Everest 2017: Loose Ends
Now that the last summits of Everest 2017 are about a month old, there are a few storylines that continue to get press. In the grand scheme, nothing really changes with any of this “news”. Big Summit Numbers from Nepal Nepal Tourism reported for spring 2017 there were 445 summits from the south (Nepal) side consisting of 190 foreigners, 32 fee-paying Nepalis, 233 Sherpas. They issued 375 foreign permits thus a 50% foreigner success rate, much lower than recent history in the 70+% range – this was perhaps due to flu and an elongated summit window of a few days each that discouraged people, who left early. No solid numbers from Tibet side but in the 160-200 total range. Totalling both sides, 2017 was a big year with between 615-655 summits on both sides. But it was probably not a record for total Everest summits. The previous big years were 2016 when there were 641 climbers who summited from both sides, 658 in 2013 and 2007 saw 633 summits. The Himalayan Database will do their through research and update the database in a few months and for me they become the final word on who summited from both sides. The Himalayan Times posted slightly different numbers they received from the Ministry of Tourism. Every foreign guide service must use a local agency to obtain their climbing permits. Those agencies take great pride in supporting mountaineering thus often are listed as the guide with no mention of the foreign entity. For example IMG use Beyul as their agency. This is a list of agencies and their respective results: Hillary Step One event fed the media throughout the season and still does as climbers are returning home. Of course the question is if the Step was altered by the 2015 earthquake. The Nepal government says no. Sherpas say no. Guides say yes. The crux of the disagreement is whether snow has covered the Step in such a way that the route went to the climber’s right on a snow slope instead of directly up the offwidth crack between the rock formation. source American commercial guides weighed in and 15 time Everest summiter Dave Hahn, served as judge and declared the Step had in fact changed due to several of the large boulders missing. source No doubt these headlines will bring readers to more websites but nothing really changes. Both sides will declare victory and no one will really know until the snow is identical to pre-2015 conditions. Until then, take a look at all the images and judge for yourself. Jamie McGuinness posted one of his photos from 2008 next to Tim’s. It you really want to dig deep, read Tim Mosedale’s Facebook page where he defends his original proclamation that “The Hillary Step is no more”. Ueli Steck All deaths on Everest are deeply saddening to the friends, families and teammates but the death of Ueli Steck shook the entire climbing community. Now the Sherpa who found his body has done a western style interview with the click bait headline of “What really happened on the day that Ueli Steck fell from Nuptse?” It is a good interview but again, nothing really changes. Perhaps the most important outcome is the observation by Vinayak Jaya Malla who first found the body that there was no wind that day and he had sighted Steck “on a ridge that is 7100-7200m” suggesting he fell 800-900m. Also Malla made this comparison on what might have happened: If you have been to the Himalayas, you will often see Bharal, blue sheep, very high on the mountains. They are very agile and fast so as to protect themselves from snow leopards. But sometimes, blue sheep fall off from cliffs. Each time they do, there is a different reason. Sometimes they fall due to rock fall, other times, they have perhaps run too fast, etc. Perhaps we must think of Ueli as such – as a Bharal, as one of our blue sheep of the Himalayas who one day fell for an unexpected reason but was otherwise a master. Climbers Banned Both climbers who broke Nepal and China mountaineering rules were banned for 10 years for climbing in Nepal but not fined the $22,000 penalty or served jail time. One was for an illegal traverse and the other for not having a climbing permit. Height of Everest The actual height of Everest remains a top interest for at least two countries: India and Nepal. India announced earlier this year they would remeasure the height during the spring season. Apparently it didn’t happen. Now Nepal announced it will do the remeasurement taking over two years and costing $1.35M. source Nepal has made this announcement before, actually as far back as 2011. source But as normal with many Nepal announcements about Everest, there was no follow-thru. The 2015 earthquake is the driving force behind the remeasurement. Reports immediately after the quake suggested Everest had dropped by 2 inches, about 5 cm but it was an estimate based on satellite data. One would think that measuring the world’s highest peak would be somewhat easy given satellites, GPS and slide rules, but not so fast – even the naming has a convoluted history! In 1841 the Great Trigonometric Survey led by Welsh surveyor Sir George Everest identified the location of the mountain. Fifteen years later using trigonometry and measurements from 12 different survey stations around the mountain, Indian Radhanath Sikdar, a member of the survey team, finished the calculations and determined they had found the world’s highest mountain. They called it ‘Peak XV’ and noted it was 29,002 feet. In 1865 it was re-named Mt. Everest, against Sir Everest’s wishes, even though for centuries the Tibetans had called it Chomolungma. The Nepalese finally gave it their own name in the mid 20 century as Sagarmatha. In 1955, the height was adjusted to 29,028′. On May 5, 1999 a National Geographic Society Expedition put a GPS receiver on the summit. Using a second Trimble GPS receiver at the 26,000′ on the South Col they
