Everest 2015: Namche Bazaar is sometimes Bizarre
I walked the dirt paths of Namche Bazaar shielded from the rain by three story rock buildings. I was careful not to get gored by yak horns or a trekker’s hiking pole. I find the cafe I was looking for, the one with Internet that worked. As I walked in, it was dark, a pool table was off to my left. A long table were filled with Brits, Germans, and Americans drinking beer, a large latte or just sitting quietly. A yak train walked by the windows, their bells clankingly loudly. The music inside the cafe heaved with bass as Stephen Tyler screamed at the top of his lungs through the ceiling mounted speakers. The Everest Bakery, where I left because their Internet was down, was playing mellow Tibetan chants intermixed with New Age elevator music. A new lodge is under construction. Men with sharp chisels, hammer away at blocks of white stone, making perfectly formed blocks that will create another wall in this village of stone buildings. At the Everest Bakery, a young trekker told me his story: quit his job, flew to Nepal, no agenda. As he wrote in his diary, in tiny cursive to save space, he looked up, pausing, then said he was looking for himself. Down a side street, the ATM was not working, the Internet being intermittent with the heavy rain stopped this luxury at 12,000 feet in remote Nepal. The Sherpa store keepers were putting blue plastic sheets over their prayer beads, necklaces, bracelets and yak wool scarfs, upset the rain was scaring customers away. A small store that had two barber chairs was empty on this Tuesday afternoon. A man with a load taller than he was, tried to navigate the trekkers shopping the stands on the narrow streets. He probably weighed 120 pounds, and his load was probably more than that. He didn’t look concerned. Namche Bazaar, old world people, new world visitors; a village of contradictions Business is Good The lodges are full of climbers and trekkers. The lodge owners say business is a bit down but still good. My own observations is that the streets are teaming with people, spending money, laughing and seemingly happy to be in the Khumbu. The weather continues to be mostly good with afternoon rain or snow. The temperature seems warmer to me than in my previous visits for early April. The Khumbu is also teaming with film crews, eager to take advantage of the world’s attention on Everest – for all the wrong reasons. Moving On Today, we took another acclimatization walk to about 1,000 feet above Namache. Tomorrow, Wednesday April 8, we leave for our next stop at Deboche just below the Tengboche Monastery at 12,687 feet. On Thursday we will visit Lama Geshe in his home in Pangboche. I am so looking forward to seeing him again. The Internet is said to be weak or missing until we get a few villages higher so it may be a few days until I can post again. Thank you for your comments on the blog Twitter and Facebook. I read each one. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything Please consider joining ??Alzheimer?’s Prevention Registry. Joining does not obligate you, just provides you the opportunity. Many trails are questions and surveys. Open to anyone over 18 worldwide. 80% of all al trails fail due to lack of volunteers http://bit.ly/1HONXgl
Everest 2015: First View – New Icefall Route Pictures
Today we were rewarded with spectacular views of Everest, doctor Lhotse and Ama Dablam from the Everest View Hotel just above Namche Bazaar. I created a gallery of some of my favorites from today. New Icefall Route On another topic, Garrett Madison scouted out the new route in the Khumbu Icefall. In fact, it is totally new compared to 2014. See Madison Mountaineering’s site for more and larger images. In a post on his site at this link, you can see it hugs the side towards Nuptse and should offer significantly improved protection from ice releases off Everest’s West Shoulder over the previous routes. However, it looks like there may be more ladders required to scale the high ice blocks towards the top of the Icefall. I’m not sure how all this will impact climb times. Everest View Gallery – April 6, 2015 Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2015: Gratitude for the Khumbu
