Everest 2018: Season Summary – Record Weather, Record Summits
With an unprecedented weather window, the Everest season is winding down I estimate a total of over 800 summits smashing the previous record set in 2013 of 667 from both sides by members and support climbers. The Nepal Ministry of Tourism reported on 16 August 2018 that a total of 563 people summited during the spring of 2018 made up of 302 High Altitude Workers (aka Sherpas) and 261 foreigners (aka members) using the standard Southeast Ridge route in Nepal. I estimate 239 summits on the Northeast Ridge in Tibet. Nepal issued 347 Everest climbing permits to foreigners, including 20 Nepalis, making the overall summit rate of 75% for members on the South side. There were 52 female summits on the Nepal side in 2018. The Nepal Government collected USD$5,172,408 in permit fees. They noted that the summiteers included 51 Indians, 49 Americans and 47 Chinese. Big Picture Early in May, there was talk of early summits but then the jet stream moved on top of Everest and stopped all activity for a week. When a large high-pressure system parked on the summit, the door was opened and stayed that way for 11 straight days. The first summits were on May 14 by the rope fixing team on the Nepal side followed the next day by 70-year-old Chinese double-amputee Xia Boya with his Sherpa guides. Every day thereafter had summits from both the sides. Overall it was about as good of a season as could be expected on the world’s highest peak. The temperatures were bit warmer than usual and the winds were calmer in spite of the occasional “difficult” summit day. With the long weather window, teams spread out thus reducing the usual crowding we’ve seen before. In 2012 there were less than five suitable summit days forcing hundreds to attempt the peak on the same day. The Khumbu Icefall Of all the features climbing Everest the 2nd Step on the Tibet side and the Khumbu Icefall on the Nepal dominates the attention. This year the Icefall was well behaved. The Icefall Doctors got the route in pretty early and took it direct making it fast and safe. There were a few incidents with serac collapses and the normal delays but overall long-time guides raved about the work of the Docs. This avalanche occurred late in the season in the afternoon when no one was in the Icefall. But the big obstacle was just above Camp 1 in the Western Cwm where somewhat deep crevasses are expected but this year a “Ice Wall” created a hazard that some people just couldn’t handle. Oxygen Failure The largest story of the season was when multiple teams experienced the nightmare scenario of having their supplemental oxygen systems fail above 8,000 meters. All the systems were made by the same company, Summit Oxygen out of the UK. The regulator which manages the flow rate between the bottle and the mask opened and sent life-giving oxygen into the atmosphere. All of the teams except for Alpenglow had enough spare regulators to salvage their summit bids. Adrain Ballinger’s Alpenglow suffered 10 out of 39 regulator issues, the most of any team, and had to abandon their push. Most of their members went home but a small team stayed and summited a few days later. Neil Greenwood, CEO of the supplier flew to Kathmandu to personally oversee the troubleshooting process. I’ve successfully used their systems on K2 and Manaslu with no problems. Other operators had no issues. Records Set There were records set in 2018, primarily by Sherpas. Kami Rita Sherpa at age 48 set the record for most summits, male or female, with 22 breaking the one he shared with Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa. He says he wants to reach 25 before retiring. Lhakpa Sherpa, 44 from Connecticut, broke her own female record with her ninth summit on May 16th. Australian Steve Plain broke the record for reaching the summits of each continent in 117 days. The old record was 126. He summited Everest, his last of the seven on May 14th. Kenton Cool broke his own mark for most summits by a Briton at 13. And perhaps most stunning was the victory by 70-year-old Xia Boyu, the double amputee from China who summited only after winning an appeal to the Nepal Supreme Court to overturn a ban against double amputees climbing Nepal’s mountains. Rescues and Gag Orders The Nepal Ministry of Tourism told climbers not to talk to the press about major events on Everest this year. They also said not to talk about the Hillary Step, more on this later. Thus it’s not surprising we have heard little about rescues and other dramatic events. I recently spoke with the CEO of Global Rescue, Dan Richards. They run the largest rescue service on Everest providing coverage from medical events to natural disasters. They covered my evacuation in 2015 after the earthquake trapped 100 people in the Western Cwm. Richards said they had already conducted 66 operations just on Everest and were doing two to three a day. I asked him if there was a conflict with some guide companies owning their own helicopters and perhaps