. As they neared the summit, the wind luckily started to quiet down. As of 9:30 this morning local time, they were on the Balcony and they are making their way towards the South Col. Another tight summit was by Karina Oliani and Pemba Sherpa who topped out at 7:38. Karina is reported to be the youngest Brazilian to summit Everest at age 31. This is a good example of how different teams view the conditions and risks on Everest. Neither is right or wrong as long as the climbers return home safely. Congratulations to these climbers. There may have been other summits but no formal reports as of this post. There were summits reported from the north but no details. Sitting Tight The Alpine Ascent (AAI) team reported in: Just received a satellite phone call from Garrett at the South Col where the team just woke up and it’s 8:15 AM local time. Quite windy last night and the winds are forecast to continue for a bit, so they have decided to to spend another day at the South Col and push the summit attempt back ~24 hours. Their Camp 4 at the South Col (26,000 ft.) is well stocked with plenty of oxygen so no problem hanging out there longer. With the revised plan, you should expect to see them start moving on Saturday, May 18th around 9:30 AM PDT (10:15 PM Nepal local time). AAI is a bit unique in that as part of their normal summit strategy they stay one night at the Col anyway before attempting the summit, whereas other teams arrive from Camp 3, spend that afternoon and leave that night for the summit. This means, the AAI team will stay three nights – two before and one after the summit, perhaps they will descend to Camp 2 after the summit this time. See my interview last year with AAI owner Todd Burleson about their strategy. Next Up As the winds played with the teams at the South Col, more at Base Camp made their moves to the higher camps in preparation for their summit bids. It appears forecasting this season has become very difficult but based on the recent versions, this window will last several days so we can expect to see many summits throughout this weekend. I will use this same format throughout the summit pushes: A summit wave post with multiple updates followed by a recap and setup for the next wave. Hold on, the ride is about to get wild for our climbers and especially those back home. If anything, tonight shows that Everest is not a walk-up that just anyone can climb. Well done to all tonight and over the next few days. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2013: Summit Wave 2 – Update 3
Update 3: Climbers from Pune and Berg have summited in what must have been tough conditions. They should be starting their decent around 9:00AM local time. No details on numbers and names yet. Congratulations to all. Update 2: Well it looks like the mountain had other ideas tonight and teams are turning back due to tough conditions. Eric Simonson, case IMG, just posted this: Greg and Jangbu report from Base Camp that the South Col team started out for the summit, but that once they got up onto the Triangular Face, the mountain formed a cloud cap with rime ice and gusty wind that was not looking like good climbing weather. So, they turned and have descended back to the South Col, then headed back into their tents, where they will be taking a rest and making a new plan for tomorrow. We’ll keep you posted! The Triangular Face is that part of Everest just above the South Col and the Balcony. Rime ice is white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of objects. So I assume the climbers were getting coated in ice. Think of it as frozen fog. No formal word from the other teams who were headed up tonight including Pune and Berg but if IMG turned back, most likely the others already have or will soon. It is too soon to worry too much as the forecast showed lessening winds through the May 25th. But the winds are clearly of concern. Some forecasts are now showing the winds not easing until Saturday May 18th so patience is the key. This is the time when the guides and Sherpas earn their money demonstrating their experience and knowledge of the mountain. Update 1: Winds have lessened but only a few teams left the South Col around 9:00PM Thursday May 16. No crowds were expected. Look for summits between 5AM – 10AM Friday May 17 After Wednesday night’s thwarted attempt due to high winds, Thursday is looking only slightly better. Read about last nights activities and my personal look at summit night on the post I put up early this morning. Almost all the previous teams and climbers, estimated at 35, are still there plus a few more teams arrived throughout Thursday. My rough estimate is that