Something didn’t go right for American athlete Tyler Andrews as he attempted to bag the fastest ever no-oxygen climb on Everest. For unknown reasons, he turned around at Camp 3.
Andrews had progressed at an amazing pace since leaving Base Camp around 9:15 pm. His departure time was a couple of hours earlier than planned, which might be an adjustment caused by a large number of climbers heading up the Khumbu Icefall that night. A Sherpa team opened the route to the summit three days ago, and many climbers will follow the ropes in the next few days.
Andrews posted about his departure on Instagram. Photo: Tyler Andrews
Andrews carried an InReach device that showed he was quick in the Icefall, and even faster to cross the Western Cwm, the Valley of Silence, and the first part of the Lhotse Wall. But his pace seemed to decrease as he climbed the Lhotse Face to Camp 3 (7,614m). The InReach logged his highest position slightly above the camp, at 7,718m, where he turned around.
Andrews’ tracker showing his U-turn above Camp 3. The screenshot was taken by a reader in Japan a few hours before the publication of this story. Photo: @hume55240618
Andrews logged the latest waypoint, marked as “end of activity,” at 6,400m (Camp 2).
Season’s first no-O2 summit
Other climbers did reach the summit today, including Patricio Arevalo of Ecuador, who climbed without supplementary oxygen. The Ecuadorian was supported by Ang Pemba Sherpa.
Arevalo bagged the first no-O2 summit of the season.
