Everest 2019: Summit Wave 2 Update and Recap, Kang Deaths – Update
UPDATE: 2 Deaths, a missing climber and 2 more needed helicopter evacuation off Kanchenjunga. Over 32 Everest summits on Thursday, May 16,2019, morning. 60+ Thus far. We have more summits on Thursday, May 16 and this may be the all for a few days as the jet returns. Teams on both the Nepal and Tibet side are leaving base camps in a few days targeting May 23-26 as their summits day. But there two Indian climbers who have perished on Kangchenjunga Big Picture – A Bit of a Wait for Tough Climbing Conditions I posted this yesterday but bears repeating. Weather Outlook I reached out to yet another world-class weather forecaster for his views on these windows. Marc De Keyser is well known throughout the climbing world for being one of the most accurate forecasters not only for mountains but also for the Antarctic. This is his view for Everest over the next week or so: it has sure been an interesting season, weatherwise. And actually it still is. In my forecast this morning i highlited the presence of the subtropical jet stream (SJT), meandering from East China via central Nepal, NW India across the Indian Ocean towards North Africa. This feature dominates the weather conditions over the Himalayas for this period, probably till the 23rd or 24th of May. The STJ will constantly be in the vicinity of the Himalayas: the good side of this is that the air mass does not become very unstable and it is unlikely that we will get any significant convective development (thunderstorms) during the next week – so pretty good atmospheric will prevail. However the proximity of the jet generates a situation where it is likely that the +8000mr wind has to be taken in account almost every day again. I am pretty sure that on the 17th and the 18th wind will be far out of limits, where on the 19th the wind becomes again a bit weaker but still generating an uncomfortable feeling. And that is what i expect also for the period beyond the 19th. Winds varying around 20kt: not strong enough to cancel the climb but not weak enough to be pleasant. So i expect that it is going be tough. Of course we all know that long range forecast are always prone for significant changes. Lets hope everyone stays safe and no significant accidents happen. Slow Moving In watching the climbers on Thursday morning, they moved well. If you want to understand how they are moving, this short clip from Cory Richards does a good job of showing and explaining … and remember he is climbing without supplemental oxygen, something that less that 3% of the almost 9,500 Everest summiters have done: New Route Update: Last rotation of Acclimatization Complete This video illustrates the reality of altitude…Climbing. Up. Hill. Slowly. Topo and I descended from our final acclimatization rotation yesterday, seen here, and are recovering in Shegar, Tibet (altitude 14,000ft/4300m). Many have asked what the mask is that we are wearing, so here is a brief explanation: We all loose moisture with every exhale. And being we are at altitude, which is inherently dehydrating, every drop of hydration matters. Moisture loss and dehydration can cause diminished blood flow to the muscles, reduced kidney function and fatigue (to name a few). In addition, low humidity can cause dry nasal passages which can result in the body being more susceptible to viruses and infections. Wearing a mask helps us to retain moisture and combat dehydration at a slower rate. If you haven’t seen already. Take a gander at my instagram stories. It gives a good understanding of the winds we’ve been experiencing. @estebantopomena and I are looking forward to blue skies and little wind soon. Until then…rest and recovery. Nepal – Summits Summits for May 16 Summits on Wednesday, May 16, 2019 for a Thursday summits : Ascent Himalaya had a good day with several people on top including Thomas Lone who summited at 4 am and Didrik Ground Dukefoss a bit later! Great job!! and several other climbers are near the summit around 7 am Nepal time including Rohit Shrestha – a friend from Colorado. AH Everest Expedition 2019Team has successfully summited this morning approx 6:30 am and safely reached back to camp 4.We would like to Congratulate all our members and our Sherpa for their hard work for making it successful. 1.Thomas Erling Lone 2.Haakon William Skog Erlandsen 3.Didrik Bakke Dukefoss
Everest 2019: Kanchenjunga Indian Climbers In Trouble – Sad Update
