Everest 2017: After 14 Everest Expeditions, Why Altitude Junkies is Leaving?
Guide companies tend to come and go, especially on Everest, but there are a handful that have made a significant contribution to the industry and when they “go”, there is a good reason. I’ve known Phil Crampton since 2008 when he was instrumental in helping me recover from botched logistics on a Everest North side climb. We went to the South side that year and was waylaid by the Chinese antics related to the Olympic games. Anyway, in 2013 I summited Manaslu with Phil and team plus was on his Everest team in 2016 for my Lhotse attempt. When he told me a couple of years ago that he was leaving Everest, I nodded politely and dismissed his comment as recreational complaining. But then he did it. His company, Altitude Junkies, has an incredibly loyal following. It is common for him to have 8 out of 9 repeat members on an expedition, almost all who have summited several 8000 meter mountains. And of course Everest was the crown jewel for many. He is not a “guide” and takes it personally if you call him one. He expects his climbers to come prepared, independent and ready to climb. No training at base camp. If you ask him if there will be a gear check, he will scoff at you and suggest that you are on the wrong team! Phil is famous for his afternoon happy hours where attendance is mandatory, but drinking is not. I have spent many an hour in the dining tent visiting with the who’s who in climbing including Conrad Anker, Russell Brice and others. His Sherpas are some of the best and loyal to a fault. He pays above average wages, does not accept tips and keeps his promise that there will be zero surprises on his trips. Oh, and his prices are below average. So why would he walk away from the largest draw in Himalayan climbing? Why would he leave money on the table? And what is next for the Junkies? With that background I asked Phil what was going on. Q: What is the background on Altitude Junkies not being on Everest in 2017? The Junkies have been on Everest every year since 2008 and I have participated in 14 Everest expeditions, both on the north and south sides of the mountain. It’s been a very enjoyable dozen plus Everest expeditions and nearly three years of my life if you include the pre and post expedition duties. The mountains of the Himalayas and their dynamics are changing and with this in mind we decided to switch the direction the Junkies were going with our 8,000-meter peaks expeditions. One major concern I have for 2017 is overcrowding especially with the climbers from 2014 and 2015 using their permit extensions. 2014 permits are valid until 2019 but those climbers present in 2015 during the earthquake and subsequent avalanche have to use their permit this season otherwise they are invalid. There were some meetings in Kathmandu with the local operators last year in regards to the expected increase in numbers of foreign climbers expected this spring season and going on rumors and local operators talking, it will be a substantial increase and a record number of climbers are expected on the south side. I am also noticing a lot of climbers, some making their first visit to Nepal, wanting to climb both Everest and Lhotse in the same push. Lhotse used to see very few climbers on her flanks but the allure of two 8,000-meter peaks in a 24-hour period is too much for some of the novice climbers to refuse to attempt. I believe there were only two summits of Lhotse last season and you need a lot of luck for everything to fall into place to gain both is a short period of time. Q: How much did the deluge of inexperienced climbers play in your decision? It was always the joke on the north side of Everest back in the 90’s and early 00’s about the inexperienced budget climbers showing up unprepared. We used to call it the “Everest Circus”. It now seems as if the north side has rid itself of that image and unfortunately the circus seems like it’s moving to the Nepal south side. A few years ago a lot of the western companies would ask their members to have experience on a peak such as Aconcagua before going to “The Big E” but recently I am meeting members of well-known western guiding companies at Everest base camp who are very proud to tell me that they have no experience whatsoever and their expedition company had no problem allowing them to join the team. It now seems very fashionable that a lot of the Everest climbers want to take the fast track to the summit, skip a 7,000-meter peak as preparation and sleep in a plastic tent at home so they can be done with Everest in 4 weeks. Q: Were you concerned about your member’s safety relative to earthquakes and avalanches? I am always concerned for the safety of my members and Sherpa staff on any mountain. Earthquakes cannot be predicted whereas those climbers and guides with avalanche training can spot potential dangers but no one can predict exactly when a slide will happen. We provide each climber and Sherpa a radio and an avalanche transceiver but the big mountains throw situations at us that we cannot always control. I always tell my team members that the avalanche transceiver they wear is to help the rescuers retrieve bodies safely if possible, it will not protect them from an avalanche or serac falls. Any climber on Everest who does not carry a radio is stupid in my honest opinion. They weigh nothing and can save your life. I can attest to that after taking a big crevasse fall back on Manaslu in 2013 and my radio saved my life. Q: Why did you select Makalu as the alternative? My good friend and climbing partner, the late Samuli Mansikka
Everest 2012: A Preview of the North Side
