Himalaya 2014: Progress Reports and More Tragedy In The Mountains

The spring season is progressing reasonably well in the Himalaya, where teams have been going about the business of getting acclimated for their summit pushes ahead. The weather has been stable across the region, and this has allowed the climbers to make real progress on their respective mountains. With the calendar now turning to May, things are about to get much busier, but as always, the weather will dictate when any summit bids can begin.

We'll start today with a bit of sad news. Explorer's Web is reporting that two climbers have died on Ama Dablam after suffering from high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or altitude sickness. They were Russian guide Victor Igolkin, and a Russian journalist by the name of Pavel Ivanovsky. They were in Base Camp at 5000 meters (16,404 ft) at the time. The 6812 meter (22,349 ft) mountain is a popular climbing peak for those testing their skills in the Himalaya, and it has one of the more well known, and dramatic profiles of any of the peaks in the Khumbu region. The two men were preparing to make a summit bid when they took ill. My condolences to friend and family.

In the same report, ExWeb also says that a team of Ukrainian climbers have put up a new route on Lobuche East. Details are a bit sparse, but apparently they spent 8 days on the ascent, with 3 nights spent out on the big wall. After completing the route, which they named Two Arrows Flight, they made a harrowing descent in heavy snow, with no visibility. Thankfully, it seems that they were able to get down safely.


Elsewhere, Mike Horn and Fred Roux have returned to Advanced Base Camp on Makalu, where they are preparing to make their summit push over the next three days, weather permitting. They hope to make an alpine style ascent, without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support. The two men have already been as high as 7700 meters (25,262 ft) in a bid for the summit last week, but were turned back due to  high winds and a looming storm. They're hoping to have more success this time out.

Chris Jensen Burke is also on Makalu, and her latest audio dispatch says that her team has just returned to ABC after spending a few nights in C1 and C2. She says that they are about five days behind some of the lead teams, and that there are a few teams that are about the same number of days behind hers. That means that everyone is staggered out nicely across the route, which should eliminate any traffic jam issues when summit day comes.

Over on Cho Oyu, Mike and Matt Moniz are back in ABC after spending some time at Camps 1 and 2 as well. They are now waiting for a weather window to open so they can launch their summit bid as well. The next couple of days look dicey, but they may be able start the ascent later in the week. You may recall, this father-son team were hoping to acclimate on Cho Oyu in Tibet, then go back to Nepal to attempt an Everest-Lhotse double header. While Lhotse remains out of reach, the question is whether or not they might get a shot at Everest from the North Side. We know that China is not allowing anyone to cross over into Tibet who wasn't originally scheduled to be there, which has left those climbers from the South Side out in the cold. But perhaps Mike and Matt will be successful in getting on someone else's permit for Everest since they are already on the Tibetan side of the border. They are squarely focused on the challenge of Cho Oyu at the moment, so we'll just have to wait to see how things progress.

Of course, things on Everest are moving ahead as well. Expect a longer update from that mountain in the next day or two, but the teams have now moved up to the North Col, and have done some acclimatization there, while they wait for the Sherpas to fix ropes to the summit. The installation of the ropes will likely be complete sometime late next week, which frees up the teams to start their summit bids as well.

Lots of things happening at the moment. I'll keep you posted of any new developments.

Himalaya Fall 2013: A Few Expeditions Still In The Field

Heavy snow, generally poor weather and a waning climbing season in the Himalaya have brought an end to most of the expeditions this fall. Most of the big mountains have been abandoned now with the majority of teams now long gone. But there are a few smaller climbs still taking place in Nepal, where not everyone has completed their adventures just yet.

Yesterday I posted an update from Chad Kellogg and David Gottlieb who are attempting to make the first ascent of Lunag-Ri, the tallest unclimbed peak in Nepal. If all goes as planned, they'll launch their bid later this week. It won't be an easy climb however, as they report heavy snow now on the mountain with more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) falling in the past week alone.

Over on Lhotse, the last of the 8000-meter peaks to see action this fall, we're still waiting on word from the Korean team. The last update indicated that they were headed up to Camp 2 on that mountain, but the amount of snow that was on the Western Cwm this season, even before the arrival of Cyclone Phailin, was daunting. There is no word on whether or not they are still attempting to summit or are planning on heading home.

ExWeb has shared a couple of other expeditions that are still ongoing as well. For instance, a team of French climbers arrived in country last week and are en route to Saipal now. Their travel has been delayed more than once due to poor weather, but they should arrive in Base Camp soon. Located in extreme Northwest Nepal, Saipal is a seldom climbed peak with an altitude of 7031 meters (23,067 ft).