claiming a member was sick then charging GR for the rescue to generate income. He said this “conflict of interest” is one reason why they have a strict policy on which helicopter companies they use and that all evacuations must be organized and provided by GR. A GR rescue specialists (generally a medic or a doctor) is either on the ground or in the helicopter to oversee the operation and provide immediate medical assistance. He said they do not work with operators that are not transparent with helicopter service records and pilots that don’t have high-altitude training and experience. We discussed the increase in inexperienced members and unqualified guides on Everest. Richards felt that this has increased the number of operations they conduct and eventually could result in higher membership costs, premiums or in some cases limitations on the
Everest 2017: Season Summary – A Mountain with Two Sides
This is one of the more difficult seasons I have covered to sum up in one word so let me use several: wind, tragedy, misinformation, spin and summits. Overall it was a good year, a normal year with many summits on both sides plus the average death toll. I think we saw how the pressure to be first with news can backfire with incorrect stories but we also saw the power of dreams. Similar to 2016, there were no natural disasters or issues with people getting along, other than a few individuals acting very irresponsibly and selfishly. While weather forecasting proved to be challenging across the entire two month season, it was not an inhibitor to teams reaching the summit. Finally the fear of overcrowding, dangers of the Khumbu Icefall or China closing Everest forever, proved unfounded. Bottom line – it was good year on Everest and for both Nepal and China, and for hundreds who quenched a long thirst to stand on the summit of Mt. Everest. UPDATE: Nepal Tourism announced on 9 June 2017 that the Nepal side had 455 summits: 190 foreigners, 32 fee-paying Nepalis, 233 Sherpas and 375 climbing permits were issued to foreigners. the summit rate for foreigners was 50%. However – a Toxic Mix Awaits As I am in Kathmandu for a speaking engagement on behalf of Nepal tourism, I must begin this summary with my concern that the climbing on Everest continues to be threatened by inexperienced climbers and unqualified guides – on both sides. In speaking with multiple climbers, Sherpas and guides they all make the same points: there are too many people on Everest who lack the basic mountaineering skills to survive a major weather event or their own misstep when it will undoubtedly occur. There are too many “Sherpa Guides” who simply don’t have the experience or skills to be of aid to those inexperienced climbers when the inevitable occurs. This toxic mix of inexperienced climbers with unqualified guides will result in a tragic event that will make 1996, 2006, 2014 and 2015 look minor. And the young climbers, dreaming of leveraging an Everest summit into fame and fortune will never come home. Perhaps I am whispering in the wind, but I will continue to raise these issues, along with my suggestions, to anyone in authority who will listen. More on this in future posts. Banner Year? As we entered 2017, it was clear that the south side would see record permits issued by the Nepal government. Permits that were extended after the truncated 2014 and 2015 season were expiring. A very successful 2016 season convinced many that Everest was back in business and an aggressive campaign by new companies courting the Indian and Chinese markets were seeing success. It stood to reason that some spillover might occur onto the north side for climbers fearing the crowds and those believing the constant doom and gloom spouted by the PR machines of a few that it was immoral to climb on the south side. So as late March neared, many held their breath not sure what this Spring would bring. And now that we are into early June, the answer is simple, and complex – Everest 2017 was a fairly normal season. No villains, victims or conspiracy plots. Not a bad or good year, just a bunch of people climbing a mountain. Sit back, grab a beverage and let’s review what happened on Everest in the spring of 2017. Permit Fever In late March, Kathmandu filled up with aspiring climbers. The Nepal government issued 371 permits for Everest. 