A desperate situation is underway with everyone doing what they can to help Indian climbers Biplab Baidya and Kuntal Karar who are in immediate need on Kangchenjunga. Rescue efforts are doing their best to save these two climbers but it is getting dire. Nirmal Purja and Mingma David Sherpa and Gesman Tamang who made the summit for their 3rd 8000er, after Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, gave their assistance but it appears to have done all they can. Apparently, the two climbers have a membership with Global Rescue who gave me this update: I wanted to let you know about an unfolding situation on Kangchenjunga that we believe involve some of the same individuals as the recent Annapurna events. Earlier today, two of our members were unable to continue their descent from near the summit due at least in part to altitude ailments, hypothermia and snowblindness. Based on his social media feeds, Nimral Purja nearby and he and his team are involved in the rescue. https://twitter.com/Nimraldai/status/1128636607047839744 At present, they are bringing the climbers to Camp 4 planning to spend the night there and then attempt to bring them to a location in the morning from which we are standing by to evacuate them – likely camp 2. It’s notable that at last count, Global Rescue has performed 478 operations in Nepal including 278 evacuations since 2013 so our teams on the ground in the area are monitoring this very closely. We can provide you with information as it becomes available. However, a later update says they are not in C4 per Dream Wanderlust, an Indian website that tracks all things Himalayan, especially for the Indian team posted: The Sherpa team, trying to rescue two injured Indian climbers Biplab Baidya and Kuntal Karar, have returned to Camp-4 of Kangchenjunga, as reported from the Base Camp. Even after the herculean rescue operation, performed by Nirmal Purja and his team yesterday, their sincere effort yielded no positive outcome yet. Unesh Zirpe, leader of the expedition team Giripremi from Base Camp says this morning,”There is almost no hope that any further rescue is possible bring Biplab and Kuntal back to Camp-4 at this stage.” Similar version was affirmed by the head of the Agency. Both of the sources have confirmed that their is almost no possibility that any further rescue effort can save these two lives. Ramesh Ray, another climber from the same team, was also rescued by the Sherpas and brought to Camp-4 at around 10 PM. His health is also on the verge of critical deterioration, suffering from altitude sickness leading to HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) and snow blindness. Climber Rudraprasad Halder, now staying at Camp-4 is also found to have suffered from frostbite as per the latest information received from Base Camp this morning. Both Ramesh and Rudra would be evacuated by rescue heli from near camp-3 this morning, as Keshab Prasad Paudyal, head of their handling agency reported this morning. Biplab Baidya, Kuntal Karar, and Ramesh Ray were part of a five-member team from West Bengal for their Kangchenjunga expedition. Four (Sk Sahabuddin, Rudraprashad Halder, Ramesh Ray, and Biplab Baidya) amongst them, have reportedly reached the summit point yesterday in the morning. Afterward, Biplab and Kuntal fell sick on their way down and asked for help from an altitude above 8000m. It was believed that Kuntal was suffering from HAPE. One team member (possibly Rudraprasad) sent an SOS to their family at around 3:12 PM via GPS device asking for urgent help. Device read an elevation of 8271m. Nirmal Purja with two other Sherpas Gesman Tamang, and Mingma David Sherpa, are said to have responded promptly to the request for the rescue operation from an altitude of 8200m. They (Purja and his fellow team) were on their way down from the summit of Kangchenjunga. Also, by then, three more Sherpas from Peak Promotion Agency, had left Camp-4 to join the rescue operation, with life support as reported by Giripremi from the Kangchenjunga Base Camp. I will update as new information is available. Update: News reports say the two have died after being unable to be rescued. My condolences to their families., Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything!
Everest 2019: Summit Wave 1 Recap, Wave 2 Underway
We have more summits on Wednesday, May 15 and a few more are trying to get on top of Everest on Thursday morning as well. Overall it was good day with low winds but cold temps. But this window is closing on the 16th and the next doesn’t look great. Update: Climbers on #everest2019 making good progress this Thursday morning. As of 2:15 am local, most are around 8400 meters /27,500-feet between the Balcony and South Summit. This is when the mind game become important. Weather good. Big Picture – A Bit of a Wait for Tough Climbing Conditions I reached out to yet another world-class weather forecaster for his views on these windows. Marc De Keyser is well known throughout the climbing world for being one of the most accurate forecasters not only for mountains but also for the Antarctic. This is his view for Everest over the next week or so: it has sure been an interesting season, weatherwise. And actually it still is. In my forecast this morning i highlited the presence of the subtropical jet stream (SJT), meandering from East China via central Nepal, NW India across the Indian Ocean towards North Africa. This feature dominates the weather conditions over the Himalayas for this period, probably till the 23rd or 24th of May. The STJ will constantly be in the vicinity of the Himalayas: the good side of this is that the air mass does not become very unstable and it is unlikely that we will get any significant convective development (thunderstorms) during the next week – so pretty good atmospheric will prevail. However the proximity of the jet