The remaining climbers on Makalu have set off on a final summit push before the weather changes. Summit waves on Everest are becoming smaller and the first no-O2 summits have been reported, with more coming.
Everest-Lhotse
On Everest, Mingma G has announced that he has climbed Everest for the sixth time and fulfilled a lifelong dream of summiting it without supplementary oxygen. That makes Everest the 13th peak on his no-O2 14×8,000’ers list. He now has only Shishapangma to go.
Mingma G posted a short summit video:
Nirmal Purja climbed with the first group from Elite Exped. They summited Everest on May 15 and Lhotse (climbing from Camp 4) on the following day. Purja says that he didn’t use supplementary O2 on either of the climbs.
Elite Exped’s May 15 Everest summit pic. Photo: Tenji Sherpa/Instagram
Ignacio Barrios and Uxue Murolas of Spain, climbing from Base Camp without O2 or personal Sherpa support, summited Lhotse on May 16. The pair also set up their own high-altitude camps.
Fewer crowds
As the bigger teams summit and return home, the mountain is becoming less crowded. This creates a golden opportunity for at least three more no-O2 climbers: David Goettler of Germany, plus the pair formed by James McManus of Ireland and Tsering Sherpa. As journalist Paul Devaney reported on Irish Seven Summits, McManus says that neither he or Tsering will use O2 on their climb.
“McManus looks and sounds in great shape after the third rotation up to 7,850m,” Devaney told ExplorersWeb.
James McMannus some weeks ago. Photo: @earths_edge
The decision is not without risk, since Tsering has summited Everest only once before, according to Devaney, and McManus is on his first 8,000m experience. In a previous post, McManus admitted that he (and Tsering, we presume) will be carrying a couple of O2 bottles to use in emergencies.
Last year, David Goettler and partner Kilian Jornet attempted to climb Everest without O2. This time, he is on his own and has not posted for some days, but that is usual when he is on the mountain.
Makalu
Forecasts show that the jet stream will hit Nepal’s 8,000’ers by the end of the week, so those on their way to the summits need to hurry. On Makalu, a group of climbers including Jackson Groves, Carla Perez, and a Pioneer Expeditions team led by Sanu Sherpa planned to summit on Friday. Sanu is fresh from summiting Kangchenjunga and Lhotse.
Kangchenjunga
On Kangchenjunga, the weather has already turned for the worse, Lolo Gonzalez reports. He has been unable to leave Base Camp because helicopters in the area have been grounded for three days.