As I walked up Namche Hill yesterday, healing I found myself alone. The tall pine trees waved in a steady breeze. The well worn dirt path held the memories of so many who have passed before. My own memories took over as I thought about my first climb up this infamous Hill in 1997. Now, drugstore 18 years later, discount I felt the same excitement, the same sense of how unique and special the Khumbu is and, while there is progress for the people, the spirit remains intact, full of loving kindness. We left Kathmandu on time (a rare occurrence) and the 25 minute flight to Lukla was mostly uneventful except for the sharp turbulence as we crossed the high ridge, barley 500 feet off the earth. The snow covered Himalaya were to the left, showing us that winter was still strong up high. Lukla As we approached Lukla, I strained to see the runway, but all of a sudden with the skill of a Top Gun pilot, we hit the runway hard – a true carrier landing if there ever was one. With the runaway, a short 1,729 feet, the airplane needed to stop quickly as the landing strip has, well, an abrupt ending into the side of a mountain. There is no opportunity to “go around” if the landing is missed. With the successful landing, we made our way over to have breakfast before starting the first leg of our 10 day trek to Everest Base Camp. The route is obvious, with many trekkers and climbers both returning from their trek and other starting. Our team, Madison Mountaineering, is in the middle of the Everest/Lhotse climbing teams headed to Base Camp. We plan on taking a safe 10 day schedule to ensure solid acclimatization before we get serious about gaining altitude. Our first night in Phakding was welcome even though it was only a short three hour walk. Most of us were still adjusting to the time change. In fact, I enjoyed a four hour afternoon nap, what a luxury! Also I met a new friend in the lodge. Our team represents 10 different countries. I like the international flavor. We left Lukla at 9,334 feet and lost 810 feet, the only time this will happen until we return in late May, well other than descending during the climb. As I walked, I made sure I focused on the moment. It is often so easy to think about the past – you know the could of, would of, should of’s in life; or the future, what’s next, what tomorrow will bring, plans, hopes, dreams. But for me, this moment was all about gratitude for being here again. A Feast for the Eyes The rhododendrons, choke cherry trees and magnolias were in full bloom as spring was just touching the Khumbu. The trail was full of Zos, with their bells clanging announcing their arrival. Trekkers from across the globe carefully navigated the rocky trail going slowly uphill and downhill, eyes fixed on the next step. They too were living in the moment. Looking up was rewarded with snow covered 20,000 foot peaks. Smooth hill tops to craggy, sharp summits, they all held a special place. It seemed that in the foreground of each view, a string of prayer flags protected those below and those above. We stopped for tea and again for lunch before entering the Sagarmatha National Park proper. Our permits were checked three different times between Lukla and Namche. I was pleased to see almost no trash – candy wrappers, soda bottles, etc. on the trail. Waste containers were regularly placed with signs asking people to “keep the Khumbu clean”. It seems to be working. Namache After about five hours, we approached Namche Bazaar, the informal capital of the Khumbu. It has grown significantly since my first visit. We are staying at the Panorama Lodge where Garrett has stayed for years. It is clean with individual rooms complete with toilet and shower. Quite civilized compared to some of the other lodges. The Lodge is filled with part of our Sherpa team. Also here is Kami Rita Sherpa, who was on our K2 team last summer. Kami Sherpa (Ang Chhiring Sherpa – Pangboche), whom I summited Everest and K2 with and will be climbing Lhotse will arrive tomorrow. Such special people in so many ways. I am so glad to see them again. I remember describing my first trip here to my mom, Ida. She listened intently and asked many questions about how the Sherpa people lived, the role of the women, how the kids were raised. In later years, she never remembered I went to Everest but I enjoyed telling her the same stories all over again. I think she would have been pleased to know I returned so many times. We are here for three nights, adjusting to the altitude of 11,280 feet. We will take walks each day to help the process along. Hopefully we’ll get our first view of Everest and Lhotse today from the Everest View Hotel, about 45 minutes walk up hill for the Lodge. So, I’m happy to be here. I’m grateful for another opportunity to visit this special place, to see these unique people. Yes, all is well. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything Note, while we have Internet, uploading large video files is a problem thus this one is smaller. I hope to keep making these videos as long as the local Internet service allows. If this one cuts off, I’ll reload later today. Please consider joining ??Alzheimer?’s Prevention Registry. Joining does not obligate you, just provides you the opportunity. Many trails are questions and surveys. Open to anyone over 18 worldwide. 80% of all al trails fail due to lack of volunteers http://bit.ly/1HONXgl
