Autumn 2019 Himalayan Season: Coverage Begins – Updated
With the Himalayan spring and summer season completed, the autumn season is about to begin with more climbs in the Nepal, Tibet, perhaps Pakistan and around the world. For a change Everest and Lhotse will see a lot of activity this autumn but there are rumors that China may make it difficult to climb in Tibet this autumn. This post is an introduction on what to expect and follow. 2019 Thus Far Thus far, the 2019 climbing season has been a mixed bag of summits, records and deaths. The Everest season was well chronicled but perhaps the larger story were all the deaths on the other 8000-meter peaks in April and May. And there were more deaths earlier in the year primarily in Pakistan. All of this reveals a changing storyline for climbing on the world’s highest peaks. Commercializing 8000ers Once the domain of the proven, skilled and experienced climbers, now due to low cost guide companies entering the market, the world’s highest (and many time most dangerous) peaks are available to anyone with money. No experience required. The expeditions are staffed with experienced Sherpas who tell prospective clients that they can learn all they need during the climb. Oh and if you get in trouble, by and large you are on your own because as one high profile Nepali guide told me in May, “It’s not our job to turn back clients.” This is a key philosophical difference between the newest Nepali and long-time foreign guides. This chart tells the tale thus far in 2019 of where people are dying, their agency and suspected cause of death. [table id=1 /] Experienced Deaths But deaths have occurred all over the mountains this year, including some by extremely talented climbers. 2019 started off with the deaths of Tom Ballard Daniel Nardi in February on the 8,000-meter peak Nanga Pabart. Then in April, elite climbers, American Jess Roskelley and Austrians David Lama and Hansjörg Auer were killed in an avalanche on Canada’s Howse Peak attempting a very difficult new route. In April and May we saw 10 deaths on the 8000ers, Annapurna, Lhotse Makalu, and Kanchenjunga then another 11 just on Everest. Quick on the heels of these deaths came an avalanche on the24,390-foot/7,434-meter Nanda Devi East in Northern India that took the lives of eight climbers lead by veteran British mountaineer Martin Moran and included four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian. Seven of the bodies were recovered. Next was in Pakistan on Melvin Jones Peak at 5,800-meter/19028-foot, seven climbers with an Italian team were hit by an avalanche killing at least one Pakistani. Finally in this string of tragedy, the Alpine Club of Pakistan reported that two Chinese climbers, Li Haoxin Chen and Ka Kit Ng, went missing on a technical 6,400m peak in the Liligo Glacier/Trango Towers area. And there have been multiple rescues, three by none other than Denis Urubko who also successfully competed a new route on Gasherbrum II – solo. K2 – Summits and Zero Deaths The summer K2 season came along with a record 125++ permits and the usual commercial suspects hosting huge teams, some with questionable experience. The season started bad, got uglier and many teams left due to avalanche danger and the Sherpas failing to get the fixed ropes to the summit in time. Enter Nirmal Purja and his small team of Sherpas. They are trying to summit all 14 of the 8000ers in 7 months. Fresh off summiting Nanga Parbat and the Gasherbrum I and II with days of each other, they were not to be denied on K2 saying they were prepared to wait out the weather and make multiple attempts. They broke with their style and used supplemental oxygen and opened the route in spite of previous failed efforts. Multiple teams followed in their path thanks to improved weather and some strong winds that cleared the avalanche prone terrain. A few professional guides felt that while Nirmal Purja helped, they would have summited with or without his team’s help. In any event, 31 summited K2 this summer, about average these days. And there were ZERO deaths on any of the 8000ers this summer!! Autumn 2019 Outlook Project Possible As I mentioned, looking to summit all 14 of the 8000ers in seven months, Nirmal Purja, Mingma David Sherpa and Halung Dorchi (Sanu Sherpa) went on to summit Broad Peak two days after K2 taking Nim’s total to 11 in a mere 94 days!: Annapurna (April 23), Dhaulagiri, Kangchenjunga, Makalu, Everest, Lhotse, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, K2 and Broad Peak (July 26). Next for Nirmal Purja are Manaslu, Cho Oyu and Sishapangma – all of which are considered very achievable although reaching the true summit of Shish is a serious and very dangerous climb. I assume he will climb these three by November 23, most likely in late September/early October to meet his goal of seven months. Everest Polish climber Andrzej Bargiel will attempt to ski from the summit of Everest without using supplemental oxygen, a first if he is successful. Of course he caught the world’s attention with his K2 ski descent last year. He has an interesting interview at this link. Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering will lead a rare autumn expedition to Everest. The last time Everest was summited in autumn was in 2010. Wally Berg used to guide in the autumn regularly but stopped over a decade ago. Now Madison is experimenting to see if there is demand for a second trip each year, and if the weather and conditions will allow for safe summits. The largest issue of course is with winter approaching each day is colder and shorter, the opposite of spring where the monsoonal moisture flows usually stops the season along with warming temperatures creating even more dangers in the Khumbu Icefall. Of course, much of Everest’s rich history was started in the autumn season. The Swiss made the first national attempt on Everest using the SE Ridge route
