Summit Wave 2 (update 6)

update #6: As we are in mid afternoon, online Nepal time, it appears the south side had a lot of success with over 50 new summits. The north remains very, very unclear with limited reporting.

IMG reported 100% success with 15 climbers plus 15 Sherpas summiting and are back down now. Patagonia Brothers puts 8 Argentinians and 5 Sherpa on the top of the world. The Australian Everest placed 3 there as well. In a bit of a mystery, Mountain Trip’s home team said they received a phone call that went dead then a brief audio blog implying a summit and now their logistics company out of Nepal has confirmed seven summits from the team (Scott Woolums, Bill Allen, Cynthia Lou Abbott, Paul Fejtek, Denise Fejtek, Ania Lichota, Vivian James Rigney).

On the north, Bill Burk turned back at the 2nd Step. His wife posted this on their site:

I got a phone call tonight from Bill at 7:50 PM.  He was back at Camp 3 after reaching the “Second Step” and turning around.  He said it was dark, windy, cold, and his legs got very weak and wobbly.  He said it was the same feeling he had in 2007 when he turned around.  He knew he couldn’t make it to the summit and then back down.  He will be posting when he gets down to a lower level and gets some energy back. I’m so proud of what he has accomplished and now I want him to get back home.

and Adventure Peaks reports 11 summits and:

No news for definate in the last few hours, we are still waiting for Stu to give an update. It is understood however (not confirmed) that a number of team members turned round between 8600-8700m. All these are without doubt below the first step and probably in the high camp at 8300m. Geordie was the last person who may have made the summit before the turn around time. We await news. Dave Pritt

There has been no information posted on Chad Kellogg who was doing a speed ascent. He was scheduled to be back at the south Base Camp at 10PM on the 23rd, 7 hours from this post time.

Please visit various team’s websites for all the names and congratulations to all! There are still many more teams on both sides looking to start their summit bids on Sunday night.

update #5: My thoughts only: With the large number of climbers, it may take longer than you would expect for them to go from the South Summit to the top. They have to negotiate the Hillary Step and now there are climbers coming down. There should be two ropes, an up and down rope to aid in moving people along but it can still be a bottleneck. Similar situation on the north with the 2nd Step. If you have not head from your team, this is probably what is going on. Winds were expected to pick up later today but still expected to be manageable albeit a bit uncomfortable for some. Posted at 9:30AM Nepal time

update #4: Summits beginning: These teams are already there or very close: IMG, Patagonian Brothers (Damien and Willie Benegas), Peak Freaks on south and Adventure Peaks on north. Good weather, calm winds and clear skies. Views should be incredible! Check your team’s website for current list of names. Congratulations to all!

update #3: IMG reports climbers above the South Summit and others near.  Adventure Peaks is at the 2nd Step on the North commenting on great weather. Summits should happen between 7-8 Nepal time (see sidebar).

update #2: South teams that left earlier should be approaching the Balcony in early morning, Sunday May 23rd. Usually this is where oxygen bottles are swapped out for fresh ones.

Over on the north, with the good weather (albeit some wind), teams are taking advantage of it. It looks like there could be some bottlenecks on the north according to this update from 7 Summits Club:

In the camp 3 at the altitude of 8300 meters there are about 100 climbers. In such situation, a turn on fix ropes could be a major obstacle for success. Therefore, our first group decided to go to climb before everyone else – in 9:30 p.m., before getting dark. It looks as a new word in tactics of Everest climb. According to our calculations, our group should reach the top of Everest in the 4-30 – 5-00 a.m. local time. The second group came to the camp 7700 meters, everything is OK.

First group: guide Noel Hanna (Ireland), Andrey Filkov, Vadim Nadvodnyuk, Mikhail Turovsky (all – Russia), Steve Berry (UK) , James Wilde (USA).

update #1: Many teams have left for their summit bid including the IMG and Peak Freak climbers. Melissa Arnot has changed her mind and will climb with supplemental oxygen after a long climb to the South Col. Winds are reported manageable. There are around 100 climbers on the south side headed up today. Probably a similar amount on the north. Bill Burke is headed up tonight on the north for those following the 68 year-old who summited from the south last year.

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With excellent conditions and a successful summit wave the previous day, new teams are now leaving the high camps once again on Saturday evening, May 22nd to the top of the world.

On the north, there are a large number of climbers heading higher including Adventure Peaks and 7 Summits Club are at Camp 3 for a few hours. There were 100 climbers reported at the North Col a day ago.

On the south, several teams are at the South Col. AAI will spend 24 hours there and go for the top Sunday night. They report lite winds and mild temps as well.

Altitude Junkies, Peak Freaks, IMG, Mountain Trip and the Patagonia Brother’s team plan on going up today, Saturday. Also Melissa Arnot, climbing without supplemental oxygen is there with her teammate Dave Morton.

However, there seems to be some hesitation based on this update just posted from Mountain Trip:

Our Everest team is enjoying very warm and amazingly clear weather at 26,000’ at the South Col. Differing weather forecasts and over 100 other climbers are making the decision as to whether to stay another day or go for the summit very challenging. We’ll know soon if they are going to head for the summit!

Chad Kellogg is on his speed attempt today (Saturday) aiming for a round trip in around 30 hours from the South Base Camp. He will depend on Sherpas at several camps to melt snow for water. Obviously he will have to maneuver around the other climbers.

There are some teams who took a wait and see approach to the weather. Duncan Chessell put it well:

Waiting Waiting? GOING UP FOR SUMMIT on 25th of May.  The persistent high winds have held back many teams, including us. This has caused over 100 climbers to aim for the 23rd of May and a significant number for the 24th. We have been on HOLD in ABC until this logjam of people clears and we are hoping for favourable conditions on the 25th of May as our planned summit date. ABC has been trashed by high winds for the last week and finally today there is a respite. Our North Col camp at 7050m suffered more damage with a further two brand new tents destroyed by wild wind gusts.

Duncan, said he will look for Irvine’s camera on his way up.

Safe climbing to all. I will update this page through the day.

Climb On!

Alan