Everest 2015: Trek to Everest Base Camp Begins
Those who have followed me for years know I always say: Do the trek to Everest Base Camp, cheap it will change your life. Well I’m on my way for the 5th time, look 7th if you include overall trekking in the Khumbu. As part of the Madison Mountaineering team, we are a rather large party with 12 Everest climbers, 2 Lhotse and 10 trekkers. You will probably be able to see us moving from the space shuttle as we move along! The trek will take 7 days, taking a leisurely pace between villages. Carrying on a samll day pack, our duffels are moved along with us by porters and Dzo aka Zo. This is a cross breed between a cow and a yak, some call them yattle! The females are called dzomo but I dare you to determine the difference 🙂 In any event, Zos, Dzomo, Yas and Naks are all huge furry beasts, and I love seeing them!! 🙂 Zos do the heavy lifting until 14,000 feet when the yaks take over. My understanding is the yaks overheat at lower altitudes and the Dzos can’t handle the high altitude thus the hand-off. I’m sure you bovine experts can correct my description. We will stay in tea houses each day. They have come a long way since my fist trek here in 1997 when they heated the inside dining rooms with yak dung and it was poorly vented. This was common thus many Sherpas in the area suffered from emphysema. Today, the venting is adequate but you still hear a lot of coughing in the older people and sometimes the rooms can be smoky. We will start out trek from Lukla and follow the normal route taking 10 days to reach Base Camp: If you want to read more about this trek, visit my Everest Base Camp FAQ page at this link. By the way, the Nepal Ministry of Tourism reports that 287 individuals have received Everest climbing permits for 2015 representing 30 major teams. They expect a few more teams to show up. This all means that the tragic season of 2014 has had little impact on climbing Everest from Nepal. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2015: Ceremonies of Life and Death in Kathmandu
Our last day in Kathmandu, we did the tourist thing by visiting two of the more popular spots: the Boudhanath Stupa and the Pashupatinath Temple. I had visited these spots on my first visit in 1997, but have never returned so it was interesting to see them again. Warning: this post and video has graphic descriptions and images that may be disturbing to some people Our first stop was to the Pashupatinath Temple where both Hindus and Buddhist take their dead for cremation ceremonies. Everything is out in the public and the families are accustomed to having tourist and locals, s watch the ceremonies complete with camera in hand. If it is the death of a mother, the youngest son leads the ceremony, if the father, then the oldest son takes charge. The total cost is between $40 to $60, a lot of money for many of these families. It is believed that those who die in Pashupatinath Temple are reborn as a human, regardless of any misconduct that could worsen their karma. The dead are cremated within 24 hours of death. The body is lovingly cleaned, sometimes painted before being wrapped in white cloth and gently laid on a pyre of wood. The son then take a flaming torch, circles the body many times before setting the structure aflame. It takes about three hours to complete and the ashes are spread into the Bagmati River which eventually joins the Ganges in India. Posing for pictures in the temple area are Sadhus, wandering ascetic yogis, who are trying to acquire liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth by meditating. They are quite eager to pose for tourists in exchange for a small donation. Next stop was to one of the largest stupa is South Asia, Boudhanath. It has become the focal point of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. With April 3, the last day of the full moon and the start of the Nepal new year around the corner, the Boudhanath was full of families praying for their dead of the past year. They circled all three levels of the stupa. The air was full of smoke and incense and the sound of praying monks, clanging bells and announcements over a loud speaker competed the sensory overload. Again, abject poverty was obvious with many handicapped people begging for money. Prayer wheels encased in the lower wall made for more crowds as many people, locals and tourist alike circled the base spinning each wheel This afternoon, we returned to the hotel to do our final pack and will leave early tomorrow morning. I’ll do another post on that later. So, a good last day in Kathmandu with vivid reminders of the circle of life. Sights, sounds and smells to last a lifetime. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2015: Life in Kathmandu
