Barring the unexpected, there won’t be any Everest summits today.
The front-running Madison Mountaineering team had a tough day reaching Camp 4 in fresh snow and high winds. They are now resting and preparing to set off tonight. The South Col remained windy yesterday, but conditions may shortly improve enough to allow a summit attempt.
Other teams currently on their way from Camp 3 to the Col will soon join the Madison party. While overall numbers are not as high as in 2019, the slow pace through deep snow could result in crowding.
Many have been at altitude for a long time. It will be interesting to know how much oxygen they have already consumed and how they’ll distribute this precious resource on such a long push. Despite the O2, the physical and mental strain is remarkable. No one has broken trail after the recent snowfall.
And COVID still threatens everyone in the mountain. Some might first show symptoms at these higher altitudes, triggering a situation that no one has dealt with before.
About the Author
Angela Benavides
Senior journalist, published author and communication consultant. Specialized on high-altitude mountaineering, with an interest for everything around the mountains: from economics to geopolitics. After five years exploring distant professional ranges, I returned to ExWeb BC in 2018. Feeling right at home since then!
…. especially because Covid is a endothel sickness with microthromboses in the organs even if the people show no symptoms…
https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2021/may/the-call-of-the-void
“3500 bottles of oxygen are on the mountain right now, and Nepal’s hospitals are 25,000 cylinders short. The Nepal Mountaineering Association is urging climbers to bring empty vessels down with them so they can be refilled and used for Covid-19 patients.“
Media ramble. While nobody cares enough to do research and learn that those bottles don’t have the flow capacity needed for a covid patient (>10 ml/min).
Flow rates are determined by the regulator not the cylinder. They could very much do with getting those bottles back.
Medical (supplemental 02) is measured in liters per minute (LPM).
Have fun with all that nonsense. Should be a few deaths over the next couple of days. I’ll stick to all these other cool mountains to climb.