By Alan ArnetteEverest, Everest 2012 Coverage, Everest Popular Posts4 min read

Everest 2012 Team Locations

Welcome to Alan Arnette’s Everest 2012 coverage

Last 2012 Everest News – 31 May 2012

  • A sincere and deep thank you to everyone who made a donation to one of the Alzheimer’s non-profits. That is why I do this.
  • Very rough, check unconfirmed estimates: Total at base camps: 446 westerners plus 500 Sherpas totaling 946.  548 combined summits from both sides 57.93% summit to attempt rate. 10 total deaths.
  • If you have a general Everest question, please post here as a comment and I will try to address it.
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This table is my estimate each team’s location based on public information. Please refer to each expedition’s site for current information.

   

South Col Route (map)
 
TEAMS(members/guides)
32 teams, 337 climbers, 400+ Sherpas
BC
C1
C2
C3
C4/SC
Summit (climbers/Sherpas)
               395 est.
Facebook for AC Twitterfor AC Adventure Consultants (8/4) e          9/13
Facebook for AAI Twitter for AAI Alpine Ascents Int. (9/6) e         8/6
Facebook for AT Twitter for AAI Asian Trekking Eco/Peace/Youth (26) e         30/35
  Chile e         10/10
  Dream Guides e          2/1
Facebook for SC Twitter for SC Bill Burke (2/2) e          
  High Adventure Expeditions (2)           ?
Facebook for IMG Himex (24/9 plus: 7 Lhotse, 4 Nuptse) e          
Facebook for IMG IMG Classic (20?/7)  e         12/14
Facebook for IMG IMG Hybrid (8/2) e         11/11
Facebook for JG Jagged Globe(7/1) e         6/4
Facebook for MT Twitter for PF Mountain Trip (5/2)  e          5/10
  WMS Everest Experience (5/2) e         1/3
Facebook for MT Twitter for PF Patagonia Brothers (4/2) e         4/2
Facebook for PF Twitter for PF Peak Freaks (12/3) e         8/9
  Project Himalaya (Cris Klinke) (3/1)  e         1/1
  Sierra Mountaineering (2) e         2
  Pune (13) e          8/8?
Facebook for SC Twitter for SC Summit Climb (8/1) e         3/3
  others         X+ 137+ est
   

Northeast Ridge Route (map)
 
TEAMS (members/guides)
13 teams, 109 climbers, 100+ Sherpas/Tibetans
 BC ABC C1/NC C2 C3
Summit
              153 est.
Facebook for AT Twitter for AAI Asian Trekking Polish/Japanese (10) e          3/4
  Andrew Lock e          
  Adventure Peaks (8/1) e         4/4
  Altitude Junkies (7/1) e         6/5
Facebook for SC Twitter for SC Bill Burke (1/2) e          
Facebook for SC Twitter for SC Summit Climb (4/1) e         2/4
  Project Himalaya (Tom Kowpak) (1/1) e          2/2
  7 Summits Club (16/4) e          15/13
  others           90++ est
   

West Ridge Route/Southeast ridge
  Eddie Bauer West Ridge (Jake Norton)  e        T  
  Eddie Bauer Southeast Ridge (Dave Hahn)  e         2+/?
  NatGeo West Ridge (Conrad Anker)  e        T  
  NatGeo Southeast Ridge (Sam Elias)  e          6/?
e= climb ended, x=last reported location, x+ = on summit bid, -x = descending h=high sleep point, T=touched not slept.
Summit number = member/sherpa Locations are estimates derived from public websites

Welcome to Alan Arnette’s Everest 2012 coverage. My coverage is based on my own experiences, research, sources, and public information. I try to provide insight and interpretation of the activities ranging from routes to weather to the challenge of climbing Everest. I did similar coverage of the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 seasons. I summited Everest on May 21, 2011 and climbed Everest four times – 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2011.

If you have received value from my work during this 2012 Everest season, please consider a donation to one of these Alzheimer’s nonprofits, 100% for Alzheimer’s, none for me.

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Thank You

10 Confirmed deaths

  1. 40 year-old Karsang Namgyal Sherpa climbing with Prestige Adventures related to alcohol at base camp
  2. Peak Freaks’ Namgyal Tshering Sherpa fell from a ladder into a crevasse near C1
  3. Dawa Tenzing with Himex from stroke in the Khumbu Icefall and died in Kathmandu
  4. 33 year-old Indian, Ramesh Gulve, climbing with the Pune team suffered a stroke around Camp2 and died back in India.
  5. Dr Ebehard Schaaf with Asian Trekking of HACE near South Summit after his summit
  6. Shriya Shah-Klorfine, 33, a Nepali-born Canadian climbing with Utmost Adventures died below the Balcony after her summit
  7. Won-Bin Song from South Korea climbing with the Korean Everest & Lhotse Expedition died after a fall at the Hillary Step and then at the Balcony after his summit
  8. Chinese climber, Ha Wenyi climbing with Mountain Experience died just below the Balcony
  9. Juan José Polo Carbayo, 43, climbing with Himalayan Guides, died May 20 after summiting from the north, probably of exhaustion. Dr. Polo had been living in the Canary Islands, Spain.
  10. Climbing with Monterosa, a German climber, Ralf D. Arnold,  broke his leg at the 2nd step and has died after his summit

69 year old Italian Luigi Rampini, climbing on a Monterosa permit and logistics, spent 4 nights at 8300 meters without oxygen. He refused to descend a few days ago but was rescued per this report He was attempting the summit.

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248 thoughts on “Everest 2012 Team Locations”

  1. I am looking for information on a climber that summitted on May 19th around 8am. On his descent he fell and has lost his memory of the accident. Thankfully his excellent team of Sherpa and guide found him about 20-30 minutes above camp 4 sitting down not knowing where he was. The only visible injury was an abrasion on his forehead. He also suffered two broken ribs and frostbite on his toes. He was helped down to camp 2 where he was taken by helicopter off the mountain. I am happy to say he is home recovering but he has a lot of questions about what happened to him. It is likely that he fell somewhere on the descent, his red and black mountain hardware suit was torn in the back, he was missing his mittens, and the straps to his backpack were cut. If anyone heard of or saw him we would appreciate any information.

  2. Hi Alan,
    Thank you for the great coverage over the season…we, Ott & Murphy Wines, were following my wine making partner and one one of Alpine Ascents’ guides, Eric Murphy, who summit-ed Lhotse. Your coverage was much more helpful than AA’s “happy talk”.

    I noticed today your recap of the spring season and the below section caught my attention:

    “Very rough, unconfirmed estimates: Total at base camps: 446 westerners plus 500 Sherpas totaling 946. 548 combined summits from both sides 57.93% summit to attempt rate. 10 deaths 1.82% summit to death ratio”

    The summit to death ratio does not seem to be correctly stated. To me it reads 1.82 climbers summit-ed for each death? or for each 100 deaths? or….. based on your rough numbers the ratio is 54.8 climbers summit-ed for each death

  3. Hi Alan, just a quick question, of the 530 odd climbers that submitted, how many attempted it and failed?

    1. Simon, that number is always sought and very difficult to obtain and measure. Some teams count those who left home, other those who reached base camp then still others for those who reached the South or North Col. These days, the general rule of thumb I use is around 80% for commercial expeditions, maybe a bit lower for independent or self guided ones. We know there was a mass exodus in early May when Himex left, other individuals left as well, so this year the base camp to summit ratio would be very low on whole; perhaps 50%. Remember that around half of the summits in any year are for Sherpas and not westerners.

      1. So about roughly about 1000 people tried to summit then?
        I’ve been following you from sunny Durban South Africa, your blog is amazing, thank you.
        How many permits are given each year?

        1. Based on the numbers I saw at the beginning of the season and my own running totals:

            VERY, VERY ROUGH ESTIMATE NOT VERIFIED OR CONFIRMED

          Very rough, unconfirmed estimates: Total at base camps: 446 westerners plus 500 Sherpas totaling 946. 548 combined summits from both sides 57.93% summit to attempt rate. 10 deaths 1.82% summit to death ratio.

          Westerners Sherpas Total Summits Deaths
          South 337 400 737 395 53.60% 8 2.03%
          North 109 100 209 153 73.21% 2 1.31%
          Total 446 500 946 548 57.93% 10 1.82%

  4. Incredible year on Everest… am glad to have witnessed it. It wouldn’t have been nearly as cohesive and fullfilling without this blog, Alan, and I appreciate the tremendous effort.

    With that said, I’m relieved it’s over! 🙂

  5. HI Alan,

    I’m just wondering if you’ve heave unofficially if Andrew Lock has summited or is back at base camp? There’s a couple of Australian’s here pretty keen to know how he is going!

