Nirmal Purja and his team left Camp 4 last night. Despite the fresh snow, they summited Everest today at 7 am.
Summiters included Purja, five clients, photographer Sandro Gromen-Hayes, and nine Sherpa guides. They are now back in Camp 4. Next, Purja will lead three clients (Jenn Drummond, Adriana Brownlee, and Marie-Pier Desharnais) to Lhotse, supported by five Sherpa.
Pioneer Expeditions also reports that four clients and six Sherpa have summited. For all the Sherpas, this marked their second or third Everest summits of the season. The website 8000ers.com reports that Kuluar, a team working with Seven Summit Treks, also reached the top, although the number of climbers is unknown.
Yesterday, climbers in Camp 2 were shocked by the impact of a monster avalanche. The avalanche came down from Nuptse, far from the camp, but the huge shockwave flattened a large number of tents.
Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, Director of Seven Summit Treks, stated that he had not seen anything like it during his 19 previous Everest expeditions. After the avalanche, Climbalaya Expeditions removed all their clients from the mountain. Csaba Varga, climbing without O2 or Sherpa support, also deemed it too risky to continue.
Colin O’Brady has stayed. Climbing with Pemba Sherpa and a member of the Seven Summit Treks team, he plans to reach Camp 4 today.
Fortunately, the normal route on Everest’s south side is relatively safe from avalanches, although a small avalanche did partly damage Camp 3 three days ago.
Those going for Lhotse tomorrow may encounter more dangerous conditions on its summit couloir.