Everest 2019: Season Summary The Year Everest Broke
Everest 2019 will go down as the year Everest finally broke. It was one of those seasons where a lot of things went wrong, more things went right and many trends took center stage with new and old lessons for members, support, guide companies and governments. The only remaining question is, is anyone listening? One Person’s Story There are many stories to tell this year but this one perhaps encapsulates the entire season of risks, support, drive, judgment and motivation. Los Angles resident Mark Parella was climbing with Seven Summit Treks. A he was headed to the summit he developed snow-blindnesss near the South Summit. In an interview with his hometown newspaper, The Landmark, Mark started the piece with: “There were 14 climbers; eight made it to the summit, but only six made it back down successfully. We got to the top of the south summit and I told my Sherpa, ‘I can’t see.’ Everything was very white and very foggy. I got worried. I thought, if I go for this, I will probably not make it back,” His Sherpa had other thoughts. “I’ll help you, you’ll be fine.” They summited and got down safely. I asked Mark this week for more details on how much was his vision impaired: It was odd. The wind and snow picked up at night and not having clear goggles I didn’t think to put any on. Later on the south summit everything got white as if in a very think fog. I could see but everything and everyone looked white and foggy. This was around 4-5am. By maybe 8 coming down it started coming back slowly. I managed to be able to see enough to make it down with out assistance at all and by maybe 9:30-10 I could see much better just long distance was a bit blurred. Later that day around 2-2:30 heading down to camp 2 I was okay but could see long distance. Little things like I had before. The following day at camp 2 it was pretty much gone And in hindsight, should he have followed his gut and turned back? To answer your question my answer going on was the best feeling in the world to me. I found a limit of mine and I blew its doors off I feel. is Mountaineering is all about calculated risk and I understand that. I’ve turned around on Shasta, Rainer the 1st time, and Denali twice so far. All were tough decisions but I understood the mountain will always be there. The risk is what gives mountaineering a certain allure to many I believe including me. Chris Bonington talks about it in his 1979 Annapurna climb and I relate to it. Pasang Dava Sherpa was amazing. This was his 9th summit and I trusted him. Honestly I just needed a little mental push. Leading up to Everest I did my homework and I trained non stop endlessly for 10 months. A lot of the training I would do was not only physical but psychological. I wanted this situation so I could put myself to the true test. It worked for me. I had more than enough energy to hike that mountain all day up and down. It was challenging my mental capacity at altitude and the unknown of that capability that was tested. In this summary of the Everest 2019 spring season, I took a deep look at events leading to the season that had an impact, how the season unfolded, the deaths on the other 8000ers, who summited (both individuals and teams) and some reasons behind the tragedies. It’s easy to place blame and deny responsibility, no matter how shallow. I did my best to look at all sides but the facts tell the story. Yes, we have seen many of these factor before, but not in such magnitude, with such callous disregard, such blatant disrespect and with so little urgency to enact change. The state of Everest has rarely been so poor. For those not wanting to read this detail report, here is the summary: Everest 2019 Season Summary Nepal issued a record number of permits while the Chinese played a PR game with permit limits. The notorious jet stream was “wobbly” in the words of Chris Tomer of Tomer Weather Solutions. It colluded with Cyclone Fani to delay the ropes reaching the summit complicated by some bureaucratic delays on using a helicopter to transport gear to Camp 2 on the Nepal side. But the jet was more serious as it gave false impressions on when it would relent and allow for acceptable summit days. Everyone hoped it would be like last year with 11 straight days enabling a record number of summits. Meanwhile across four 8000-meter peaks in Nepal and Tibet the canary in the coal mine exposed a wrath of inexperienced climbers with inadequate support. While there were summits, each day brought another death, and another and another. It became clear that too many people were totally unprepared to attempt these serious peaks. However, several extremely qualified climbers also lost their lives, many choosing to forgo supplemental oxygen. On the Nepal side, the ropes finally made the top due to some incredible efforts by a team of Sherpas. 150 members with their Sherpas quickly followed over the next day or so before the jet returned. When the next window appeared, close to 800 people on Everest made their bids but still the weather forecast felt like a dice throw praying for cat’s eyes. Beginning on May 22, hundreds summited early each morning for several days and once again death was in the air. May 23, Nirmal Purja, got his place in history with a shocking photo of a line of climbers on the Hillary Step. The photo came as the death toll on Everest inched up to 11. With the season over, the biggest question is what, if anything, will Nepal do about the crowds, the experience of the climbers and the qualifications of the guides. A New
Everest 2019: Season Over?
