Everest 2024: Summit Tsunamis and Puddles. An unconfirmed Death
I used to call the weather windows “Summit Waves,” but they are more like Tsunamis with the occasional puddles this year. Usually, we see hundreds of summits each day, but this year, it can be as few as two people for the entire day. The summit winds continue to be fickle this spring. May 21, 2024, was a huge day for Everest summits, with an estimated 160 summits, and tomorrow may exceed it, with some estimates of over 300 climbers positioned at the South Col. One death was reported, but I have not been able to confirm it. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Crowds, Wind and Summits
The weather continues to be fickle this spring. Unexpectedly high winds caused a few teams to cancel their move to higher camps while others pushed through and summited. But the fear of crowding has emerged with a vengeance. May 23 has become the new target summit day for many teams.#everest2024
Everest 2024: Summit WEEK!
As expected, with low winds, scores of climbers are summiting Everest. This Sunday, May 19th, morning, it’s estimated that over 100 people stood on top of the world. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Weekend Update May 18: Windy Summits and Death
The week started well, but when the winds picked up, as forecasted, teams took risky chances that turned deadly. Now, with a better forecast, hundreds of climbers are positioned to summit over the next few days. Tibet-side teams are in place and looking at summit plans. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Missing Everest Climbers Confirmed Dead, More Summits
Expedition operator 8k Expeditions found the bodies of their clients Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 31, near the South Summit, around 8,550m and his climbing partner, Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 53, near the Balcony at 8400 meters. More climbers summited on May 13th and 15th, taking the total to 97 Everest summits from the Nepal side and the Tibetan rope team on the Tibet side. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Risky Decision Making
High winds were in the forecast from multiple services and internet sites, but some teams either didn’t believe them or ignored them and made a summit push on Tuesday, May 15 – around fifty people turned back, and two climbers have been missing for days. Almost every team is targeting this weekend for their summit push; thus, we can anticipate significant crowding. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Everest Climbers Missing on Summit Push
Multiple media outlets report that two Mongolian climbers are missing. Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 31 and Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 53, were using base camp-only services from 8K Expeditions and climbing together without supplemental oxygen or Sherpa support. They left for the summit from the South Col at 8:45 a.m. on May 13 and haven’t been heard from since. High winds were reported at 70-80 kmh/45-50 mph. A search team has been dispatched by 8K. #everest2024
Everest 2024: More Summits, More Death
As many as fifty people made the summit of Everest on Monday morning, May 13th. Nearby, Lhotse also saw summits. Teams arrived at the base camp on the Tibet side, while a French climber sadly lost his life on Makalu. Winds are coming, so the action will slow for a few days. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Weekend Update May 13: First Summits
The first summiteers on Everest marked the beginning of the climbing rush. The rope fixers summited a few days ago, and over thirty-five climbers summited today. Two climbers added to their summit collections to extend their records. Teams arrived at up base camp on the Tibet side, while a respected Sherpa sadly lost his life on Makalu. We’re now entering the summit phase of the spring climbing season. #everest2024
Everest 2024: Everyday Everest Podcast Part 16–Home and The End
The final chapters of Everyday Everest, my new Podcast series, Part 15, drop today with chapters 49 and 50. I’ll continue my annual coverage as usual.
Based on my 2020 Virtual Everest series, Everyday Everest follows a fictional team of nine climbers and their personal Sherpas from leaving home to trekking to base camp, acclimatizing, and finally, on their summit push, returning home. I’ll have a twenty-minute episode a few times weekly for the next two months.
In Part 16, our protagonist, Harper wrapped her arms around Claudia, watching the helicopter disappear over the top lip of the Khumbu Icefall, Pablo gently swinging from a rope hanging from the belly of the chopper.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything