Kilian Jornet and David Goettler continue to enjoy their training in the Khumbu Valley. They don’t intend to heed the Spanish embassy’s advice to board a charter plane back to Madrid later this week.
Based at a lodge in Pheriche, they say that they are healthy and will continue training on local peaks until the winds buffeting Everest’s higher sections die down.
On Everest itself, a number of teams wait at Camp 2 for the weather to improve. Then they will head to Camp 3, with an aim to summit this weekend.
Speaking of summits, at least some of the Bahraini Royal Guard Expedition flew out by helicopter from Camp 2 on their way down Everest. Notably, Prince Sheikh Mohamed Hamad Mohammed Al Khalifa never crossed the Khumbu Icefall on his way down.
According to the Nepal News blog, Department of Tourism director Mira Acharya says that “the Prince was evacuated from Camp 2 as emergency rescue”. There is no confirmation about the validity of this “rescue”. No previous news suggested that the Prince was suffering from any ailment.
Seven Summit Treks’ Tashi Sherpa, with some of the Bahraini Royal Guards. Photo: Seven Summit Treks
Shortcuts seem to have become a habit on the Bahraini team. On their Manaslu expedition last autumn, members apparently flew up to Camp 1. And on this 8,000’er which sees so few genuine summits because of the dicey knife-edge at the very top, their “summit” pictures are far from clear.