Everest 2017: Team Locations and Headlines
Alan Arnette’s Everest 2017 coverage and annual coverage is based on my own Everest and K2 summits and climb experiences, research, sources, and public information. I try to provide insight and interpretation of the activities ranging from routes to weather to the challenge of climbing Everest. I am home in Colorado this season after a climbing accident in February that stopped me from a planned Dhaulagiri climb this spring. A sincere and deep thank you to everyone who joins the Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry or makes a donation to one of the Alzheimer’s nonprofits. HEADLINE: Normal Season, Windy, 7 Deaths, 600++ Summits See all the Everest 2017 posts here Last News: Monday, 31 May 2017 (Everest time: GMT+5:45) Nepal Tourism says 455 summits: 190 foreigners, 32 fee-paying Nepalis, 233 Sherpas Monsoon hits Kathmandu 10 June season is over on both sides Season headlines Nobukazu Kuriki has ended his West Ridge, Hornbein attempt closing out the south side climbers Cargo flight crashes at Lukla, pilots killed source Kami Rita Sherpa summited for the 21st time tying him with Apa and Purba Tashi Sherpa for most summits Kilian Jornet 2d summit in a week run again, ABC to summit and back in 29:30 on 27 May. Nepal officials say Hillary Step is just fine (bad for business?) source Traverse by Janusz Adamski A was illegal, operator sends letter to Government 4 dead at South Col inside tent – with new “guide” service – report was wrong Kilian Jornet summited in record time but ended speed attempt due to illness stopping at ABC on north Blind Austrian climber Andy Holzer summited on north with Furtenbach Adventures My climbing buddy, Jim Davidson, with IMG, summited at sunrise 22 May. Very proud of him Mollie Hughes – now part of “Both Sides Club”, youngest Brit to summit at age 26 EverestER has now seen over 500 patients North side of Everest saw first 2017 summits by Transcend/Arun Trekking Sherpas fixing the rope on 10 May Flu is hitting many climbers on Nepal side 7 Sherpas and 3 Gurkha achieve 1st summits on the Nepal side Monday 15 May 44-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa set record with 8th female summit on Tibet side 13 May Neither side of Everest appears to be suffering from overcrowding this season Himex Sherpa OK after long fall down Lhotse Face Min Bahadur Sherchan, 86, died from unknown causes at Everest Base Camp Ueli Steck dies on Nuptse acclimatising for Everest-Lhotse traverse Winds, winds, winds and difficult weather on Nepal side – the emerging stories for 2017 Arun Treks Sherpa injured by falling ice Gear flown into Western Cwm, eliminating hundreds of Sherpa carries North: 136 foreigners/170 Sherpas South: 28 countries represented, 455 summits: 190 foreigners, 32 fee-paying Nepalis, 233 Sherpas 70 Nepal side climbers used their 2015 extended permit 2017 Deaths: 6 Everest, 1 Nuptse deaths Camp cook for AAI died of a stroke/heart attack at base camp Vladimir Strba, 50 Slovakia, between Balcony/South Col on, climbing as independent with no Os- body retrieved Francesco Enrico Marchetti, 54 Australia, at 8300m after summit from Tibet with Expedition Himalaya – body retrieved Ravi Kumar, 27, from fall near Balcony after summit, separated from his guide from Arun Treks- body retrieved Roland Yearwood, 50 from USA Alabama climbing with SummitClimb – body not retrieved, too difficult Ueli Steck dies on Nuptse acclimatising for Everest-Lhotse traverse – body retrieved Min Bahadur Sherchan, 86, died from unknown causes at Everest Base Camp – body retrieved Connect Click to sign up or cancel email notification of new posts See all the Everest 2017 posts here If you value this coverage, please consider a donation to an Alzheimer’s nonprofit South Col Route (map) locations are for majority of team, individuals may be higher or lower Everest only TEAMS (members/western guides) 375 foreigners/~373 sherpas EBC C1 C2 C3 C4 S.Col Summits (foreigners/Sherpas) Fixed Line Rope to Summit Adventure Consultants (10/5) e 12/18 Adventures Global (8) e 2/2 Alpine Ascents Int. (7/3) e 6/5 Asian Trekking Eco Teams e 2/2? Ascent Himalayas e 8/9 Benegas Brothers 3/2 e 5/5 Himex e 4/4 IMG Classic Team 1 (14/2) e 2/2 IMG Classic Team 2 (14/2) e 12/15 IMG Hybrid (~8/3) e 9/13 Gurkha (10) e 10/10 Madison Mountaineering (11/5) e 13/16 Mountain Madness (5/2) w/MT e 5/7 w/MT Mountain Trip (5/2) w/MM e 5/7 Mountain Professionals e 2/2 Satori Adventures e 5/5 Summit Climb (15/1) e 1+/1+ (death) Seven Summits