Arriving in Kathmandu always brings a wave of emotions. This is my 10th visit here since 1997 and every time, illness I’m struck by the contradiction of poverty and smiles. My flight from the U.S. went well except for a six hour delay in Istanbul. But at least I was able to spend it in one of the lounges I’ve seen, and I have seen many. It was large, with comfortable seating and amazing food. The only bad part was when Turkish Airlines delayed my flight from Kathmandu from 8:30PM to 1:30AM but overall, I’m not complaining. Nepal recently introduced a computer system where you can register for your visa online. Well I did and still spent almost two hours trying to enter the country. The lines were long, the process slow, manual and cumbersome. But I met some of my teammates in line, and enjoyed watching the diversity of incoming tourists from diplomats to trekkers to climbers. Changes in Thamel As I walked the streets of Thamel, the district of Kathmandu where many climbers stay, I am always struck by the nature of the businesses and how they have changed over the years. Now there is a The North Face, Marmott and Mountain Hardwear stores next to the “Khumbu Climbing Gear” local store. You can all your medicine here, at very low prices. You can get all the gear you need at good quality, if you are careful not to the Chinese rip-offs, and the selection is not bad. You can get a logo made for your jackets or pack in a day, or a custom shirt. Basically anything you want is available. One of the first tasks on everyone list these days is to get their phone set up with the Nepal operator NCELL. You can make a call from Nepal to the US for $0.025 per minute! Using your own satellite phone costs $1.00 per minute and your guide’s, maybe $3.00 per minute. They also offer 3G service for your smartphone so you can post Facebook selfies from Kathmandu to the summit. 🙂 But the problem is that as you go into the Khumbu, there are fewer antennas and with every, and I mean every, Sherpa, porter, monk, Lama and yak having a phone and a Facebook account, the bandwidth gets clogged thus slowing everything down to a crawl! I guess this is what many would call a 1st world problem in a 3rd world country! For the first time, I’m staying at the Yak and Yeti hotel, just outside of Thamel. It is a “proper” hotel with full service. This is where Madison Mountaineering stays, nice digs! They have a wall of banners welcoming other teams here. The Internet is fast but there is a premium charge for it as compared to the very slow but free access in Thamel. But I miss the friendly faces of Michelle and Pujan at the Hotel Courtyard where I have stayed the past few times. Everest: Business as Usual Teams are still streaming into Kathmandu and there is a steady flow out to Lukla or Lhasa. The permitting process seems to going smoothly with no reports of delays. All in all, it is business as usual for the Everest Industrial Complex 🙂 There are some big names here that are keeping a low profile. Not sure what they are up to. It is reported that more than 40 team permits will be issued for 2015 compared to 31 in 2014. Be assured this will be spun by the media that Everest continues to be overcrowded, and nothing was learned from last year’s disaster. Meanwhile Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism will spin it that their efforts to “make Everest safer” through offering rescues squads, weather forecasting and a “new” safe route has resulted in making Everest more attractive than ever. But the truth is that permits are not representative of the number of climbers. This year, a permit can be issued to a team of two: foreigner and a Sherpa Guide. In the past it took seven people to make up one permit, thus you can now have seven permits instead of one to account for the same number of climbers. Wait for the final count of climbers permitted for the real story. I expect we will see over 300 foreigners with permits for 2015. Adding in an equal number of mountain workers, I am predicting 2015 will come close to 2013 where over 600 people summited Everest that spring. Yes, the highest mountain in the world, continues to be very popular. The Trek Goes On Expect the first teams to arrive at Everest Base Camp (EBC) this weekend but the main activity will not begin until around April 10th as it takes seven to nine days to make the trek, allowing the body to adjust to the higher altitude. Most everyone starts in Lukla at 9400 feet and moves to 17,500 feet at EBC. We leave on Saturday, weather allowing, for Lukla. I hope you enjoy this short video I took today doing a little shopping and traffic hopping! Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything Please consider joining ??Alzheimer?’s Prevention Registry. Joining does not obligate you, just provides you the opportunity. Many trails are questions and surveys. Open to anyone over 18 worldwide. 80% of all al trails fail due to lack of volunteers http://bit.ly/1HONXgl
Everest 2015: Heavy Snow in the Khumbu
As climbers and trekkers make their way towards Everest Base Camp (EBC), doctor they are being challenged in many ways. Unusually heavy snowfall is delaying putting the route in the Khumbu Icefall and rain, fog and low clouds are delaying many from reaching Lukla. The Kathmandu Shuffle Team after team are leaving their hotel early hoping to get a flight to Lukla only to wait for hours at the airport, then told the flight is canceled due to low clouds. The Lukla airport has a deadly and dangerous reputation. It has no radar so pilots must use visual flight rules. If there are low clouds, the airport is effectively closed. Some teams are using helicopters but even then delays ensue. Jim Davidson made this comment on his Facebook page: Pilots in Nepal say: “We do not fly in cloudy weather, because in Nepal the clouds have rocks in them!” After a long wait at the Kathmandu airport today for the clouds to lift, all flights to Lukla are canceled. We reed to a different hotel for the night, then we’ll return to the airport and try again tomorrow. Or, the next day. We must be calm and , like Buddha. Icefall Route The Himalayan Times‘ Rajan Pokhrel reports that David Breashears arrived in Nepal a few days ago and is consulting with the Icefall Doctors on the safest route through the Icefall. Through his work, GlacierWorks, he has an amazing collection of high definition pictures and videos, some as recent as last year after the serac release. Using these images, they can evaluate a potentially safer route. Pete Athens went to Nepal last month to also work with the Doctors on alternative routes. The article quotes the leader of the Icefall Doctors: According to Ang Kami Sherpa, who leads a team of eight icefall doctors, heavy but unusual snowfall has been affecting their work. The team has planned to complete a route that passes from the middle of the icefall section in the next 10 to 12 days, he added. “Two-third section of the route has been constructed, but Breashears’ facilitation will be important to complete the remaining part of the treacherous route,” he added. So, the season gets started, albeit a bit slowly, but there is plenty of time. As for me, I’m currently stuck in Istanbul after my flight to Kathmandu was delayed by 3 hours, so far. I’m hoping to get there tomorrow. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything Please consider joining ?#?Alzheimer?’s Prevention Registry. Joining does not obligate you, just provides you the opportunity. Many trails are questions and surveys. Open to anyone over 18 worldwide. 80% of all al trails fail due to lack of volunteers http://bit.ly/1HONXgl
Everest 2015: Leaving for Lhotse
In a few hours I will be flying towards Kathmandu for my attempt to summit the world’s fourth highest mountain, Lhotse at 27,940 feet or 8516 meters. As always, I value, with gratitude, your good thoughts. Following I will be blogging along the way and extensively from Everest Base Camp. This link is the primary location for all updates but there will be pointers from my Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn accounts. I will do my but not be able to respond to many of the comments. As has been my custom for the last 13 years, I will also be blogging about Everest. With me being at Everest Base Camp, I hope to do personal interviews with the climbers and bring the world what really happens on Everest from an informed perspective with no agenda The way to stay informed is to sign up for notifications by email when I make a new post. Please use this link. You can also follow my every move from Kathmandu to the summit via the SPOT GPS tracker, just click on the “Where’s Alan” menu item or this link. Summary: Everest and Lhotse Blog Alan’s Current Location Subscribe to email notification of new posts Lhotse I feel like I have climbed Lhotse four times already, just not to the summit as it shares 80% of the same route used to summit Everest. I will be climbing with Madison Mountaineering and Garrett Madison who I summited K2 with last summer. Also, I am thrilled beyond words to have Kami Sherpa (Ang Chhiring Sherpa – Pangboche) climb with me. I summited Everest in 2011 with Kami as well as K2 last year. Also joining me will be Louis Carstens whom I summited Manaslu with in 2013. The Climb Lhotse is known as a “technical” climb meaning you need to use protection, climbing gear and full on hands and feet to gain the summit. As I make several climbs through the Khumbu