there will be 75 people at the South Col who may be going for the summit tonight. This is the second summit wave after the first one with the Sherpas fixing the rope and a couple of western climbers. Mike Chambers, climbing with IMG, made an audio post from the South Col where you can hear the wind in the background. Several reports have the winds still high so once again those team who just arrived may select to stay put for the night and go tomorrow. Those who stayed last night will most likely go up or down. That is not as strange as it sounds. Very few teams will spend more than one night waiting at the South Col due to the harsh conditions, extreme altitude and oxygen supplies. So they will either push for the summit, or descend to Camp 2 and wait for the next window. Of course, some will end their expedition all together knowing the weather had the last word. The wind needs to be below 30 mph/48kph for climbers to have a better chance of avoiding frostbite. A bit of good news is that the temperatures seem to have improved slightly. All this is to be expected as we move towards summer. By the way, this is one of the problems with climbing in the Fall, each day gets more windy, colder and shorter. Looks like the ski attempt by Adrian Ballinger from the summit of Lhotse is in jeopardy. Monica Pries, Alpenglow, made this update: Conditions on the mountain are good…for climbing; wind is gusty (as we were led to expect by the forecast) but temperatures are mild. Adrian has however made it quite clear that the terrain they have ascended so far, through The Yellow Band and to the Lhotse junction…is utterly un-skiable. Nothing but bullet proof ice and rocks. No snow … ANYWHERE! In fact, he was so despondent that he said they were both secretly hoping that their skis might just disappear over the next 24hours! and I know how much he loves his La Sportiva skis….so it must be looking pretty dire. Hmmmmm. One thing at a time…let’s get Everest done first and then think about the skiing. They should arrive at South Col in the next couple of hours. Another update on the Lhotse conditions from the Giripremi team: On 15th May 2013 Ashish Mane along with his Sherpas Lakpa Dorji and Pasang Sherpa reached summit camp of Mt. Lhotse 7800M at 12.30pm. Towards the evening the wind started blowing at very high speed. Hence they were in dilemma about the summit attempt. Finally the wind dropped at 2.00am midnight. It is exactly when Ashish along with his sherpas set out for the summit attempt. As they were moving up through a narrow couloirs towards the top of the ridge the wind again started blowing at 100km/hr making it very difficult to move ahead. The danger of falling rocks and hard ice through colouir was very high at that point of time. But like a strong mountaineer Ashish showed big courage and continued ahead. At the dawn they were about to reach the exit of the colouir. At 7.00am they reached the top of the Lhotse ridge. From here onwards they continued on the ridge towards their left to reach the main summit of Mt. Lhotse (8516M). Remember that the Lhotse Couloir is very steep and rocky and is not representative of the conditions on Everest where deep snow was experienced by the rope fixing team last week. Don’t look for summits on the north for another day or so. On a sad note, the body of Alexey Bolotov’s body has
Everest 2013: Delayed Summits and More
Knowing a fellow climber had died the day before, no it was time to focus on safety and Wednesday nights climbers were forced to make some tough decisions. The winds were predicted to lessen starting on May 16, but several teams climbed to the South Col on the 15th hoping to get a jump on the crowds. However, ed the winds held fast last night. Meanwhile several more teams moved to Camp 2 on the South preparing to go for the summit over the next few days. Over 120 climbers are looking at attempting the summit just on May 19th. This is not as bad as it sounds as the South Col route can support 100 climbers if the weather is good. Also, remember they have put dual lines in at the bottleneck on the Hillary Step. The good news is that this weather window is expected to last through May 25th so teams will have a lot of flexibility. South Delays at the Col The Pune team from India with Giripremi Mountaineering Club decided the winds were too strong and are now holding at the South Col with plans to try again tonight, Thursday. They did put climbers on the summit of Lhotse Thursday morning. Also starting from the South Col but turning back were Brazilian Karina Olani and film maker Scott Simper. They are climbing with Peak Promotions. Melissa Arnot was