Treks (100+) e 60/70? Tim Mosedale (2/1) e 2+/2+ others 63/79 (est) SOUTH TOTAL (est) 222/233 Northeast Ridge Route (map) locations are for majority of team, individuals may be higher or lower TEAMS (members/western guides) 136 foreigners/170 sherpas CBC ABC C1 N.Col C2 C3 Summits (foreigners/Sherpas) Fixed Line Ropes to Summit Alpenglow (4/3) e 3/4 Adventure Peaks (4/1) e 4/2 Arnold Coster Expeditions (7/1) e 5+/5+ Furtenbach Adventures (8/1) e 9/8 Iowans for Everest (2) e 2/2 Kobler & Partner e 10/10 Mountain Expeditions (1/1) e 2/2 Summit Climb (11/1) e 7/6 Transcend Adventures (23/1) e 16/22 7 Summits Club e 2+/2+ others 21/19 (est) NORTH TOTAL (est) 80+/82+ LEGEND T/D=Trek/Driving to BC, K=Kathmandu, La=Lhasa, Lo=Lobuche, e=climb ended, x=last reported location, x+ =on summit bid, -x =descending h=high sleep point, t=touched not slept. Summit number=member/Sherpa. Locations estimated from public websites. Please refer to each expedition’s site for current information. Contact me to add/remove your team from my coverage. Other Teams Not providing enough updates to track or comment Dreamers Destination Himalayan Guides Indian Navy Indian ONGC I did similar coverage for the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons. I summited Everest on May 21, 2011 and have attempted Everest three other times – 2002, 2003, 2008 and Lhotse in 2015 and 2016. If you will forgive the self promotion, Outside Magazine posted an extensive interview with me and said: I was “one of the world’s most respected chronicler of Everest” If you receive value from my annual Everest coverage, please consider a donation to one of these Alzheimer’s nonprofits, 100% for Alzheimer’s, none for me Click this link to understand my personal journey with Alzheimer’s disease Everest Weather Base Camp Summit not intended to replace professional forecasts or critical climbing decisions Reader Polls [poll id=”-2″]
Everest Winter, No O’s Attempt!
A huge program has been announced by Alex Txikon who may be one of the few climbers on the planet qualified to attempt climbing Everest in the winter without supplemental oxygen. He and teammates, Simone Moro and Muhammad Ali Sadpara knocked off Nanga Parbat last winter leaving on K2 as the last 8000er without a winter summit. An effort for a winter K2 summit by Polish climber Krzysztof Wielicki was canceled due to lack of funds. As for Everest, Txikon announced on his website that he and a small team will arrive in Nepal on Christmas day to begin a two month effort to summit Everest using the normal route from Nepal. History Let’s look at the history for a moment. A paltry 0.2% of all summits since 1953 have occurred in the winter. The Himalayan Database reports that the last successful winter summit was in 1993 and the only previous summit without supplemental oxygen was by Ang Rita Sherpa in 1987. Technically winter begins on the winter solstice on December 21st or 22nd and ends on March 20th. To add to some controversy, the solstice in 1987 was on December 22nd at 4:45:13 and Ang Rita summited at 15:20. There have been 21 winter expeditions with only five successful summits: The team Txikon is 35 years old and will be joined by a 28 year old Spanish climber, Carlos Rubio, who is better known for extreme skiing than climbing. They will be joined by Aitor Barez, the expedition movie director and Pablo Magister who will serve as cameramen. It appears that they will promote the climb over social media with drones and real time video. There will be five Sherpa who will fix the route through the Khumbu Icefall. The Challenge The weather is the foremost problem facing the climbers. In January, the coldest month, the summit temperature averages -36° C (-33° F) and can drop as low as -60° C (-76° F). According to the Weather Underground on February 2004 the winds reached 280 km/h or 174 mph. This season, has not been kind to those attempting to summit. autumn 2016 saw speed climb Kilian Jornet and Japanese solo climber, Nobukazu Kuriki stopped on the north side by deep snow. Several first ascents in Nepal were also stopped in the last few months due to dangerous snow conditions. Txikon is no stranger to difficult conditions as reported on Explorers Web for his attempt on Gasherbrum I in 2012: Although this winter is turning out much harder than 2011 – except for the first 10 days, which were amazing. And toughing it through the winter season gets harder and harder each day no matter how experienced you are. Best of luck to all, Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
A Personal Letter to Everest 2016, and 2017, Summiteers