generates a situation where it is likely that the +8000mr wind has to be taken in account almost every day again. I am pretty sure that on the 17th and the 18th wind will be far out of limits, where on the 19th the wind becomes again a bit weaker but still generating an uncomfortable feeling. And that is what i expect also for the period beyond the 19th. Winds varying around 20kt: not strong enough to cancel the climb but not weak enough to be pleasant. So i expect that it is going be tough. Of course we all know that long range forecast are always prone for significant changes. Lets hope everyone stays safe and no significant accidents happen. Nepal – Summits and More Pushes underway More for May 16 Happening NOW! I’m sure there are more than one teams who are on their bid Wednesday, May 16, 2019 for a Thursday summits but I only know about : Ascent Himalaya Kenton Cool with Michael May 15 Summits: 30+ Seven Summits Trek’s Indian Team: Seven Summits Treks says the team leader, Kami Rita Sherpa summited. at 7:50 am but no word on the rest of the team. This was Kami Rita’s 23rd summit, a record. I’m told the entire Indian team summit and will pas on their names when I get them. Climbing The Seven Summits’s private team summited: Tenji Sherpa and Mark Wilkins! Myrmidon Expeditions’s team of Kirstie Ennis, Rob Gowler, and Christopher Paul along with the support of climbing Sherpas (Sange Sherpa – climbing lead, Dharche Bhote, and Chhebi Bhote) turned back around 8600-meters/28,215-feet due to reportedly running out of time. To wrap up yesterday, May 14: 8 Everest/12 Lhotse Madison Mountaineering‘s Garrett Madison and Himalayan Guides who are hosting/managing the rope team said 8 Sherpas got the ropes to the summit at 1:15 on the 14th. No members were reported to have summited. Imagine Nepal’s Mingma Sherpa put 12 people on the summit of Lhotse on Tuesday, May 14th including the first Greeks and Pakistani. A fun video of the Everest rope team on the summit Monday: “Rope fixing is really hard on Everest. Especially, on the last summit day but we have done the work and we feel really proud”, Ang Purba Sherpa, member of the rope fixing team told Dream Wanderlust today from Everest Base Camp. “But the weather was so nice,” he added. Summit Video from Ang Phurba Sherpa, one of the member of rope-fixing team. Tibet – Planning That side is preparing. Rolfe Oostra Mountaineer at 360 Expeditions gave us their plan: Very loosely dated between the 22- 28 May on the hope that the winds blow themselves out. 1. BC (5,100m) to ABC (6,400m). 2. Rest day. 3. ABC to North Col (7,100m). 4. North Col to C2 (7,700m) Starts O2 this morning. @3 liters p/min. Sleep on O2 @2 liters p/min. 5. C2 to C3 (8,300m) @3 liters p/min. Once arrived: rehydrate and sleep as much as possible. 6. Summit attempt. Allocated 3 cylinders of O2 per person @4 liters p/min. ** Additional cache of spare O2 at 2nd step. After summit (inshallah) Descend as low as possible (ABC ideal) 7. Descend ABC – BC And Morten Emil Rasmussen gave a nice first person update on his Summit Climb team: Thanks for all the birthday wishes – Would like to reply everyone but access to Facebook in Tibet is limited. We are at Base Camp 5200m preparing for our summit attempt. We were sleeping at North Col 7100m beginning of May and all were feeling fine, though in the morning we got hit by 40-50knots gusty winds. Feelt like a small earthquake every time these winds from Cyclone Fani hit. We lost a few tents as Well. Right now our Belgian weather forecaster Marc De Kayser expect High winds until 21th May and we hope to make our summit push 23-25th May, though still uncertainty about the weather. The Chineese with better weather forecasts are expected to move for summit 21th/22nd. We have fixed ropes to Camp 3 and sherpas have prepared our Camp 2. So starting to look promishing. O2 saturation is at 87% and eating like a pig
Everest 2019: Summit Wave 1 – Update
After what some are calling a historic day with summits on four of the 8000-meter peaks mainly by the rope teams, the mountains remain busy on Wednesday morning in Nepal as this 2 day window comes to a close. The ropes on the Tibet side reached 8300 meters but the fixers are retreating in advance of forecasted high winds. I’ll update the summits using the terminology “Summit Wave.” Yesterday was Summit Wave 0 with the outstanding work of the Sherpas to get the ropes to the summit. I’ll primarily focus on Everest but when information is available for the other 8000ers, I’ll add it. Big Picture – Good News, Bad News OK, the ropes are in on the Nepal side. That’s the good news. The jet stream is forecasted to move back on top of the summit for 5 to 7 days. That’s the bad news. And the ropes are not on the Tibet side summit. More bad news. So it was and is exciting to see how many people will summit this Wednesday morning in Nepal as they will get to go home now! (once they get back to Kathmandu!) Nepal updated their permit list to show 379 member permits were issued. Double that with the Sherpas in support and subtract a handful that are trying right now, around 30, and that leaves 728 humans all planning their