An Insider Look at Everest 2010 – Phil Crampton

Everest 2010 looks to be special for an interesting reason – no drama. The past two years have been difficult with last minute requirements by the Chinese that resulted in almost every team climbing from the south. 2010 looks to return to normal – whatever that means on Everest – but we have come to expect the unexpected recently.

The owner of Altitude Junkies, Phil Crampton, > took some time to discuss the upcoming 2010 season with me. I wanted to look at the politics, the realities and if the events over the past several years would have any impact on this upcoming season.

If you don’t know Phil, he is quite well-known in the Himalayan mountaineering circles; however being what I call a “boutique” operator, not well known outside the circle.

Phil started by leading several expeditions to both Cho Oyu and Shishapangma at the start of the decade under the Altitude Junkies banner. He also served as a guide and logistics manager for Mountain Madness. But it is his work with the China Tibetan Mountaineering Association’s (CTMA) climbing school in Lhasa that he is proud of where he helped train Tibetans as serious high-altitude mountaineers.

Today he runs his own guiding business full time. His stated goal for Junkies is to offer good value expeditions for the budget conscious climber without risking safety and reducing the quality of services.

Q: Phil, you have been deeply involved on both sides of Everest for many years. What are the thoughts in the Kathmandu climbing community about the upcoming 2010 season? Good season in terms of number of trekkers and climbers?

It seems as if the spring season should be busy. There are climbing expeditions planned to both sides of Everest, Cho Oyu will be crowded, and there are two firsts with both a British and Australian commercial expeditions making their debuts on Makalu. The spring trekking season always brings a large number of trekkers to base camp and with Tibet open, there should be plenty of tourists driving to base camp on the north side of the mountain.

Q: Do you think 2010 will be a “normal” year on the north with a return of teams?

It seems as if the Chinese authorities that regulate the mountain are relaxing their permit requirements for expeditions wishing to climb Everest from the Tibet side. There were strong rumors that the new rules imposed on Tibet expeditions in the fall of 2008, that required all teams be sized a minimum of 5 and maximum of 13 persons, with only two different nationalities, may have been scrapped for the future.

Tibet for the most part has seen no further demonstrations that it witnessed in 2008 so the Chinese should hopefully welcome back climbers. The locals who rely heavily on working for the western expeditions to Cho Oyu and Everest will have a much-needed source of income once again.

As far as I am aware at the moment, it will be the usual commercial operators on both the south and north sides in 2010, with the exception of Himalayan Experience, who will be operating their second south side expedition. Some of the independent teams that used to be on the north side should start returning as the logistical costs are lower and this will then balance out the numbers of climbers on each side. This can only make each route less crowded, therefore safer for every climber.

I am unfamiliar with the rope fixing practices on the north side in 2009 as I was on the south side. I get the impression that the CTMA, with the assistance of the Tibetan guides from the Tibet Mountaineering Guide School, will possibly fix the ropes from the glacier at the foot of the climb to the north Col, all the way to the summit. It makes sense, especially now that the commercial team who fixed the rope on the north side of Everest in the past is no longer operating on that side. Having one qualified group of experienced climbers place the fixed ropes is beneficial for the safety of all the climbers on the north side of the mountain.

Q: In 2009, the Khumbu Icefall and the shoulder of Everest were very unstable. This made some teams minimize the acclimatization trips to the Western Cwm by using other peaks. Do you think more teams will take this approach in 2010?

The icefall in 2008 was very different to 2009. The route this year was more direct but did swing dangerously close to the shoulder. There were not any sections of the icefall where three or four aluminum ladders were strapped together to make passage over crevasses or up ice walls like there were in 2008.

I may be wrong, but I think there were three large collapses of the West Shoulder during the 2009 season. The first was caught by many on film and video as it happened shortly after breakfast and many climbers were resting at base camp. No one was injured but there were a few climbers stranded and had to wait for the Icefall Doctors to replace the displaced and destroyed ladders so they could continue to descend.

