Some of these pictures
are courtesy of Big
Green Everest, North Ridge 2005 Expedition. Also see the South
Col route map.
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Everest North Ridge Route
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Elevations
of the camps and time between them
- Base Camp: 17000' - 5182m
- Interim Camp: 20300' - 6187m - 5 to 6 hours (first time)
- Advanced Base Camp: 21300' - 6492m - 6 hours (first time)
- North Col or C1: 23,000' - 7000m - 4 to 6 hours (first
time)
- Camp 2: 24,750' - 7500m - 5 hours
- Camp 3: 27,390' - 8300m - 4 to 6 hours
- Yellow Band
- First Step: 27890' - 8500m
- Mushroom Rock -28047' / 8549m - 2 hours from C3
- Second Step: 28140' - 8577m - 1 hour or less
- Third Step: 28500' - 8690m - 1 to 2 hours
- Summit Pyramid - 2 hours
- Summit: 29,035' / 8850m - 1 hour
- Return to Camp: 3 - 7 -8 hours
- Return to ABC: 3 hours
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Typical climb
schedule
- March 27 - Leave USM
- March 29 - Arrive Kathmandu, Nepal
- March 30,31- Kathmandu
- April 1 - Fly to Lhasa, Tibet (Elevation 12,000
ft)
- April 6-7 - Lhasa sightseeing (Begin acclimatizion)
- April 8 - Drive to Shigatse (12,500 ft)
- April 9 - Drive to Tingri (Shegar) (13,800 ft)
- April 10 - Drive to Everest Base Camp (BC) (17,000ft)
- April 11-13 - Setup BC and acclimatize
- April 14 - Trek to Interim Camp (IC) (20,300 ft)
- April 15 - Arrive at Advance Base Camp (21,300 ft)
- Apr 16 - 27 May - Climbing Period (camps 2 & 3
Summit)
- May 28 - Return to Advance Base Camp (ABC)
- May 29 - Return to Base Camp (BC)
- May 30 - Disassemble BC
- May 31 - Drive to Nyalam Tibet
- June 1 - Drive to Kathmandu
- June 2,3,4 - Weather days or back in Kathmandu
- June 5 - Depart for US
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Base Camp (17,000/5666m) to Advanced
Base Camp (21,300'/6400m)
 From BC to ABC it is about 12 miles (22km) of
rugged hiking on boulders, ice and snow. The route follows the
Rongbuk Glacier until it merges
with the Eastern Rongbuk Glacier. ABC is on the northwestern
side moraine of East Rongbuk Glacier, under the slopes of Changtse
Mountain.
It normally takes 2 days for the first trip to ABC then 1 day
after acclimatizion. ABC is the primary home for North Ridge
climbers during the expedition. |
ABC to North Col (Camp 1) (23,000'/7000m)
 The North Col Camp is a 2,200' climb
from ABC. The route starts on scree (loose rock) then moves
to snow followed by increasingly steep slopes up to 60 degrees.
Climbers use crampons and fixed ropes from now on. It takes
between 4 to 7 hours to reach the North Col depending on acclimatizion
and weather.
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Camp 1 to Camp 2 (24,750'/7500m)
 C2 starts the "high camps". The route
is usually pure snow but can be rock since this section is known
for high winds.
It should take about 3 to 5 hours to reach C2. |
Camp 2 to Camp 3 (25,600'/7900m)
 Some
expeditions do not use a Camp 3 and go directly to 8300 m. At
almost 8000m, most climbers now sleep on supplemental oxygen.
The climb is extremely windy and the tents are on small rock
ledges since there is limited large and level areas. At Camp
3, the wind is usually
blocked by the North Face of Everest so sleeping is easier. Climbers
will take 3 to 6 hours to reach C3.
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Camp 3 to C4 (27,390'/8300m)
 Camp 4 (or Camp 3 if the previous camp is skipped)
is a short rest stop on the way to the summit for most climbers.
At 27,390', you do not want to spend a lot of time here. Climbers
will have some food and water, perhaps a short nap and start
for the summit around 10:00PM. The Northeast Ridge is a few hundred
feet above C4. |
Camp 4 to 2nd Step
 The Northeast Ridge represent the most difficult
climbing on this route. There are three "steps" or
rock climbs along
the way. The first Step is difficult at this altitude but the
second step is the most difficult involving a 10 foot rock climb
to a
30 foot vertical wall. This is where the famous Chinese ladder
is located that helps climbers. However this often is the source
of
traffic jams that bring a summit bid to a compete stop.
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Second Step to Summit
 The Third Step is
another straight forward rock climb but challenging at this
altitude (nothing is easy anymore). Climber now spend the next
hour to climb the steep
snowfields of the Summit Pyramid.
The Summit Ridge is short (500') but narrow with 10,000' drop-offs
on both sides leading directly to the Everest Summit. At
this point climbers
have spent 8 to 10 hours to summit. It will take another
4 to 6 to return to C3. |
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