Yesterday, a whopping 135 climbers reached the top of Everest. More are following today in a rush to reach the summit and retreat as wind speeds increase. Neighboring Lhotse is equally busy, with some climbers aiming for a double-header by adding Everest from Camp 2. Two of the climbers targeting a double-header didn’t make it back alive.
The Nepal Department of Tourism counted 135 summits yesterday. After three intense days, the season’s summit tally is already beyond 200. So far, the tourism department has granted climbing permits to 468 foreigners (86 women and 382 men), distributed between 47 teams.
The Lhotse Face, with the tents of Camp 3 and a line of climbers progressing upward. Photo: Furtenbach Adventures
Lhotse casualties
On May 17, Indian climber Rakesh Bishnoi abandoned his attempt on Everest, but he still wanted a summit. Yesterday, he went for Lhotse. He made it to the top but died during his descent before he could reach Camp 4, outfitter Makalu Adventure told The Himalayan Times. The paper also reported the death of Romanian cameraman Zsolt Vago, who passed away at the couloir leading to the summit of Lhotse.
Photographs of Vago (top) and Bishnoi. Photos: Everest Today
There were two more deaths on Everest last week. Illness or exhaustion has caused all this season’s deaths on Everest and Lhotse so far.
Icefall scare
Yet, danger is always present. A Brazilian team had a scare in the Khumbu Icefall yesterday, when a small avalanche fell from the Lo Lha and covered them in snowdust. You can see a video of the event by climber Roberto Lucchese below:
Lucchese describes the episode, which lasted about one minute, as one of the scariest moments of his life. He was unclipped from the ropes when the avalanche struck, and it took him about five seconds to react.
“I tied myself up, turned around, and saw the wave of snow coming straight at me,” Lucchese told Extremos.br.
When the snow wave stopped, the team proceeded safely to Camp 2.
High wind alert
For those still aiming to summit, high winds will be a challenge.
“The chief weather forecaster for Everest called this morning to warn everyone about a sudden weather change expected this afternoon,” SummitClimb reported today. “Everyone is encouraged to evacuate the upper mountain and come down to the lower camps as a large windstorm is forecast to slam Everest in a few hours.”
SummitClimb clients had hoped to rest in Camp 4 today, but the increasing winds forced them to push for the summit. They took extra oxygen for the final climb, and six of them (three clients with three Sherpa guides) reached the top this morning. According to their latest update, they all made it back to Camp 4 and planned to continue down to Camp 3 or even Camp 2 today, escaping the wind.
Pioneer Adventure told ExplorersWeb that this morning, Chhonzin Angmo, assisted by Dadu Sherpa and Om Gurung, became the first blind woman to summit Everest. They confirmed high winds on the upper sections.
8K Expeditions put 50 people on the summit today and posted a video showing climbers on the summit despite rising wind plumes on the ridge:
North Side summits
At 5:30 am today, the Furtenbach Adventures team achieved the first non-Chinese Everest summits from the North Side. They also report their South Side teams reached the top and are on the way down.
Strategy in high winds
The next two days should be quieter. The first wave of climbers has summited and left, and the wind is expected to remain strong.
Marc De Keyser of Weather4Expeditions forecast that today’s winds will probably prevent climbers from approaching the summit, although conditions will be better at Camp 4 and below.
“From May 20, the jet stream winds are expected to increase past the limit [of what would be safe for climbers] above 7,000m,” De Keyser warned. He noted that the windy spell will last until midday on May 21. If he is correct, we could see more summits then.
However, windspeed at summit altitude is proving difficult to forecast, and some teams may be ready and waiting in higher camps to launch their summit pushes as soon as they see acceptable conditions.
Some going up
The 7 Days Everest Mission team, hoping to summit Everest in a week door-to-door, is in Camp 3. They will likely try to reach the summit on May 21.
Marcelo Segovia of Ecuador, planning to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen, is leaving Base Camp today. Possibly, Segovia is calculating the time he needs to climb from camp to camp to launch a summit bid when the winds decrease.
Tim Howell of the UK, planning to wingsuit fly from 8,300m on the Lhotse ridge, was at Camp 4, according to the team’s latest update. It is unlikely he will attempt the exit in the current wind conditions.
Waiting for calmer days
Sky-runners Tyler Andrews of the U.S. and Karl Egloff of Ecuador, both aiming to set the fastest known time (FKT) on Everest without supplementary oxygen, are among those waiting for better weather.
Andrews aims for the Base Camp to summit FKT, which he wants to do in less than 20 hours, and Egloff hopes to complete a return trip FKT.
Karl Egloff some days ago on Everest. Photo: Karl Egloff
Egloff posted today from Lukla, where he has retreated for some rest, good food, and oxygen-rich air. He is positive he will then return stronger at the end of this week.
“By then, there will be no more people, the temperature rises days before the season closes, and the route will be perfect,” Egloff wrote.