Ama Dablam is also seeing some late season action. The popular climbing peak is 6856 meters (22,493 ft) in height and is often seen as a good tune-up for other climbs in the Himalaya. Himex has a team there now and a Pakistani group led by Shaheen Baig is also on the mountain. Aussie climber Chris Jensen Burke is also hoping to wrap up a busy year in the Himalaya with one final climb on Ama Dablam too.

While these few remaining expeditions aren't as big and sexy as some of the attempts on the 8000 meter peaks, they are still solid challenges, especially when you factor in the late season weather. It should be interesting to see how much success these teams find in the next week or so. These smaller mountains don't take nearly as long to climb and I suspect most of these remaining expeditions will wrap up by the first week of November.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Himalaya 2012: Summits On Annapurna

Everest isn't the only mountain in the Himalaya that has seen progress in the week-and-a-half I was away.  Climbers on various mountains across the region have continued to work their respective routes, establish camps and acclimatize according to their schedules. And on one mountain – Annapurna – there have even been some early season summits already.

We'll start there. The 8091 meter (26,545 ft) Annapurna is the 10th highest mountain on the planet, but due to unpredictable weather and a predisposition for avalanches, it can be one of the most challenging peaks to climb. That proved the case last weekend (April 21-22) when a weather window opened on the mountain allowing as many as 12 climbers to top out. The climb wasn't an easy one however and several avalanches were spotted on the peak as the teams went up. Don Bowie wasn't amongst the summiteers, although he does have his sights set on another attempt this week, weather permitting. He also has a couple of blog posts up on his site that share details on his own harrowing brushes with falling seracs and snow last week.

According to ExWeb, the climbers that did summit Annapurna that weekend included Dawa Sherpa along with four members of his team. They were joined at the top by a Brazilian climber two Chinese, two Indians and two other Sherpas. All went up with bottled oxygen and arrived back in Base Camp without much of an issue. The forecasts for Annapurna indicate that a second window could open in the next few days, granting access to the top once again. If that happens, I'm sure we'll see a few more climbers stand on top later this week.

Over on Manaslu, the Adventure Consultants have now been up as high as Camp 2 on the mountain, but they retreated over the weekend due to an onslaught of heavy snow. On Saturday of this past weekend they were digging out from under a half-meter of fresh powder and the forecast doesn't look great for the near-term, so for now they sit and wait for their chance.

Also in Base Camp on Manaslu is Australian climber Allie Pepper, who is using that mountain as a warm-up for an attempt on Lhotse later in the season. Allie reached BC on April 22nd and reported poor weather conditions even then. She hasn't updated her blog since arriving on the mountain, but presumably she's waiting out the weather as well.

Speaking of Lhotse, the Peak Freaks posted an interesting tidbit in their Everest dispatch earlier today. Apparently the route up Everest's neighbor isn't exactly stable at the moment and as a result, the lines are being fixed to go around a section of the ascent that is typically a part of the route. Rocks that have traditionally been held in place by ice and snow are coming undone and tumbling down the face, which has made for dangerous approaches thus far. It seems there is a way around, and climbers will get their crack at the summit down the line, but it has been a bit dicey getting the ropes in place thus far.

Finally, Ueli Steck and Freddie Wilkinson are continuing their Himalayan Express II expedition. After being turned back on Cholatse last week due to bad weather the pair did successfully summit Ama Dablam on Friday. With that climb out of the way, they've now traveled back to Pheriche, where they are enjoying a little R-n-R before setting off for Tawoche. When they've finished there, it'll be on to Everest, where it has yet to be seen what Ueli has in mind for climbing the Big Hill.

Stay tuned for updates. The real excitement of the season is now just a few days away.

Himalaya 2012: Camp 3 On Annapurna, Ueli Watches The Weather

As teams across the Himalaya are wrapping up their first acclimatization climbs, there is movement in the region for teams that are now ready for the challenges ahead. At these early stages of the season there is still a lot of uncertainty about the weather, stability of the routes and the route ahead, but things are becoming more clear and the climbers are taking advantage of what ever the mountains will offer them.

There is no place where this is more evident than on Annapurna, where Don Bowie reports that he, and presumably his climbing partners Carlos Soria and Waldemar Niclevicz, are climbing up to Camp 3 today. Don says that at the very least he'll spend a few days acclimatizing at C3 in preparation for a summit bid, but the trio expects to survey the conditions above 6800 meters (22,309 ft) to see if it is possible to continue higher. If those conditions are right and the current good weather holds, they could have a go at the summit as early as Friday.

