Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Summits, Missing Climber, Skiing Lhotse
This last week has been the pinnacle for the 2018 autumn climbing season across the Himalayas in Tibet and Nepal. Sadly a Czech climber is missing after summiting Manaslu and the long-coveted ski descent of the Lhotse Couloir is apparently completed but not confirmed. Big Picture – Weekend Update This week will wrap up the […]
Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Summits All Over
One of the best moments in climbing on the Himalayan is when you reach the summit of an 8000-meter, or lesser peak only hear a Sherpa screaming into his radio “Summmmmiiiitttt” with the energy of a World Cup Football announcer. You almost can’t help but smile. This scene is being repeated on Manaslu and Cho […]
Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Summit Pushes Begin
Pretty much on schedule, multiple teams will be starting their summit push this week, if they haven’t already. The weather continues to be decent but fresh snow on Dhaulagiri and Annapurna will require a couple days to settle. Cho Oyu Climbing the Seven Summits team reported they left for the summit today, Monday Sept 24 2018: “Their […]
Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Sherpas Dies on Dhaulagiri
Team after team are wrapping up their acclimatization rotations so look for summit pushed to begin as early as this weekend or early next week. The weather is looking poor for next couple of days but then returning to nice autumn conditions, albeit with rain around Manaslu and snow on Dhaulagiri – which seems to […]
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: Lhotse Begins, Manaslu Summits, Burke Khang
Lets start with the most exciting news out of the Autumn Himalayan climbing season, the attempt on Lhotse’s South Face. But also worthy of acknowledgment are the large number of summits on Manaslu and another attempt on the unclimbed Burke Khang. Lhotse – South Korean Returns South Korean, Sung-Taek Hong, 51, along with Spanish climber […]
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: First Summits and Heavy Snow Ahead
The rope fixers reached the summit of Manaslu while other teams across the Himalayan continue to establish high camps enjoying good weather with one exception, those on Dhaulagiri saw their summit bid stopped cold. Dhaulagiri – summit stopped 78-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan on Dhaulagiri saw his first summit attempt stalled after they went up […]
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: Manaslu, Dhaulagiri, Lhotse
The autumn Himalayan climbing season is well underway with Manaslu, located entirely in Nepal, dominating the numbers but not the challenge. Let’s look at the more interesting climbs first. Lhotse – South Korea back for 5th time South Korean, Sung Taek Hong at age 51 is back for the 5th time to attempt Lhotse’s South […]
Lhotse – the Other Everest
Every Everest climber, mind actual or armchair, recognizes the term “Lhotse Face” as a difficult section leading to the Death Zone at 8, healing 000 meters. What some people often miss is that the Face is part of the 4th highest mountain on Earth, Lhotse standing 27,940 feet or 8516 meters. Sitting in the fake […]
Interview with Ellen Miller – the Quiet Climber
Ellen Miller is a quiet climber. She is so quiet that many people would never know the achievements of this accomplished athlete and mountaineer. For example, she is the only woman to summit Everest from both sides within the span of one year. I first met Ellen in 2002 on the expedition where she summited […]