This evening, minutes after 9 pm local time, Tyler Andrews left Everest Base Camp, determined to set the fastest time to the summit. This is Andrews’ third attempt in two weeks.
On the first attempt, on May 10-11, Andrews turned around slightly above Camp 3, due to problems with his equipment and the subsequent loss of momentum.
Tyler Andrews and Chris Fisher leave Everest Base Camp on Andrews’ first attempt to set a speed record up Everest. Photo: Tyler Andrews/Instagram
Andrews tried again 12 days later, on May 23. The weather was far from ideal, with high winds on the upper sections of the mountain. The climber chose to change his planned no-O2 climb and instead use supplementary oxygen.
Karl Egloff of Ecuador was also planning a speed attempt and started just two hours before Andrews. He wanted to time the round trip, Base Camp-summit-Base Camp, rather than just to the summit, as Andrews did. Egloff also decided to stick to his original plan and go without bottled oxygen.
Egloff aborted his push shortly after Camp 3. Andrews, on oxygen from Camp 2, continued until he was stopped and turned around by his team slightly above Camp 4 at 8,000m. It was due to safety reasons: the Sherpa expedition leader felt the wind was too high around the summit.
Deteriorating Icefall
Before leaving this evening, Andrews said he would climb this time without supplementary oxygen. His regular running partner, Chris Fisher, would accompany him through the hazardous Khumbu Icefall, as he had on the first attempt.
Tyler Andrews’ tracker 48 minutes after departure. Graphics by Everest.racecast.io
Unusually mild weather down below has caused the Icefall to deteriorate prematurely. Before his own attempt, Karl Egloff told ExplorersWeb that the Icefall Doctors — the Sherpas who tend to the route through that dangerous maze — recommended leaving the mountain by May 25 for safety reasons.
However, in addition to Andrews and Fisher, dozens of other climbers are currently heading to the summit, motivated by the good weather expected tomorrow and Wednesday. The Icefall will officially close on May 29, when the Icefall Doctors will retrieve the ropes and ladders between Base Camp and Camp 1.
Tyler Andrews’ progress can be tracked live here.