One of the last teams known to still be on Everest made a gamble that they could catch the last available window, but as usual this year, the weather had the last word. Scott Woolums with his single client, John, along with three Sherpas: Migma,, Karma, and Namgyl spent much of April trekking in Nepal to acclimatize hoping they could then go hop over to the Tibet side and catch an early window. But Scott, a seasoned mountain guide and Everest summiteer knew it may take patience. I’m not sure he new it would take another month of waiting but they were willing. They watched from the relative comforts of Chinese Base Camp while team after team pushed the limits , sometimes fighting, other times waiting out the crowds and high winds that marked Everest 2019. They went to Advanced Base Camp based on a favorable weather forecast but turned back a short time into that effort, finally they made the call to head up early this week. Almost every other team was off the mountain on both sides. He posted on May 20: Lots of wind in the forecast! We’re launching today for ABC at 21,000 ft. on a 7 to 10 day rotation up high, hopefully up to the summit on 27, 28 or 29. Discussed fixed lines with the Chinese Sirdar (boss) this morning and he is saying tomorrow lines go into 8500 meters and then 22nd to the summit weather permitting. Again the 24th in the afternoon the wind is back for a couple days. We have been planning the next good day after the 25th, which looks very windy. Will be in good position to go in a few days! Good luck to all teams going for 23rd! Scott wrote on my Facebook page on May 24 after I reported on some of the deaths and summits from this year that had occurred during crowded, windy summit windows: Tradgic, but it’s all about timing! We’re here at 25,000 ft on the north ridge of Everest, 36 hrs away from the summit right now, and we’re the only team on this side! Today, May 30, he posted on his website: No Summit, but we’re back down and safe! John and I made a decision to turn around just below Camp 3 on the north side. High winds on the summit ridge above, combined with a short weather window made our choice clear. Safety before glory! We’re in bc now getting ready for the drive to Kathmandu tomorrow, which is probably more dangerous than climbing Everest! A quick note on this season. We made a choice to go after the crowds, and enjoyed a pure mountain experience with only our extended group. Great effort and patience by a veteran. Everest Recap Now that it appears (I think!!) the season is over, I’m writing up my annual recap looking at the entire Everest season. I will look at the hundreds who celebrated achieving their long time dream of standing on top of the world. Yet also never dreamed they would be delayed by man-made forces that were completely avoidable if the mountain were managed differently. I’ll take a closer look at the 21 deaths across the six 8000ers this season and the 11 on Everest alone (hint – crowds were a small reason for the overall deaths.) And I’ll make an attempt at a few recommendation, as if anyone Kathmandu will take notice, it will at least make me feel like I’m doing more than just reporting (and complaining!) This may take a while so look for it next week sometime. I’ll let you know! I did my best to track the teams I could during the summit push and have a preliminary update on how many people summited. I’ll be refining this over the next few days but the true numbers will come from the Himalayan Database later this year. You can see what I am reporting now on the tracker table. As always, thanks for following this season and for your thoughtful comments and … Why this coverage? I like to use these weekend updates to remind my readers that I’m just one person who loves climbing. With 37 serious climbing expeditions including four Everest trips under my belt and a summit in 2011, I use my site to share those experiences, demystify Everest each year and bring awareness to Alzheimer’s Disease. My mom, Ida Arnette, died from this disease in 2009 as have four of my aunts. It was a heartbreaking experience that I never want anyone to go through thus my ask for donations to non-profits where 100% goes to them, and nothing ever to me. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2019: Team Locations and Headlines
LATEST HEADLINE May 31: Season Over 11 Everest Deaths, 900 estimated total summits Welcome to the 2019 edition of Alan Arnette’s annual coverage of the Everest climbing season. I try to provide insight and interpretation of the activities ranging from routes to weather to the challenge and reward of climbing Everest. It’s based on my own three Everest attempts and my 2011 summit plus my climbing experiences of a K2 summit in 2014, Manaslu in 2013 and 30+ more peaks around the world. My reporting uses my own research, sources, and public information. Click for the complete Everest 2019 coverage Current Headlines Read Alan’s complete Everest 2019 Season Summary The Everest 2019 season is over with a member summit rate of 73% on the Nepal side My preliminary stats show: Nepal: 281 members, 378 support for 659 total Tibet: 120 members, 121 support for 241 total Deaths: 11 COUNTRY Nepal: 9 Tibet: 2 OPERATORS “Low-cost” Operators: 8 “High-End” Operators: 3 REASON Crowd Related: 3 Fall: 1 Health: 3 Altitude Related: 8 Previous Headlines May 27 summits by Climbing the Seven Summits on Nepal side with no one else around. Alpenglow member summits Everest- Tibet 10 days from home Muhammad Ali Sadpara summited Lhotse 16 May 2016 Disappointment on there Tibet side that the rope fixers didn’t take advantage of good weather on 15 May EverestER on the Nepal side “After 35 operational days we have just passed 500 patient consultations! With summit week upon us, we expect this number to continue to shoot up. We are seeing much more frostbite and altitude related conditions.” Over 25 Makalu summit to date Over 30 on Kangchenjunga Chinese rope team back to 8300m on Tibet side Tanzania plans cable car for Mount Kilimanjaro – no joke. source Some Nepal climbers are back in KTM for R&R 100 tents reported blown away at C2 on Nepal Side Nepal has issued a record 379 climbing permits to foreigners as of 15 May April, 92 for Lhotse Lots of frustration with EverestLink this year Top countries on Nepal side of Everest: India (75), US (74), China (60), UK (43), Nepal – members, not working (13) Madison Mountaineering and team are coordinating getting loads to C2 with the rope to fix the route to the summit. April 18: Honoring the Sherpas who died in 2014. It looks like there are 364 total people on the Tibet side made up of 144 foreigners, 12 Chinese and 208 Nepalese Sherpa. An additional 73 are reported to be visiting or working at base camp. source A Summit Air airplane veered of the runway in Lukla hitting a helicopter. Three people have died – a pilot and two police officers My early estimate shows over 350 members with 340 Sherpas on Nepal side and 185 members with 150 Sherpas on the Tibet side for total of 500 members/590 Sherpas. Expect these numbers to grow by 25% when the climbing begins in mid April. 