70 used their prior permits, saving $11,000 on the cost of this year’s climb. Some spent all of that at the Kathmandu bars before they left for Lukla. These days you can count on at least one Sherpa for every foreigner so that meant the south side was looking at least 750 humans going up and down, probably closer to 800. Over on the Tibet side, figures are always hard to get. I was chastised by one western guide for using the wrong numbers (he read my post incorrectly) so he gave me the ‘right’ figures which I used only to come back and tell me I posted the wrong numbers (his numbers) and gave me newer ones. Sigh, see I told you getting accurate numbers from the north is as easy as understanding Presidential Tweets … covfefe Anyway, I digress. The north seemed to have about 136 foreigners and 170 support staff. Not nearly as many as I had thought. It would be interesting to understand why the north side never regained the strong momentum it had back in 2006 and 2007. I have my theories and a lot has to do with if you are spending tens of thousands of dollars, you want some kind of assurance you will get to climb. The big growth in climbers on the Tibet side was stopped cold when the Chinese effectively closed their side to take the Olympic torch to the summit in 2008. It has never reached the pre-2008 figures even with fights, serac releases and earthquakes on the south. Perhaps with the Mountaineering Center under development in Tingre and helicopter rescue to be offered in 2018 for Everest north for the first time, the north will again see big numbers. 100 permits were issued for Lhotse, a stone’s throw from Everest. A few were looking to bag both peaks while above 8000 meters making Lhotse significantly easier – if you had any strength left from summiting Everest! When you add all this up, there was over 1,000 people on and around Everest in 2017 – and that was a record. UPDATE: but the summits from Nepal was the second highest, not a record. Trek and Drive The usual trek and travel to base camp on both sides went smoothly. The Chinese played their usual games with permits delaying a few teams but those who climb regularly in Tibet know the drill well by now. The dirt trails were filled with Zos, yaks, school kids, porters, locals – oh and climbers and trekkers
Everest 2016: Season Summary – A Normal Season
Everest 2016 was a success by many measures. Climbers achieved life long dreams and a country got a break. It was a ‘normal’ season with around 600 summits but sadly there were five deaths plus one on Lhotse. However in stark contrast to the previous four years on Everest, 2016 lacked large scale tragedy or extreme drama. If ever a poor country needed a break, it was Nepal in early 2016. The ‘business’ of Mount Everest means more than foreigners trying to summit the world’s highest mountain. It means pride, jobs, a future for the next generation and obviously, money. This is my annual season summary that includes my own reporting while I was attempting Lhotse this year, excerpts from climber’s and guide’s blogs, my own interviews at base camp and after their climbs. Plus I add my own personal opinions on some topics. Visit this page to see the results of all the team I could track. This is a long post, so get your favorite beverage and let it all sink in. Tough Few Years By now the last two years of Everest, and Nepal, is well known. In 2014 an ice serac released off the West Shoulder of Everest killing 16 Sherpas in the Khumbu Icefall, 19 in total that year. The season ended immediately with no legitimate summits on the South side. In 2015 a huge earthquake struck near Kathmandu and killed 9,000 Nepalis, mostly in the poorest rural areas. 19 lives were lost after the earthquake triggered an avalanche onto Everest Base Camp. The season ended immediately on both sides with zero summits – not that it mattered in the grand scheme. While the world was eager to help Nepal rebuild, an inept government was trying to establish a constitution and failed to give aid those citizens who needed it the most. But those in the Solo Khumbu area of Nepal, mostly ethnic Sherpas, rebuilt their teahouses and homes and called for the world to return. Trekkers Stay Away, Climbers Take the Deal As the Everest climbing season approached, early reports showed that permit numbers were down, and down a lot. At the last minute Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism approved an extension of the climbing permits ($11,000 for Everest) that were issued in 2015. They would be good for 2016 and 2017. This was a late attempt to keep the business of Everest alive. They made a similar decision for the 2014 permits, also at the last minute in 2015 but extended those for five years, thru 2019, similar to what China had already approved for both years. 265 Everest climbers just from 2015 on the Nepal side now had their permits extended. I’m not sure these measures mattered as Everest seems to attract more climbers after a tragic year. The years following the largest death tolls to date in 1996, 2006 and 2014/15 were followed by a record number of climbers. The more Everest takes lives, the more people come. But in any event, Climbers reacted quickly in 2016. By early April there were 34 teams at Everest Base Camp with 289 Everest permits issued, compared to 319 in 2015 or down about 10%. Even with the last minute approval, 69 climbers were reported to have used their previous permits. 500 High Altitude Workers were shown on permits to support the foreign climbers or almost 1.7 for each member. 