As we get closer to the Everest season, climbers are in full prep mode and also the operators. Phil Crampton owner of Altitude Junkies took a few minutes to talk about his expectations for the north side of Everest this season. Phil is a bit unique because he ran climbs on the north for years before switching to the south as it became more difficult to run a reliable operation from Tibet. Now he is satisfied that side is stable enough and with the demand from his members, online he is back for 2012. If you don’t know Phil, he is quite well-known in the Himalayan mountaineering circles; being what I call a “boutique” operator. Phil started in the industry by leading several expeditions to both Cho Oyu and Shishapangma at the start of the decade under the Altitude Junkies banner. He also served as a guide and logistics manager for Mountain Madness. But it is his work with the China Tibetan Mountaineering Association’s (CTMA) climbing school in Lhasa that he is proud of where he helped train Tibetans as serious high-altitude mountaineers. Today he runs his own guiding business full time. Q: What has been the reaction from your members on switching from the south to the north for 2012? A. I had always been an Everest climber on the northern Tibetan side of the mountain until the infamous 2008 spring season when the mountain was closed for the Chinese Olympic Torch relay. I was fortunate enough to switch our expedition last minute to the south side and my climbers graciously accepted the price increase allowing us to have another successful Everest expedition. We were always going to head back to Tibet but we became comfortable with the south side of the mountain with its beautiful trek to base camp, warmer temperatures at base camp and slightly easier climbing route. We also wanted to give it some time and see how the following years expeditions fared with sudden closures of Tibet and restrictions on permits by the authorities who regulate the mountain and the autonomous region of Tibet. All of the climbers on this spring’s expedition preferred and requested we climb on the north side in 2012. We have a few climbers who have already climbed on the south side with the Junkies and they are now hoping to add the north side to their high altitude resume. Q: How is the planning progressing for your Everest North expedition this year? A. I can actually spend more time at home this winter in Woodstock, New York, as I don’t have to arrive in Kathmandu early March to start sending cargo to Lukla and then onto base camp. Woodstock is a great little funky town in the heart of the Catskill Mountains. It’s not widely publicized but we have some great ice climbing and cross country skiing, although there is not too much of either this winter due to the mild conditions we have been experiencing. The beauty of an Everest expedition in Tibet is that all the supplies will cross over the border the same day the team members do and then the majority of Sherpas will go directly to base camp to establish our compound. We limit our expeditions to eight climbers and I am pleased to say that we have a full team once again this spring. We like to think that we offer one of the base camp set ups of any of the commercial operators and we have been adding to our already comprehensive base camp set up. I am just hoping that we have enough juice to keep our Wii powered up during the wait for the final summit window. We all need our dose of Guitar Hero before a summit push. Q: Any concerns with the Chinese closing entry into Tibet until the end of March? A. There has been talk of this by some of the operators in Kathmandu but we think that if they do, they will open up the mountain first or second week of April. They have closed Tibet during Losar in the past and going on this article it looks as if they will do so again this year. We have purposely made our expedition cross the border on April 10th to allow for any delays in re-opening the border to foreign travelers. I remember they closed Tibet last summer and this really hurt a lot of the Nepalese operators who run Mount Kalish trips. Unfortunately the sporadic opening and closing of the border will continue but I am optimistic that it will hopefully get better. I am looking forward to pumping some money into the local economy with the hiring of some Tibetans to help fetch water and clean pots and pans at base camp. Q: Who will fix the rope this year and when are you hoping it will be ready to the summit? A. The Tibetan guides from the Tibet Mountaineering Guide School in Lhasa, who are often mistakenly called Tibetan Sherpas, will fix the ropes as they did the past couple of seasons. They were criticized by several teams for the delay in fixing the ropes in 2011 but to my understanding, the weather was a huge factor in the delay. In the early 2000’s the summit was often reached via the north side way in advance of the south side. In 2006 and 2007 the Sherpas from Himalayan Experience who fixed the ropes did so in late April. I am hoping that we are able to summit between the 15th and 25th of May. Saying that, I have had team members reach the summit as early as the 10th and as late as the 30th on the Tibet side so anything could happen. Q: Any idea of how many expeditions will be on the north this year? A. I haven’t really heard of too many teams heading to Tibet but I know the south side will be crazy busy as usual. It’s
The Everest Rescues and another Death (update 3)