2018 was record year with 396 members/406 support, totaling 802 summits by all climbers, all routes. February 27, 2019, an Air Dynasty helicopter carrying Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six other people crashed killing all onboard while flying in a snowstorm. Deaths/Missing – 21 Total – 11 on Everest Climbing The Seven Summits, Everest, May 27: American, Christopher Jon Kulish, 61, died near South Col after summiting Summit Climb, Everest, May 25: British Robin Haynes Fisher, 44, died on descent after summiting Himalayan Ski Treks, Everest, May 24: Nepali Dhruba Bista, 32, died a EBC after evacuation from C3 Seven Summits Treks, Makalu, May 24: Sherpa Nima Tshering Sherpa, died after summiting at C2 360 Expeditions, Everest, May 24: Irish Kevin Hynes, 56, Irish died at North Col after turning back at 8300m. He had previously summited Everest South and Lhotse. Peak Promotion, Everest, May 23: Indian Nihal Bagwan, 25, : Indian, near the South Col Kobler & Partner, Everest, May 23:Ing ‘ Ernst’ Landgraf, 65, died on the 2nd Step after summiting Dreamers Destination Treks, Everest, May 23: Indian Kalpana Dash, 52, Odisha, India died after summit on descent near Balcony Guided by India’s Transcend with logistics from Arun Treks, Everest, May 22: Indian Anjali S Kulkarni, 54 ,from Mumbai, India died after summit on descent near C4 Pioneer Adventures, Everest, May 22: American Don Cash, 54, dead near Hillary Step Seven Summit Treks, Everest, May 17: Indian Ravi Thakar, dead near C4 after summit Seven Summit Treks, Everest, May 16: Irish Seamus Sean Lawless, 39, missing, presumed dead after slipping near the South Col Seven Summit Treks, Makalu, May 16: India Dipankar Ghos, 53, missing after summit Seven Summits Treks, Annapurna, May 3: Malaysian Wui Kin Chin, 48, cause of death unknown. exposed for 3 days at 8400m after summit Seven Summits Trek, Makalu, May 16:Indian Narayan Singh, 35, died of altitude illness at 8200m Independent, Makalu, May 8: Peruvian Richard Hidalgo, 52, died in tent at 6,300m, climbing with no Os. Peak Promotion, Kangchenjunga, May 15,:Indian Biplab Baidya, 48, altitude sickness Peak Promotion, Kangchenjunga, May 15: Indian Kuntal Karar, 46, altitude sickness Peak Promotion, Kangchenjunga, May 15: Chilean Rodrigo Vivanco missing, presumed dead Makalu Xtreme, Lhotse, May 17: Bulgarian Ivan Yuriev Tomov, 35, died after no Os’/support summit Summit Climb, Cho Oyu, April 29: Phujung Bhote Sherpa fell into a crevasse while fixing rope near Camp 2 Connect and Support Click to sign up or cancel email notification of new posts I do coverage for one reason only, raising awareness and funds to slow, stop or prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. If you visit often and appreciate this site, please consider a donation to an Alzheimer’s nonprofit. 100% goes to them, nothing ever to me. Click this link to understand my personal journey with AD that took Ida Arnette in 2009. South Col Route (map) locations are for the majority of each team, individuals may be higher or lower Everest only TEAMS (362 members/16 western guides) EBC C1 C2 C3 C4 S.Col Summits (foreigners/Sherpas) Fixed Line Progress X Adventure Consultants: 7/4 64% member summit e 9/12 Alpine Ascents Int.: 11/2 – 84% member summit e 11/11 Asian Trekking (27) e 7/12 Benegas Brothers: 5/2 – 80% member summit e 4/4 CTSS – Mike Hamill: 29/5 – 79% member summit e 23/35 Himex: 5/2 –
Everest 2019: Summit Wave Recap 7 – Quiet Summits, Another Death
While almost all the teams are packing up at base camps on both sides, a few are still aiming to summit and one did this Monday, May 27 morning. Mike Hammil’s Climbing the Seven Summits‘ team lead by Casey Grom summited with no one else around! They say the weather is perfect and they have the summit all to themselves! Everyone on top so 100% from CTSS for everyone who left Base Camp on a summit bid. Just confirming but 4 climbers, 3 guides, 9 sherpa: Mrika Nikqi – Kosovo Arianit Nikqi – Kosovo Ignacio Montesinos – Argentina Chris Kulish – USA CTSS Guides: Guide Casey Grom – USA Guide Tomas Ceppi – Argentina Guide Parkash Sherpa – Nepal Update: It appears one of the CTSS members listed on their website as a successful summit died on the descent, 61 year-old American lawyer Chris Kulish. Reuters is reporting: Christopher Jon Kulish, 61, scaled the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) peak from the normal Southeast Ridge route in the morning but died suddenly at South Col after descending from the summit, Mira Acharya, a Nepal tourism department official said. Beautiful picture from Garrett Madison: 4 days ago I was savoring one of my favorite views, looking down the summit ridge of Mount Everest, a perfect morning and not many people on the route. Behind and to the left is #Lhotse the 4th highest peak. I’m very thankful that all of our team made it down safely and we are now back in #Kathmandu thanks to helicopter
Everest 2019: Weekend Update May 27 – It’s Not About the Crowds
The third week of May 2019 may go down as one of the best and worse in Everest history. Over 500 people summited but it was not without cost, 10 people died, many of which were avoidable in my view. More are headed up to summit on Sunday, May 26. As I will develop in this post there are four reasons for the deaths on the Nepal side this season: Too many people Too few summit windows Too many inexperienced people climbing inadequate climber support The Joy of the Summit Not to be lost is the joy and satisfaction felt by hundreds who celebrated a life long goal: Peter Wilson We did it! At 4:20am on the 22nd of May, after 55 days and a 10 hour summit push, I was blessed enough to stand in a space that seems to have more to do with the cosmos than it does the earth. The summit of Mt Everest. There was no watershed moment or fireworks as we passed onto the summit ridge, just bitter cold and sheer exhaustion. Phones and gadgets lasted minutes as we tried to take summit pics. I picked up mild frost bite on my left hand and apparently froze my left cornea slightly, all which will heal perfectly. Perhaps this was just my small price to pay to realize a 15 year dream. Chad Gaston: Hello from camp 2, we all made it down safely. We all have our aches and pains. My toes and fingers will be fine in a few months no permanent damage just dead nerves. Will lose most of my toenails, I’m sure, but it could have been much worse. I am still processing the last two days and need some time to clear the facts from hearse, and remember what I saw and felt. So I can tell the real story, of what happened on Everest May 23, 2019.There are so many emotions of joy, relief, sadness, disbelief and so on. It will take some time to sort out my feelings. And Elia Saikaly I have a lot to say and share. I cannot believe what I saw up there. Death. Carnage. Chaos. Lineups. Dead bodies on the route and in tents at camp 4. People who I tried to turn back who ended up dying. People being dragged down. Walking over bodies. Everything you read in the sensational headlines all played out on our summit night. 