Devloping an Everest Climbing Plan
With the Everest season in full swing, many people ask what it takes to climb the highest mountain in the world.
It comes down to a few areas: skills, experience, fitness and commitment.
First 2010 Everest Summits!
Eric Simonson’s IMG Blog is noting the first summits of 2010 on Everest. As expected it came on the south side from the Sherpa team fixing lines to the top. Adventure Peaks, amongst other teams, reports on heavy snow on that side. They noted a meter (3.3 feet) of snow at the north col limiting further climbs up the Northeast Ridge for the moment. Summit Climb commented that high winds destroyed some tents at the Col as well.
The Weather Game
Once again we find teams all over the Khumbu. Many are down valley in the village of Periche enjoying some time at the teahouses and the richer oxygen environment but others are still high on the mountain. The weather continues to play havoc with those climbers. AAI reported an aborted attempt to reach camp 3 […]
Climbing in Place
With yesterday’s fresh snow, teams were content to take a day or so to let it settle. Unlike expeditions on Denali where you are stuck for a week at the 14 camp or High Camp in your tent or snow cave, on Everest, climbers have the luxury of large tents, folding chairs and tables. And at Base camp, heaters! … One more item to note, Tim Ripple tells us that Nepal Telecom has turned on coverage for Everest. When first announced they said it would reach the summit but let’s wait for confirmation before making that claim.
Climbers: Ready, Set, Wait
The ladders are in. The ropes are fixed. The Sherpas have already gone up. Now it is time for the climbers to ascend to camp 1. But, as is sometimes the case, they were all dressed up with nowhere to go. Some teams made their foray into the Icefall with a short trip to the first ladders – no gear, just a walk-through. But others wanted to go all the way.
Everest 2010 Weekend Update April 11
For the past 15 years, early April in the Khumbu welcomes the sound of footsteps, yak bells, hushed conversations and dreams seeping from aspiring climbers. This past week, the dirt trails were quite busy. Also, new resting place for Hillary’s ashes and making reservations on Everest.
And They’re Off!
Climbers continue to stream into Kathmandu from all around the world. I updated the expedition count and can already identify over 150 named climbers just on the south side and over 50 on the north. But the true number could easily exceed 350 on both sides. To put this in context, in 2009, we saw over 300 summits and sadly, 5 deaths and nearly 500 summits set a single season record in 2007.
Interview with Lei Wang: 7+2 is her Dream
Lei Wang may be about to accomplish something by her calculations only nine other people have done thus far: stand on top of the 7 Summits and ski the last degree to north and south poles – assuming she summits Everest about 3 months from now. Growing up in China, Lei spent her weekends catching […]
South Side Update from IMG’s Eric Simonson
Last week we looked at the north side of Everest for 2010, look now let’s have a quick look at the south for 2010 through the eyes of IMG’s Eric Simonson. As many know, IMG is one of the largest operators on Everest and the other highest peaks around world. They were featured on the […]
Everest: Beyond the Limit online
If you missed Everest:Beyond the Limit Season 3 (2009) you can watch all 5 episodes online for free http://tinyurl.com/yeyav9o Update: it seems it is not available online in Europe.