    1. Ben, I have not been able to confirm Andrew’s status – will keep trying and post when I do.

  6. Alan,
    Thanks for your all round informations about this year’s Everest Expedition. Please let me know whether Loveraj Dharmashaktu of Pune Team of India succeeded in climbing Everest from the south without the help of supplementary oxygen & thus became the first Indian to do that.

  7. Hi Alan,

    just wanted to know as to how many climbers attempted( this summer) Everest summit and how many actually reached the top.
    also If you can give a figure for Indian climbers seperatly.
    Can you provide me the names with age of the 5 most aged women summiters on Everest till date

    Thanks ,
    Vimal

  8. Hi Alan,

    I have been watching the season unfold through your blog and must say the information you provide is exceptional. Of particular interest to me is Tom Kowpak’s progess however I have not seen much from Tom or Jamie for some time. I gather they pushed for summit on 25th and noted you updated your summit table from a ‘?’ to a ‘2’ recently for Project Himalaya. Can you confirm Tom summited?

    Cheers, Tony J

    1. Tony, Just checked Tom’s facebook page and it is confirmed that he summited on the 25th at 10:00am and is now back down safely.
      Cheers,
      Steve

  9. Alan,
    Thanks again for your work to support Alzheimer’s – just made a donation.

    I encourage everyone to also try and mske a donation to this great cause whichAlan is working so hard to support.
    Jeff

  10. Hello Aklan and thank you so much for your coverage! Everybody have the feeling that this seasspn is more dangerous than others maybe for the plan of summit attack. We have read Simone Moro or Ferran Latorre saying that this seasson there is a lot of people in the way at the same time. They thinks that thiss is dangerous for his own plans. What do you think about it? Is this seasson so diferent from another? Maybe you are missing Russell Brice as a leader? Thank you

  11. Hi Alan,

    Many thanks from the depths of my heart for your factual, heartfelt & sometimes emotional telling of this years season on Everest. I have been enlightened, scared & have wept;
    Here in the UK, having followed yor website & experience for many years, I have never seen press coverage & a furore so extreme as this year….. The largest distributed ‘non tabloid’ newspaper in the UK ‘The Daily Mail’ ran a full page spread near to the front entitled ‘Graveyard In the Sky’ recanting this year’s tragedies….. & tv coverage has certainly shall i say been…. ‘Derogetory’.
    Although i can understand the press doing their duty as scaremongereres, often they have not performed there duty of non-Bias, often placing blame & more often than not negletting their duty of explaining certain facts. They commonly disregard the fact that turn-around times were ignored, commonly disregard weather changes & have often placed blame on the expedition operators.
    I would like to openly invite you to talk about your experiences with both Everest & Alzheimer’s in the village where i live upon your next visit to the UK & would like to thank you sincerely for your coverage over the last few months & also thank your for, I’m sure, the many sleepless nights you’ve experienced in the name of keeping us all informed.

    Thank You Alan.

    Climb On!!

    James

    1. Alan thank you for your updates …your website has been extremely informative for everyone watching a loved one…family member….friend…or even a slight acquaintance as in the case of me. I knew of Kurt Wedberg simply through a couple of Mt. Whitney websites we both happen to frequent and which Kurt posts great information on for hikers and climbers who plan a trek to summit Mt. Whitney. Alan your website is the one I followed when Sierra Mountaineering Inc (SMI) was making their final summit push…in fact anyone and everyone on the Mt Whitney website was watching your website for news on SMI. I will be making a donation to your website soon in honor of your mother and aunts.

      For anyone ing info on Mt Whitney checkout:

      http://Www.whitneyzone.com. or http://www.whitneyportalstore.com

    2. Thank you James. Yes, I agree with what you say. Everest and adventures is often misunderstood or unappreciated for the purpose it serves. It is not about dying, it is about living. One day, I would love to do a talk in your town. Climb On!

  12. Alan,

    There has been a lot of talk about this year being “more crowded than ever” on Everest. I’m wondering if based on data you have collected you might be able to put this in context for us?

    It may only be obe way of looking at it-but f you look back at this year relative to previous years could you tell us the ratio of ‘summit days’ to ‘number of summits’?

    I recognize that this is highly imperfect as there are many other factors (weather, number if ropes, etc) but it could be an interesting rough estimate.

    For 2012 is it correct to say there were ~4 summit days and ~537 summits. Leading to an average of about 134 summits per summit day?

    Could you tell us the numbers for previous years?

    Excellent job on coverage.
    Cheers
    Jeff

    1. Thanks Jeff. I have had some discussions about this season with only 4 days of summits and over 500 people, and 2012 looks in competition for the most summits on any one day. But I need to research it. Our friends at the Himalayan Database ( Ms. Elizabeth Hawley) or 800ers.com could probably answer within a few minutes 🙂 But I went back to the record year for summits of 2007 with 633 and looked at my reporting. I counted 7 days with summits more or less so yes 2012 was more crowded on a daily basis by this simple estimate. But we can;t say for sure until the final numbers are recorded for each day.

  13. Any news on the last team for IMG. Think they left for summit bid 12 hours ago per a message from a family member of one of climbers that called from camp 4

      1. Thank you for the great job all season on updates. I trekked up to base camp with the team. Difficult obstacles this year but extremely proud of all. Just saw the update. Thanks again.

        1. Would also like to thank the incredible sherpa’s that brought my friends up and now down safely. They are incredible human beings! We could not do this without them.

    1. Not confirmed but I would assume he went up last night but no updates yet.

  15. Hello Alan,

    Thank you for what is in my mind, simply the best online coverage of the Everest season.
    Your personal knowledge of having “been there” mixed with great writing skills put’s on on the mountain via a computer screen that’s thousands of miles away, great reading…

    Quick question, you stated “82 South side Summits on Friday morning May 25″… How many of those are Sherpa summit’s ?. And by the way, hat’s off to them, they seem to be the force behind all the summits.

    Thank you again for the best reporting for the 2012 season and god speed for those going up and down tonight.

    cary

    1. Thanks Cary for your kind words. We would have to wait for the final summit records to be filed but in general you can assume about a 1:1 ratio of western climbers to Sherpas so that would make half (and I say over half ) of those summits Sherpas. It really is their mountain.:)

  16. Hi Alan,
    Enjoy the updates and the commentary on the current climbing season as well as the informative observations on preparation, travel, packing of gear and dialogue regarding the climb itself.

    Can you comment on what the process would be for an inexperienced climber to gain the necessary experience to effectively and safely lead to a quest of the top of the world summit.

    I also noticed on the Jagged Edge blog that at 05:00 when the JE team was at the Hillary Step they encountered climbers already descending from their summits. What time would the sun rise and would it be a little disheartening to summit during the dark and not be able to see the dramatic 360 degree view?

    thank you

    1. Hi Russ, I always give the same advice to this question: gain climbing experience to be as self sufficient as possible, prepare your body to be in “Everest Shape” which is better than the best shape of your life and prepare you mind to push yourself but also to be willing t turn back for safety. I have a page on Everest FAQs that may help at http://www.alanarnette.com/everest/everestfaq.php

      The sun rises around 4:30 to 5 and yes, I can’t imaging all that work and missing the view! 🙂

  17. Hi Alan,

    I follow your blog for some time. It is very interesting and updated. Great work.

    Do you have info on what is happening on the west ridge? Any progress there or they have given up.

    In two of your blogs you wrote about going above South col and down from the top. As probably I will never experience the high altitude climing I wonder how are climbers going to toilet at camp 3 and south col, especially at -30 C degrees.

    Tnx
    Zhivko

    1. Hey Zhivko,

      Both West Ridge attempts were aborted due to lack of snow, exposing ancient blue ice that is extremely difficult to get solid on and also the rockfall hazards in the couloir, they have been marked with a small ‘e’ in the above table with a touch point at C3 but no summit.

      In a perfect world all climbers would take all waste off the mountain with them but you hear of all sorts of creative and not so creative ways (crevasse, behind rocks etc) of getting rid of the ‘evidence’ and many don’t bother. For tent life – a ‘pee bottle’ (1L Nalgene will do) and zip lock sandwich bags are a great way of transporting back to base, zip locked contents get taken down to base and the pee bottle I just empty away from an area where people might be collecting for boiling, ideally I would take that down too but 1L = 1kg extra to haul around so rightly or wrongly I do tip that unfortunately. Personally I don’t tend to need to go when I’m then on the move as I’m usually to focused on putting one foot in front of the other and I just ignore it, too much gear to get through, too cold and probably cant be bothered a lot of the time 🙂

      Thanks for the measured and informative updates Alan!