Meanwhile, Ueli Steck and Freddie Wilkinson have completed their acclimatization work on Lobuche and are now back in Pheriche. Ueli says that he picked up the idea of using Lobuche from Russell Brice, owner/operator of Himalayan Experience (Himex). As I mentioned yesterday, Himex prefers to limit the number of trips through the Khumbu Icefall on Everest's South Side, so they tend to make acclimatization climbs elsewhere. Apparently the trend is catching on, as Ueli reports that Lobuche was crowded this year. Steck and Wilkinson are now prepping for their alpine style climbs of Cholatse, Tawoche and Ama Dablam, but snow accumulations on those peaks have made it a challenge to climb any of them at the moment. Conditions are expected to change in the next few days however, and they expect to head out to Cholatse as soon as the weather report shows improvement.

Chad Kellogg has arrived on Everest and has been busy getting settled in. He has made three trips through the Icefall already this season and was hauling gear and supplies up to Camp 2 yesterday. You may recall that Chad hopes to make a run at the Everest speed record going from Base Camp to summit and back again.

Also arriving in BC on the South Side is Bill Burke, who at the age 70 is attempting to make a double summit of Everest. Bill will first climb the South Col route as normal, but after descending to Base Camp he'll depart for Tibet and the North Side of the mountain, where he'll hope to make a second summit within a matter of days. That's a pretty ambitious project for someone half his age, so we'll definitely be keeping an eye on Bill's progress in the weeks ahead.

The Nat Geo/North Face squad led by Conrad Anker has gone up to Camp 2 today as they start the process of their climb. They'll build camps like the other teams on Everest but veer off along a different route up the West Ridge starting at C2. All seems to be going well thus far and this very strong team is on schedule at the moment.

Finally, the Adventure Consultants team made it to Manaslu at last and are happy to be in Base Camp on that mountain. They report good conditions this morning giving away to a big snow storm in the afternoon, but even with the snow flying they hope to climb up to Camp 1 tomorrow as they start their climb in ernest as well.

Himalaya 2012: Progress Reports

While the Everest teams continue to get comfortable in Base Camp and work on their acclimatization, the climbers on the other Himalayan peaks have started work in their various projects as well. While the process is much the same as it is on the Big Hill, BC isn't nearly as crowded and there is far less attention given to the mountaineers, who are at times undertaking more challenging climbs.

One of those climbers is Ueli Steck, who is back in the Himalaya his spring to launch his Khumbu Express II expedition. This time out, Ueli and partner Freddie Wilkinson are hoping to open new routes on the North  Faces of Cholatse, Tawoche and Ama Dablam. As a warm-up, the team is currently acclimatizing on Lobuche, where they are now spending four days camped on the summit (6119m/20,075ft). After arriving in BC last Thursday, Ueli and Freddie went to the summit of the mountain then back to camp, before going back up for their extended stay. When they complete that process, they'll immediately head off to Cholatse to begin the expedition in ernest.

Don Bowie has checked in from Annapurna, where it sounds like that mountain is up to its old tricks. The peak is well known for being a difficult climb, in no small part thanks to the precarious avalanche conditions on the higher slopes when heavy snow has fallen. Last week Don discovered that discretion is the better part of valor and on a climb up to Camp 3 to spend the night he witnessed an avalanche sweeping down the slopes. Deciding that conditions just weren't right, he elected to turn back to C2, where he shared his thoughts with the climbers gathered there. Just as he was explaining the precarious nature of the snow, a second avalanche began above the camp and while it was far enough away to not do any serious damage, it still deposited plenty of light snow across Camp 2. It seems like for now, the upper portions of Annapurna aren't stable enough to take a crack at the summit.

The Adventure Consultants team should arrive in Base Camp on Manaslu today, provided the weather has improved as expected. The team found their progress delayed due to bad weather and as a result they ended up spending a few extra days in the village of Samaguan. As you can imagine, they are eager to reach BC and get started with the climb itself, but continued heavy snowfalls have made the journey a challenging one thus far.

Allie Pepper is also on her way to Manaslu and is likely experiencing similar delays. She hasn't posted a dispatch from the trek just yet, but was scheduled to depart Kathmandu last Wednesday. Before leaving for the mountain, Allie warmed-up with an acclimatization trek in the Khumbu and she'll return there in a few weeks as she is scheduled to climb Lhotse after the Manaslu expedition is complete.

More news to come. The season is just getting started!

Himalaya 2012: Updates From The "Other" Mountains

While the teams continue to stream into Everest Base Camp, the other big Himalayan peaks are starting to gather crowds (albeit modest ones!) as well. As usual, there are a series of exciting expeditions taking place across the region this spring and the climbers on those adventures are starting their approaches as well.