With the summits mostly ended, climbers are making their way back down to Base Camp. As they recover from their summit push, there stories are emerging of rescues. Once again, we are seeing tangible proof that the climbing community is a tight one; especially in times of need. We are also seeing that pure accidents happen in spite of every precaution and mountaineering is dangerous and altitude s everyone the same; regardless of experience. While impressive and motivating to non-climbers, one of the downsides of having a 13, 16 and 22 year old summits this year is that it could portray Everest as an easy walk-up that requires little to no experience. The press coverage touts Bonita Norris as a “Novice climber becomes youngest British woman to reach Everest summit” and how 13 year-old Jordan Romero summited Everest with little experience. Even his own site said “Jordan not only climbed Mt. Everest, but he climbed with unbelievable strength and skill.” With all due respect to these talented young climbers, their experience is not representative of many climbers through the years. It is a dangerous message for those who do not know better. If you climb enough, you know that if everything goes perfectly, you were lucky; full stop. With this, the real stories are starting to surface. As the Altitude Junkie team were climbing on May 23rd, they were making good progress. Then one of their climbers started to act strange, it was apparent he was in trouble. British climber Mike Herbert had HACE. This is a condition when the brain leaks fluid into skull; putting pressure on the brain itself and eventually will cause death. The only cure is to descend rapidly and immediately. Phil Crampton and his Sherpa team took charge to do just that. But he had help. Phil’s short but instructive dispatch describes the details: I have highlighted the individuals and teams involved: Mike, who is a seasoned Himalayan climber and an Everest veteran developed a case of HACE at 8,700 meters and was helped down the mountain by the following people who we are so grateful to for their assistance. Both of our Sherpas, Sirdar Dorjee Sherpa, Lhapka Tsheri Sherpa and myself assisted Mike from the rock steps just below the South Summit all the way to the South Col. We were assisted by Willie and Damien Benegas along with their team doctor Roman and their Sherpa, Lhapka Nuru, who assisted Mike from the rock steps to the Balcony. From the Balcony our Sherpas and I were assisted by Lhapka Rita, the Sirdar from Alpine Ascents who ascended from the South Col, Pasang Gumba Sherpa who was descending from the Mountain Trip expedition and Pasang Yula also descending from the Benegas Brothers expedition assisted to the South Col. Mike showed a huge improvement and traveled on his own power from the South Col to camp three but again found himself needing help from camp three down. Dorjee and Lhapka Tsheri Sherpa along with some mental coaching from Bill Allen of Mountain Trip got Mike back to camp two after an epic two day descent. Our Sherpas Temba Bhote, Cheddar, Pasang Nima, Pasang Wangchu and Pasang Dawa all ascended from camp two to assist. On the advice of the doctors from the Himalayan Rescue Association we helicoptered Mike out from camp two so he could medical attention immediately. His condition is good at present. I would also like to thank both Vern Tejas from Alpine Ascents and Dave Hahn from RMI for keeping contact on our radio frequency throughout the descent monitoring the rescue. Melissa Arnot on the First Ascent blog tells that during her descent she and her partner, Dave Morton, were at camp 2 when told of a climber who had fallen into a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall. A rescue was being mounted. Instead of spending the traditional night to recover at C2, they hurried down to give what aid they could. The climber was rescued. We gathered some rescue gear and medical equipment and headed down to the Icefall below Camp I, where we were told we would find a female climber who had been involved in an ice bridge collapse and fell about 30 meters. We arrived around 5 p.m., 12 hours after leaving Camp IV. The other climbers who had come to help were already in the process of stabilizing the women and getting ready to move her uphill, where she would spend the night until a rescue could be completed in the morning. We are now hearing the real story about that young British climber Bonita Norris’ accident as she descended from her summit. It was deadly serious and could have resulted in death if, once again, the climbing community had not pitched in, Bonita herself describes in detail on her blog that she slipped and hit or twisted her head and neck thus causing her pain when she walked. She was literally drug down to the South Col. 20 minutes later though, my neck and shoulders had siezed up to such a point that i took one last step and a shooting pain went up my spine- it was so painful i yelped and Lakpa stopped. He saw i was crying- but this time with pain. It was then i realised something was wrong- i must have pulled a muscle in my neck, maybe whiplash. I didnt know what it was, but moving was excruciating. We were in trouble. Finally, about an hour below the balcony, another group of sherpas arrived, from here on i dont remember much- apart from the pain of being dragged across ice and rock as the attempted to get me back to camp 4 as quickly as possible. My neck was blinding with pain, but i remember having covnersations with the sherps and thinking i felt OK bar the neck- i knew if i just let them do the job we would all be home safe. Yet another harrowing tale told by
Summit Plan Updates – Fin Race is Cancelled (updated)
The situation on the south side of Everest continues to be quite fluid. I have confirmed Phil Crampton of Altitude Junkies’ update that Ann-Marie will NOT attempt the summit during this narrow window. Phil had already kept the rest of his team back at base camp. They are planning on using the longer weather window in the forecast about a week from now. The situation is simply too dangerous according to Phil.