      Also good luck to TOM KOWPAK from AUSTRALIA currently positioned at C3 North Col ready and waiting, we hear little of his progress due to lack of comms on the North so your blog has been great to keep in touch with where he may be. GO TOM!

  19. I have not seen Apa Sherpa’s name this year – did he go for another summit this year?

  20. Hi- I was just reading Leanna Shuttleworth’s blog and she mentions seeing “horrific” things that will haunt her on her way to the summit. I am assuming she is talking about seeing bodies, and I know this is a morbid question, but how many deceased climbers’ bodies does one see on their way to the summit? I would think that would take a toll on one psychologically, especially when one is already under duress.

    1. On the North, many – perhaps 6 as reported this year from many years of deaths. On the South, almost none. This year was the exception and Leanna saw the immediate aftermath including one, per direct knowledge, of a dead climber having to be removed from the fixed line thus allowing them to get by. Yes, horrific for anyone much less an 18 year -old. These deaths should have never happened.

        1. It’s Leanna’s father here, Mark, who climbed with Leanna and Alpine Ascents. On our ascent, We actually passed 3 of the dead and another 2 who were in an awful state and one of which was not to survive the ordeal. This was not an easy thing to cope with, even as an adult.

          Alan-Thanks for the excellent coverage, we are back in Dubai now starting the recovery process-at least it’s warm here!

          1. Maybe you could shed some light on the subject of what the thought process is for a parent to allow their child to risk the Death Zone.

            Did the thought of potential death ever enter into the decision to climb and have Leanna climb with you?

            How much of a vetting process did you go through when it came to guides reputation and the safety approach of each guide company?

            On the mountain did you ever doubt the decision to go on?

            Congratulations on your and Leanna’s Summits and returns.

          2. Russ

            To answer your questions
            1- Leanna was going to climb Everest at some time with or without me. (Not sure if you know, but the 7 summits was driven by her, not me, I was not a climber.) Therefore my wife and I took the advantage of being able to influence risk decisions with her at this stage rather than let her go on her own at a later stage
            2-The issue of the risk and deaths is so real that of course you try and address them, talk them through and try as much as possible to mitigate them by ensuring you are with the best guide house, you have the best training beforehand, etc etc
            3- I spent a long while vetting the guide houses. We had many conferance calls with the companies as they also wanted to speak to Leanna as she was only 15 when we started and they wanted to understand how much was being driven by me (nothing at that time) and how much was being driven by leanna. I also took numerous references from their members. I got down to IMG and Alpine Ascents as the best 2 guide houses with the best safety rcord. I then selected Alpine Ascents and have used them on 5 occasions-I believe that they are the best guide house in the world, shown in many aspects on the Everest expedition.
            4-We had trust in the AAI guides and leaders ( our leader Lakpa Rita was submitting for the 16th time, my personal Sherpa was on his 18th summit and Leanna’s Sherpa was on his 15th summitt-huge amounts of experience) this is what we paid for and as such had confidence in their decision making process and never thought about turning round

            Hope that covers the points as best as I can here.
            Thanks for congrats.

            1. Thank you Mark for being generous in answering this question. Congratulations once again to you and Leanna.

  21. Hi my name is Tim. I have a huge interest in mountains. I have no intention of trying out something as deadly as everest but just wanted to know how much training is involved. Thanks

    1. Tim, for Everest it a solid year to train the body and mind but years to gain the proper experience of climbing in order to be safe and as self sufficient as possible. It is not a simple matter. For my year of climbing the 7 Summits in 2011, I spent 2010 climbing over 30 14,000′ mountains with a 30 to 40lb pack. I have some more thoughts on training on my main site at http://www.alanarnette.com/everest/everesttraining.php

  22. Hi, You now note Shriya was with Utmost, before this read HappyFeet so I suppose you were fine tuning this? While in EBC last week I saw a pack in the dining tent of a lady, apparently from Monju, but didn’t meet her as she headed up through the night. Then spoke with a Asian/Canadian lady climber on my exit from EBC (ing advice about another Canadian girl). Interested/alarmed to know how both these girls fared as I’m thinking one of them was Shriya. If you can throw any light on this it’d be appreciated. Cheers, C.

    1. Craig, it is impossible for me, or perhaps anyone to help with you this question without specific names, etc. By the way, I was not in base camp.Sorry.

  23. Alan
    You have done an amazing job and we are all thankful for your effort and hard work..Very informative and reliable.
    Truely appreciated and highly respected

    Namaste

  24. What’s the probability the same gridlock will happen in the second window? Do you know how many climbers will be in this second wave?

    1. Initial posts said there were only 70 or so climbers, but Jagged Globe, at the South Col now, just reported up to 150 climbers, and the weather sounds ominous with 30mph winds. I hope we don’t see the same kind of desperation and disregard for turnaround times like we saw last week, but from what it sounded like and based on the photos on Leanna Shuttleworth’s latest blog post, the jetstream returned.. I highly recommend reading her account of her summit. Outsideonline has a great article about it as well…

  25. Hi again Alan,

    The papers here in Toronto are full of stories that a Sherpa party is going to attempt to recover Shriya Shah’s body for repatriation to Canada. Is this even possible where she is? Has this ever been done before?

    1. Yes. Last year a Japanese man who died from HACE (I passed his body) was retrieved from almost the same location. I tis dangerous for the Sherpas, physical, expensive and very risky but often what families want. The body will be taken to camp 2 and then flown back to Kathmandu by helicopter. Usually the Embassy gets involved at that point.

  26. Alan, Thanks again for all of your hard work with these updates.

    Great news about the rescue of the Italian.

  28. Somebody asked earlier, and I’d also seen the article, the Turkish cab driver from New York who was traveling the world with his scavenged 1 speed bicycle did summit, but without the bike. Rather remarkable, I’d guess, and gives a boost for the inexperienced.

    1. Yes, I have not seen this 100% confirmed but believe that 16 year-old Nima Chhamzi Sherpa summited this past weekend with her father, Dendi, using Happy Feet Guides http://happyfeetmountaineers.com/demo/home

      The numbers they are quoting are old. See my location table for the latest.

  30. I am very sorry to hear about the death of Dawa Tenzing. Do you know if he was also known as Daati? Daati was my guide for a trek to EBC a few years ago, and Daati’s full name was also Dawa Tenzing. Daati has a son who used to live in Portland, OR, and a daughter who is (or at least used to be) a nurse in a hospital in Kathmandu.

    Atul

  31. Hi Alan,

    Thanks for your thoughtful and thorough coverage on the Everest 2012 season. Thought I’d share information that was posted from IMG (two of my friends are on that team)…

    It’s our turn – IMG Classic Team readies to head up to Camp 2 in twelve hours. I’m happy to report that everyone is healthy and excited to leave EBC for C2 at 2:30 am May 22nd. Expect us to quickly move up through the Khumbu Ice Falls during the wee hours of Tuesday night and arrive at C2 sometime before the sun bakes the Western Cwm tomorrow.

    The team will rest at C2 on the 22nd and 23rd and then push to Camp 3 at about 24,000 ft on May 24th. Early on the 25th Sherpas and Climbers will proceed up through the Yellow Band past the Geneva Spur to the South Col 26K ft (C4) and stage for the summit attempt. You can expect us to depart the South Col around 10 PM on the 25th and hope to reach the summit of Mount Everest 29,029 ft at sunrise on May 26, 2012. Weather still appears to be very promising for the 25/6th and we expect to encounter relatively few climbers compared to the May 19th window. Wish us well and keep your fingers crossed for low winds and strong hearts.

    thanks again!
    Laurie

  32. Hi Alan,

    I had asked earlier but did not get any reply. I have been trying to know details of Pranoy Bordoloi who is from my home state of Assam, India. After much effort, Arun Treks informed me to enquire from Seven Summit Treks, as I was told they would know. Yet to hear from them though. Can you inform me which team he was in and in which camp. I checked each and every team for his name but did not find it. But there are whole lot of media reports of his trip to the everest. Please any info would be appreciated…. (from Sanjiv Goswami, Melbourne, Australia.)

    1. I’m sorry Sanjiv but I have no information on individual climbers unless they or their team post it for public use.

  33. Me again….

    German TV shows “allot” about the everest Death’s.

    That sucks….they would not have reported anything about their succeed….

  35. WMS posted this morning that 1 climber and 3 Sherpas summited on the 19th. I notice on your chart that you show only 2 Sherpas. Thanks for your incredible service to the families of the everest climbing community!!!!! Blessings.

  36. Do you have any information on a helicopter rescue at camp 2 this morning? What are the typical logistics for HACE rescues?

