A Good Start to a Busy Week
There were at least 40 summits on Monday morning, May 16th from the south side. It is still not clear if there were any from the north. The winds did pick up late Monday bringing a stop to this brief window. There were no reports of serious problems with any of the climbers at this time. After a false start on Saturday night when the winds did not cooperate, teams huddled at the South Col, some spending an extra night which is usually avoided. But Sunday night, the winds still between 40 and 50 mph at the Col, let up enough and they were off. Multiple reports came in of crowds and slow progress especially above the Balcony but no mention of high winds. However, they did comment on extreme cold this year. Most teams are reporting their climbers down to at least the South Col. With the next window estimated to start soon, teams are already leaving base camps on both sides to be in position for summits on May 22nd through the 24th. Being in Base Camp is quite exciting during a summit night and morning. Many of the Sherpas and climbers monitor radios of the other teams. Then you hear one word over the crackling radio, usually from a Sherpa, who draws out the word for at least 10 seconds “Summittttttt!” The kitchen staff begins banging pots together and word spreads throughout the 1,000 person community and ends a while later with smiles, hugs, handshakes and back slaps. Everyone is happy regardless of who made the summit. I have updated the location chart based on the available information so please click on the team to see who they listed as summiting. Of note on climbers many people were following, these summited: Carina Räihä, Kenton Cool and Bonita Norris plus Jamie Clark. Again congratulation to all of them and to the Sherpas who made it all possible. Once again, Patrick Hollingworth, brings us in with his audio quite a long time. I appreciate Patrick’s effort to share all this with us. Listening to his excitement gave me goose bumps. Well done Patrick! On the north, in case you missed it, the Chinese/Tibetans have fixed the route to the summit. Also, Jordan Romero is at ABC and looking at a summit bid this weekend as well. Looking into this week, some teams are climbing to camp 2 today where they will spend a few nights before moving to C3 for a night, then the South Col and their summit bid. However, as well know, predicting the weather is difficult at and Jamie McGuinness put it well: Anyway, after coffee our first job is checking all the weather sites and making an analysis of when might there be a summit window. We know with high certainty when it will be very windy and so have planned an attempt after that as it is far more comfortable to climb above North Col in low winds. Note that it takes us around a week from leaving Base Camp to when we actually summit, and weather forecasts are perhaps 50% accurate five days out. So conditions/forecasts could – or will – change. This is really where my skills will be tested. This past window, while narrow and a bit windy and cold, was solid and it was excellent so many people made it. This will help a bit with the crowding for the next wave. Again congratulations to all the climbers, Sherpas and leaders who made the summit yesterday. Climb On! Alan
North Summits and South Push (update 4)
update #4: Multiple teams are reporting summits this morning in Nepal. I estimate well over 30 summits from the south, probably much more. Weather was holding as of early morning. Congratulations and well done to all. The tracking chart is updated based on available information but so please check their sites for details on their sites and a summary later here. update #3: teams at South Summit. Note: Please remember that my Everest coverage is to raise money for Alzheimer’s research. Please read my story. Please make a donation that goes 100% to research, nothing to me. Thank you. update #2. First reliable update directly from the climbers. Sounds like wind is not an issue. However, some teams have asked their slower climbers to wait for next weather window since winds are expected to pick up Monday afternoon. Also I added part of the Jagged Globe team to summit push. At this pace, look for summits from 7 to 9 AM Nepal time (see sidebar for current time) Could be a lot of people up there according to this from Jamie Clark: Above The Balcony, moving slow due to crowds. Enjoying star light, heat lightning in the distance. update #1: No solid updates from anyone attempting the summit Sunday night, now Monday morning as of 3:00 AM. By now, climbers should be above the Balcony. If winds were a big issue, we probably would have heard about by now. The next milestone will be at the South Summit where high winds, if present, usually cause teams to consider returning to the South Col. So far so good. We have new Summits! On the north, the Chinese team topped out while fixing the ropes to the summit according to Adventure Dynamics. This opens the door for all the climbers during the large summit window anticipated next week. And it looks like the South teams have begun their summit push from the South Col. Over 50 climbers and Sherpas were seen climbing the Lhotse Face on Friday and Saturday looking to take advantage of the predicted short summit window this weekend. As they began to go for their summit bids on Saturday night, the winds picked up thus postponing the effort. Now it is early evening on Everest and teams are on their way right now. Michale Fagin of everestweather.com said the conditions were good that afternoon. Note that this is a snapshot and conditions can change quickly above 8000m. Sunday May 16, 3 pm Nepal time estimated summit winds of 30 to 40 mph (48 to 64 km/hr), mostly clear. Temperatures -20 F (-29 C) This is bit high and could be uncomfortable for some climbers. There