Icefall, I’ll be thinking of the Sherpas who lost their lives in this section last year. I hope to minimize my, and our Sherpas, exposure by limiting the gear I carry to the high camps. The real crux of climbing Lhotse is the final 300 meters or last 1,000 feet. Once leaving the Camp 3 at 23,500 feet on the Lhotse Face, I will cross the Yellow Band and then turn right continuing straight up the Face instead of contouring across the Geneva Spur to the South Col as I did on my Everest summit climb. We will make camp at 25,750 feet or 7850 meters on the snow covered steep slopes of Lhotse. It is almost 2,200 feet to the summit on 50 to 60 degree slopes. Leaving early the next morning, we will climb about 400 feet eventually reaching the bottom of the Lhotse Couloir, a narrow, rock filled gully that leads to the summit that is only 9 feet wide in some spots. This is the most challenging part of a Lhotse climb and will require every mountaineering skill I have obtained on my previous 37 expeditions. I will stem off the rocks, scramble and full on rock climb the final sections. Lhotse’s summit is a small rock block that is often covered in snow making it dangerous. The return involves rappelling and arm rapping back to Camp 4 or Camp 2 where I will spend the night. The entire summit push will take 7 days. Thanks to Ellen Miller for the Lhotse photographs. A Personal Commitment The day my mom, Ida, asked me “Who are you?” was the day my life changed forever. I made a personal commitment to do everything I could to make a difference in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. I began to dedicate my climbs to raise awareness about AD: no cure, always fatal, not a part of normal aging. Thus far, thanks to many of you, we have reached 50 million people and raised $250,000 for Alzheimer’s research. But there is so much more to be done, more I can do. In finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, al trails play an important role. Many of the headlines you read about potential breakthroughs are done on mice or small scale human trails. In order for a new therapy to reach those in need, it must go through human trials and there is a severe shortage of volunteers thus stalling progress. In fact, 80% of studies fail because too few people sign up. Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry The Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry strives to overcome that hurdle by engaging people 18 and older of all races and ethnicities who are committed to ending Alzheimer’s, whether or not they have a family history of the disease. From simple questionnaires and surveys, to brain imaging studies and even pharmaceutical trials to evaluate investigational medications and therapies, the Registry offers members many ways in which to participate. In no way does joining the Registry obligate you to take part in a study or al trial. The Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry is part of Banner Alzheimer’s Institute (BAI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the goal of ending Alzheimer’s disease without losing another generation. It is helping to launch a new era of Alzheimer’s research—detection, ment and prevention at the pre-symptomatic stage—and to establish a comprehensive model of care that can be the national standard. BAI was founded in 2006 by Phoenix-based Banner Health, one of the country’s largest nonprofit healthcare systems. • In no way does joining the Registry obligate you to take part in a study or al trial. • Each study has a defined set of eligibility requirements, which means not everyone will qualify for enrollment in a particular study. • All studies associated with the Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry are approved by an ethics committee and ensure participants’ privacy and confidentiality. I have made the personal commitment and joined the registry. Follow and Join OK, I’m pretty pumped about all this. This is the first climb for Project 8000. I’m grateful
Everest 2015: Getting in the Everest Mindset
I closed my eyes for a moment as I made my way up another Colorado 14, 000 foot mountain. For that instance, I saw myself on the Lhotse Face taking one calculated step after another, there moving my jumar higher, occasionally looking up to see what was ahead. I had transported myself into the future. By now, mid March 2015, this practice had become commonplace as I trained for the world’s fourth highest peak, Lhotse at 27,940 feet or 8516 meters. I know the route well from my Everest, K2 and other climbs. I had learned from my previous climbs that preparing your mind was as critical as preparing your body. Clear the Clutter The last couple of weeks before leaving for a big Himalayan climb is busy. Not a long