78 permits were issued for Lhotse and 44 for Nuptse permits. The non-Everest permits are a bit misleading as anyone who wants to enter the Icefall or just go to Camp 2 needs a permit for that maximum altitude but may have no intention of trying to climb that mountain. The Everest business is estimated to generate about $15 million for the Nepal economy and in 2015 with the permit extensions royalties were reduced to $1.6m. In 2014, tourism accounted for 8.9 percent of Nepal’s GDP and 7.5 percent of its total employment. But trekkers stayed away, there were 40% less trekkers than in the previous year hurting hotels, restaurants, and taxis in Kathmandu. The teahouses, guides and porters throughout the trekking areas of Nepal also saw a dramatic decline in business. Trekking brings more money to Nepal than climbing, so the backlash from bad publicity around the earthquake and embargo was hurting. Unusually Warm The climbing season began with a mixture of optimism and apprehension. The impact of the earthquake was an unknown on the upper part of Everest. Only one climber attempted it in the autumn of 2015 and climbed a bit above Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. He said the route was the same as in previous years. As climbers trekked to the Nepal Everest Base Camp (EBC), they noticed the teahouses were almost empty, the temperatures were warm. I was there. I was part of the migration to EBC aiming to summit Lhotse, thwarted by the earthquake last year. Those focusing on climbing from the Tibet side were met with the usual unexplained delays by the Chinese government, knowing they would eventually get to enter but just not sure when they would arrive at the Chinese Base Camp (CBC). On the South, EBC spread out for over a mile at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall, some camps were in the exact same position as the ones destroyed by the avalanche only 12 months earlier. Climbers spoke in hushed voices about the warm temperatures and the risk of another avalanche. Guides assured their members that everything was fine. By the time Everest Base Camp began to fill up, it was obvious that something was quite different, at least at this altitude. In early April, EBC is usually frozen solid, but in 2016 it was already melting like it was late May or even early June. A river of running water flowed freely thru base camp. The only ones who benefited were the water crews. The big question was the condition of the upper mountain – Lhotse Face, Triangular Face and the route from the South Summit to the summit itself – all speculation until
Everest 2015: Season Summary – Summits Don’t Matter
Over 9, 000 people died in April 2015 from a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu. And no one summited Everest – from either side, from any camp. Summits don’t matter. As has been my custom since 2002, I will summarize the season but this time from my first hand experience as I was climbing Lhotse which shares 80% of the route with Everest. I was between Camps 1 and 2 when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake reached the Western Cwm. This summary, while about the Everest season, is also about a human tragedy where thousands lost their lives, multiples of that are now homeless and many no longer have a way to make a living. Earthquakes are mean beasts, natural disasters, that strike with no warning, destroy at random. I spent one evening this week speaking with helicopter pilots and people who have just returned from the earthquake epicenter regions. They say there are villages flattened, with landslides and down trees seemingly erasing entire villages off the trail systems – these are areas trekkers seldom touch, nor apparently relief agencies at the moment. There are many, many small, individual efforts to reach these villages in addition to the large scale multi national efforts – the progress is not for lack of trying but it all seems to be moving too slowly. The largest organizations with resources to hire helicopters, deliver food and medicine are making a real difference. If you want to make a donation where your money makes an immediate difference in Nepal, these are a few suggestions International Medical Corps Juniper Fund Himalayan Stove Project Cholera is a growing concern with dead animals, and humans not being cremated or buried. Once this takes hold, the fear is the death toll will sky rocket. For an excellent overview of impact on Nepal as of 3 May 2015, please see this article on the Economist. High/Low Expectations The Everest 2015 season began with much trepidation, and attention. The number of permits issued surprised even the most jaded Everest observer: 358 individuals for Everest 114 for Lhotse and 56 for Nuptse – these were record numbers. With 16 mountain workers killed after an ice serac fell onto the Khumbu Icefall and over 40 trekkers killed in a snowstorm in the Annapurna region last autumn, many in Nepal feared the industry would take a hit with lower numbers. Some thought Everest climbers would prefer to climb from Tibet or trek in Bhutan. However, history shows us once again that it is a fine predictor of the future. After record deaths in 1996, 2006 and 