Several more climbers have topped out on Everest today, including the amazing Kami Rita Sherpa, who notched his 29th summit.
British guide Kenton Cool also summited for the 18th time. Cool holds the record for the most Everest summits by a foreign climber. Cool reached the top with Dorji Gyaljen Sherpa, who has summited 22 times.
Others include Nepalese photojournalist Purnima Shreshta, along with Phura Tenzin Sherpa. Shreshta also ascended Everest in 2018. According to The Himalayan Times, she wants to climb Everest three this season, setting a modest record.
Kenton Cool. Photo: Kenton Cool
Nuptse
Last night at 6:45 pm, six climbers from Himalayan Guides/Madison Mountaineering made the first summit of the year on 7,855m Nuptse. They were Claudio Javier Beiza from Argentina (guide), Casey Diener of the U.S., Mingmar Sherpa, Kamdorji Sherpa, Dawa Tenjin Sherpa, and Chheten Dorje Sherpa. In all, 34 climbers from three different teams have permits for Nuptse this spring.
Nuptse. Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg/Wikipedia
Dhaulagiri I
After bad weather aborted the attempted summit push two days ago, it seems that most teams left Base Camp and there will be no more attempts. It is still unclear if everybody left the mountain, but the rope fixers did not manage to open the route to the summit, so it is likely that Dhaulagiri I is over for everybody.
Ascents in which clients follow immediately behind the rope fixers have been the trend for the last five years. If the weather turns bad and clients can’t follow in this way, the climb and the expedition is often over, as the sherpas have to hurry to work on the next mountain on their spring list.
This puts no-O2 climbers, in particular, in a difficult position, since they need more time to acclimatize. Following the rope-fixing sherpas, who are on oxygen, can be very dangerous for them.
Note that the body of Lakpa Tenji Sherpa, who died at Camp 3 on Makalu on May 6, was recovered from the mountain.
Lakpa Tenji Sherpa. Photo: Seven Summit Treks