65 Degrees North, an organization for wounded warriors: On the 21st May, at around 5.30am, I summited the highest mountain in the World! I have finally received a couple of photos from the Sherpas as my down-suit zip was frozen and I was unable to reach my phone to take any photos!This has been the toughest challenge for me, both physically and mentally, especially after a very emotional split from Rich at 27000 ft, then continuing to climb through the night with Tengee and Namgya Sherpa. As I have been covering all spring season, the jet stream has been parked near or on top of the summit the entire season. Instead of moving off in early May, it was stubborn but the strong Sherpas got the ropes to the summit on the Nepal side on May 14, not the latest but still later than usual. A few teams jumped into the early narrow weather window and summited but most laid back for what was predicted as a longer, more stable period when the summit winds would be under 30 mph/48kph. But too many waited. With Nepal issuing a record 381 foreign climbing permits combined with a requirement that each climber must have a Sherpa guide, hundreds were put into a choice of attempting the summit this past week or gambling that a window would emerge later before the season shuts down due to the incoming monsoons. Many, many choose this past week’s window. The Jet The jet stream was predicted to be “wobbly” this past week which simply meant there would be periods of high and low winds. Weather forecasting became an art, not a science. In last Sunday’s Weekend Update May 19 , Chris Tomer of Tomer Weather Solutions commented on the jet stream predicting, “The jet will definitely weaken but it will wobble back and forth. The first big wind drop occurred on the 19th with another to follow on the 20th. The sweet spot may very well be 22-24. Then the jet slams the summit.” He was pretty much spot on. Everest – 700+ Summits, 11 Deaths On Monday, May 20, Mingma Sherpa’s Imagine Nepal got the week going with seven members on the summit plus seven Sherpas. They were the only summits on Monday morning. On Tuesday, May 21, with teams staged at the South Col, Asian Trekking made it but others didn’t like the wobbly winds and stayed put. David Hamilton of Jagged Globe posted: Summit bid postponed due to high winds. Will stay at C4 and try tomorrow night It wasn’t a lot better on the Tibet side. Jake Norton commented: I’ve certainly had better days moving up the North Ridge, but I’ve certainly also had worse. Our team made a big move today from ABC to Camp 2 in a push, trying to make the most of this possible weather window. Lots of vertical, lots of wind, but some sun and calm too. Fingers crossed that the wind dissipates overnight. Then came Wednesday, May 22, the day many had targeted as THE day to summit. It would be the best of windows, and the worst of widows … And it continued into Thursday. Meteoexploration offered this forecast of a two day window and maybe a day and half early next week. Teams jumped into this window, crowds be damned. IMG reported they got 36 climbers on the summit. Jagged Globe said 12 on top. Climbing the Seven Summits ended up with a whopping 42 on the summit just this past week with more to come. Seven Summits Treks had summited over 60 in the first window and now another 17 on top. The volume
Everest 2019: Summit Wave Recap 6 – Update
As the season winds down, there are a few teams that choose to wait out the winds and the crowds. We have summits on the Tibet side Friday morning, May 24. Amazingly, there are a few teams still waiting for early next week. UPDATE: Another death: Tibet side 360 Expeditions: Kevin Hynes, 56, Irish died at North Col after turning back at 8300m. He had previously summited Everest Nepal and Lhotse. Also on the Tibet side with Kobler & Partner, Ernst Langrast, died near 8600-meters after summiting. Dhruba Bista, died a EBC after evacuation from C3. He was with Himalayan Ski Treks. Now confirmed, Nihal Bagwan: Indian, died near the South Col. He was with Peak Promotion. On Makalu, Nima Tshering Sherpa, died at C2 after summiting. He was working for Seven Summits Treks. Wave 6 Summary – 20+ Summits Tibet: 40+ Summits Furtenbach Adventures: got their team on the summit on the Tibet side Friday morning May 24: All members from our Classic team just summited this morning, again 100% success. Congratulations and a safe descent! We post here when everyone is safe down in ABC. Alpenglow also made summit on the Tibet side: Our Rapid Ascent Team has just reached the summit of Everest! The team is led by @chadpeele @carla.perez.ec and is 5 climbers strong including @carolinegleich and @rob.lea. The team scored a great weather window with sunny skies and 10km winds (but cold!) They summited at 7:05am local time and spent 10 minutes on the summit. Congratulations team! Get down safely for a well-deserved celebration and a good rest!” 7 Summits Club had their second team summit. No info on how many. Adventure Peaks also saw summits over a couple of days: 5 members/5 Sherpas Georgios reached the summit yesterday with Dawa climbing directly from 7800m and missing out the top camp. They are now back at ABC. The rest of the team moved up to the top camp on the 23rd May and set out for their summit bid last night at 20:30hrs local time. With a monumental effort Nick reached 8500m and decided to head down with Persemba. They are now at ABC. Di, Kirsty, Paula and the rest of the Sherpas pushed on up reaching the summit at 05:00hrs this morning. After a very long descent they are now at the North Col tired, but ecstatic. They will descend to ABC tomorrow and back to BC the day after that. A big well done to all from the AP team in very challenging conditions. On Makalu, Nirmal Purja MBE: “Project Possible – 14/7” now has six 8000ers with Annapurna in late April then Dhaulagiri, Kangchenjunga then Everest and Lhotse now Makalu. Five New Deaths Himalayan Ski Treks, Everest: Dhruba Bista, died a EBC after evacuation from C3 Seven Summits Treks, Makalu: Nima Tshering Sherpa, died after summiting at C2 360 Expeditions, Everest: Kevin Hynes, 56, Irish died at North Col after turning back at 8300m. He had previously summited Everest South and Lhotse. Peak Promotion, Everest: Nihal Bagwan: Indian, near the South Col Kobler & Partner, Everest: Ernst Langrast, died near 8600-meters after summiting I do my best to track the teams I can during the summit push but don’t have direct communication with any of them or know the status of any individual. You can see what I am seeing on the tracker table. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything!