summit push between May 20/21 and 29/30. Or 9 days. IF the jet behaves itself and stays away, 9 days is tight but doable to accommodate that many climbers. If it returns early or leaves late, this year might be tough. There are a lot of conversation going on within the guide community right now. Nepal – Summit Pushes underway More for May 15 Happening NOW! Teams that should be on their bid or even summited with this post at 7:30 am Wednesday, May 15, 2019.: Climbing The Seven Summits’s private team Ascent Himalaya Myrmidon Expeditions with Kristie Ennis – you can follow her progress on her tracker May 15 Summits Seven Summits Trek’s Indian Team: Seven Summits Treks says the team leader, Kami Rita Sherpa summited. at 7:50 am but no word on the rest of the team. This was Kami Rita’s 23 summit. To wrap up yesterday, May 14: Madison Mountaineering‘s Garrett Madison and Himalayan Guides who are hosting/managing the rope team said 8 Sherpas got the ropes to the summit at 1:15 on the 14th. No members were reported to have summited. Imagine Nepal’s Mingma Sherpa put 12 people on the summit of Lhotse on Tuesday, May 14th including the first Greeks and Pakistani. Tibet – Planning With the ropes still not to the summit, the Tibet side teams were forced to skip this narrow window and plan for the one after May 20. The ropes are at Camp 3, around 8300-meters/27,230-feet. So lots of planning activity on this side as the same window should emerge for them. Look for teams to leave Chinese Base Camp this weekend or sooner. The New Line Alpenglow posted this update on the new route: @estebantopomena and @coryrichards have headed all the way down the mountain and into the town of Shegar to get a solid rest before their big push Others 8000ers Makalu Summits! The 5 Sherpa rope team from Seven Summits Treks on Makalu got to the summit at 8:45 on the 14th. Other climbers turned back due to extreme cold. It was reported to be -18F/27C!! There are more climbers trying this morning, Wednesday, May 15. Update: Summit by Sarah Strattan and Brad Johnson in what Brad described as “perfect conditions.” Kanchenjunga Summits May 15! And 6 Sherpas stood on the top of Mt Kangchenjunga at 15:10 on the 14th from Seven Summits Treks. And the success continued on the 15th with 5 members with 5 Seven Sumits Treks Sherpas (no names provided for the Sherpas!) 1. VIRIDIANA ALVAREZ CHAVEZ – MEXICO 2. KLARA KOLOUCHOVA – CZECH REPUBLIC 3. SOHPIE MARIE LAVAUD – SWITZERLAND 4. STEFAN IVANOV STEFANOV- BULGARIA 5. TOMAZ ROTAR – REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA Sherpas: 1. CHHEPAL SHERPA – OKHALDHUNGA
Everest 2019: Summit Wave 0 – Everest, Lhotse and More!!!
We have summits on Everest, Lhotse Makalu and Kangchenjunga. This is a 2 day window and a few teams are attempting to thread the needle. 30 people are reported staged at the South Col for the next Everest attempt tonight, May 14th. I’ll report in as information is available. Nepal – Everest and Lhotse Summits Everest Rope Team Summits! Madison Mountaineering‘s Garrett Madison and Himalayan Guides who are hosting/managing the rope team gave this update: Alan, our team reached the summit at 1:45 PM today (May 14th). This is to inform you that the following members of rope fixing team of Madison Mountaineering Everest expedition 2019 team has reached the top of Mt. Everest at ……… on May 14, 2019 Details of summiter 1. Siddhi Bahadur Tamang – group leader – Lamabagar -5, Dolakha 2. Pasdawa Sherpa – Makalu -9, Sankhuwasava 3. Dorji Gyalgen Sherpa – Khumjung – 8, Solukhumbu 4. Pasang Dawa Sherpa – Khumjung – 8, Solukhumbu 5. Dawa Nurbu Sherpa – Makalu-9, Sankhuwasava 6. Ming Dorje Sherpa – Makalu-4, Sankhuwasava 7. Aang Phurba Sherpa – Yaphu-9, Sankhuwasava 8. Sangbu Bhote Lama – Hatiya -1, Sankhuwasava Additionally from Garrett Now we’ll start thinking about our summit strategy with our main team. Kenton Cool and climber Michael are up in Camp 3 today on their way for a potential summit on the 16th of May. Everyone else is doing great here in base camp. We’ll check in soon. Lhotse Summits Imagine Nepal’s Mingma Sherpa made the summit of Lhotse on Tuesday, May 14th. Huge Huge Congratulation to my Lhotse team. 2 members and I will climb it after our Everest. Today’s summiteers list ——————————— 1. Dawa Gyalje Sherpa-Rolwaling 2. Kili Pemba Sherpa-Rolwaling 3. Pemba Chote Sherpa-Thame 4. Ang jangbu Sherpa-Thame 5. Dendi Sherpa-Solukhumbu 6. Tamting Sherpa-Rolwaling 7. Dawa Tenzing Sherpa-Rolwaling 8. Gao Li- China 9. Mr Li Xiaolin- China 10. Ms Christina Flampouri-Greece 11. Mr Antonios Sykaris-Greece 12.Mr Sirbaz Khan-Pakistan Christina became First Greece woman and Sirbaz Khan became First Pakistan on Lhotse Others 8000ers Makalu Summits! The rope team from Seven Summits Treks on Makalu got to the summit: 5 rope fixing Sherpas including 3 From Seven Summit Treks made successful summit of Mt Makalu this morning 8:45 AM , report from basecamp by Karma Gyalje Sherpa Summiteer: 1) Sanu Sherpa (SST) 2) Nima Sherpa (SST) 3) Chhangba Sherpa (SST) 4) Mu Dorchi Sherpa (EB) 5) Lakpa Thinduk Sherpa (PA) Rest of the climbers will follow to the summit by tomorrow. Makalu update !