Interview with Mike Farris: Alone on Everest
A constant debate within the climbing community is not what you climb, but how you climb. Style. It is all about style. Mike Farris found himself in the middle of this argument on the summit of Everest last spring. He climbed with style but paid a price with the removal of portions of seven fingers, try both big toes, and portions of six smaller toes. Climbing pundits will rate Reinhold Messner as a superior climber to Ed Viesturs even though both climbed the fourteen highest mountains on earth without supplemental oxygen. Messner climbed new routes and Viesturs used standard routes. Messner had superior “style” according to the pundits. Mike had over 30 years of climbing under his belt. He is an experienced rock and ice climber and a veteran of five 8000 meter expeditions including K2. Mike has written a book entitled The Altitude Experience: Successful Trekking and Climbing Above 8,000 Feet, where he explains the details of high altitude climbing. In other words, Mike was quite experienced when it came to altitude. He did not go to Everest believing it was “easy”. He wrote prior to his climb about Everest: Nobody who has climbed it has said that it’s easy. It is technically easier that K2 (second highest) and Kangchenjunga (third highest peak), both of which I’ve attempted, but there are still difficult sections high up on the mountain, and of course the extreme altitude has a major effect. So it’s a real mistake to underestimate the difficulty of any peak. Yet with all his experience, this Professor of biology at Hamline University in Saint Paul, MN found himself alone on top of the world, late in the day and running low on oxygen. His goal was to climb as an independent climber. Before the climb, he explained what climbing in style meant to him: Using most of the available fixed rope is unavoidable. I have to be content with the knowledge that I could climb the route without them, if need be. This doesn’t include the icefall, which requires fixed ropes for safety’s sake for all climbers. Anything I want to use above Base Camp, including oxygen, is carried by me. I won’t have any Sherpas carrying tents, food, fuel, stoves, etc. Except: Most teams set up an Advanced Base Camp at about 6400m (21,000 ft) and have a kitchen staff to prepare meals. Since I’m paying for this service anyway, I will use this ABC facility. I will use the minimum amount of bottled oxygen needed for safety. I won’t know what that amount is until I assess my level of acclimatization and fitness. He made it to the South Col per his plan and left at 10:00 PM – alone. I have followed Mike for years and find him a confident individual who strives to do his in the high altitude world. I was curious about his decisions on Everest, his thoughts on style and on the other climbers who probably saved his life. Q: You wanted to climb Everest in ”style”. What did that mean to you exactly and why was that important? I began as a rock and ice climber at a time when style was very important and changing rapidly. No pitons, no aid climbing, no step cutting–all very different from the 1960s. The emphasis was on skill rather than equipment. As the author of two rock climbing guidebooks I’ve had to think a lot about style for the benefit of the guidebook users. I think this has carried over into my high altitude mountaineering. Mark Jenkins’ book ” A Man’s Life” has a wonderful chapter on climbing style, and I recommend that to anybody contemplating climbing a high peak. At many levels, style is a completely personal choice. If your goal is to collect summits, you may not care how you get up or down. If the journey is more important than the destination, then style does matter. I wanted to have a satisfying experience; the summit would be great but not essential. Given the reality of Mount Everest on the standard routes, I had to decide what was feasible for me to do. For me, climbing in good style meant using the least amount of outside help possible. I used the fixed rope and the kitchen at ABC; otherwise I carried my own gear and oxygen. I didn’t use supplemental oxygen below the South Col. The truly committed stylist would have avoided the fixed ropes as well. Safety has also been central to my climbing ethic, so I wasn’t willing to go that far as an independent climber. Q: On your summit bid, you were climbing alone – no teammates or Sherpas. You are an experienced mountaineer with five 8000m attempts at that point but why choose to go it alone? There is a difference between being with people and being alone. Above 8000 m you’re really alone unless you’re traveling with a group large enough to evacuate an incapacitated climber. Of course a partner serves other purposes: psychological support and help with decision-making. Up to this point I’ve never had a problem traveling alone on 8000 m peaks. I suppose it was part of the test I gave myself–could I do it completely on my own? In this case, I couldn’t. Q: Let’s look at your summit night. You climbed to the Balcony in 8 hours, which is on the slow side and then arrived at the South Summit around 10:45 AM, almost 12 hours after leaving the South COl. This was quite late. Did you consider turning back then given your pace? Yes. I had a constant discussion with myself from about 3 AM onward. Once I reached the Balcony and changed oxygen bottles, I felt I was moving better. At about 9:30 AM I set a turnaround time of 11 AM if I hadn’t reached the South Summit. When I arrived there at 10:45 AM I felt okay. I had been moving faster and the weather was