also denied the summit. She returned all the way to Camp 2 and will try again in a few days. Sounds like no one made it last night. The Berg Adventures team also was thwarted by the winds. This update from Steve Whittington directly from the South Col: Yesterday we reached the South Col a little later than expected due to the high winds. The high winds persisted during the evening and instead of going to the summit, we stayed in our tents. We stayed a full night on Oxygen at 26,000ft. We are hoping tonight as the winds will go down then we will have a chance at 8 o’clock to head to the summit. We talked to our lead climbing Sherpa and we made a decision that if we get to the balcony and the winds are still really high, we will have to turn around. You can’t hear right now but the winds are incredible high here. Anyway, this is what we came for, this is our one shot at the summit and I suppose these next few hours are our final count down to the summit. They will leave at 8:00PM, Thursday night May 16 if possible. I assume all the other teams are looking at the same schedule I spent an extra night at the South Col in 2003 and it was miserable. We had four people in one tent, close quarters with down suits and -4oF/C sleeping bags plus packs and boots. It was difficult to sleep even with oxygen, and difficult to digest anything. But the mental pressure was probably the worse with listening to the constant wind and not knowing if you would get your chance. North Preparations The news of Alexei Bolotov’s death traveled fast. Phil Crampton, Altitude Junkies, on the north made this post along with an update on their plans to hold another day at ABC to avoid some crowds and take advantage of the lowest winds that are predicted towards the end of this window: I am deeply saddened to hear the news that a friend of mine, whom I have climbed alongside with in Pakistan several times before, has died on the south side of Everest. I send my condolences to Alexei Bolotov’s family and friends. He was one of the strongest climbers I have ever known and the Himalaya has lost another legend way too early. This morning the team consulted the latest weather forecast and collectively made a decision on our summit date. Several teams are now moving up from advanced base camp hoping to make the summit from the 17th onwards. We have opted to play it safe and avoid the larger groups’ summit days and go when the wind speeds are predicted to be at their lowest. All going to plan, we should leave advanced base camp on the 18th for the North Col. We will spend the following evenings at camp two (7,800m) and camp three (8,300m) respectively before hopefully reaching the summit on the morning of the 21st. David Liano going for his north summit after topping out from the South on May 11, will try to summit the morning of May 18th. He will become the first person to summit from both sides in one season if successful. As we wait for another wave tonight, I thought I would repost a popular description of the summit climb I first wrote last year. The Death Zone There is a reason it is called the ‘Death Zone’. Popularized by Jon Krakauer in the book Into Thin Air, the term Death Zone has come to symbolize the risk of climbing Everest. It was first coined by the Swiss Doctor Edouard Wyss-Dunant who almost reached the summit of Everest during the 1952 Swiss Everest Expedition. He portrayed the effects of altitude on human physiology and defined a number of acclimatization zones in his book The Mountain World. The highest zone he called the Todeszone (German for Death Zone), defined as starting at 7,500 meter (24,606 feet) At this altitude and above, Wyss-Dunant stated, not only could normal human functions not be maintained, but they rapidly deteriorated – even with the use of supplemental oxygen. The level was later revised to be 8000m or 26,246 feet. Climbing in the Clouds So it is with great trepidation that climbers enter the Death Zone. Much attention is paid to the Khumbu Icefall and Lhotse Face, rightfully so, but little is said in detail about those hours above the South Col. So let’s take a very close look at the route above the South
Everest 2013: Winds Calm but Shocking Death of Alexey Bolotov – Updated