2012, the following year delivered record climbers on Everest; 2015 was no different. Even on Everest from Tibet for 2015, records permits were issued, over 200 foreigners . The Everest Machine continued to be strong. Including the foreign permits, local Sherpa, Tibetans, cooks, cook boys, porters, over 1200 people were gathered on both sides of the world’s tallest peak, awaiting their turn for the summit. The human psyche is an interesting phenomenon. Migrating towards EBC Thus in early April people streamed into Kathmandu, flying to Lukla or driving to Chinese Base Camp on the north. The weather was, interesting. A few weeks earlier, Sherpas from the largest teams had already visited Everest Base Camp (EBC) at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall to mark spots for their teams and reported deep, wet snow everywhere – 3 feet of the white stuff. The trails were filled, as were the teahouses; trekkers and climbers alike jammed into the stone and wooden structures, staff short tempered trying to meet the need. The promise of Wifi, fell short with schemes and technical problems thwarting the promise of Facebook selfies or emails back home. Yes, a first world problem in a third world country. Capturing the Moment Video cameras were as common as Dzos and yaks. It was reported that eight major film crews were on the south side this year, all waiting for some kind of Everest disaster so they could capture the human drama, package for television and make a name for themselves, until the next reality show. The only question was, if they could be at the right place at the right time. Writers and reporters from newspapers to magazines to websites, called contacts to get their background stories pre-written as early as February. Many published a soon to be annual article on April 18, the anniversary of the Sherpa deaths in the Icefall. A week later it would be worse. Arriving at EBC, it was stark, rolling glacial hills covered in white powder, and it was cold, extremely cold. Mid April is supposed to be somewhat warm. The traditional weather patterns for the past decade: clear, cool mornings changing to afternoon light snow showers changing to crisp clear nights – 2015 was full of harsh cold and heavy snow. The “New” Everest Route The team of specialized Sherpas, aka the Icefall Doctors, had arrived in mid March, aerial photographs in hand with expert consulting from some of the Everest climbers around, their remit was to find a “new, safe route” through the Khumbu Icefall. Last year’s route hugged the West Shoulder of Everest, putting each person in the direct fall line of the hanging serac. The consequences were deadly when it released. For 2015, they wanted to return it more towards the center, or near Nuptse, climber’s right, to reduce this exposure. As teams got settled at EBC, everyone wanted to know about the route. Where was it, was it safer, how many ladders? The early reports said shorter and safer. But when the first westerners entered the Icefall, there was a huge surprise. The lower section was in fact almost direct, no ladders until half way, or higher; it was fast. But the top section had an obstacle, some call it an aid, that would stop both foreigners and Sherpas alike: two vertical snow walls near the top had ladders, six to be exact, lashed together with nylon
Everest 2014: Season Summary – A Nepal Tragedy
The 2014 spring season of mountaineering on Everest had more to do with politics, advice fame, power and positioning than mountaineering. These agendas dwarfed the deaths of 19 people. The final summit numbers will take months to determine but most likely will be the lowest total since 1997. From Tibet over 100 people summited. And from Nepal, six summits, albeit aviation assisted since the climbers flew to Camp 2 instead of climbing through the Icefall. This post will provide my analysis of the season, what went wrong along with ideas on going forward. These are my conclusions but with input from extensive post climb interviews with sherpas, guides and climbers who were there. For me, the tragedy of 2014 were the deaths of 19 people (16 sherpa in the Icefall, a sherpa who died from AMS, two sherpas who were killed returning home from base camp: one by lightening and another in an accident). The impact on the families of the dead will echo for decades to come. However, the insult of Everest 2014 is the way the deaths are being used to promote personal, national, press and company agendas through spin and selective reporting. Seeds of Discontent The seeds of this year’s controversy have been growing over several years. On Manaslu in 2012, a few young sherpas, allegedly lead by Pasang Tenzing argued to end the season using threats and intimidation after an avalanche killed 11 members. Many teams left the mountain not only fearing the objective hazards but also this new generation of sherpas. On Everest in 2013 controversy erupted after the fights between European climbers and sherpas fixing the rope on the Lhotse Face. A few young