An Insider Look at Everest 2010 – Phil Crampton
Everest 2010 looks to be special for an interesting reason – no drama. The past two years have been difficult with last minute requirements by the Chinese that resulted in almost every team climbing from the south. 2010 looks to return to normal – whatever that means on Everest – but we have come to expect the unexpected recently. The owner of Altitude Junkies, Phil Crampton, > took some time to discuss the upcoming 2010 season with me. I wanted to look at the politics, the realities and if the events over the past several years would have any impact on this upcoming season. If you don’t know Phil, he is quite well-known in the Himalayan mountaineering circles; however being what I call a “boutique” operator, not well known outside the circle. Phil started by leading several expeditions to both Cho Oyu and Shishapangma at the start of the decade under the Altitude Junkies banner. He also served as a guide and logistics manager for Mountain Madness. But it is his work with the China Tibetan Mountaineering Association’s (CTMA) climbing school in Lhasa that he is proud of where he helped train Tibetans as serious high-altitude mountaineers. Today he runs his own guiding business full time. His stated goal for Junkies is to offer good value expeditions for the budget conscious climber without risking safety and reducing the quality of services. Q: Phil, you have been deeply involved on both sides of Everest for many years. What are the thoughts in the Kathmandu climbing community about the upcoming 2010 season? Good season in terms of number of trekkers and climbers? It seems as if the spring season should be busy. There are climbing expeditions planned to both sides of Everest, Cho Oyu will be crowded, and there are two firsts with both a British and Australian commercial expeditions making their debuts on Makalu. The spring trekking season always brings a large number of trekkers to base camp and with Tibet open, there should be plenty of tourists driving to base camp on the north side of the mountain. Q: Do you think 2010 will be a “normal” year on the north with a return of teams? It seems as if the Chinese authorities that regulate the mountain are relaxing their permit requirements for expeditions wishing to climb Everest from the Tibet side. There were strong rumors that the new rules imposed on Tibet expeditions in the fall of 2008, that required all teams be sized a minimum of 5 and maximum of 13 persons, with only two different nationalities, may have been scrapped for the future. Tibet for the most part has seen no further demonstrations that it witnessed in 2008 so the Chinese should hopefully welcome back climbers. The locals who rely heavily on working for the western expeditions to Cho Oyu and Everest will have a much-needed source of income once again. As far as I am aware at the moment, it will be the usual commercial operators on both the south and north sides in 2010, with the exception of Himalayan Experience, who will be operating their second south side expedition. Some of the independent teams that used to be on the north side should start returning as the logistical costs are lower and this will then balance out the numbers of climbers on each side. This can only make each route less crowded, therefore safer for every climber. I am unfamiliar with the rope fixing practices on the north side in 2009 as I was on the south side. I get the impression that the CTMA, with the assistance of the Tibetan guides from the Tibet Mountaineering Guide School, will possibly fix the ropes from the glacier at the foot of the climb to the north Col, all the way to the summit. It makes sense, especially now that the commercial team who fixed the rope on the north side of Everest in the past is no longer operating on that side. Having one qualified group of experienced climbers place the fixed ropes is beneficial for the safety of all the climbers on the north side of the mountain. Q: In 2009, the Khumbu Icefall and the shoulder of Everest were very unstable. This made some teams minimize the acclimatization trips to the Western Cwm by using other peaks. Do you think more teams will take this approach in 2010? The icefall in 2008 was very different to 2009. The route this year was more direct but did swing dangerously close to the shoulder. There were not any sections of the icefall where three or four aluminum ladders were strapped together to make passage over crevasses or up ice walls like there were in 2008. I may be wrong, but I think there were three large collapses of the West Shoulder during the 2009 season. The first was caught by many on film and video as it happened shortly after breakfast and many climbers were resting at base camp. No one was injured but there were a few climbers stranded and had to wait for the Icefall Doctors to replace the displaced and destroyed ladders so they could continue to descend. The second collapse I remember well, as it was 4 am and my team and Sherpas were roughly an hour into climbing up the icefall. We heard the crack and the rumble that followed, and my group reacted fantastic, as we all managed to take shelter behind a serac before the blast and debris hit us. None of us were injured, just covered head to toe in snow from the blast. Unfortunately a collapse happened at the same location at 11.30 am in which a Sherpa lost his life while descending with his members. I had a good friend die in the icefall in 2005, so I always take care and clip in wherever there is a rope. As it proved this year, the early morning can be just as dangerous as late afternoon