Early reports are in that Alexey Bolotov, has died near Camp 1 in the Western Cwm. He was climbing with Denis Urubko on a new route on SW Face. It appears he was climbing towards the West Ridge but his body was reported to have been found near the top of the Khumbu Icefall at 5600m. Details are always difficult at this point but we have this direct quote from Denis Urubko as he told mountain.ru this: I do not know how to write this. Alexey Bolotov to descend on a rope. Due to scroll on a sharp rock edge frayed rope. Bolotov fell on the rocky gully to a depth of about 300 meters. Death was instantaneous. Updates from Tim Rippel, Peak Freaks: Alexi died at the base of a potential new route. He had apparently taken a helicopter over to an area as a reconnaissance. When the pilot went back to get him he was found dead on the glacier. He wasn’t actually climbing so they don’t know if it was rock fall or what happened. Other reports said something about a severed rope but facts are all unclear at this time. The details remain unclear as his body was reported to have been found at 5600m/18,362′, but the base of the SW Face is near Camp 2 at 21,000’/6400m and not near the top of the Khumbu Icefall. In prior interviews they had said the new route would start at 6500 meters on the SW Face. They were planning on climbing alpine style. The last update had them starting their summit climb planning on 8 days up and 2 days down. The Nepal Mountaineering Association made this statement: Aleksle Bolotov (50), a Russian dies on Everest – 15 may A Russian climber names Aleksle Bolotov was crushed to death by a falling boulder while he was undergoing rock climbing training in the Everest region on Wednesday morning. He was killed after he was hit by a boulder rolling down the hill. He was heading to Mt Lhotse’s base camp from the Everest base camp to partake in the rock-climbing training this morning. Mr. Bolotov was a member of the International Everest South West Expedition team that is on the expedition of Mt Lhotse. I am sure details will come out over time and there is no need to speculate further. My condolences to his family, Denis and friends. Climb Updates With this sad backdrop, teams continued to make their way higher positioning for summit bids. The latest forecast has the ‘window’ between May 18th – 21st. The North teams have been ly waiting but are now massing at Advanced Base Camp preparing for their summit push at the end of this week. On the South, The US Air Force group climbed back to Camp 2 and reported calm winds but extremely hot in the Western Cwm. The Indian team from Pune made are now at the South Col as is Melissa Arnot. Winds were still a bit high on the upper mountain but are expected to begin calming tonight as the jet stream moves north. Some teams may attempt their summit tonight, Wednesday. Alpine Ascents are now at Camp 3 and gave this update: The Team left camp 2 at 6am this morning with clear skies and crisp cold weather. They made good time up the Lhotse Face and have arrived safely in Camp 3. They report consistent winds up on the Lhotse Face with some stronger gusts, but nothing unmanageable. The climbers will spend the rest of the day eating, drinking, and relaxing as they can on the side of the face. They will sleep on oxygen tonight for the first time which will help them get good rest before they push to the South Col tomorrow. The are still many teams at Base Camp waiting for the next window. Adventure Consultants posted: Today is the Lhotse Team’s last day at EBC before heading up for the big summit, and the Everest Team have one more day at Base Camp (tomorrow) before they head up. NOW everyone is beginning to get really excited. Lots has been happening, not at our base camp so much, but with people from other expeditions summitting in high and cold winds, a few having to turn around near the Hillary Step, few frostbite cases… I will update this page later today as more news emerges. Meanwhile look for potential summits tonight. Update: There are 35 climbers reported at the South Col on Wednesday night. Winds were moderate but we can assume many will go for the summit arriving early Thursday morning, May 16. Climb On!AlanMemories are Everything
Everest 2013: Moving Up
This season is turning out to be somewhat normal, well at least with respect to weather. April was bit windier and snowy than usual but now as we approach mid May, advice the jet stream is cooperating by moving away from the summit and teasing climbers with forecasts of calm winds perfect for a climb to the top of the world. The only rub seems to be the temperatures are a bit cold, but it is the top of the world! The teams who summited yesterday are all back down at Camp 2 after threading the needle. Again, congratulations. As for the other ‘400’ people, their turn is coming. It is estimated over 100 climbers will push from Camp 4 on Sunday May 19th for summits early Monday morning, but you know by now, plans are fluid. Many of those may leave a day earlier or later depending on how they feel, their perspective