Everest 2019: 3 New Deaths, Now 9 on Everest, 19 Overall
Three new deaths were reported on Everest during last 24 hours up to Midnight Thursday, May 24, 2019. Summit pushes are underway now. The winds have returned plus the routes are extremely crowded on both sides due to few summit weather windows this spring. Thus far this spring, there have been 15 deaths across six 8,000-meter peaks: Everest, Cho Oyu, Annapurna, Makalu, Kanchenjunga, and Lhotse. The deceased climbers have been: 7 Indian, 1 Sherpa, 1 Taiwanese, 1 American, 1 Bulgarian, 1 Chilean, 1 Peruvian, and 1 TBD Summit Windows Normally there are between 7 to 12 good weather days for summit opportunities. Last year, 2018, was unprecedented with 11 straight days of manageable winds that allowed for a record number of summits. This year, 2019, there have been only two windows thus far consisting of five summit days and the winds are forecasted to return on Friday afternoon, Nepal time. With so few opportunities and record permits issued by Nepal, 381 to foreigners at last count, plus at least one Sherpa per member (some teams had two each) or over 800 people, it is simply impossible to squeeze that many people through the notorious bottlenecks on both sides. Bottlenecks On the Southeast Ridge, the climb from the South Col to the Balcony is the start of problems. Large teams start off bunched together, going too slow. With only one fixed line, everyone gets jammed up, unable or unwilling to pass. As climbers approach the South Summit, the route goes over rocks and causes inexperienced climbers to waste precious energy, struggling to maintain balance and progress with sharp crampon spikes scuffing and slipping against slick rocks. They hold their mechanical ascenders aka jumars with a death grip pulling hard against the thin nylon rope. With over 100 people on one line, kudos to the hard working Sherpas who put the line in making sure they will hold under such extreme stress… hopefully. Going down from the South Summit is the Cornice Traverse which is a meter wide sidewalk with 1000-meter drop on both sides causeing people to go excruciatingly slow for fear of falling. Finally there is what’s left of the Hillary Step. While no longer a rock crack to be climbed, it is a 45-degree angled snow slope that slows everyone down. This year there were waits of two to three hours in that area. On the Tibet side, there are the Steps, especially the Second Step where again inexperienced climbers struggle to scale the lower rock bands and then have issue climbing the aluminum ladder. On the descent it can be even worse especially in high winds and exhaustion setting in. In 2019, we are hearing horror stories of summit pushes from the South Col to the summit taking 10, 12 even 14 hours. And due to the jams, the return to the Col, is taking up to another six hours making for 20 hours pushes – that’s insane. The best teams this year, managed their pace and times well and avoided most of these issue but if a team was unorganized, inexperienced or simply too slow, problems arose. EverestEr is talking about many cases of frostbite and rescues including a dangerous long-line rescue today from Camp 3. Over 200 summits this morning and more expected tomorrow. Lots of celebrating but some were not so lucky. We evacuated 2 recently; one with severe altitude illness and this patient with deep frostbite who climbed on to the summit despite feeling numbness in his toes. For comparison sake, these were my times in 2011 at age 54. Note that for my first three attempts, I turned myself back just below the Balcony after taking 6 hours to reach that spot. I knew I was going to slowly to be safe. In 2011, Kami Sherpa and I moved fast and efficiently and were the first few people on top that year so zero crowd issues. I used IMG that year. South Col – Balcony: 3:40 Balcony (with 20 minute break) – South Summit: 2:30 hours South Summit (with 20 minute break)- top of Hillary Step: 1:00 hour Hillary Step – Summit: 30 minutes Descent Summit – Balcony: 2 hours Balcony – South Col: 1 hour 3 New Everest 2019 Deaths Sadly another Indian climber has died. Guided by India’s Transcend with logistics from Nepali based Arun Treks, Anjali S Kulkarni from Mumbai, India apparently collapsed after summiting with her the husband, Sharad Kulkarni. She was close to the South Col. Nepal based Dreamers Destination client Kalpana Das, 53, of Odisha, India summited but died on descent near Balcony. She had attempted Everest in 2004, and 2006 without a summit but did summit in 2008. On the Tibet side of Everest, Swiss operator Kobler & Partner said that one of the members only identified by his first name, Ernst, died after summiting around 8600-meters/28,2125-feet. Yet another Indian is reported to have died on the descent. Nihal Bagwan from Maharsthra near the South Col, again. If confirmed, this would be the 16th death and 7th Indian. I will update these stories as new information becomes available. My deep condolences to their family and friends. Alan Memories are Everything Deaths/Missing – 21 – 11 Everest Climbing the Seven Summits, Everest: American, Christopher Jon Kulish, 61, died near South Col after summiting Everest Summit Climb, Everest: British Robin Haynes Fisher, 44, died on descent after summiting Himalayan Ski Treks, Everest: Nepali Dhruba Bista, died a EBC after evacuation from C3 Seven Summits Treks, Makalu: Sherpa Nima Tshering Sherpa, died after summiting at C2 360 Expeditions, Everest: Irish Kevin Hynes, 56, Irish died at North Col after turning back at 8300m. He had previously summited Everest South and Lhotse. Peak Promotion, Everest: Indian Nihal Bagwan: Indian, near the South Col Kobler & Partner, Everest: Ernst Landgraf, 65, died on the 2nd Step after summiting Dreamers Destination Treks, Everest: Indian Kalpana Das, 49, Odisha, India died after summit on descent near Balcony Guided by India’s Transcend with logistics from Arun Treks, Everest: Indian Anjali S Kulkarni, 54 ,from Mumbai, India died after summit on descent near C4 Pioneer