Everest 2019: Ropes Make Progress, Lhotse Bid Underway NOW
After a series of frustrating delays the rope fixers made progress on Monday, May 13, 2019. Climbers reached a season high point on both sides as well. Several are going for a summit bid on May 15/16. A Lhotse bid started midnight May 14. Headlines Even though gusty winds still reported on Monday, the rope fixers on reached 7,650-meters/25,100-feet on Tibet side and to Balcony at 8,400-meters/27,500-foot on Nepal side. Several teams are in position to go for the summit as soon as the ropes reach the summit, probably Tuesday, May 14 on the Nepal side and a couple days later in Tibet. I’m seeing multiple teams talk about a summit push leaving the South Col the evening of May 15, Wednesday, and summiting the following morning around dawn on May 16. However, the jet is forecasted to return soon so this window will be dangerously short pushing most teams to look at the next one, sometime after May 20th . May 25 appears to be the best day according to some forecasts. There are still many teams taking a holiday from base camp but are prepared to return quickly. Unlike the old days circa 2010, teams charter helicopters for a 12 minute flight instead of the 3 day walk between base camp and Namche! Nepal – Lhotse First Over on Lhotse, Imagine Nepal’s Mingma Sherpa left for the summit at midnight Tuesday, May 14th. They are fixing the ropes to the Lhotse summit, separate from the fixing on Everest. There are two Greek and one Pakistani climbers. If they summit, they will be the first from their countries. Mingma noted the conditions were “clear and calm with bright moon without any cloud.” 1. Dawa Gyalje Sherpa-Rolwaling 2. Kili Pemba Sherpa-Rolwaling 3. Pemba Chote Sherpa-Thame 4. Ang jangbu Sherpa-Thame 5. Dendi Sherpa-Solukhumbu 6. Tamting Sherpa-Rolwaling 7. Dawa Tenzing Sherpa-Rolwaling 8. Gao Li- China 9. Mr Li Xiaolin- China 10. Ms Christina Flampouri-Greece 11. Mr Antonios Sykaris-Greece 12.Mr Sirbaz Khan-Pakistan Everest Ropes Madison Mountaineering‘s Garrett Madison who is hosting/managing the rope team gave this update: Today our team was resting in base camp while our Sherpas, our advanced team of eight climbing Sherpa, were up at the South Col/Camp 4 (7925m/26,000ft) and were fixing ropes up to The Balcony (8440m/27,700ft) today. We are hoping for good weather tomorrow. Hopefully, they can continue fixing and maybe even make it all the way to the summit and have the route opened up on Everest here on the south side. Teams that are talking about summit bids this week (15/16) include: Climbing The Seven Summits’s private team Ascent Himalaya Myrmidon Expeditions with Kristie Ennis Seven Summits Trek’s Indian Team Stocking the Camps Before 99% of the climbers make their summit bid, oxygen must be carried to the high camp. IMG said they have all their cylinders at the South Col and posted this impressive photo from Sunday. Note you cannot see the true summit from the South Col, only the South Summit at 28500′ – 8690m Tibet – Ropes to 7650m There are 6 climbers with different objectives all doing an acclimatization rotation on the Tibet side. They are shadowing the Chinese rope fixers and got permission to go a bit higher on Monday. We have several reports: Alpenglow Expeditions has one member, Jennifer Spence, trying to summit Everest in 14 days, home to home. @roxymtngirl is attempting the fastest ever #lightningascent of Everest! ⚡️
Everest 2019: Weekend Update May 12
Update: Sherpas at South Col. Will fix to Balcony tomorrow and summit on Tuesday. Let’s be clear. Climbing Everest is complicated. The press likes to characterize it as an easy “walk-up” or “short-roped to the summit” after paying $65,000, As I have said for years, this is lazy cut and paste journalism that disrespects the climbers and the Sherpas. In 2019, the storyline is the trash and bodies. I’ll address this later. But for today, there is only word on the mind of most Everest’s climbers and followers today: ropes. Without the ropes, there will be few summits. The weather forecasters called for the jet stream to move off the summit this weekend so there was talk of summits starting as early as today, Sunday, but the latest is the ropes will be in later. Each weekend during the season I’ll post a “Weekend Update” summarizing the main stories for the past week. Headlines Wind and Wind Of course the biggest headline for last week was the cyclone and the jet stream. Both caused delays and a few teams lost tents to the high winds. I find it interesting that many teams talk about not losing tents but cite others as having lost some. I guess it’s all in the “eye of the beholder” or simple old-fashion spin! But the bottom line was the cyclone was not that big of an impact on Everest, on either side, but the jet stream parked on the summit was. It delayed the rope teams by several days. Ropes Can Everest be summited not using ropes? Of course, and it has many times. This season Cory Richards and Topo Mena will eschew the safety of nylon for a clean, alpine climb on their proposed new route, at least for the first 6,000-foot gulley. But part of the commercial guiding formula on both sides of Everest is for a dedicated team of climbers, Sherpas on the Nepal side and Chinese/Tibetans on the Tibet side, to “fix” the route to the summit. Usually called a “fixed line” but also called a “safety line” it’s really just a thin nylon rope that’s secured every couple of hundred feet to an aluminum stake aka “picket” driven into the snow aka an “anchor.” If the climbers slips and begins to fall down a steep or slick slope, they will, in theory, be stopped at the next anchor. Of course, what is more likely is that they will fall into another climber close on their heels. Bottom line: don’t fall! So, given the limited experience of many people of Everest these days, no operator would let their team ascend before the fixed ropes are in. On the Chinese side, it is simply not allowed. Jet Stream Back to a subject I’ve hit