to do list but rather having your mind filled with questions. “Did I have the right gear, did I train properly, did I select the right operator … Maybe I should have climbed something else first. The money, it was a lot of money that could be spent on better things” the questions seem endless. You know all the answers but your mind keeps playing with them. It is time to look at the check list one more time, make decisions on items you kept open, those where you need to check just one more source, that one piece of gear you keep wanting to on or get the perfect one. Once you arrive in Lukla to begin the trek, all this clutter will seem like last year’s news. That perfect jacket you wanted will be the one you have with you, those boots will become your friend immediately. Prepare to begin your adventure by preparing your mind to let go, starting now. Quiet the Voices By now you have been asked every known question about climbing Everest. You did you to answer them honestly, but it became more and more difficult as the news media spun up the annual Everest coverage filled with sensationalized stories. How many times did you talk about Sherpa exploitation, trash, oxygen, experience of your teammates and more? And your favorite question “How much did you pay to climb Everest?” You’ve never been to Everest but now you are an expert, as is your spouse and family members. Take this role with honor and responsibility. Take advantage of each opportunity to be honest and transparent. “Yes, I will use supplemental oxygen like 97.3% of all the previous summiters. The cost to climb Everest is the price of a car …” But feel free to say the average price is around $45,000. Talk about the Sherpa people with pride and honor. Acknowledge their role in your climb. When you blog or write home, use their names and their village. But most important is to let all those questions go. Avoid getting drawn into the old, tired debates. Most of the people who try to get you into those conversations have an agenda, and seeing you succeed is not in their top ten. Focus on the Objective You are going to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Re-read that last sentence. You are going to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. How many have come before you or will follow you is immaterial. Each step you take will be your first. Each view will open your eyes in ways you never dreamed. This your climb. Everest is not “easy”, it is not a walk-up. It is a serious mountain that demands serious climbers. Remember, quiet the voices. For every one person who wants to play critic, there are nine who admire and are pulling for you. You are doing what few actually do. Many talk, but few make the sacrifices to live their dream. What you are about to do does not come easy, cheap or without determination. Take credit for who you are and what you are attempting. Nothing left Unsaid As you put that last stuff bag in the duffel, look around. See something small, unbreakable that will remind you of home? Carefully put it in the middle of that open bag. Let it be the first thing you take out at base camp and the last thing you pack when leaving. By now you have had that quiet talk with your spouse, spoke to the kids, parents, friends. But there was one more thing you wanted to say and never got around to it. Say it. Flying Away When you sit down on the airplane seat, close your eyes and focus on your dream. All the training is behind you, you are as good as you can be now. All the gear research and shopping is now in the belly of the jet, you have what you need. Put your headphones on and play your favorite song, you know the one … Open that book you have been putting off, savor each word … Or just close your eyes and give yourself permission to relax, take a deep breath. You are about to climb Mt. Everest. Climb on! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest 2015: The Reality of Everest
I’m noticing the seasonal increase in articles about Everest with the usual topics of trash, crowds, rich and famous, punters and more. The famous outdoor magazines are creating their spreads along with other media outlets finishing up stock stories to be printed at a moment’s notice, regardless of the facts. I have been contacted by many for background and fact checks. Sadly, we define facts in different ways. So, I thought I would take a few moments and give, from my perspective, a few headlines on the realities of Everest based on my coverage and four climbs since 2002 – 13 years. Who climbs Everest? The common notion is that of an out of shape, rich guy paying $65,000. He is drug to the summit using more oxygen than a MIG fighter pilot and returns home to brag about “conquering” Everest solo and without oxygen. Well only two