Everest 2019: Summit Wave 5 Recap – 3 Deaths
Another big day on Everest with well over 200 total summits from both sides. The winds picked back up testing some climbers along with extremely cold temperatures. Everest ER is noting a lot of frostbite. Sadly, yet another death. Sherpa Family Summits I’m so happy and proud of Kami Sherpa, whom I summited Everest and K2 with, that he summited Everest with two of his sons while working for Climbing The Seven Summits team. Mingma Dorjee Sherpa became what he thinks is the first Nepal educated Engineer to summit. He graduated a few years ago with an Electrical Engineering degree. Also Phinjodorjee Sherpa, Kami’s oldest son and brother of Minga summited with them. New Route Update: First Attempt Over, Considering Another Looks like Cory Richards and Topo Mena are struggling with the conditions. Cory posted: @estebantopomena 1st attempt: @estebantopomena and I spent 40 hours on the wall with one open bivvy at 7300 m (around 24,000 ft). The conditions we encountered coupled with our chosen tactics compounded by exertion meant that we had to turn back at around 7,600 m. Downclimbing safely took another 7 hours from our high point. Back in ABC and reassessing our approach, we are looking into the early days of June for a potential second window and attempt. Is it a failure? In the most strict sense of the word, Absolutely. But is it a building block? For sure. I’ve always maintained that this is truly a journey vs. a summit sport. But to truly understand the whole process, you have to get to the summit. Fingers crossed that happens this season. And Topo’s perspective: To retrace steps on such a big route is painful, not just physically but also on an emotional level knowing all that is behind each meter you climbed up. Yesterday @coryrichards and I decided to abandon our first real attempt of the dreamed #theLine; what happened? A tight weather window and marginal conditions that simply kicked our asses! Well, anyway we had a hell of a first go that took us up to 7600m and most importantly, we learned so much more about the nature of this beast we are dealing with. Needless to say that even tho this time things didn’t happen as we wanted, its the mountains right? All we can do now is to be grateful ’cause the mountain let us leave it’s grounds, adjust what is in our hands to be adjusted and trust that all that is not in our control will play a more favorable role on the next go. Today is just recover our bodies and start planning the next move… 13th, 14th and 15th Deaths Sadly another Indian climber has died increasing the total to 13 death across all the 8000ers this season including 4 on Everest. Overall 6 Indian climbers have died this season. Guided by India’s Transcend with logistics from Arun Treks, Anjali S Kulkarni from Mumbai, India apparently collapsed after summiting with her the husband, Sharad Kulkarni. She was close to the South Col per reports. Nepal based Dreamers Destination client Kalpana Das, of Odisha, India summited but died on descent near Balcony. It’s reported she had summited Everest in 2008. On the Tibet side of Everest, Swiss operator Kobler & Partner said that one of the members only identified by his first name, Ernst, died after summiting around 8600-meters/28,2125-feet My deep condolences to their family and friends. A Record? With so many people going for the summit, many are wondering if this is a record year from the Nepal side. Using the outstanding reference from the Himalayan Database and little coaching for HDB Zar, Richard Salisbury, I found that perhaps May 22, 2019 may have in fact broken the record set on May 19, 2016 of 207 summits. But we will have to wait for the great folks at the HDB to gather all the data before crowning the winner. I’m estimating close to 300 summits on this Wednesday alone. Hillay Slope? With the death near the Hillary Step yesterday, a lot of people are wondering if it is still the bottleneck it once was pre-2015 earthquake. Well apparently yes. With 2 to 3 hour waits to descend it seems to be an obstacle when the mountain is crowded like yesterday. This is a picture from last year courtesy of Mike Hamill and Casey Groom: And from my files from pre-earthquake: As you can see, climbers no longer deal with the off-width rock crack but it still a 45 degree angled snow slope. And at almost 29,000-feet, even with supplemental oxygen, its tough for most people going up and down. I’m unclear if there were dual ropes – an up and down this year. Wave 5 Summary – Well over 200 from both sides Nepal – 104++ that I know of. Nirmal Purja MBE: “Project Possible – 14/7” made Everest and Lhotse. He now has five 8000ers strait with Annapurna inn late April then Dhaulagiri, Kangchenjunga. Flying by helicopter, he now at Makalu where he will go directly from bae camp to the summit. Climbing