    1. No direct info but not surprising. There were several cases of frostbite on Saturday night and the usual process is to get them down as low as possible, stabilize and evaluate for evac. Not sure about the one you are mentioning but sadly, helicopter evacs from C2 are becoming quite common during this 2012 season now that Fishtail Air has “perfected” the process (yet still incredibly dangerous for helicopters at that altitude). Could have been a member or Sherpa.

      http://fishtailair.com/blog/

      Another thought is it could be body recovery from this weekend but I wold be surprised it is so quick but more so that they will remove those bodies from above the Balcony. One body was transported from just above the Balcony to C2 and flown off last year. It is dangerous, expensive and takes a lot of Sherpas.

  37. Hi Alan, can you SMS Jamie McGuiness, Proj Himalaya – sat phone: 0088216 212 73393. Thx,

  38. Hi Alan. Fascinating blog.

    I am a Bangladeshi journalist trying to follow the Bangladeshi duo of Nishat Mazumder and MA Muhit who reached the summit May 19, probably with a small independent team. I’d appreciate any info you have on them.

    I have a layman’s question: how large is the summit area? Do we have many climbers jostling for space to take photos once they reach the top? Just curious.

    Zain, Dhaka

    1. Zain, maybe 10-15 people could squeeze on the summit proper but it is covered with prayer flags and also considered an insult to the mountain gods to stand on the literal tippy top. Most people are thrilled to have a rest sitting down a foot or so under it

      1. But the ‘summit photo’ – where is that taken usually? Also, with so many teams climbing at the same time, don’t they get in each other’s way? Does that create a security risk of any sort?

        1. I heard that Nishat Mazumder, the first Bangladeshi woman to summit Everest suffered snow blindness during her descent and was struggling. Is snow blindness common? Why does it happen?

          1. Snow blindness is caused when a climber takes off their goggles or sunglasses (even for a few minutes) and the sun burns their cornea. They take off their glasses due to losing concentration due to fatigue i.e. a mistake, it gets iced or fogged up and they cannot see and do not have a spar or some other issue. Does not happen often and should never happen really.

          1. Thanks, Alan. Sorry for pestering you with all the questions. We journalists are an inquisitive lot.

            Keep up the good work!

          2. Are there any specific characteristics (background etc) that proves that that the ‘summit photo’ was taken on the summit, since for most people that’s the primary evidence!

  39. Paul Thelen is going to leave Basecamp.

    I wish you much strength in the difficult time that lies ahead of you.

  40. Alan,
    Regarding something else then the tragic deaths.
    I am having difficulties finding more precise dates for the Everest season. Would you consider it à good time to do the Walk to basecamp in the besinning/mid june, Or should I wait to the fall season?

    Thanks,
    Chris

  41. Alan,
    You are reporting 4 deaths. However your earlier reports said three sherpas on e from Alcohol, one from falling into crevass, one from Heart attack. In addition one member from Pune died of heart attack. Now you mentioned German climber dead due to HAPE & Shelly Shiya near summit. The total comes to six. Will you please clarify.
    I express my deep condolence for the climbers dying during ascent or descent.

  42. Alan, I’m just wondering where you are? Do you stay in Base Camp on the South side of Everest for the whole season or are you keeping this blog from the states?

    1. Lynn, I have covered Everest each year from home in Colorado if I am not there climbing (2002, 2003, 2008 and 2011). I do this to raise awareness and ask for donations for Alzheimer’s non-profits (nothing to me) which took my mom and two aunts.

  43. Very sad news.

    Please report if there was any effort in rescuing one of those climbers in bad conditions.

    So sad to hear that Dr. Eberhard Schaaf was one of them. He and his climbing partner seemded to be very well prepared. Did Asian-Trekking try to carry out a rescue?

    It’s really just a question, but is it normal to take dex at basecamp? I thought it’s given as kind of “re-animator” and when things go wrong really quick. But as pre-medication? Seems that he might have had some problems earlier.

    1. Marc, condolences about your countryman. I have no details on these incidents other than what I posted and will not speculate on the what if’s. Also, sorry but I cannot answer your medical questions, I am not a doctor.

      1. It was more kind of “if you hear something”. As I think you are one of the best informed.

        Thank you Alan.

  44. David’s Homepage confirms that he and Gerlinde reached the summit of Nuptse on the 17th and are already back in basecamp

    Ralf and Gerlinde might try Everest to complete Ralfs No – 02 summits…..but that depends on Ralfs health situation….

  45. Hey Allan,

    Thanks for the updates, I have been following them very closely, but is there any chance you have news on Leannas attempt at Lhotse?

    1. Lloyd, Not sure if she will attempt Lhotse with 24 hours of her Everest summit per her plan. The summit push last night was very difficult for almost all the teams and will probably influence her decision and that of her guides. But she is remarkable so never say never.

      1. The Lhotse attempt has been abandoned due to the high winds, I’m afraid.

    2. Hi Alan….I made my donation to Alzheimer’s fund via your website. Thank you again for all your Mt. Everest updates.

      1. Thanks so much Lynn! I appreciate the donation but more so the people impacted by Alzheimer’s and their families and children do as well.

  46. Alan:
    Again, thank you for your timely updates of the climbers. In Western PA today, it is sunny and 70.

    BTW: do you have information on Aydin Irmak, a Turkish New Yorker who would like to carry his MT bike to the Everest summit. I think he has been issued a permit for the South Col only. Another local MBer called this effort to my attention. I believe he is in Nepal on his own. Thank you, Alan. Be safe.
    Bill

    1. Hi Bill, no word. To be honest, I really don’t follow these kind of climbs similar to the Dutch climber who wanted climb in a thong a few years ago 🙂 BTW, he didn’t make it …

      1. Ouch Alan, did you really have to mention that he was Dutch? ‘That climber who…’ is enough!
        (He was wearing shorts btw… 😉 )

  47. Thank you, Alan, for your tireless dedication to keeping us families updated on the progress of our loved ones. Just heard from Bob Sullivan with WMS team. He was the only climber who made it to the summit. Christian Kober’s water bottle froze so he couldn’t continue and Mark Schwab never left base camp because of some circulatory problems with his feet. Mingmar Dorji Sherpa along with 2-3 other Sherpas also summited. He did not give their names. They had just reached Camp 2 around 1700 Nepal time. He had had nothing to eat except sugar water since leaving Camp 3. They will eat and sleep at Camp 2 until early morning when they have to traverse the ice fall again to reach Base Camp. We are so sorry that Chris and Mark weren’t able to summit.

    1. Please don’t be sorry. Every climber knows that summitting is not guaranteed; it is always uncertain and should not be expected. Sadly, as an Everest summit becomes more and more popular as a “rite of passage”, the true magic of climbing for it’s own sake is lost.
      I have learned more from climbing smartly and failing to reach the peak than from any summit attained.
      My congratulations to every climber for pursuing the dream!

    2. Thanks for your update and call this morning Betty, I really appreciated it! I spoke with Mark a few hours ago, he said that he and Huseyin had made it back down to base camp. Mark said he climbed as far as the triangle face between the SC and the Summit, and turned back with numb feet. I’m not sure at what point Chris and Huseyin turned back, but Bob kept going and was the only climber from the WMS team to summit (with several sherpas, of course!). I know we all are looking forward to an update on the WMS blog, and to hear that everyone has made it back down safely!

  48. AAI pulled it off! In spite of a morning of very ominous looking web cam shots, and high winds. Everyone is safe and back in the south Col.. how awesome is that.. no mention of the Lhotse double 8000m attempt, although from what I understand the ropes are already fixed. We’ll have to wait and see.

  50. can you kindly tell me who these independent climbers are? Their Nationality? If possible.

    1. Marc, Arnold posted a voice update from South Col saying they were going up tonight but nothing more

  52. As time goes by I wonder if Himex Climbers might think they have choosen the “wrong-operator”?

    2. Read Joe Martinet’s latest blog post for at least one answer to that question.

    3. Also, it isn’t over yet.. there’s another summit window, and after that it takes a relative long time for the Sherpas to finish clearing the mountain, which was at least half of Russel Brice’s concern regarding his decision (if not most of it). Many many more trips through the icefall yet to come. So it’s a little early to decide if lives were saved or not by his decision.