on crowds and, of course, the weather. Moving Up The route between EBC and Camp 2 is pretty crowded right now. IMG had two teams move to Camp 2 looking to summit in a few days. Alpenglow’s two person team also is pushing higher looking to summit Everest, then Lhotse with a ski descent. Tim Rippel, Peak Freaks, mentions the Nepal Ministry of tourism’s Liaison officers seems to be collecting schedules from the teams: Teams are starting to find their spot in the big picture for a summit bid. A Minister from the tourism office came around today trying to get an idea of who is going when. Everyone seems to spacing out pretty good but we had this conversation last year season as well as we do every year. You will never really know till you go. But many teams will still try to keep their plans a secret to minimize crowds and prying eyes. The small group from Berg Adventures is pushing for the next wave of summits. According to Wally Berg: It’s just before 7 pm on May 13th. I just talked things over with the team and the weather is continue to change and is heading to the right direction. The plan now is that tomorrow morning the team will walk out of camp II, heading for the Lhotse Face, and after two to three hours walk, they will get on the steep fixed lines, ascend the Lhotse Face to our Camp III and spend the night there. On May 15th, the team will move to the South Col, already you are over 8000 meters when you arrive at the South Col. It is a windy place, and in some ways it is also very, very beautiful. Our summit day is scheduled for the evening of May 15th – 16th. Yesterday, the Altitude Junkies team on the North left for the North Col but were hit by high winds forcing them to re back to ABC. Phil Crampton posted: The group has just returned to advanced base camp after spending the night at the North Col. We had hoped to complete a second rotation to the Col some time ago but we kept finding excuses with the weather. We combined this rotation with a possible early summit attempt but as our weather forecast had predicted, the winds were too strong to venture safely above the North Col without the chance of frostbite injuries. The team will now rest for a few days here at ABC and then we hope to summit sometime from the 20th onwards when the forecast predicts the high winds to drop. There have been many eyes on the radar maps showing the swirling winds off India. The Indian Pune team had this comment about the cyclone in the Bay of Bengal: While the cyclone roaring on southern part of Bay of Bengal is expected to move towards north and then to the east, meteorologist at IMD forecasted no impact on the weather above world’s highest mountain. At the same time the westerly disturbances are expected to wane. Above all the wind on the mountain is forecasted to be favorable for climbing. Considering the inputs Giripremi’s team will stick to their plans as scheduled. Asian Trekking provides logistics for a wide range of climbers from different nations. This update shows the various names and schedule for later this week: We are ready for summit. First team will attempt 18th May and second Team will attempt 20th May. First team : Allan Jonhson,Horacio Galanti, Horacio Cunietti, Udo Ebner, Andrzej Wojda, Barnabas Borbely, Anita Devi, Sushen Mahato, Dr Nima Namgyal. Horacio Galanti, Allan Johnson are at C1, Andrzej Wojda, Anita Devi, Sushen Mahato, Horacio Cunietti will leave tonight for Camp 2.Udo Ebner , Barnabas and Dr. Nima Namgyal will leave tomorrow night for Camp 2 and all members will sleep at Camp 3 on 16 May, Camp 4 on 17 May,summit push on same night and 18th morning summit. Second team : Carlos Canellas, Carlos Santalena, Rodrigo Ranieri, Joel Kriger, Douglas Scarborough, Arunima Sinha, Ramlal, Kanta Devi and Lovvraj Dharamshaktu. Got to love Dave Hahn, RMI, as he watches team after team leave EBC for their summit bid. Once again he shows patience: There are many teams leaving from Base Camp today and heading to higher camps. This will put them in position for their summit bids later this week. We are sitting tight at Base Camp for a bit longer as the weather forecasts are showing some heavy snow arriving soon. We are continuing to watch the weather patterns and predictions and will move up hill when the timing looks good for us. An update on Denis Urubko and Alexey Bolotov attempting a new route on the Southwest face: Denis and Alex will start tomorrow. They are planning 8 days ascent and 2 days descent. But they take food only for 6 days. Not sure what to make of this! Trash Day Keeping Everest clean is a top priority of the Nepal expeditions. Asian Trekking has been running a ‘trash