As the news spread — the wind had finally dropped — Everest Base Camp buzzed with activity. It’s time to move up. Soon, hundreds will follow the Sherpas, led by 22-time summiter Kami Rita Sherpa, who left today to fix the last sections to the summit.
While teams gear up (or return from down-valley in constant helicopter transfers), a group of no-O2 climbers are heading for Lhotse. Sergi Mingote of Spain, Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile and Moesses Fiamoncini of Brazil set off for Camp 2 earlier today. They plan to rest there tomorrow, advance to C3 on Tuesday, set C4 on May 15, then try for the summit on May 16. Fellow Spaniards Carlos Garranzo and Iñigo Castiñeyra, along with Mexican Jorge Salazar, will follow tomorrow.
Sergi and Juan Pablo’s goal was to climb Lhotse and Everest back to back, without returning to Base Camp. It’s too soon, however, to say whether this will be possible. “First we go for Lhotse, then we’ll see about Everest,” Mingote reports. “I’ve seen too often how some alpinists lose respect for the big mounatins and eventually pay for it with death.”
Kami Rita Sherpa (second from right) left Base Camp today towards his 23rd! Everest summit. Photo: The Himalayan News
There is no news of other no-O2 climbers on the south side of Everest, but on the Tibetan side, Cory Richard and Esteban “Topo” Mena have begun their last acclimatization run up the normal route. They hope to touch 8,000m, then return and prep for their push up a new route.
Related stories:
Kangchenjunga: Summit Push is On
Himalayan Update: Waiting Out the Storm
Sergi Mingote Targets Record Number of 8000’ers in One Year
