This year, American Tyler Andrews will try to climb Everest from the South Side without supplementary oxygen in less than 20 hours. This would be the fastest known time (FKT) on the highest mountain on Earth.
Before heading to Nepal, Andrews spoke to ExplorersWeb about his preparations, his strategy for a crowded peak, risk management, and the place of FKTs in modern high-altitude mountaineering.
The current Everest FKT
Everest’s FKT is disputed. Officially, the fastest ascent was Nepali Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa in 2003, but he used supplementary oxygen. In 1988, Marc Batard of France made the ascent without supplementary oxygen in 22 hours and 29 minutes. In 1996, Italian Hans Kammerlander made the summit in 16 hours and 45 minutes, but he climbed from the North Side.
For Andrews, Kazi Sherpa set the time to beat. In 1998, Kazi Sherpa climbed Everest from the South Side in 20 hours and 24 minutes without supplemental O2.
“His record is disputed because Kazi Sherpa used supplemental O2 on the way down,” Andrews said. “But for me, that is not significant, as the record trip is from Base Camp to summit, not for the return trip. In my opinion, if you get to the top, you get to the top. I don’t mind how you go down. However, I understand people may have different criteria.”
Encouraged by previous FKTs on several Himalayan peaks, including Manaslu (9 hours and 52 minutes), and Ama Dablam (3 hours and 52 minutes), Andrews is confident he can improve on Kazi Sherpa’s mark.
“I think I can climb Everest as fast as 14-15 hours,” Andrews said.
Friends and contenders
Andrews will use the outfitter Asian Trekking for logistics on Everest’s South Side and will be accompanied by regular running partner Chris Fisher.
“He [Fisher] might accompany me while I cross the Khumbu Icefall for safety reasons, but otherwise, I’ll be on my own.”
Andrews is not the only sky runner with an Everest FKT in mind. Karl Egloff of Ecuador is also aiming to speed up Everest. Andrews says that Egloff, who holds the FKT on Makalu, is an “incredible competitor and a source of inspiration.”
Yet Andrews prefers to focus on his climb and not comment on those of others. Egloff is a member of another expedition team and has his own strategy for the run, which he will do in the company of Nico Miranda.
For Andrews, an Everest FKT would be the culmination of a wider project. He has devoted the last three years to a series of challenges that led to dozens of FKTs in Nepal, including several 6,000’ers and 5,000’ers, some famous trails, Manaslu, and attempts on Lhotse and Pumori. He has also traveled the world for further records, such as on Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro. (You can see a complete list on the FKT website.)
Tyler Andrews. Photo: Tyler Andrews
Strategy
“Manaslu was great preparation. Both the training block and the record gave me a ton of confidence…but Everest is 700m higher,” Andrews said. So, he has trained harder than ever and planned for some strategic changes.
Andrews training last fall, with the south face of Lhotse in front of him. Photo: Chris Fisher
“I will climb higher during rotations before the summit push,” Andrews explains. “When I achieved the FKT on Manaslu, I had not gone above 6,600m. This time, I hope to reach higher altitudes before my attempt.”
But this acclimatization won’t be on Everest. Andrews will climb (probably more than once) on Mera Peak (6,476m) and Baruntse (7,129m).
“Then I will move to Everest Base Camp (EBC) early in the season. By the time the route to the summit is fixed, I will do one single rotation to the South Col or maybe a bit higher, around 8,100m, and then rest before the final summit push. I am respectful of how much bigger the mountain is and how serious that altitude is, but I also want to maintain balance by recognizing what went well on Manaslu to recreate it.”
Going lightweight
Photos of Andrews running on Manaslu in shorts and sneakers with attached crampons raised some eyebrows. Asked about his gear for Everest, Andrews said he will decide when it is time for his summit push, depending on the two options he details below.
“If our summit day is going to be crowded, I might depart in the afternoon or early evening to climb through the night and get to the summit in the earliest group. If it is going to be a less crowded day, I’d try to repeat my Manaslu tactics. I’ll depart later and summit by noon or in the early afternoon. That way, I would enjoy daylight and warmer conditions on the higher part of the mountain.
“In either case, I don’t plan to use a regular down suit. I do have a prototype, which is a two-piece that can be zipped or unzipped so one can wear only one of the two parts.”
As for footwear, Andrews made it to the top of Manaslu in runners (Cyclone by La Sportiva) covered by a gaiter.
“I don’t think that is going to happen on Everest. On Manaslu, that kind of footwear was possible because we were incredibly lucky with the weather. On Everest, I will try a heavier boot. It will not be the usual 8,000m boot, but rather something equivalent to what people wear on 6,000m or 7,000m summits (like the GII model from La Sportiva), plus socks with heated insoles.”
Risk management
“I’ve never wanted to get killed in the mountains, and I am still of the same opinion,” Andrews said. “I am fitter this season, as the training block went very well. Also, I’m more experienced and, therefore, more confident in the higher mountains. I am comfortable with making quick decisions and moving faster through dangerous sections. Overall, I am always very careful when climbing.”
Andrews at the Khumbu Icefall during the attempt on Lhotse. Photo: Chris Fisher
Andrews will have a backup safety net. Chris Fisher will join him in the Khumbu Icefall, and they have robust logistics behind the scenes. They will stash O2 for emergencies, and a Sherpa crew will be ready to help if required.
“Of course, I understand you can never control everything on the high mountains, especially in the Khumbu Icefall, but what we can control, we will. Everest is objectively the biggest thing I’ve tried in my whole career, but I still have many goals in mind for the future, so I am not going to take any unnecessary risks.”
Speed and mountaineering ethics
FKTs in high-altitude mountaineering have created a debate about ethics, style, and the essence of mountaineering. “It is a question I have been reflecting on,” Andrews admits.
“I am a big fan of mountaineering as a sport, I am a big fan of track-and-field running, and I’m a big fan of endurance sports. So I understand that diehards of any discipline will have issues with people coming and doing things differently. It happened to me with running! I came from field running, and I didn’t quite understand ultrarunners, who seemed like they were hiking instead of running properly. Then I tried ultrarunning.”
Tyler Andrews surrounded by the Asian Trekking Sherpa team after his Manaslu FKT. Photo: Tyler Andrews
“I know history is important, and I utterly respect the historical background of alpinism. For that reason, I never claim to be an elite alpinist. I love mountaineering, and I love reading stories about what alpinists are doing in the Alps and the Himalaya, I just play a different sport, in which I bring methods and philosophy from trail running and even track and field to the big mountains. Other people may not like what I do, I get that. But I also think that people have always run up and down mountains, and now there is an infrastructure that allows running on the big Himalayan peaks.”
In the end, Andrews says, it’s something like practicing sport climbing rather than trad climbing. Most of all, he loves being in the mountains and sharing them with others, who may be doing their own thing in their own style. For more context, you can listen to Andrews discussing the Everest FKT here.