  53. Hi Alan
    Rob Casserleys team, Matthew, Mollie, Becky, Valerie and Rich successfully reached the summit, sounds like they did not spend too long at the top due to the pick up of high winds. They are now resting at Camp 4 and will continue their descent tomorrow.
    Congratulations to all and thank you to Rob and Henry for obviously taking such good care of this young brave team, they will have a lifetime of memories of this wonderful journey.
    Thanks Alan for your great site.
    Nicolle

  54. Hello Alan,
    The most informative spot I surfed today and last night to get an understanding of what is going on this year on Everest summit bids.
    What does H mean in your table?
    I understand Nathalie Fortin (Québec) summited around noon with Namgel sherpa, Paul Goughy (England) and Lakpa sherpa, they have been safely back at C4 around 18h15 climbing with Gabriel Filippi expedition (I don’t know under what name they are registered. Pierre Leroy the last climbing member of that group turned back at 8600m (under south summit) and is also safe in C4.
    Cheers
    Bernie

  55. All eyes on Alpine Ascents… leaving SC in a few hours for Everest summit. and then, within 24hrs, the double summit attempt for Lhotse is still on (based on latest update from AAI’s website). Way to go Leanna and dad.. I hope the weather holds and am rooting for you!

    Am glad everyone during this window, so far, is safe.

  57. Alan,

    (A couple of minutes ago) Finally the confirmation of Summit Success for Ueli Steck (his website) and his climbing friend Tenzing without using oxygen.. Same date National Geographic ( Blog on Everest) had also a very interesting article ” To Os or Not to Os ” (Dispatch #39 from the roof of the world, May 18, 2012).
    You probably as I, respect / admire every safe climb up and down Everest, with or sans Os (Is that also the reason why you don’t mention any difference in your ‘table overview’ above ?).
    Still, it remains a remarkable human achievement…are they the only ones so far this year, according to your knowledge/experience/connections out there ?

    Thanks for your great insights,
    Jurgen

  58. Alan,
    You mentioned in 18th Mays report that 29 summits were made uptil 1.30P.M. This includes 10 chilean climbers& 10 sherpas & Ueli Stuck. Who are the other eight persons. Further You have mentioned in 19th Mays early report about total 50 summits. Hoever you also did mention That 15 from Adventure Consltants,22 from IMG, 15* from Peak Freaks & S2/Windhorse 4 summitted on 19th. .This all together doesn’t make 50 .Will you clarify. Yesterday you also confirmed that about 150-200 climbers & sherpas were waiting in South col for summitting. Then why so little people did summit today.

    1. Please, I estimate some of the summits but also do not track and list every single person – simply impossible. On May 18, that number included the Sherpas fixing the line to the summit. The normal reporting practice is once the team summits, they report the results to the Nepal Ministry of Tourism and they eventually publish a press release or report – this can take days or months for the official report. Hopefully the team you are interested in will publish something through their hometown press if/when they summit.

  59. Thank you for the updates you provide. I am watching the progress of SMI aka Sierra Mountaineering- Kurt. Fred and Kancha Nauru Sherpa as well as all the climbers.

  60. IMG is reporting 11 climbers and 11 sherpas descending from the summit including Kurt Wedberg and fred Simmons from SMI.

  61. There are 4 climbers from s2 mountaineering/wind horse heading to the top. They left camp 4 around 10 pm. We expect a sat call from them any time. Climbers are from Utah and Colorado. Thanks for the updates–pretty heady stuff!

  62. Looks like a beautiful day on top for a summit morning. Keep wishing for clear conditions and a safe return for everyone.

      1. Do you think AAI is going to be cutting it a little close for this first window by leaving a day later for the top?

  63. Desperately looking for info on where the pune team is as of now… will be grateful if any news could be given

    regards
    GG

  64. Did the Chilean team go with/behind the rope fixing team? As the ropes are fixed last night I might believe that?

    1. I believe the 13:50 time quoted was local Chile time for their summit and they actually summited around 11:30AM Nepal time and the rope team summited at 1:30PM, Nepal time. But all of this could be wrong. We will have to wait for the Chilean team to confirm if they used ropes from the Balcony to summit or not.

      Update: As more information comes out it seems the Chilean team and the Sherpas fixing the rope basically summited together as shown by this audio post on the Chilean team site: The Sherpas who rigged rodrigojordan route give me the top …. sample of his infinite generosity and humility

  65. Alan,
    Thanks so much for both your work gathering all this information and for your insights based on your experience. What a tense, exciting day today will be as so many attempt to summit. My friend, John, is with IMG Hybrid. Bandar’s last voice dispatch reported that two of their team had to descend. If you hear that John O’Meara was one of them, could you let me know? I understand how other climbers don’t want to be the ones to break the sad news to those at home but…

    It makes me weep for someone who is so close and is force to turn back despite every fiber of their being driving them toward the summit.

  66. Great News! the Chilean Team has reach the summit at 14:30 local time. Kind of late, but they made it! they should be on their way down. All the best for them!
    Here is a transcript of the twitter account of the expedition with some details (spanish).

    ——————————————————————————————————————————————
    rodrigojordan Los Sherpas que equiparon la ruta me regalan la cumbre…. muestra de su infinita generosidad y humildad
    4 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

    rodrigojordan Estamos a metros…. y todos juntos
    4 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

    rodrigojordan Estamos en la cumbre! #everest20años
    4 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

    verticaleverest 20 años (y 3 días) Rodrigo Jordan en la cumbre del Everest …rutas distintas..el mismo espíritu y pasión..grande equipo..grandes todos..
    4 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

    verticaleverest Todos llegamos a cumbre, luego de corta celebración vamos bajando!! empezamos el descenso aproximadamente 14.30 local..gracias todos x apoyo
    3 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

    rodrigojordan Vamos bajando todos ya… ahora necesitamos de su compañía y pensamientos para la larga jornada de vuelta al 4. Estamos muy emocionados
    3 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

    verticaleverest Todos llegamos a la cumbre!! bit.ly/Jlc21Y
    2 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

  67. Am closely following Chilean team. They have frequent updates. From what I can tell they’ve summited, but mentioned winds picking up and are coming down in a hurry. Fortunately there shouldn’t be any traffic if there’s some weather up there.. it’s late in the day and the Everest webcams look ominous.

    I see Bandar is up at the South Col already, but Alpine Ascents hasn’t updated their progress on their googlemaps page. Last update showed them at the yellow band at about 1pm local time. (It’s 3pm now). Bandar said it was busy with a lot of climbers going up the rest of the Lhotse face this morning, but that they’d all arrived safely on the Col, so am hoping Leanna and her team are close or in camp, especially if there’s weather moving in. Bandar mentioned nothing about any weather or wind.

    Am eager for the first reports of the day, and have been following as best I can all day long (I’m one hour in front of Everest at my location).

    1. Congrats to the Chilean team! now to return home safe! Hope the weather cooperates for all the other teams…

  68. So hooked by following the progress on Everest, a goal is building up inside of me! Thank you!

    Myquestion – Do you think Himex will have as many members as before the coming seasons?

    Some of the climbers (for ex Joe Martinet) seems disappionted with the decision, and not getting any refunds seems like a harsh thing… and also seeing how the icefall and Lhotse face have not (yet) posed a real problem to the other expeditions it’s hard to understand why they left the mountain so quick. What’s your more experienced perspective on this?

    From Sweden,

    Lina

    1. I totally think the same. As I saw the discovery series I would have thougt Russel Brice is a bit more about the conditions high up there.

      Maybe he concerned about that mass of people going ub there in about 1-2 days. That really screams like “BOTTLENECK!!”.

      What I am pissed about, They don’t get any refund? Why? Did he inhaled all their oxygen on the way to kathmandu? I know about 200-400$ refund for unused oxygen bottles. Why isn’t he paying this to his members? Don’t want to sound occupied, but it seems to have been a very good season for Russel Brice.

      Somehow I have in mind that we will see him at the north again soon.

  70. Dean Staples is on a private Guiding trip,through AC.I have heard little of how he is doing.Any info would be appreciated..Kind Regards Maurie.

    1. Hi maurie, my brother in law neil is on the ac expedition and i met dean in ktm last month at the expedition start. all is well with all the ac teams. They expect to summit in the next two days ie Saturday or sunday. Best wishes!
      Penelope

  71. We, Bangladeshis, are eagerly waiting to hear the news of first Mount Everest summit by a Bangladeshi woman, Nishat Mazumder. We have heard that she is on her way to summit push now. We are just praying for her safe summit and return.

    Thanks Alan! We have known a lot from your blog and grateful to you indeed.

  72. Still Watching and Waiting it’s nearly as nail biting as climbing!!! Cheers Kate

  74. Hi Alan
    Matthews Dieumegard-Thornton team reported via SATPhone. They are currently at Camp 3. All are well and are hoping to make summit attempt evening of 18 May. Hopefully all ropes will be fixed from Wishing them all a safe journey upwards and return.
    Nicolle

    1. Thanks Nicolle. best thoughts for Matt to accomplish this dream. I assume Becky is with him, best to her.

      1. Hi Alan
        Yep Matthew is with Rob Casserley, Mollie Hughes and Becky Bellingworth. They are all very brave, young and older!!!

