Tyler Andrews is back in Base Camp after an Everest speed climb earlier this week that ended at 7,400m in unstable snow. Despite the physical effort and a close call at the Khumbu Icefall, the American runner is ready for a new attempt tonight.
We asked Andrews for details of the route, his acclimatization methods, and his criteria for considering his Everest feat “solo and unsupported.”
Crevasse close call
Andrews launched his fourth Everest fastest known time (FKT) attempt in five months at 8:20 pm Nepal time on September 22. Compared to his three previous attempts during the busy spring season, this time Everest was lonely and covered in a much thicker layer of snow. There were no other climbers on the route, and conditions were far from ideal for a speed ascent, especially on the Lhotse Face. Yet, things started to go south long before Andrews had to deal with poor snow.
He recounted the ordeal for ExplorersWeb:
Passing 5,910m, I approached a tricky section where a bunch of large pinnacles stuck up from a giant crevasse. The rope followed a large L-shape, with the short side first, then a large pinnacle marking the corner, and then a series of short crossings across maybe 20m.
As I got to the corner of the L, I noticed that the rope (there was one single rope across this section) was anchored into that corner pinnacle, but the ice-screw holding it in was very loose. I was able to wiggle it out with almost no effort, so I stopped for a minute and found solid ice, unclipped the rope from the ice screw, and re-screwed it before beginning the final section. This ended up being a really good decision and a good example of karma playing out immediately.
I clipped into the rope with just a carabiner and, after the first hop onto one of the little pieces in the middle of the crevasse, also attached my jumar as a second piece of protection because the crossing felt extremely dicey. There were maybe two more hops, and I made it to the penultimate piece without issue. Then I made the jump to the last little island before the far side. This chunk did not hold my weight and collapsed.
In a split second, I was falling and then whipping into the wall of the far side. Luckily, I was not too banged up, and the rope and anchors held well. However, I was then dangling until I could find purchase with my crampons on the ice.
Tyler Andrews amid seracs during a previous rotation on the Khumbu Icefall last year. Photo: Tyler Andrews
Saved by his ice ax
Still dangling in the crevasse, Andrews managed to radio-call Chris Fisher at Base Camp.
“I was holding myself up with both my toes stuck into the ice, and my jumar attached to the rope, which was, I hoped, firmly anchored somewhere above,” Andrews said. To his dismay, he saw he was below an overhanging roof of snow, with the rope carved through it like a piece of floss.
“As I stepped up and pushed my ascender up the rope, it eventually hit this roof, and I was stuck just under it, with maybe a meter of overhanging snow above me. So, with just the front-points of my crampons holding me to the wall, I had to let go of the ascender, take off my backpack, and take out the ice ax I’d brought with me.”
A climber in Andrzej Bargiel’s team at the Khumbu Icefall on Everest last week. Photo: Bartek Bargiel
Andrews said he had been criticized for carrying an ice ax on Everest because it’s almost never necessary. “Unless you run into a situation like this, when all of a sudden it becomes extremely valuable,” he said.
Cold, but alive
Eventually, Andrews managed to chip his way out of the roof. By now, he was very cold, as he had been speeding up the Icefall in only a T-shirt. He still had to detach and clean his jumar ascender, which was clogged by the snow covering the rope. (He was also secured by a carabiner with a prussik knot.)
“Finally, I wiggled through my small hole in the roof, reached my ice ax over, and got a solid placement on the upper edge of the ledge. I did one big pull-up and flopped onto solid ground. The whole ordeal was probably only about 20 minutes, but in the moment, it felt like an awfully long time. I was glad to be standing up and on my way.”
Surprisingly, he still had the power and mental strength to continue. When he reached the Lhotse Face and experienced sections of unstable snow, he hesitated. “Conditions were very poor, and I was a bit shook up from the Icefall incident,” Andrews admitted.
He aborted the attempt at 7,400m. His Base Camp team explained that Andrews had passed a section with a wind slab that threatened to give way.
Back for more
Andrews has confirmed that he is going to try Everest again tonight. Asked if he thinks conditions will be better this time, he replied: “Honestly, not much, but I know what to expect.”
File image of Tyler Andrews in the Himalaya. Photo: Tyler Andrews
Andrews will again have to deal with some sketchy sections, with few footprints to follow. “In some places, the trail is better than others. The section between Camp 1 and Camp 2 is very clear, but the Lhotse Face has very soft snow and no footprints at all.”
Crossing the Icefall will also be challenging because it snows almost every evening.
Solo versus alone
Before he leaves for the summit tonight, we wanted to ask Andrews some of the questions members of the climbing community had posed about his challenge.
Andrews has assessed his upcoming run as “solo, unsupported,” but this would not be the case under strict mountaineering criteria. For most mountaineers, a solo, unsupported climb would involve having no one else on the mountain and no gear (like ropes) placed by others.
An Instagram story shared by Chris Fisher as Andrews departed Everest Base Camp last Tuesday. Photo: Chris Fisher
Andrews made it clear he is not claiming a “mountaineering solo” ascent. “[For FKT] solo and unsupported basically means there is no support that is not available to the general public,” he said. “This means that fixed ropes that are available to all are OK, but getting pulled up the mountain by a personal Sherpa is not. I am very aware that the mountaineering definition of ‘soloing’ is different and that is not at all what I’m claiming; what I do claim is that I am going to climb alone.”
Extreme hypoxic training
We asked Tyler about acclimatization because he has not done any partial trips up Everest, just the full attempt earlier this week.
Before arriving at Everest Base Camp, Andrews had been running near Mera Peak. However, he bases his preparation on hard sessions on the treadmill or static cycling with a hypoxic mask.
“We have been working out with the hypoxic machine at 9,000-11,000m for the last eight weeks,” Andrews said. “I also did this in the spring. When I attempted the Everest FKT, I had not climbed higher than Mera Peak (6,400m) but was training up to 9-10,000m on the hypoxic machine and felt fine above 8,000m.”
Andrews noted that he felt no serious altitude effects during his recent attempt.
Tyler Andrews rushing around Gorak Shep yesterday. Photo: Chris Fisher/Instagram
