A small group of climbers and Sherpas has left Base Camp on Annapurna, hoping to use a short weather window to summit this weekend.
Brazilians Moeses Fiamoncini and Renata Fialho have confirmed the push. In a post yesterday, they mentioned that the group includes some Ukrainian climbers and Sherpas.
According to previous reports, Laszlo Csomor and Csaba Varga of Hungary were also ready, so they should be in that group.
First push summary
This is the second wave of summiters up Annapurna this season, after the massive push on April 6-7 that culminated in nearly 40 summits. It also included some retreats, several helicopter airlifts for (arguably) sick climbers, and two deaths. Rima Sherpa and Ngima Tashi Sherpa perished in an avalanche between Camp 2 and Camp 3 as they carried oxygen canisters to the upper sections of the mountain. Both worked for Seven Summit Treks.
After that first summit push, all outfitters except for Seven Summit Treks left the mountain. Their new group arrived and is now heading for the summit.
Flor Cuenca: J’accuse
Flor Cuenca of Peru wondered in an Instagram post why the deceased Sherpas were working in the most dangerous area of Annapurna at noon, in the heat of the day.
“All of us who have been at Annapurna know that the route between C2 and C3 is very dangerous, especially after 9 am,” Cuenca wrote.
She added: “In every expedition in the Himalaya, in every accident, there are always the Sherpas who pay with their lives… They die serving people, opening routes, and carrying equipment up and down for tourists. If we go back in history, many have also died due to the negligence, stubbornness, or selfishness of their clients.”
Cuenca is climbing the 14×8,000’ers without supplementary oxygen or Sherpa support. She often shares tents and meals with the Sherpas or Pakistani workers, and she has often denounced their difficult working conditions or the poor behavior shown by foreigners toward them. She summited Annapurna last year.