  75. Alan
    Thanks for your website, I read your “book” yesterday, one of the most inspiring stories of Everest I have ever read.
    We have just done the three passes trek see my blog for the nitty gritty, it is awesome to now be able to visualize these massive peaks and have an idea of what Climbers actually go through. I will however remain a trekker…
    Hope the summit bids go well for all

  78. Great work Alan.. keep those updates coming! Any word from a small group of 4 climbers under the name of S2 Mountaineering out of Albuquerque NM, and Ogden UT? My brother is in that group. Last we heard they were at Camp 2 waiting for a summit window. Any thing you can get me from that group? Much obliged…. –Matt Burton, Ogden UT.

    1. Hi Matt, Hard to tell where they are since there are no updates on their site or Windhorse but I would assume they are currently still at Camp 2or moved to Camp 3 moving to the South Col pushing for a summit bid on May 18 or 19. Note, I have no way of contacting teams during their summit push and am dependent on what they or others post publicly.

  79. Watching it all from Phoenix, Arizona where our May 16th high temperature hit 106 F helps keep us cool! Godspeed and safe trekking to all the climbers.

  80. Hi Alan
    Sorry to bother you again I have just been on dosummitgood blog and it makes reference to teams being split into 2 groups. One group leaving for Camp 2 yesterday and the 2nd which will i nclude Kenton to attempt an attempt on the summit about 25 May. If the first group are unable to summit on 18th approximately, would they get a 2nd chance?
    Kind Regards
    Nicolle

    1. Hi Nicolle, it is possible for a second try if a climber does not make the first but it rarely happens. Usually the teams do not stock enough oxygen tanks for 2 attempts. Also Sherpa support can be an issue not to mention the leaders usually want to break camp after the first try. So it is complicated unless it was 100% arranged and paid for in advance.

  81. Hi Alan,

    I echo everyone’s great comments about your blog – it’s fantastic to have such a broad view of whats going on on all sides of the mountain!

    I noticed that you have put the Adventure Peaks team (North ridge) at ABC on their summit bid – I checked their website and there hasn’t been an update about their summit attempt on there… Have they definitely left BC for the summit?!

    thanks,
    Helen

  82. Hi Alan….. This morning you mention the South Side group from Chili. What is the name of that group? You are doing a terrific job each and every day! Ginny

  83. hi,

    first of all many thanks to alan for this awesome page. It is one of the big steps forward in our history that everybody can follow now almost realtime what”s going on at Everest. Just great!

    I totally share Ben’s opinion and concerns. I have deep respect for Brice decision who took the bad feelings of his sherpas also based on the bad weather and mountain condition very serious and cancelled the adventure for this year. Hope the climbers out there will take extemely care this year!

    cheers, billy
    RIP Lincoln Hall

  84. Hi Alan,

    Although I’m sure that all the members of the Himex expedition are extremely deflated, I can understand the decision. As one of the most experienced operators on the Himalaya you can only accept RB’s decision as wise. The conditions are unseasonably strange & i’m sure the weight of carrying many peoples lives on his shoulders is huge. He’s looking after an extremely high profile outfit aswell as the UK’s ‘Walking with the Wounded’ team & if tragedy had arisen, following the extremely bad press from the David Sharp incident in 2006, I’m sure that Himex would have been portrayed badly. I’m sure it was a decision not made lightly.
    The mountain isn’t going anywhere & there’s always next year!!

    Climb On!

    James

  85. All X’s in base camp is exciting to see. am eagerly following.

    but..

    the weather here in Thailand, the footend of the Himalaya, has been remarkably out of season. Too much rain these past 2 months (there should be no rain for another month at least, but now we have several major rainfalls each week). I suspect Everest’s strange season is no exception for these parts and respect RB’s decision, even if it was primarily a Sherpa concern. Who knows the mountain better than them? Beyond stating the obvious traffic jams at Hillary Step on the 21st, I suspect RB’s concern was more for the support crew, which outweighs memberele in sheer numbers. They have to stay on the mountain much longer than the westerners do, and this season, getting off sooner than later seems like the best idea. But good luck to all Sherpas, members and staff who have decided to stick it out.

  86. Your site is very informative and has led me follow several other blogs. I check it daily for the latest news.

  87. Do you have any knowledge of HWA (Himalayan Windhorse Adventure/S2 Mountaineering’s progress? They are located at EBC near the first aid tent. N. Dorjee Sherpa is director and camp manager. Cell-977-98510-52259. Any chance you could add them to the “Teams” list?

  88. How are you I am callum aged 11i hope to one day forfill my dreams of standing on the summit of the great everest what advice would you give me

    1. Hi Callum, What a great goal, but remember you don’t have to climb Everest, accomplishing any dream is a wonderful accomplishment. For climbing, it is important to gain the proper experience and to climb as safe as possible and to be as self sufficient as possible. So this means taking the time to gain experience through climbing lower mountains with good teachers, friends or guides. This takes time and money so patience is a key. I have a couple of pages on my main site that may help you: http://www.alanarnette.com/everest/everestfaq.php and http://www.alanarnette.com/climbing/climbing8000faq.php Good luck and Climb On! Alan

  89. Alan, have you heard something about an Israeli guy’s ascent? through the Lhotse route?

    1. Guy, no I haven’t heard about a specific Israeli climbing Lhotse but there are many small operators who do not post updates making hard to track.

  90. hi alan,

    as usual, your coverage of everest 2012 is stupendous, its amazing that a guy like you with limited means chooses to do this over folks with much more resources such as eric and russel. the climbing community is grateful and cant express enough thanks for your high quality work.

    it would definitely help if there was a possible list of climbers hyperlinked in each link of teams and their status that you have put on the grid, we have 18 climbers from my home city pune. Several more from my country India. Since permits are shared generally with a bunch of others, its difficult to know which particular team our Indian climbers are assigned to.

    i hope the alternative route to camp 3 holds out and folks get a shot at the summit.

    thanks again,

    1. Thnaks Ameet. It is simply impossible to link each climber on a team because most of them do not have websites to link to or any public information. I would suggest you visit each team’s website you are following to see if they have any links to their members. Pune has a list of their members on their website but no links http://www.peakpromotionnepal.com/giripremi/

    1. Ana, I was only aware of a Mountain Madness trek to everest Base camp in 2012. I don’t believe they have a summit expedition but could be wrong.

  94. Hello
    I have a good friend in the base camp, and the rumours are circulating in base camp. Some groups are now considering giving up for this year because of all the problems, dangers and injuries and the 4 people death on Everest this year.

    Have you heard the same rumor ???

    Codemister

    1. Codemister, I think there have been 3 deaths, all Sherpas thus far. See today’s post for the best update I have but I have not heard of any team calling it 100% over, just wait and see mode for now.

  95. Hi Alan

    any news on Henry Todd’s team ?

    I have seen Kenton’s updates but news on the rest of the team would be really useful.

    Thanks

    1. Richard, Henry Todd does not keep an active blog for his Everest expeditions this year – see ice8000.com. But one of his British members, Matt Thornton climbing with Rob Casserely is posting updates at http://blog.matthewdthornton.com/

  96. Comment…..not question…..no need to reply…Alan.. Your broad coverage continues to be FANTASTIC! I now get up at 5:30 AM before work to spend extra time following your updates and links. I so enjoy the threads to teams and individuals on the mountain AND especially your updated photo maps of routes and re-routs. Your message about the “memory thief” and your Alzheimers research fund raising is so appropriate as I share updates with family later in the day and am grateful to recall details. I love your ebook I am now reading as a contributor and thank you for all you are doing to encourage donations STRICTLY for research. Thank you thank you Alan. Ginny Lyford

  97. Hi! I have been following everyone via the use of the iPhone app over ther past few days. Can not begin to say how awesome it is to be able to do so. It is kind of like living vicariously through the ability to read about all the triumphs along with the tragedies.

    One question I would like to ask is what is one thing the climbers miss about home and, on the other side of the coin, what is the one thing they will miss about Everest and/or the trip?

  98. Alan:
    For we novices, what do “T” and “H” mean in your location matrix? Thank you.
    B & M
    Warren, PA

    Hi, The legend noted below the table is: e= climb ended, x=last reported location, x+ = on summit bid, -x = descending h=high sleep point, T=touched not slept.

  99. Alan, have you any news of Axe? He is sending me blogs but they are now audio and for some reason I can’t pick them up. Cheers Kate (N Yorkshire)

    1. Kate, I believe he and the rest of the Altitude Junkies team are back at Chinese Base Camp after their successful tag of the North Col in harsh conditions.