vocal sherpas lead an inexcusable attack at Camp 2 on the Europeans bringing global attention to a new generation of sherpa climbers. In recent years, new Everest guiding companies were formed in Kathmandu with their primary selling point being that they are not western owned companies. In 2014, over half the members guided up Everest were from local Nepali companies. Every non-Nepali company who guides on Everest uses a local company to organize logistics, hire staff and support the expedition. It has always been this way. In many cases, it is up to these local companies to set sherpa pay, benefits, life insurance, etc.; not the foreign companies companies. There are few if any written employment contracts. Some long time foreign operators do dictate pay, and that is not where the problem lies. To be blunt, some foreign operators don’t know what their workers are really paid or the amount of the life insurance. They pay a single per climber fee and assume the middle man will do the right thing. Local companies appear to have unlimited flexibility with no oversight or checking if policies are being met. The Nepal Government, embarrassed by years of stinging criticism over trash, safety and general order, floated idea after idea since 2013 to better manage the mountain. The suggestions generated even more uncertainty and criticism as most ideas were under developed, unnecessary and then not implemented. A 2013 article in Outside Magazine entitled “The Disposable Man” brought the world’s attention to the risk sherpas encounter while climbing Everest. While a balanced article that brought up the low life insurance issue, the provocative title lead many readers to an improper conclusion and unfortunately it focused on the risks from a statistical perspective and failed to put the overall role of sherpas into perspective. That article has been used countless times to support an accusation of sherpa exploitation and abuse. With all this as background, the deaths in 2014 have brought a power struggle over Everest into full bloom and the damage is severe. The current blame game is not only disingenuous but also potentially damaging to all involved. It is time to stop the sound bites with interviews and think deeply about the problem and the solution. Tragic Deaths On April 18th, 2014, 16 sherpas were killed in the single most deadly incident in Everest’s history. The deaths came when a well-known ice serac hanging off the West Shoulder of Everest released at 6:30am just as droves of sherpas were carrying loads into the Western Cwm from Everest Base Camp. They were bunched together, delayed after a ladder crossing a crevasse was just repaired, but underneath a known hazard. The gathering broke a common mountaineering safety practice of spreading out under known danger. When ice released from the hanging serac it was large, fast and deadly, they never had a chance. 13 bodies were recovered, multiple sherpas were rescued but three remain buried in the deep crevasses of the Khumbu Icefall. As tragic as these deaths were, the death toll could have been much higher as there were over 150 sherpas in the general area at the time of the release. The deaths set off a domino effect of reaction, decisions and implications that have yet to be understood. The blame game has intensified to the point of threatening the very survival of Everest climbing and the livelihood of the climbing sherpas. While the trekking industry brings in more money than mountaineering, without climbing, Nepal loses it leadership in the climbing world and many, many Sherpa families would suffer. A New Generation Similar to the previous two years, a few young sherpas lead the chant to stop climbing. I want to be clear at this point, it is not all the young sherpas who are part of this so from this point further, I’ll call the few (under 5 in total) the instigators. I wrote just after the deaths that there were three reasons for stopping climbing for 2014: respect for the fallen, fear of more ice releases and demands for more money through increased pay and life insurance. In reality, there was only one real reason – money. Today I would add another reason – desire for control over Everest climbing. In general, the new generation of sherpas are quite different from
Everest 2010 Season Summary