“I want to climb Everest, but there is so much negative press about it. I don’t want to add to the problems.”, she added with genuine concern as I was having coffee this week with two 20 something aspiring climbers. Her statement got my attention. On one hand, I admired her ethics, on the other, damn it, she shouldn’t let anyone stop her dreams. With the 2016 season now over and people making plans for 2017 and beyond, I want to, in private 🙂 , have a few words with those of you who summited this year and make a few suggestions for those thinking about 2017. Haters can skip this post. A Rare Club There at 7.4 Billion people on earth. About 7,600 have stood on the summit of Everest. That is 0.000001% of the current world population. A rare club if you ask me. For 2016 from the Nepal side only, the Nepal Ministry of Tourism reports a total of 456 summits – 57% were Sherpas and of the 287 permits issued to foreigners, 199 or 69% summited. We will have to wait maybe 6 months for Himalayan Database to compile stats from Tibet and Nepal but I’m expecting about 600 total 2016 summits. Get Off My Lawn! It is easy to let the haters, including many in positions of responsibility in the adventure community, weigh on your accomplishment. I’m always surprised when leaders in climbing clubs, outdoor magazines and even some well known Everest guides feed the press with negative stories of why Everest is no longer a challenge; that only the rich and inexperienced are there and that “anyone can walk the “yellow brick road” to the summit. But my favorite is the ‘climber’ who summited any year prior to yours and proudly states “Well, Everest is not like it was when I did it. MY summit was earned, unlike those people this year.” Kind of reminds me of Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. Amazing that those who share in an rare accomplishment are so fragile that they cannot give a simple word of congratulations. Now; I accept, and make myself, many of the arguments and criticism around Everest including the ones about inexperience – members, Sherpas and guides – but to generalize is lazy and a negligent mistake – especially for anyone who is writing an article that may appear in well known publications. Most Everest Climbers Deserve Respect So, where is all this headed? Yet another Everest Deserves Respect article as I have been know to do from time to time? Nah, just a few words to my fellow summiteers and those aspiring to next year. Now that you are back home from Nepal or Tibet and going thru all the emotions that comes from summiting Everest that I went thru a few days ago in my Climber’s Depression blog post, I simply want to say CONGRATULATIONS! It was a good year on Everest by almost any standard as I summed up in the 2016 season summary. Looking at the historical stats on the Himalayan Database, from 2000 to 2016, the summit rate was 56% for members so this year at 69% was well above average! Way to go! Many of the long time commercial operators had greater than 80% success rates. In fact, all but one team had at least one person (member or Sherpa) on the summit. A longer than usual series of acceptable weather days made it possible. But of course, five people lost their lives, so as always it is a muted celebration. And there is real trouble brewing on Everest with way too many inexperienced climbers, and guides. But let’s stay focused on you. Hey, you set an ambitious goal, trained hard, climbed smart to the summit and returned home. You earned that summit and have every right to be proud of it – full stop. Ignore the haters, stop reading the outdoor magazines and websites for a few months. You know what you did, and you know better than someone who has never been out of their zip code what Everest demands of people. Most Everest Climbers Deserve Respect????? So what is with the “most” in these headlines? Well, the tragic truth is that many, if not all of the deaths this year might have been avoided as I covered in Why People Die on Everest. And some of the summits were near misses with only the unselfish decisions by teammates, guides or Sherpas that prevented more deaths. I was there this year, attempting Lhotse and saw a similar pattern I saw in 2015 when I was also there attempting Lhotse. Way too many ‘climbers’ that had zero business being there. They failed to understand the basics of climbing, much less mountaineering, and they depended on guides and some Sherpas who were just as inexperienced. They thought they knew enough. Arrogance kills. 2017 Awaits So with this backhanded complimentary article thus far, what about next year’s aspiring climbers? First, it is going to be crowded. Nepal extended the 2014 and 2015 Everest permits and some come due next year. And don’t think going to the North is the solution, the line is forming on that side already. After this year’s roaring success, the guides are selling Everest 2017 as “Everest is Back in Business, Everyone is Welcome”. Or are they? I think not and want to discourage the majority of people reading this article not to climb Everest in 2017 – you are not ready. Ready for Everest? Take this simple test: Q: What is the highest altitude you have ever reached? Q: When do you use a tent parachute stake on Everest? (trick question!) Q: What do you use to replace a lost jumar at the Balcony? Q: How long will a 4 liter cylinder of oxygen last running at 2 liters per minute or 4lpm? Q Is it ever acceptable to turn your oxygen down or even off while climbing Everest, especially near the summit? Q: How long do you wait after a large snowstorm to begin climbing again? Q: Will eating the same food as Sherpas increase your chances of summiting? Q: How do you keep your hands warm if you loose a glove at 7500 meters? Q: How much