Right on schedule this weekend, teams made their way through the Icefall and into the Western Cwm for the first time. Some went all the way to camp 2, or sometimes referred to as ABC on the south side. But most were content to put in a sleep at camp 1 just above the top of the Icefall.
A nice SPOT track of the route up the Icefall is on Lucille’s site.
Meanwhile over on the north, Bill Burke reports in from their ABC that it is snowy and a few teams have already made day hikes to the North Col.
Once again, Phil Crampton of Altitude Junkies gives us a good view on their time at camp 2 plus a special look at what base camp luxuries entail these days:
The complete team along with Lhapka Tsheri Sherpa and Lhapka Sherpa climbed to camp one on the morning of the 15th where we spent the evening. The following day we made the short walk to camp two where we spent two evenings to aid our acclimatization process. Our camp two cooks Pasang Nima Sherpa and Pasang Disco Sherpa did an excellent job of establishing our camp two site. Upon arrival our custom Mountain Hardwear dome complete with dining tables and chairs, base station radio and antenna and our sleeping tents were all set up leaving us little to do but eat and drink for the rest of the day.
We had one of our first visitors from a neighboring team today with Vern dropping by from Alpine Ascents. Obviously we discussed the rope fixing first before I proudly gave Vern a tour of our high tech toilet/shower tent complete with flushing toilet, hand washing sink and propane on demand shower. Boys and their toys.
Boys and their toys?
The Asian Trekking Eco Everest team is back at trash collection again this year. And it looks like it is off to a good start. I want to clarify, that a lot of the trash they mention is from many years ago. Today, all teams put up a trash deposit of several thousand dollars. If they do not take down all their trash, their deposit is forfeited. Again, all the commercial expeditions and responsible private parties do everything possible to keep Everest clean. Here is Apa Sherpa’s comments for this year:
The Eco Everest Expedition is holding its annual weigh and pay program at Everest Base Camp in an effort to keep the tallest mountain in the world free from trash. At the end of each day, everyone brings in all the trash they could find and weigh it. On the spot they get paid 100 rupees per kilogram (That’s about a $1.40 for every 2.2 pounds for you Yankees).
Traditionally it’s been a big hit with the Sherpas, but this year even the foreign climbers are getting involved. Arjun, a member of our expedition who is poised at 16 years old to be the youngest Indian to climb Mount Everest, turned in 5 kilos yesterday and earned enough money to get his laundry done. The total haul from yesterday was 218 kilograms. The goal this year is to get 7,000 kilograms. It would be a massive clean-up effort where everybody wins.
Along these lines, Leif Whittaker also commented on the old trash:
As we clamber over freezer-burned hills and drop into U-shaped trenches that flow with crystal meltwater, we discover piles of debris from past expeditions. A few of the artifacts we find: rusty Almond Roca tins, canvas carry bags, busted wooden crates, helicopter parts, ice axe shafts. Dave seems to think some of the debris is from my father’s expedition, but surprisingly, there is almost nothing left. I’m hoping to find an oxygen bottle stenciled with the letters AMEE (American Mount Everest Expedition), or perhaps an ice axe head showing wear and tear from 1963 seracs, but those items must still be buried, or gone by now, after so many decades of searching. Perhaps after another month of sunny mornings, an artifact worth bringing home will surface.
Jamie Clark with Hanesbrands Everest posted several nice voice dispatches from his trip to camp 1 including a report of spontaneous vomiting by his cameraman. Hang in their Scott.
IMG hosted a meeting of all the south expedition leaders and discussed fixing the route to the summit. It contains some interesting details for this year and is the Blog of the Day:
IMG hosted a meeting of the different teams on Everest yesterday. On the South Side of Everest, cooperation between teams has been the norm since 1991. We have 7000m of rope ready to move up, including 4000m of 11mm, for fixing the route above. Double ropes (up and down) will be installed in all the key spots. Also, all the old rope will get cleaned from the Yellow Band and Geneva Spur, with new bolts placed on the Geneva Spur (Yellow Band anchors were replaced last year).
According to Tim Rippel’s Peak Freaks site, Himex will lead the route fixing from the South Col to the summit with assistance from Sherpas form other teams. This is similar to last year.
Finally, you may wonder why I talk about the south more than the north. Basically more information is available from the south. The commercial teams update their site more frequently and more climbers do personal blogs as well. It is difficult on the north to maintain a reliable satellite feed. Most satellites orbit south of Everest so if you are at right at the base of Everest, the line of sight can be blocked from time to time based on the satellite’s orbit.
We are well into the Everest season. Look for more teams to make their way to camp 2 on the south and to the North Col on the north for a few nights this week. So far, so good.
As for me, I am back after a quick and successful climb of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the US’s lower 48. I will post a full trip report on this site later this week.
Climb On!
Alan