By recent standards, view Everest 2010 was a safe and successful year. There were about 513 summits with 4 reported deaths, search all on the north, and several injuries and rescues. The total Everest summits broke the total 5,000 (about 3500 are multiple summits by Sherpas and guides) level since the first in 1953. This year’s story line for climbers and their families was the weather, however it was all Jordan Romero and Apa Sherpa for the rest of the world. For the first time in several years, the north operated in an almost normal manner. Teams dealt with a few border restrictions early but arrived at base camp and immediately began their acclimatization rotations. On the north, a team run by the Chinese Tibetan Mountaineering Association (CTMA) responsible for fixing the ropes to the summit were held up by strong winds and cold temps thus created delays for teams trying to tag the high camps. On the South, the ropes were in early and the weather seemed drastically different from the North, at least in April. A multi-expedition group of 9 Sherpas took the line all the way to the summit on May 5 thus opening the gate. A few climbers followed the Sherpas a day later and made the first summits of the season before Mother Nature changed the play book. Similar to previous years, the south side’s greatest danger remained the Khumbu Icefall. No collapsing seracs from Everest’s West Shoulder like last year, but dangerous nonetheless. There were several incidents of climbers and Sherpas falling through soft snow bridges and even broken bones from falling ice seracs necessitating rescues. As the season progressed and temperature became warmer, teams ventured into the Icefall in the dark and cold of the early morning hours hoping the moving ice was more solid. The Weather Windows The weather. Ah, Everest weather. With the forecasts available to teams, this season was filled with debate, calculated gambles and indecision. In other words, normal. The weather pattern followed the expected flow as the Everest region moved from winter to summer: a good April, followed by a transitional May. The April winds and snow were a bit stronger than in previous years, however teams pushed through to reach the high camps and many were prepared for their summit bids by early May. They reed down valley for R&R and to eat and breath as much as possible. However for the first two weeks of May, the winds picked back up and the threat of typhoon Laila off India fueled the anxiety. A similar scenario in 2009 hit Everest after the last summits and trapped teams at base camps for over a week. Leaders became concerned that the harsh weather would hit in the middle of their pushes. There were two windows identified by forecasters: May 16-17 and May 22-26. The first was deemed too short for most teams but others worried about crowds if they waited for the second and longer one. In what might have been considered an act of courage, several teams set out on May 16th looking to squeeze a summit, and back, into a two day window of acceptable winds and minimal snow. And they were right. Over 50 climbers made the summit in this window but there were reports of frostbite in the declining conditions. The next window was shaping up to be a record day with climbers chomping to get their crack at the top of the world. However typhoon Laila was lurking in India playing with forecasts and climber’s minds. The bet was it would veer off to the east thus avoiding a direct hit to Everest. It was the correct bet but the chance of heavy snow now appeared in the forecast. With time running out, almost every team on both sides moved higher on the mountain. The weekend of May 21-23rd was awesome. More than 300 climbers made the top in great conditions. But those who waited late in the window began to feel the effects of an early monsoon and a low pressure system north of Everest. Once again, extreme winds combined with heavy snow almost shut down the Hill for the season. Duncan Chessell, an Everest veteran, called his summit day of May 25th, the worst conditions he had ever encountered by a factor of ten. Two north climbers died in this period. Huge Efforts, Mysteries and Firsts With every Everest season it is about individuals and teams all doing interesting and mind-boggling feats. A huge effort to clean Everest on the Nepalese side was driven by a team of 20 Sherpas called Everest Extreme. They removed several bodies from the mountain but left the familiar ones of Rob Hall and Scott Fischer. They also brought down almost 900 pounds of garbage. In a new effort to eliminate garbage from the start, climbers were encouraged to use the ‘blue bag’ for their solid waste and return it to base camp for the first time on Everest’s south side. No such effort exists on the north. Climber Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner summited without supplemental oxygen this year to knock off her 13th 8000m summit. Other non-O’s summits were completed by Silvio Mondinelli, Abele Blanc, Marco Camandona, Michele Enzio and Laval St. Germain. Also without O’s was Austrian mountain guide Wilfried Studer who summited on May 23rd – together with his wife Sylvia and their daughter Claudia. Simone Moro and Melissa Arnot wanted to go sans O’s but switched at the last minute. Jamie Clark, sponsored by Hanesbrands, tested a new material based on a compound called Aerogel. It is incredibly thin and is warmer than down. Previously used by Everest climbers in socks, this was the first time to demonstrate it in full clothing at altitude. He wore it as high as camp 3, but I was under the impression they would replace the “puffy” suits with their SuperSuit all the way to the summit. In any event, Jamie seemed just fine at C3 so apparently