the Seven Summits: 1 member, 1 Sherpa after a huge night last night of 42 summits Adventure Consultants: 3 members, 4 Sherpas Benegas Brothers Expeditions: 4 members, 4 Sherpas Damian Benegas (USA), Enrique Clausen (URUGUAY), Chedden Bote (NEPAL) and George Vouloumanos (CANADA) topped out at 07:09 local time, 23 May 2019, followed by Jorge Luiz Decurgez (ARGENTINA), Rowena Lewthwaite (UK), Lopsang Sherpa IFMGA (NEPAL), Dawa Gyaljen Sherpa (NEPAL)and Khangdu Sherpa (NEPAL) at 09:20. International Mountain Guides (IMG): 6 member, 10 Sherpas (posted names in last post) Summit Climb: 6 members, 6 Sherpas Himex: 1 member/2 Sherpas For Rangers: 1 member, 2 Sherpas Dreamers Destination: 7 members, 8 Sherpas. The 2 Window team of Furdiki Sherpa and Nima Doma Sherpa summited plus: Summit Date: May 22, 2019 (Wednesday)1. Phurba Tenjing Sherpa & Tsang Yin Hung, Hongkong @ 3am 2. Dakipa Sherpa & Gopal Shrestha, Nepal @ 8-8:15am 3. Pemba Dorje Sherpa & Kanchhi Maya Tamang, Nepal @ 8-8:15am
Everest 2019: Summit Wave 5 Underway – Update 5
Update 5: Benegas Brothers summited Furtenbach “Flash” team summited Adventure Consultants posted their summiteers: Alexander Pancoe Roman Tschupp – main team member Guide – Rob Smith – 6th summit Passang Bhote – 11th summit Chheten Dorji Sherpa – 7th summit Guru Bhote – 2nd summit Passang Angyu Bhote – 3rd summit Update 4: Sam James Taylor of the For Ranger team has made the summit with not named Sherpas. On the Tibet side, summits are bring reported: Climbalaya team for successfully summiting. Mingma Sherpa at base camp reported that seven clients summited at 5:58 am with seven Sherpas. Guide Valentyn Sypavin, Pavel, Ekaterina Klenova, Vitalii , Kozubskyi, Pavlo Sydorenko, Catherine Marcelle Rosa Vulliez, Kuntal, Parth Upadhyaya, Dawa Tenzing Sherpa, Chhiring Wangchu Sherpa, Nima Nuru Sherpa, Mingma nuru Sherpa, Gyaluk Sherpa, Phurba Sherpa, Mingma Nuru Sherpa (A). Update 3: Adventure Consultants reported summits at 5.15am, 23 May 2019. Lydur Gudmundsson, Iceland Leifer Svavarsson, Iceland Chhewang Dorji Sherpa, Nepal Dawa Bhote, Nepal Dawa Wongchu Sherpa Update 2: Looks like one of the first summits on the Nepal side is from IMG’s Bruce Terry around 6 am Update 1: Crowds are reported below the Balcony on the Nepal side slowing people down … again. Winds are reported to be light on both sides. After a huge day on May 22 with an estimated 300 total summits from both sides, May 23 is shaping up to be just as large. There were reports of two to three hour delays near what is left of the Hillary Step yesterday. It looks like the winds are calm now on both sides on the mountain and may stay that way through Friday when they are expected to pick back up on Saturday, May 25. Summit Wave 5 is underway Nepal – Calm Winds, Summits Bids Underway The summit pushes have begun. They are looking to top out on Thursday morning, May 23. Teams on the move include: Adventure Consultants: The Adventure Consultants 2019 Everest Summit Bid for Alex and Rob has begun! Ang Dorjee called in via radio from Camp 4 to let know that Alex, Rob and the main team are heading off at 9.50pm local Nepal time. Current conditions at the South Col are calm and clear, and what a fantastic way to start. Benegas Brothers Expeditions Team below Balcony! Here they will change bottles take a short rest! International Mountain Guides (IMG) Greg reports that our second Everest team have passed the Balcony and are moving smoothly. It is a nice night and the winds are light. Madison Mountaineering We are planning to leave this evening at 9:00 PM for our summit attempt. Hopefully reaching the top the next morning, which will be May 23rd. So, everybody’s doing great up here, the team did excellent coming up to high camp yesterday. Summit Climb Tonight at 8 PM second team will GO for the Summit. Wish them best up luck. For Rangers Sam James Taylor has carried on with the team and is currently at Camp 4, exhausted after a few massive days but ready to attempt the final 12-hour push to the summit. Other teams that were expected to go up tonight but not verified include: Dreamers Destination Friends of the Himalaya Mountain Professionals HST/Myrmidon second team Tibet – Ropes to Summit, No Winds Usually teams on the Tibet side like to talk about how uncrowded it is compared to the Nepal, but this year with the compressed summit windows, both are seeing similar problems. Alexander Abramov of 7 Summits Club posted: Now the first team is staying for the night at 7700. All members came to the camp for 4.5-5 hours. Everything is OK.. But here is too many people. At least 150 people are going to the summit at the same time… The summit pushes have begun looking to top out on Thursday morning, May 23. Teams on the Tibet side on the move include: 360 Expeditions The whole team are at camp 3. 8,300m. The launching spot for their summit bid. Furtenbach Adventures Flash now at Camp 3 – only 500m below summit… Resting for the upcoming SUMMIT PUSH! Kobler & Partner This morning we go on Mt. #Everest towards Camp III at 8300 m. Other teams that were expected to go up tonight but not verified include: Expedition Himalaya 7 Summits Club Summit Climb I do my best to track the teams I can during the summit push but don’t have direct communication with any of them or know the status of any individual. You can see what I am seeing on the tracker table. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything!