Young Sherpa Brought to U.S. Before Amputation
One of the tragic stories from Everest 2017 was of Dawa Sange Sherpa who had all of his fingers severely frostbitten while working with a member who reportedly refused to turn back in bad weather. Thanks to the generosity of the climbing community, Sange is now in Vail, Colorado receiving treatment from some of the […]
Everest 2017: Season Summary – A Mountain with Two Sides
This is one of the more difficult seasons I have covered to sum up in one word so let me use several: wind, tragedy, misinformation, spin and summits. Overall it was a good year, a normal year with many summits on both sides plus the average death toll. I think we saw how the pressure […]
Everest 2017: Weekend Update May 27
This season had more twists and intrigue than a U.S. Presidential election. While not completely over, this past week brought a strong end for almost all the teams on both sides of Everest. Many dreams came true, like that of my climbing buddy Jim Davidson (who is already back home in Colorado!), and for others they set […]
Everest 2017: Who is left? – updated
It has been a season of wild swings from the weather to information from the mountain. But it’s not over. Let’s look at who is left and where they are. Heavy snow appears to be arriving on 28 May, so there is a sense of urgency for those still heading higher. UPDATE: Summits thus far Saturday 27 […]
Everest 2017: South Col Dead Body Report was Wrong
The same people that reported 4 bodies – 2 Sherpas, 1 foreign woman and 1 foreign male – were found at the South Col now say they got it all wrong. I spoke live with both key sources last night. Managing Director at Seven Summit Treks, Mingma Sherpa, who provided the the information to Himalayan Times reporter Rajan Pokhrel who wrote the story. Both now […]
Everest 2017: Climbing Continues – Updated
The last teams on both sides are moving higher and higher and some going for the summit tonight. IMG reports around 5:00 am Nepal time on Thursday 25 May. They have probably over 20 on this push. The lead climbers are getting close to the summit, and others are getting close to the South Summit. So […]
Everest 2017: 4 Found Dead in Tent at South Col – Updated
A horrible tragedy today on Everest. 2 foreigners and 2 Sherpa “guides” were found dead in the same tent at the South Col, 8000 meters. Rajan Pokhrel broke the story a few minutes ago on the Himalayan Times It was very windy and many teams choose to stay in their tents and not go for the summit. Update […]
Everest 2017: Wind Returns with Vengeance, Costly Body Retrievals
There were summits early morning of 23 May, but it may not have been the best choice to push it. Teams turned back, some never left camp and those who made said it was difficult. Meteorologist Chris Tomer told me “full on Jet Stream on the summit”. He advised his member, Ricardo Pena, to stay at the South […]
Everest 2017: What Really Happened to the Hillary Step
As we wait for more summits this week, let take a look at one of the most talked about stories from Everest 2017 is the fate of the Hillary Step. First reported as “gone” now Nepal officials are saying it’s just fine, just covered with snow. For those outside the climbing community, and for many inside, […]
Everest 2017: Huge Wave 3 with a Traverse and Speed Summit
As I posted in almost real-time, there were many summits on Monday morning on both sides and there were some surprises! Here is a quick update of summits and information not in my last post North Updates: The Russian team 7 Summits Club lead by legendary Alexander Abramov put more on the summit. I have lost count […]