  100. Hello Alan,
    We are writing to you from Judson Elementary School in Watertown CT, USA. We are studying Mount Everest and follow your blog everyday. We enjoy reading about the adventures on Mount Everst. We have a question for you and would love to hear your response. We were wondering if you ever had to make a really important decision as to wether or not to turn back while climbing Mount Everest? We also wanted to know which peice of equiptment do you feel is the most important to use while climbing Mount Everest?
    We hope to hear from you soon!
    Marlena McDonnell and her 5th Grade Class.

  101. Alan,

    Great site here! I am especially impressed by the volume of information in a single area!

    I am looking for progress details on High Adventure Expeditions. I noticed that you’ve published a link to owner Hugo Searle’s blog, but I don’t see their team listed on your grid. Is there a way to add them to the South Col route list?

  102. Hi Alan!
    Do you know anything about Everest team (south col 2012) consisting of Bangladeshi male and female?

    1. Ratikul. Wasfia Nazreen is climbing the north with Project Himalaya. I don’t know which team she is climbing with but Nishat Majumder is also climbing.

    1. Ellie, the best I can “offer” is to sign up for email notifications using the form on the lower right corner of this page. That way you will receive an email notification for each of my new posts. When teams start their summit pushes, I post several times a day thus a few more emails. But remember I can only report what I see publicly so if you have a favorite team, I suggest you check their site often.

  104. Margaret Watroba from Altitude Junkies on North side is oldest in the team, 62 yo, climbed Everest last year also with Altitude Junkies from the South side.

  105. Hi Alan:
    We would like to know who is the oldest person on any of the teams on which you are reporting. We are both 74 and are U.S. state highpointers. Thank you for the informative reports and we wish you good luck with your own venture.
    Bill and Mary
    Warren, PA

    1. Bill and Mary, there are many senior climbers! As Tad mentioned, his wife Margret Watroba is 63 and climbing with Altitude Junkies (north side). But I believe the oldest this year are American Bill Burke at 70 with Asian Trekking (I interviewed him last month at http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2012/01/11/everest-2012-interview-with-bill-burke/ ) and Tamae Watanabe at 73 from Japan who set the record for the oldest woman in 2002 at age 63. Bill is climbing from the south then moving to the north for a double summit attempt (never been accomplished) and Tamae is climbing from the north with Asian Trekking.

  106. Hi Alan. I really appreciate how clever and instructive your route illustrations are on the mountains different routes. I love the pink and red dots AND the Zzzz’s.
    The bright flashing gold star on top is great too! Your entire site is just spectacular.
    thank you again….. Ginny

    1. Thanks Ginny. I thought it was appropriate that if you summit Everest, you should get a gold star! 🙂

  107. Dear Mr Arnette,

    It was wonderful to come across your coverage of the Everest expeditions. I had been doing something similar, though not half as efficiently as you, from Kathmandu in the past few years. Unfortunately, I left Nepal in December and was feeling so very frustrated at not being able to follow the expeditions closely this time.

    I would love to know if you know of any Chinese climbers attempting the summit this season, both from mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    Thanks very much and regards

    Sudeshna

    1. Hi Sudeshna. there are a few Chinese teams on the north. One is Chinese Team from China Geographic University in Wuhan. Not sure about the other countries. Alan.

  108. Hi Alan (again!),

    Just to add to your previous answer about climbing without fixed ropes….I forget the exact details but i vaguely remember watching Everest: Beyong the limits & have a vague recollection that David Tait was attempting a double traverse, ascended the North & reached the Summit using fixed ropes & then descended the South with Phurba Tashi without fixed ropes as they hadn’t been fixed due how early it was in the season.!!
    Am i correct or was i just imagining it??
    If so, one hell of a feat.

    Best regards from the UK.

    James Marshall

    1. Hi James, you are correct that in 2007 David Tait and Phurba Tashi attempted the double traverse, they made the summit from the north expecting to find the ropes fixed from the south but they were not. They down-climbed to where the ropes started, not sure exactly how far but it was around May 15 so the ropes were to at least the Balcony as a Mountain Madness team summited that same day from the south, fixing rope on their summit. You can read an interview with David at Mount Everest The British Story at http://www.everest1953.co.uk/DavidTait.php and hear him discuss it on video at http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/everest-beyond-the-limit-david-tait-traverse.html

  109. Lots of activity here, and great coverage.. If I can barely keep up, I can’t imagine what’s going on on the mountain with the climbers. Been following Lenna, Ian and Grant (for the north).. i just saw the first episode of Everest: Beyond the Limit (from the North) per a recommendation in one of your recent blogs, and suddenly the question popped up, probably from seeing the handicapped climbers..

    What are the odds of ANYONE at all making it to the summit without fixed lines or ladders put in place in advance by the Sherpas? I read recently that somewhere around 1200 people have summited. that doesn’t sound accurate to me, particularly with all the Sherpas that must have made it up. But I wonder, without the Sherpas blazing the trail, if anyone would ever make it up at all…. It seems unlikely, at least from a commercial standpoint, which seems to be the norm on Everest since the early 90s..

    Thanks again for the answers to questions and great coverage. I hang on this site for the updates, and find myself uniquely inspired.

    Ben

    1. Thnaks Ben, It is certainly possible for climbers to summit Everest from either side without using the fixed ropes. Each year, there is usually one person trying without touching the lines thus claims a “solo” climb; however almost no one actually does it. From the South, it would be virtually impossible to get through the Icefall without using the ladders thus truly “solo”. Climbers usually go from the north, even though there are a few ladders there as well.

      As for the summit numbers, Elizabeth Hawley tracks them and shows a total number of people who have summited Mt. Everest to around 5652 by 3425 different climbers, meaning that 2,220 climbers, mostly Sherpas, have multiple summits.

  110. Hi Alan
    Wonderful coverage again this year. Thank you. One thing you may be able to help with: no matter how many maps I look at or route descriptions I read I can not work out where the approach from the south meets the approach from the north. My understanding is the summit is not that big so surely there must be a bottle neck of the two somewhere? Or am I missing something else completely.

    Many thanks,
    Kate

  111. Hi Alan
    Wonderful coverage again this year. Thank you. One thing you may be able to help with: no matter how many maps I look at or route descriptions I read I can not work out where the approach from the south meets the approach from the north. My understanding is the summit is not that big so surely there must be a bottle neck of the two somewhere? Or am I missing something else completely.

    Many thanks,
    Kate

  112. Are the West Ridge teams under the radar? Too, how much Sherpa support did Horbein use when he an Unsoled did the WR? Thanks!

    1. NatGeo has an app that tracks their climbs but you must have an iPad ($400) and download their app. Last word was they were at C2. No solid word on the Eddie Bauer team as of now but it could be out there somewhere? Both of these teams are taking a non-traditional strategy in PR – much more of a commercial agenda to drive sales.

      The ’63 team had quite a bit of Sherpa support according to this excellent article http://www.himalayanclub.org/journal/transport-and-sherpas-on-mount-everest-1963/: 900 porters, 37 Sherpas

      “With some 20 members supported by 37 high-altitude porters and a baggage train of over 900 loads, … 19 Sherpas carried to over 27,000 feet. 4 reached the South Col three times. 11 reached the South Col twice. 8 reached the South Col once. (23 reached the South Col in all).”

  114. Quick question — what does the H on the chart stand for?

    Thank you for keeping us abreast on Everest happenings! I enjoy following this.

  115. Hi Alan,
    Great reporting, and enjoyed your description of the rope fixing.

    How many ladders, estimated, do you think are used for the ice fall, and what happens to them after the season is over. Do the sherpas go back in and remove them and put them in storage at EBC for next year? or are they left behind and used again if possible? I would guess that new ladders need to be d regardless, each season. I am also curious about what parts of the climb higher up require ladders in order to get members to the top.

    Thanks! am following along with every post

    Ben

    1. Thanks Ben, Usually there are 20 to 30 ladders in the Icefall but it varies depending on the previous winter. Supposedly the Icefall is “flatter” this year but I have not heard how that translates into crevasses. We will hear now that climbers are going through it for the first time. Some ladders are reused as long as they are not bent which happens often as the ice moves or falls and twists them out of shape. The good ones are taken down valley, via yak, and stored each season at Gorak Shep, the closest village to base camp. There are few ladders in the Western Cwm and at the base of the Lhotse Face but none above that.