of these things are correct 🙂 In my experience, the average Everest climber is a person in their 40s who has been dreaming of the opportunity since childhood. They saved money through making sacrifices and trained diligently over the previous year. They are neither selfish nor suicidal. The average price paid by westerners in my surveys is about $45,000. They arrive at Everest Base Camp with trepidation and respect. They have worked towards Everest through climbs of Aconcagua, Denali, Mont Blanc and a few have Cho Oyu or Manaslu on their resume. And yes, they have all worn crampons before. For 2015, I expect many 2014 climbers to return from their halted season. In fact 16 of the 26 climbers with blogs I tracked last year are returning. The notion of a “flight to the North” from Nepal is overstated. Again, in my interview over the past several months, the traditional south side operators are full. I can only identify one major south side operator who fully switched to the north. Early permit applications suggest a few less teams on the south side, 25 instead of the 30 in 2014. This was expected and is good. Finally, more people climb Everest hiring Nepali guide companies than the operators you usually read about including Himalayan Experience, International Mountain Guides, Alpine Ascents and Adventure Consultants. These operators and those like them, have decades of guiding Everest and do so professionally, safely and pay their staff, including Sherpas, above market wages. Many of the stories of exploitation do not originate from these companies. Crowds, Crowds, and more Crowds “I would never climb Everest, all you do is stand in line!” I think that is an excellent decision and I hope that anyone who is put off by crowds would select any of the thousands of mountains with not anyone on them to climb and not contribute to the crowding on Everest. OK, snarkiness aside, I understand. With the pictures you see , including some of my own, it is easy to generalize that climbing Everest is like ing gas at Costco. The reality is that yes, sometimes you get caught up in a line of fellow climbers. Let me explain, if you are open to it. The route on both sides is marked by a thin nylon rope. Every wise climber clips into this line to save them from a free fall down steep sides or into a hidden crevasse. This creates a line. Given different people move at different speeds, if there is a slow person on the line, it will slow everyone else down. It is easier said than done to simply unclip and let everyone go by. In the traditional areas of congestion, there are often two lines, an up and a down one. Most of the time this is not a huge issue. The famous picture from 2012 was unique because it caught over hundred people climbing from Camp 3 to the South Col. This is at extreme altitude, on a steep icy slope and was mostly of Sherpas moving slowly with full packs. We can discuss the merits of using Sherpas at all, but that is for another post and mostly for the purists. Looking back over the history of Everest there are usually 8 to 12 days where the winds are low enough to allow for a safe summit. For the several hundred people attempting the summit, this is sufficient time to allow a natural spreading out thus reducing any crowds. In 2012, there were less that five suitable summit days thus the climbers were squeezed into a small window. Does this eliminate the crowding argument, no but it should keep it in perspective that not every day is a Costco day. Also, Everest is a huge mountain and with some planning, crowds can easily be avoided. In 2011, I was the fourth person to summit on a day that saw about 125 summits, May 21. I never stood in a line. Can you climb Everest without a Sherpa? Yes and no. Many people have climbed Everest each year from both sides (Nepal and Tibet) without hiring a Sherpa. But in late 2014, the Nepal Ministry of Tourism established a new rule that every climber must hire a Sherpa Guide. But to be clear, Everest has been climbed from many routes without the support of Sherpas, meaning non-Sherpas have carried all their own gear, cooked their own food, set up fixed lines where needed and more. This was mostly on the Tibet side where there is no significant Icefall. But also, to be clear, this is rare and even the national teams of the 1920’s, 50’s and beyond used Sherpa support. Lest we not forget Sir Edmund Hillary summited with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa who had climbed on Everest the previous few years with Swiss teams. The traditional role of a Sherpa has been to establish the high camps by carrying tents, stoves, fuel and oxygen bottles. At Base Camp, mountain workers serve as cooks. Other ethnic groups serve as porters to get all the gear to Base Camp.