on often this past week, the jet stream. Various reports say the winds have calmed down. This is a good site to watch the movement of the jet. It shows low winds for Sunday. But as I always advise, using internet forecast is no substitute for paying a human for a professional forecast. Chris Tomer of Tomer Weather Solutions commented on the jet stream situation: Jet stayed locked on summit this past week but should weaken significantly May 12-15. That would be first summit window of season. The jet is then forecasted to return on May 16-18. After that it’s a bit unclear but I not sold on a drop on the 19th. So the Ropes???? I asked Garrett Madison on the fixing status on the Nepal side. He is hosting and managing the rope fixing. No ropes to the summit on the 12, maybe 13/14 Garrett with a decade of experience on Everest told me that today, Sunday, May 12 at 10:00 am: rope fixers heading up to the south col today…winds seem reasonable. Looks calm up there now, they are reaching south col. We just didn’t want to send them up previously in high winds and waste time / energy…would rather wait for reasonable conditions and get it done right. Will try to fix 13 & 14, hope to finish the route and have open by then!! Looks like good weather on 15 and maybe 16 also for summit attempts. We are seeing a window 21-25 Nepal IMG gave an excellent update on their Sherpas reaching the South Col Saturday in brisk conditions. It was windy again on the Lhotse Face, but the weather was “just good enough” for both our Team 3 climbers and our 30 person Sherpa Team to be successful today! Our Sherpa were first out the door at Camp 2, carrying oxygen to the South Col, with Adam Clark and Team 3 following shortly behind. The Sherpa called down on the radios that it was windy on the Lhotse Face but manageable. IMG Senior Guide Adam Clark confirmed this message when he and Team 3 crossed the Bergschrund at 3am and began climbing the icy slopes to Camp 3. Higher up, as the Sherpa Team climbed up the Face, crossing over the Geneva Spur and into the South Col, they checked in with Base Camp again to report that the winds were getting stronger but that they were going to be able to reach the South Col. Ambitious Tim Mosedale is on a different kind of mission. He wants to summit Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse then move to the Tibet side and summit Everest again. He was last reported on Nuptse Camp 3 at 6,855-meters/22,500-feet with two climbing Sherpas. The summit is 7,861-meters/25,791 feet. Another ambitious climber is Sergi Mingote and his 3×8000 Solidary Project. Last summer he climbed K2, Broad Peak and Manaslu. Now he is aiming for Everest, Lhotse and Kanchenjunga this Spring – all without Os. If he does summit he will beat the current record holder, Silvio Mondinelli, who climbed the three highest mountains in 3 years and 64 days. Nirmal Purja who summited Annapurna is now on Dhaulagiri and is asking for funding as he has failed to secure enough sponsors for his project to summit all fourteen 8000ers
Everest 2019: Anticipation
Sherpas are currently ferrying gear to the North and South Col preparing for summit pushes. All eyes are on the weather forecast to see if the call of a Sunday calm is correct. On the Tibet side, the Chinese rope fixing team have returned to ABC. Headlines Most of the teams are still in base camp or Advanced Base Camp waiting for the ropes to get to the summit. If the forecasts holds, Sunday will be the first of a handful of days where manageable winds might allow the rope fixers to finish the job then or on Monday, May 13 opening the door for the first few waves of teams to make their summit attempts. Look for the most summits between May 14-16 this week. If history holds, another weather front will move in and stop the activity before another window emerges. Everyone is hoping there will be multiple windows this year to spread out the climbers, especially on the Nepal side. Remember its still early with at least two full weeks to go before the end of the season in late May, assuming the ropes go in soon. At this point its wait and see. Nepal – Lhotse First Mingma Sherpa with Imagine Nepal said his team left for Camp 2 for Lhotse look to summit on May 14. Myrmidon Expeditions with Kirstie Ennis is getting ready: We have our summit date set, Oxygen and tents staged at C3 & C4. Few more moving parts to complete building out the tent platforms at C3, and stage some extra bottles of O2 above the South Col. Kristie posted another good blog that deserves a full read but heres the money quote: We are moving up tomorrow and from there will start our summit push with a goal of standing on top of the world on the 15th. I am overwhelmed with a healthy combination of excitement and nervousness. My team is strong and now I am foaming at the mouth to get this thing going. Alongside Christopher, Rob, and I, there will be three Sherpa — one of them has 15 Summits and another has 10. Now, its a race to beat the weather and the pressure’s on for the rope fixers. Chad Gaston’s post touched me yesterday. We emailed a bit before he left for Everest about Alzheimer’s When I was 16, I swiped my dad’s Kenny Rogers shirt out of his closet, because it was retro and I thought it was cool. I wore it to concerts and ski/snowboarding trips mostly being a clown! But in 2007 my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (just 58 years old when it started) and I started wearing it on adventure trips and music concerts/festivals as kind of a tribute to him, like he was apart of the adventure with me. I credit my mother with a lot of things in my life but my sense of adventure I got from my father. I didn’t record or take pictures at first but started to a couple years back. As anyone who has dealt with Alzheimer’s knows, it’s tough on the person and even tougher on the family. We all deal with it in our own way. I have tried to honor him by living a life full of adventure. A kind of life that was taken from him way too