  116. Hi Alan,

    I’ve been following your site & Everest coverage for years now and must say that your coverage is second to none, full of heart & emotion & beautifully written. You’ve recently been over to the UK & I hope you enjoyed our hospitality!
    My question is this:
    Is there a specific team of ‘Ice Doctor’ Sherpa’s who fix the ropes through the Icefall or are they fixed by the larger teams (Himex & IMG).? If so do the other teams just use these ropes or is there a fee payable.?
    My question also applies to the high fixed ropes, i have seen from footage on Discovery & the internet that Himex/IMG’s Sherpa’s usually fix the high ropes & again was wondering if they charged other teams for their use?

    Many thanks for your dedication.

    Best Regards & Climb On!

    James Marshall

    1. Thanks James! Yes throughly enjoyed my time in London and up in the Highlands on Ben Nevis. I always enjoy visiting the UK!

      The Icefall doctors are about 5 Sherpas who have been fixing the ropes and ladders through the Icefall for years, not sure when this same team started but I believe the leader has been doing it since the late 1990’s. So they know the route better than anyone on the planet!

      All the climbers/teams pay them each year and it its taken directly during the permitting process just like the USD$5,000 trash permit. Each team pays USD$2500 for the Icefall Doctors.

      As for ropes above the Icefall, they are fixed by the combined efforts of the commercial teams with the largest ones (Himex, IMG) usually taking the lead by actually ing new line, pickets, etc. and shipping it to EBC each season. There is almost zero reuse due to the toil on the gear each season. The smaller teams pitch in with “Sherpa-power” to set these lines from Camp 1 to the summit.

      I had heard that Himex was taking the lead this year but the teams work together so you might have 10 Sherpas from 6 different teams working together. Each year, about this time, there is a huge meeting of the guides but it are the climbing Sidars who really make the decisions on what needs to be done and get it accomplished each year.

      For all this the climbers pay only $200 (paid by their outfitter through their climbing fee) to reimburse for the rope costs. The “labor” is generally donated. As you can imagine, there is always a bit of contention when some teams contribute nothing and others do all the work – and that happens each year. Over on the north, the China Tibet Mountaineering Association does everything and the teams pay for it as part of the permit process thus avoiding the contention of the south … usually. 🙂

  118. Thanks George. I’m glad you are enjoying the coverage. As for the questions, it would take a book to answer them properly so you might want to look at this post http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2011/05/25/everest-2011-your-questions/ and my 2001 summit trip report from this page http://www.alanarnette.com/everest/everest2011.php but here are my short thoughts:

    What was the scariest part of Everest? anticipation of the climb. Imagination can be worse than reality. Also being so tired I thought I could not take another step on my way down the Lhotse Face after the summit.

    How can you describe the feeling of high altitude? Empty, Your mind is willing but there is no fuel in the tank. You just want to sit down and sleep.

    What was the toughest part of climbing Everest? Mental. You have to be in “Everest” shape physically but there are 1000 reason to turn back and only 1 to keep going so the trick is to that that on for you – kind of the same for life.

    Hope this helps George.

  119. Alan,

    Thank you do much for making these blogs. I check them on your app several times a day and I just love reading all the news. Several months ago I watched Everest Beyond the Limit and it triggered a fascination that I cannot overcome. I hope to one day be able to climb Everest. I’m currently in the process of convincing my dad to go climb Mount Ranier together. I just thought I would ask you some questions. What was the scariest part of Everest? How can you describe the feeling of high altitude? What was the toughest part of climbing Everest?

    Thanks again for making this great blog and I hope you keep making them because I love reading them.

  120. Hi Ann. I fully understand your fascination with Everest (an understatement!) 🙂 As for joining a team late, it can be done if you have the proper experience, connections and money. You cannot just “show up” in at Base Camp without being on a climbing permit and a team. But most commercial companies close their team a couple of months before arriving in Kathmandu. You are correct Everest is not a solo climb so he is on some team. If you are referring to Matthew Thornton, I know he is there and was on a team but without funds up to the last moment. I cannot identify what team he is with with certainty but I believe it is Henry Todd led by Rob Casserley. They usually do not post updates so it is up to Matt to keep us informed.

  121. Four years ago I read an article about climbing Everest and it triggered a fascination that I still can’t explain. A dozen books later and I’m following individuals and teams on this year’s summit bids. Your coverage is hands’ down THE BEST!
    My question: I’m following the blog of one young climber who got sponsorship at the last minute and seems to be without a team. How plausible is it for a climber to find and join a team at EBC? (From what I’ve read, climbing Everest is NOT a solo endeavor and teams can take a year to form)

  122. Sudhir, I will cover Simone to the extent he makes information available. But I only track teams on this table, not individuals.

  124. Got it Alan. Sorry I did not catch it sooner. I spend most of the mornings just going over your wonderful additions and information. Hope to follow Brent Bishop on your site as it is the best one hands down and I won’t bookmark any others! Your slide show is spectacular by the way. I especially like all the “trekking” photos up to Base Camp.

  125. Alan.. I see the routes on your maps up the North and South. What route will the Eddie Bauer team with Brent Bishop and Leif Whittaker take when they refer to the West route? Ginny in Sunriver

  127. Hi Alan, thank your for another year of keeping Everest fans informed of another year of ascents! Your site has taught me a TON about Everest and mountaineering in general. In addition the passion and love you have for your mother reminds me the affection I share with my own. Her welfare, and continued support of strength, to you are in my prayers.

    I’ve very intrigued by the team that is attempting the west face ascent this year! Can you please explain to us the intricacies of that climbing route. Also, if you could post any maps of that route and/ or photographs that would be most useful. Thank you!

  128. Hi Ginny, Thank so much for your comment and your support of Alzheimer’s causes. You made my day and gives me motivation to keep going. Thank you.

  129. Hi again Alan. I am from Sunriver, Oregon and have been following you for several years. I donate to Alzheimer research and remember your Mom’s story your first year of fund raising. Your website is really terrific. Take great care Alan…….. ginny

  130. Is there any website or app that is tuned into these frequencies so we can listen to the expeditions live??

    That would be an amazing way to hear in live time what they are experiencing!

    They have similar apps or websites to listen to police and aircraft etc

  131. Hi,

    Great app. Is there any app or website where you can listen to or communicate with those on the expedition via their HAM or CB radios?

    Also is there anywhere where they publish the frequencies they are on if you want to listen via a HAM or CB?

    1. John, the expeditions on Everest use VHF 144Mhz frequency radios that have a mostly limited line of sight transmission range. The radios are used for safety and coordination and unlike police frequencies are not open to the public. Remember this is Mt. Everest and not downtown LA 🙂 The closest you can get is to look at the Discovery Channel’s Everest Beyond the Limits series where they recorded some of the radio transmissions on summit night.

  132. I have got used to sending comments in the box provided but since yesterday Ian Ridley’s end of blog set up has changed. How do I go about sending him a comment please. Kate

  133. Your information about Everest is absolutely brilliant I am finding something new everyday. Not being an IT person I just think I have cracked it all when something new pops up. I think the maps and info are brilliant. What am I going to do when the season ends?Kate

  134. Thanks Alan, i’ve followed your earlier journeys and now following my partners with Himex. This will be her #6 with just Vinson to go in December.

    I appreciate your amazing insights, pictures and reports and look forward to receiving your updates as well.

    Cheers
    Fred – Sydney

  135. Not trying to be im but please update this often. I live reading your blog on the app you made! I want to see where each team is. Thanks Alan!

  136. Happy to see Ian Ridley and Jagged Globe arrive at EBC and rest in preparation for the ice fall… good luck! seems like the other teams i’ve followed are close on your heels.

  137. A. Arnette: Thanks for providing excellent info about Everest climbs. Fascinating stuff for us “vicarious observers.”

  138. Best regards from Moscow !
    7 Summits-club has 4 guides, 25 (or less) members and 19 sherpas. Not 25 guides 🙂

    Thank you for great job !

  139. Alan

    All packed and off to airport in 2hrs- Leanna and I cannot wait. My wife, Jenny, and other daughter Kelly are trekking into EBC with us so should be excellent. AAI already there and have permits

    I hope we enjoy as much as you did last year

    Keep up the excellent work on this site-brilliant

    Mark

  140. Caroline, I update the table throughout the season but it is based on how often I can get reliable information – not all teams provide it. It is for the overall team and not individuals meaning if an individual climber is off the team schedule, they will not be shown. But I do the best I can to give a general idea of the progress on the Hill.

  141. Hi Alan,
    Will you be updating the app with the teams’ progress on the mountain? Always keen to see where everyone is.
    Thanks – keep up the fascinating work!
    Caroline
    London

  142. Bill is attempting a double summit climbing from the South (Nepal) first, then traveling to Tibet overland then climbing the North Col route. If he succeeds he will be the only person to summit twice from different sides in the same season. Others have double summits but not from different sides.

  144. If you have a general Everest question, please post here as a comment and I will try to address it.

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