Everest 2024: Weekend Update April 7: Climbers on the Trek
Welcome to the Everest 2024 Weekend Update. The Everest spring season is on track. Hundreds of people are advancing towards Everest Base Camp on the Nepal side of the Mountain. The Tibet side remains quiet, as teams will not arrive for at least another week. There are a few snags here and there, but nothing serious at this point. Each weekend during the season, I’ll post a “Weekend Update” summarizing the main stories from the past week and what we can expect coming up. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Snag in the Icefall Route
It was not unexpected, but the Icefall Doctors hit a snag when fixing the route. They struggled to find safe passage through the upper Icefall for several days. They had expected to reach Camp 1 about now and Camp 2 next week, but it obviously will take longer. Meanwhile, teams are preparing to return to Tibet for the first time in four years. The Everest permit tally is now 130 foreigners across 11 teams. Many more to come. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Blessings on the Trek to Tengboche Monastery
Traffic is picking up on the trail to Everest Base Camp, Nepal, as more teams are flying into Lukla. The weather continues to be good. However, similar to recent years, some fixed-wing flights between Kathmandu and Lukla are now diverted to leave from Ramechhap, a small airstrip 140 km (85 miles) five hours drive from Kathmandu with little or no existing tourist infrastructure. Helicopters still allow you to fly directly to Lukla, albeit at $600 each way compared to $150 for fixed-wing flights. Climbing, the Seven Summit’s Everest team flew an airplane from Kathmandu to Luka and is now in Namache.
The Everest permit tally is now 101 foreigners across eight teams. More to come.
Now, let’s move on to what they are experiencing on the trek. #everest2024
Everest 2024: The Namche Hill
Parallel universes are happening right now on Everest—trekking to base camp, building base camp, and putting in the climbing route. On the Nepal side, many climbers and trekkers are well into their six- to eight-day journey, taking in the sights and changing their lives as they experience the grace and beauty of the Khumbu. Meanwhile, Sherpas are building tent platforms at Everest Base Camp and preparing their team’s base camp for the next few months. But for our Nepal climbers, most of the action is still thousands of feet lower as they trek through the Khumbu. #everest2024
Everest 2024: The Trek to EBC Begins
All is good in the Khumbu, according to climbers and trekkers there. Most Everest and Nepal climbing teams start their journey at Lukla, These days, it seems that many climbing teams have taken helicopters to Lukla or Namche. Either flight method results in the start of a life-changing trek in the Khumbu, but you need to get to Lukla first. everest2024
Everest 2024: Weekend Update April 1: Season Underway, Lost Legends
If it’s April, it must be time for Everest. The Icefall Doctors are hard at work. Climbers and trekkers are making their way through the Khumbu or driving from Lhasa. Sherpas and base camp crews are building tent platforms and preparing their spots for the teams. Yaks and mules are meandering ever higher, loaded with supplies. Katmandu is filled with tourists and visitors, boosting the local economy. Hang on, everyone. It’s time. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Climbers to Watch
As we near the end of March, climbers fly to Kathmandu and Lhasa for the Spring 8000-meter expeditions. I expect climbs on all the 8000ers in Tibet and Nepal: Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri I, Manaslu, Shishapangma, Dhaulagiri I, and Annapurna. If history guides, 97% of all climbers on Everest will use supplemental oxygen, and on most of the others as well. Here are a few to watch this spring. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Who’s Climbing This Year?
Teams are filling up with Everest aspirants from around the world. I estimate there will be around 600 foreign climbers, supported by 900 Sherpas, taking the total to 1,700 people on the Nepal side and 100 foreigners, with 100 support climbers, on the Tibet side. During the Spring 2024 Everest season, look for a whopping 1,900 people from base camps to the summit. Let’s hope for an extended period of good summit weather (winds under 30 mph/48kph) to let them spread out.
With a recent summit success rate of around 60%, we can expect about 1,140 summits, with Sherpas accounting for half the total. This would smash the 2019 record summit total of 877, comprising 661 from the Nepali side and 216 from Tibet. Nepal issued a record 478 permits to foreigners in 2024. As usual, the Nepali teams will dominate the mountain. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Icefall Doctors Mark Season Start
The Icefall Doctors are on their way to Everest Base Camp to install the fixed rope and ladders from Base Camp to Camp 2 in the Western Cwm. Usually, this work is completed by the time most climbers arrive in early April. This year, they attended a one-day training session at the Khumbu Climbing Center (KCC) in Phortse and a week-long training program at Everest Base Camp. The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, SPCC, said that Conrad Anker and KCC instructors taught the courses. Seven Summits Treks will fix the route from Camp 2 to the summit. Alos in this post, two popular climbs have reopened. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Nepal’s “GPS Chip” Plan has Major Problems
The Nepal Ministry of Tourism has announced another “new rule” for the upcoming Everest 2024 Spring season, after the horrendous 2023 season that set all-time records for deaths on Everest at 18 deaths–6 Sherpas and 12 clients. In my estimation, 11 deaths were preventable. Authorities wanting to reduce bad press made a last-minute rule saying that all climbers must rent a tracking device that would save lives with faster rescues. However, they choose the wrong tool, and the solution to missing climbers requires zero technology, only common sense. #everest2024