One of the more ambitious projects for 2012 comes from Ueli Steck who has joined forces with American climber Freddie Wilkinson to launch his Khumbu Express II expedition. The duo hope to open new routes on the North Faces' of Cholatse (6440m/21,129ft), Tawoche (6542m/21,463ft) and Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft). Ueli and Freddie are currently trekking acclimatizing and trekking through the Khumbu Valley and after a rest day in Namche Bazaar yesterday they are expected in Pheriche today. That should put them in Base Camp on Cholatse by the weekend where we'll hopefully start to get regular updates on their progress.

Also in the Khumbu, and on his way to Everest BC, is Simone Moro, who will be attempting the difficult Everest-Lhotse traverse. For those that don't know, Lhotse is the fourth highest peak in the world at 8516 meters (27,940 ft) in height. It is also the next door neighbor to Everest and when climbing either of the peaks from the South Side, teams share the same route all the way up to Camp 4. At that point, they go in separate directions to their respective summits, before descending back down to the shared camp once again. Simone hopes to climb to the top of Everest, descend to C4 and then begin an ascent of Lhotse from that point after he has had a chance to rest. If successful this will be one impressive feat, and if anyone can do it, it is Simone. We'll definitely be watching this expedition closely in the weeks ahead.

Australian climber Allie Pepper has completed her acclimatization trek through the Khumbu and has now returned to Kathmandu where she is preparing to leave for Manaslu. That 8156 meter (26,759 ft) peak will be the first of her Himalayan double-headers this year as she also intends to summit Lhotse later in the season. Allie has posted some excellent photos of her trek which you can check-out here.

The Adventure Consultants are guiding a team on Manaslu this spring as well and they are already en route to the mountain. They reached the village of Samagaun today and will rest there before heading to Base Camp on Thursday. The entire team is in good spirits, feeling great and eager to get their climb underway.

Finally, Don Bowie is on Annapurna where he has already been making good progress. As of last Wednesday, which is when Don last updated us on his status, he had already spent two nights in Camp 1 and was preparing to head to Camp 2 for an over-night stay as well. Presumably that went off without a hitch and he has since returned to BC for a rest. Hopefully we'll get an update soon, as Annapurna is one of the more challenging climbs in the Himalaya and I'd love to hear how the conditions are on that mountain this spring.

Himalaya 2012: More Than Just Everest

Each spring the Himalaya become the epicenter of the mountaineering world with hundreds of climbers descending on the region to take on some of the most challenging and beautiful mountains on the planet. Most of them travel to Everest and naturally that mountain is the center of attention for the general public as well. But there are always a number of interesting expeditions to other peaks and this year is no exception. Here are a few to keep your eyes on.

Ueli Steck will return to Nepal in just a few days where he will join Freddie Wilkinson on a new project dubbed the Khumbu Express II. You may recall that last year Ueli traveled to the Himalaya where he made successful speed climbs of Shisha Pangma (solo) and Cho Oyu (with Don Bowie). This year Ueli has his sights set on some different peaks and he now hopes to open three new routes on the North Faces of Cholatse (6440m/21,129ft), Tawoche (6542m/21,463ft), and Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft). Considering Ueli and Freddie's talents for going up in a fast, alpine style, I think this will be a great expedition to follow.

Meanwhile, Ueli's partner from last year Don Bowie is already in the Himalaya where he is attempting the North Face of Annapurna. In fact, Don has a jump on most of the climbers and has already reached Camp 1 on that 8091 meter (26,545 ft) mountain. Apparently things are a bit treacherous there at the moment, as Don reports that serac avalanches have been keeping him on his toes so far.

Also on Annapurna, a notoriously fickle mountain, is Carlos Soria. The 73-year old Spanish climber is making his 46th expedition into the Himalaya and a successful summit here would mark his 12th 8000-meter peak.

Australian climber Allie Pepper is currently in the Khumbu doing an acclimatization trek. Last year she successfully summited Everest and this year she's back in the Himalaya for a climb on Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft). She'll be back in Kathmandu next week and plans to head out with the rest of her team on April 10. If everything goes well on Manaslu, Allie may try for a summit on Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) too.

Finally, South African climber Sean Disney will be leading a team of climbers on Cho Oyu, an 8201 meter (26,906 ft) peak that is the sixth highest on the planet. The team is just now gathering in Kathmandu and will be traveling overland to the Tibetan side of the mountain starting tomorrow.

This is just a sampling of what is happening around the Himalaya. Stay tuned for more news from other big climbs as they unfold in the coming weeks.