are reports of new snow on the Triangular Face which leads to the Balcony. A little new snow actually makes the climbing a bit easier as long as there is not too much. With all the traffic, a path will be worn in quickly. Patrick Hollingworth posted an informative audio dispatch from the North Col saying he took 11 hours to go from camp 3 to the South Col which is normally a 4-6 hour climb max. He had issues with his oxygen mask and cold feet. He also noted the effort to return the body of Russian climber, Serguey Duganov, who died on Lhotse last week. The routes are the same near the Yellow Band. He felt there were no summit attempts on Saturday night. His plan is to go for the summit leaving the Col 8:00 PM Sunday night. He is climbing with a small Sherpa team only from Himalayan Ascent. I like his post for many reasons but you feel his emotion in this 8 minute update. Kenton Cool of Dream Guides posted this report: All the team are now at Camp 4. We are resting on oxygen and attempting to get as much food and fluid down us as the forecast is showing that the winds will be returning shortly, so, if we are going to go for it, it’s tonight or not again for another week. It’s currently snowing which doesn’t make for great underfoot conditions on the ascent but we have a really strong sherpa team with us who will be helping me break trail (nobody has managed to summit yet this weekend so the trail is under quite a bit of snow). Wish us luck and let’s hope the next update has some good news. Jamie Clark and Scott Simper of the Hanesbrands team report planning on leaving the South Col via these tweets: Scottie, Sherpas, and I in Camp IV. Winds calmed down nicely last night. Trying for summit tonight. We will have radio darkness for a few hours, but will hear from us at The Balcony and share our Steps to the Summit. The Malta Everest team also posted they are leaving for the summit around 9 local time. During summit pushes there are long times with no communication. Climbers normally stop at the Balcony and South Summit to update their status back to base camp via radios. Then the base camps updates website if that is their process. But many will simply report a summit or a return to the South Col in the event of a turn-around. So all this is to say, no news is most often good news. On the north, we know there were teams and climbers making bids on the north the same time as the Chinese so there were probably summits from Western climbers but nothing official at this point. I assume there are summit bids on that side tonight as well. Remember there are more teams on that side than I list on the charts and many do not communicate with the world like commercial expeditions. Looking forward, the Adventure Consultants team makes this note of the next weather window: Meanwhile for the AC Team the Everest weather game continues as we try and tune into the time period for us to head up. Long term
Reading Everest Weather
More teams have made the decision for a summit bid this weekend. The latest include the Malta Everest team, half of Peak Freaks and a two person team from First Ascent. They are now at camp 2. Why are these climbers going to the top in marginal weather? Well maybe the weather will not be marginal – at least according to some weather forecasts. Before looking at the weather, an quick update on the teams. There is movement on the north perhaps to fix the rope to the summit. On the south, the vast majority of the teams have chosen to wait for a longer weather window and the teams at C2 are resting up and waiting for the winds to calm before going higher. Most top teams pay for a professional weather forecast. These are teams of meteorologists who not only look at the data but also interpret it and then communicate the forecast and recommendations to their members. Climbers pay for these services and keep them private since it is a value to their team members and a safety issue.
Everest Potpourri
It is getting interesting on Everest. Almost in Vegas fashion, teams are placing their bets on multiple weather forecasts but the stakes are higher than the table minimum. Most are content to stay at base camp and socialize, rest and wait for the clear window that appears year after year. Others are more aggressive with their bets looking to position themselves at the high camps and then take advantage of the next narrow opening. As we saw last week, this can work, but the most experienced teams are content with a wait and see approach.
Everest 2010 Weekend Update May 1 (updated)
There are good weeks and bad weeks on Everest, a bad week is when someone dies. On Monday, April 26, Hungarian climber Laszlo Varkonyi was swept into a crevasse by an avalanche on the North Col. A desperate search ensued, however, by Thursday, the search was called off. Teams on the south, while aware of the north side events, continued their acclimatization rotations with many climbers spending the uncomfortable night at camp 3. The weather continued to play nice and Sherpas took the fixed line all the way to the South Col on the south and to camp 3 on the north. They are now being supplied with oxygen bottles, stoves, fuel, tents and other suppliers needed to launch summit bids. Both camps are roughly at 8000m. As of today, the ropes are not fixed to the summit from either side.
Mental Toughness on Everest
Starting with the north today. Teams are now occupying Advanced Base Camp. They will use this as their launching point for acclimatization rotations to the North Col and most will eventually climb to camp 1 on the Northeast Ridge. As we know, the north can be much colder and windier than on the south. Multiple reports are coming in that Everest is quite dry this year. This can increase the difficulty for some people not used to climbing on rock with crampons.