Back on Makalu
Carla Perez is in Base Camp ready to give Makalu a second try after the cold foiled her previous no-O2 attempt. Also ready for a last-minute try is Jackson Groves, who was not part of the STT team that summited some days ago.
Groves was recently airlifted out with sinusitis and a gum infection.
“I had a quick double root-canal surgery and grabbed a bunch of medication before flying back to Lukla,” he explained. “Then I waited nine long days in a tea house before getting the first available helicopter back to Base Camp, but now I’m back! Well behind schedule, but still soldiering on and ready to give it a crack.”
Groves will climb without a team but will surely share his push with other last-chance climbers. He mentioned a possible attempt “in a few days”.
Jackson Groves on Makalu. Photo: Jackson Groves
Not 2nd try but maybe last chance
Jon Gupta is also on his way to Makalu with one of the clients he led up Kangchenjunga last week. Gupta aims to summit on May 20. Makalu would cap off a wonderful season. Gupta is still on a high after Kangchenjunga.
“It felt quiet, remote, almost private in some ways,” he told ExplorersWeb. “It’s a big mountain, but never overly technical or difficult. The individual days are enjoyable…only the summit day is very [long].”
The UK guide took five clients to the summit on May 12. After Makalu, however, Jon Gupta is still determined to stop guiding in the Himalaya, at least for a while. He still plans to enroll in the IFMGA program, which will occupy him for the next three to four years.
Another go at Nuptse
On the first try, Tim Mosedale missed the main summit of Nuptse, but he hasn’t given up. His two clients reached Camp 2 yesterday but they were very tired and decided to retreat. Even that didn’t deter him.
“After a lot of hemming and hawing, Dawa Tenzing Sherpa and I have decided to give Nuptse one last go,” Mosedale wrote yesterday.
The British guide admits that it won’t be easy. “We will need to break trail [again],” he says, “and undoubtedly sections of rope will need to be freed from the snow and ice. However, we have all night and all day, and there’s no rush. [We’re now] just trying to conserve energy and make our limited water and snacks last as long as possible.”
Their plan was to get to Camp 3 today, then after some rest, push for the summit. But according to Mosedale’s tracker, he’s still in Camp 2. It is likely that the pair has postponed their attempt for a day.
Last point registered on Tim Mosedale’s tracker today.
Everest post-COVID
Remember Steve Davis? He had his 15 minutes of fame during the 2021 Everest season for the worst reasons. He was one of the first climbers to be evacuated with COVID, during the Base Camp outbreak that most outfitters and authorities pretended didn’t exist. In the end, the nonexistent outbreak laid low a good number of climbers. Some ended up in the hospital, some returned to the mountain, and some expeditions called off their climbs altogether.
COVID ended Davis’ 2021 try, but he recovered in time for Ama Dablam in November. This year, he returned to Everest again with Elite Exped. This time, he reached the summit.
Steve Davis on top of Everest on May 15. Photo: Steve Davis/Instagram
“Around 6 am on May 15, I stood on top of the world,” the UK-born and current U.S. resident confirmed on social media.
Davis had good weather but some crowding on the way to the top, as he showed in an Instagram story post, below.
From Steve Davis’s Instagram stories.