The second collapse I remember well, as it was 4 am and my team and Sherpas were roughly an hour into climbing up the icefall. We heard the crack and the rumble that followed, and my group reacted fantastic, as we all managed to take shelter behind a serac before the blast and debris hit us. None of us were injured, just covered head to toe in snow from the blast. Unfortunately a collapse happened at the same location at 11.30 am in which a Sherpa lost his life while descending with his members.

I had a good friend die in the icefall in 2005, so I always take care and clip in wherever there is a rope. As it proved this year, the early morning can be just as dangerous as late afternoon in the icefall. I think getting familiar with the icefall and terrain is beneficial to building up a climbers’ confidence on the mountain.

Some teams are planning to acclimatize on Lobuche once again but I will let my team decide on what they prefer to do. There are plenty of day trips close to base camp where one can get close to the same elevation as camp one on Everest for helping their acclimatization. This way they do not risk the chance of hurting themselves before the summit push. I prefer to keep the team on a schedule that sees them go up through the icefall a maximum of three times if possible.

Q: Prices for commercial Everest climbs continue to increase with a few operators now asking $75K. What is driving this increase?

Even though Nepal is still one of the poorest countries in the world they still experience a high inflation rate. The daily wages of the porters, cooks and climbing Sherpas have increased by 40 percent from the rates paid in 2009. Nobody should complain about paying these hard working staff extra daily amounts, as compared to western standards, they are paid very low for a day’s work. Food, propane, kerosene, transportation costs, etc., have all increased dramatically, hence the increased prices asked by the commercial operators.

Some of the expeditions who ask $75,000 have a very high ratio of guides to members and for that price you would expect a western guide for every two members and a 1:1 Sherpa to climber ratio. People sometimes forget that the guides also have permit costs and all the other relative fees and expenses that go with an Everest expedition. The $60,000 expedition price tag should provide a guide for every three members and also a 1:1 Sherpa to climber ratio. The cheaper expeditions should provide a minimum of 1:1 Sherpa to climber ratio and at least one experienced western leader.

One of my main concerns is that all my staff are paid well, regardless if it is the porter who carries our loads from Lukla to base camp, the head cook, a kitchen boy or the Sirdar who directs all my Sherpa staff on the mountain.

There are many different budgets on Everest. It’s not always the case in paying more gets you more. There are some expeditions, which are very comparable even though they are priced $40,000 and $65,000 respectively.

Q: How does your 2010 look? Which side will you be climbing?

I have spent so much time in Tibet at Everest, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma as well as the Guide School in Lhasa over the years that I never thought I would ever climb Everest from any other route except the North Col-Northeast Ridge. When the Chinese decided to close down the north side in 2008 for the Olympic Torch relay, I got the chance to switch the expedition to Nepal and climb on the more exclusive Southeast ridge.

It was quite a different experience on the south and it seemed as if most of the teams worked together in coordinating the fixing of the ropes. Already several of the commercial expedition leaders have started dialogue in regards to the rope fixing for 2010. I am pleased to be going back to the south side once again. We have such a comfortable base camp and having fresh vegetables and meats delivered to base camp every several days makes life much easier for my cooks.

Our team is looking great. I prefer the Junkies Everest teams to be smaller than our Gasherbrum and Manaslu teams. An ideal size is 6 climbers, 6 cooks and 6 climbing Sherpas, which gives a climber a more personal and rewarding experience while climbing “The Big E”. We have a minimum 1:1 Sherpa to climber ratio and most times bring a few extra Sherpas just to make sure everything will be dialed in.

So Phil is expecting a good season with minimal political drama. However, the season does not start until climbers are at Base Camp which is still 16 weeks away leaving a lot of time for surprises. I know in 2008, I left the U.S. not knowing if I was climbing from the north or south so uncertainty is part of the game today.

Thanks Phil for your time and safe climbing this season.

Climb On!

Alan