early! So you will understand the reason I wear this 1982 Kenny Rogers tour T-Shirt in a lot of my climbing photos! Kenny (The T-shirt) is currently camped out at camp 2 on Everest, waiting for me to head back up on the final summit push and Join him on the top of the world. My father would have loved this adventure, and so Kenny and I plan to keep this tradition going. For everyone who has a loved one with this horrible disease, I wish you the best! Love them and cherish every moment you get with them. Be understanding and treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve! I love you Dad and Kenny and I hope to make you proud when we reach the Top of the world! Tibet – Ropes?? Furtenbach Adventures gave their perspective on the upcoming weather window: Long nights followed by long days. Patience and the process of waiting for the right time is a fundamental part of himalayan climbing. We hope the Chinese rope fixing team can finally finish their work in the next days. But the possible first window of the season will pass on the north side of Everest. It is not a perfect window anyway so we focus on the first real window that is opening soon. All our sherpas left camp today to stock the high camps. Take care and good luck to all! Summit Climb offered good new on the Chinese rope team – thy are at ABC. Hi this is David O’Brien from a fairly windy base camp. After a last minute stick up of provisions in New Tingri, we drove the three hours back to base camp. The rope fixing team went up to ABC today so we hope to hear about their progress in the next few days. So far the ropes have only been fixed to 7500m. I expect the Chinese climbing members to come back to base camp tomorrow. When they are here things will hopefully become clearer on possible summit opportunities as it is traditional that they climb first. I big Happy Birthday to my son Flynn, 8 today. Anticipation You have been hearing about the infamous summit window for years. The last few days, it seems like that is all you’ve talked about. At breakfast this morning the table talk went like this. “So, do you believe the forecast?” you throw out to the table at large. “You mean the one that said we would have clear skies and no winds the day the cyclone hit us? The skeptic in the group responded. “Yeah, that one.” You continue undeterred. “You
Everest 2019: Here We Go!!!
As we enter the weekend, the winds are predicted to calm and with many eager to summit, I anticipate a lot of activity. The jet looks to move off the summit and stay away for a week! The Summit window is here!! Headlines Over the past two weeks, it has been tough on the Everest aspirants. Between a cyclone and a stubborn jet stream, poor weather with extreme winds have held people in place. Extreme winds topping out at over 80 mph have destroyed tents and supplies caches at the highest camps. The rope fixers that put the fixed lines to the summit have been stalled at 26,000-feet on the Nepal side and 23,000-feet on the Tibet side. Without the ropes in, few will attempt the summit. However, all is not lost and this weekend the winds are forecasted to calm and we might see a large wave of summits, not only on Everest but across the entire Himalaya Mountains Range including Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Makalu, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, and Shishapangma. Record Summits? Everest is crowded this spring on the Nepal side. The Nepal Government issued a record 378 permits to foreigners, adding at least one support Sherpa per climber, that puts over 750 people on the mountain. By the way, for all of Nepal’s mountains, they issued 842 permits and brought in $4.4 million in royalties. On the Tibet side, that has traditionally fewer climbers, 142 permits were issued to foreigners so that side will see around 300 people climbing. It’s possible that 2019 might see Everest break 1,000 summits in a single season. The previous record was last year with 802 total summits on all routes. New Route One team to watch will be American Cory Richards and Ecuadorean Topo Mena. They want to pioneer a new route on the Northeast Face of Everest starting from Advanced Base Camp at 21,325-feet in Tibet. Their proposed route starts with a climb straight up a 60-degree angle, 6,551-foot narrow rock gulley. At times, they will navigate icy rock slabs. At the end of couloir, they will join the Northeast Ridge route around 28,000-feet. Ideally, they plan to leave the standard route quickly and take a much steeper and dangerous, however more direct, route up the Messner Couloir and directly to the summit. They are climbing without supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support or ropes. Deadly Season This spring has been a deadly one on the world’s highest peak. Four climbers and one Sherpa have already lost their lives. In March on Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat, Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard were found dead at the bottom of a snow gully. On Nepal’s Annapurna Malaysian Wui Kin Chin, 49, passed away in a Singapore hospital on May 2, 2019, after sustaining injuries while climbing Annapurna and on Makalu, also in Nepal, top Peruvian climber Richard Hidalgo was found dead in his tent at Camp 2 this week. On the Tibet side of Cho Oyu, Phujung Bhote Sherpa of Makalu, Sankhuwasabha fell into crevasse near Camp 2 and died. Elsewhere Not to be forgotten, climbing has begun on Denali, the highest in North America. According to the Denali Mountaineering Blog, one of the best anywhere, there are 975 climbers registered. Already 5 have completed their effort but no one has sumitted. 92 are now on the mountain. Rangers at Base Camp reports: Quick report from Basecamp: 7,200-foot camp got about a foot of new snow overnight, with overcast skies this morning. Rangers at 11,000-feet report a couple days of blowing snow. Conditions are improving throughout the day on Thursday. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything!
