Everest 2013: Alan Arnette Recaps The Season That Was

It was another exciting, dramatic and wild season on the world's tallest peak. We saw some amazing feats performed on the mountain, including the possibility of a record number of summits. As always, there were some tragic deaths too, with the mountaineering community saying goodbye to some notable figures. There were epic efforts put out on both the North and South Sides and there were strange and incredible stories abounding throughout the season, some of which remain fresh in our minds, while others seem like distant memories.

With that in mind, Alan Arnette has written an excellent Season Recap which is a must read for those who have followed along this year. As usual, he does a great job of hitting the highs and lows of the season that just passed, offering up valuable insight and important nuggets of information that might otherwise slip past without much mention.

Some of the many things that get a mention include the record setting accomplishments of climbers such as David Liano, Kenton Cool and Dave Hahn. A new age record set by Yuichiro Miura and an outstanding year for female climbers in general. Of course, he also talks about the now infamous fight between Simone Moro, Ueli Steck and Jonathan Griffin and the angry mob of Sherpas that not only left the climbers bruised and battered but also gave mountaineering a black eye.

To say it was an active year would be an understatement, but in a lot of ways it was also a typical year too. Plenty of activity centered around the Big Hill and enough news to keep even the most ardent Everest junkies happy.

I was a little sad to see the season end as it always comes too swiftly and abruptly. The fall season in the Himalaya is a good distraction, but it just isn't the same. I guess we can all start counting the days until the 2014 season begins. Hopefully it'll be here before we know it.