Everest 2019: Weekend Summits?
The winds are still stopping the rope fixing progress but not the acclimatization process on either side. This weekend there could be a break. Headlines On both sides, the winds are calm at 7,000-meters, i.e. both Advanced Base Camps, but is still roaring on the summit. I can tell you it’s the strangest experience to be in your tent hearing what sounds like a huge train passing by at full speed, and it is constant. That’s the jet stream ripping across the summit of Everest at maybe 100 to 150 mph. Obviously not a day to be up there. As word spreads that the ropes fixers may be back at work this weekend, some of the teams that went to lower villages are slowly returning to their base camps and starting the preparations for their summit bids. However, remember there is still a solid 20 days left in the season so a long time to go. I was told the Icefall Doctors have declared they will stop maintaining the route to Camp 2 on May 29. Not sure how this date was selected but it has been warm this year (again) and the route through the Icefall begins to get very dangerous as the already teetering seracs loses their frozen foundations. Cable Car to the Summit Being associated one way or another with Everest and climbing since 1997, I’ve heard every joke and jab but the most common is about putting a cable car to the summit … well … it appears this might actually happen on Kilimanjaro. Reuters is reporting that a study is underway by Tanzania to build cable car to the summit. Before we all cry foul, think about the lifts on Elbrus, Mont Blanc, and elsewhere around the world. All of this is to make money off natural resources but on Kill, there is a big fear it will put many of the 20,000 porters out of business. Nepal – Loads to South Col, No Summit Ropes, Lhotse Time Mingma Sherpa and his Imagine Nepal company has been quite successful over the past few years both in Nepal and Pakistan. I asked Mingma how he was doing this year on the Nepal side. Looks like Lhotse first. “We were already concerned about the big wind so we finished our acclimatization before it comes and kept everyone on rest. Today our Sherpa team dropped first load to south Col and they will take 2 days rest for another load to south Col then we are ready for summit push. The weather from 11 May is getting better but we are not in hurry this time. Most probably we will go Lhotse Summit first. Ropes: I found this year is better than last year. Fixing team has done great job. The rope to summit must be after 14 May. We set up our south Col on 29 may last year but this year we are still struggling with weather for setting camp 4. All depends on weather for now. My team is composed of two Greece woman, 5 Chinese, 1 Pakistan, 1 Indian boy and one Canadian. Additional one Greece man and a Chinese for Lhotse. Also 4 members from Everest will attempt Lhotse. I asked Garrett Madison, who is hosting and managing the rope fixing team, when he expected the see them reach the summit: “Looks like winds dropping on May 12, so hopefully after that” Tibet – No Crowds, No Ropes I checked in with Kathmandu based Rowling Excursion on how their climb was going on the Tibet said. All good thus far: “No damage to our camp on North from the Cyclone. The rope fixing team has not gone above the North Col. So cant say anything about a summit date. This year, the North Side doesn’t seem crowded at all.” On Wednesday, May 8, Rob Lea climbing with Alpenglow made this post about the winds when they tried to get to the North Col: We went for the North Col today (23,000 ft). We didn’t quite make it. But for every foot below the the col, we experienced one of these gales where you’d just hang on for dear life. It was exciting, interesting and brutal. It’s so nice to be back in the comfort of advanced base camp. Although, it’s a little unnerving when you’re sitting in your tent and you literally think you here a freight train coming. Within 20 seconds the wind hits your tent and you’re hoping the tent was made well enough