The weather continues to be fickle this spring. Unexpectedly high winds caused a few teams to cancel their move to higher camps while others pushed through and summited. But the fear of crowding has emerged with a vengeance. May 23 has become the new target summit day for many teams.
Only a few teams reported summits, including Pioneer Adventures: 1 client with 1 Sherpa – 1:1
American climber Tracee Metcaff, who was going for Lhotse, gave a brief but powerful update via her InReach GPS tracker: “Arrived C4. Took about 3 hours longer than expected due to massive traffic jams.” However, she persevered and summited Lhotse per her outfitter, Imagine Nepal. She now has ten of the fourteen 8000ers.
Ryan Mitchell, climbing with Madison Mountaineering and one of my Summit Coach clients, gave an update on behalf of his team: By the way, Ryan is doing a very well-done video log on YouTube that is generating many followers.
Hey, everybody! It’s day 36 of the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition.
We’re all feeling good here! It turns out that our initial summit day of May 22nd isn’t looking that good. The weatherman said that we should wait until the 23rd. Therefore, we decided to wait in Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) for one more day. So, that’s giving us a little bit more acclimatization time. We’re going to be stronger, ready to move up to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) tomorrow morning – a nice alpine, 6:00 AM start. Not really “alpine,” but it’ll be nice.
Other than that, we’re all prepared, we’re getting those macros in. Better to be at Camp 2 rather than up higher waiting. It turns out a lot of teams actually turned back, so we made the right decision and we’re ready to go!
I’d like to shout out my dog, Harley! He’s technically my mom’s dog, but we all know that he likes me more! Sorry mom… That’s all! Oh, this is Ryan by the way.
Update: Maddison arrived at Camp 3 on Monday night, May 20, Nepal time. Also, Furtenbach’s Nepal team is at the Col, but it took them nine hours to climb from Camp 3. It should have taken under four, so the route must be jammed.
Adventure Consultants noted they tried to move from C2 to C3 on the Lhotse Face but stopped at the base due to winds:
The team left Camp 2 this morning with much anticipation of reaching Camp 3 and moving onwards to the summit, but as with any adventure into the mountains the weather sometimes has different plans! After reaching the bottom of the Lhotse Face it became apparent that conditions were far from ideal, with intense winds and snow buffeting the slope. It wasn’t a difficult decision to turn the team around and return to the safety of Camp 2. We wait to hear more from the team tomorrow when they’ve had a good rest and another assessment of the weather forecast. Everest summit attempt ‘take 2’ coming soon!
Nepali outfitter Ascent Himalaya was among the few teams that pushed the envelope last week with a summit attempt in winds significantly higher than the 30 mph limit. They are trying again:
Four team members, along with six Sherpas, are now at Camp 2, planning for a summit push on May 23rd. Our first attempt was thwarted by high winds, forcing us to turn back from the South Summit. It was a tough decision, but safety comes first. We are hopeful and determined for a successful climb this time!
An update on the two Mongolian climbers found dead on the Southeast, their logistics operator, 8K Expeditions, noted summit photos on their phones after finding the bodies of Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 31, near the South Summit, around 8,550m and his climbing partner, Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 53, near the Balcony at 8400 meters. It appears they did use supplemental oxygen as they are wearing masks in the photos.
On the Tibet side, teams are spread out from Basecamp to Advanced Base Camp, some targeting the summit on May 28th.
On Everest, there have been about 197 summits thus far, with 414 permits issued to foreigners.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
Podcasts
You can listen to #everest2024 podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Breaker, YouTube, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Anchor, and more. Just search for “alan arnette” on your favorite podcast platform.
Everyday Everest
A 16-part podcast series during the Everest 2024 climbing season.
Based on my Fictional 2020 Virtual Everest series, I posted a twenty-minute updated episode a few times a week throughout this season. Everyday Everest follows a fictional team of nine climbers and their personal Sherpas from leaving home to trekking to base camp, acclimatizing, and finally, on their summit push. The story’s protagonist, Harper, sets the tone for the story when she tells her husband, Marc, “Honey, I’m going to climb Everest.”
You can listen to Everyday Everest on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Breaker, YouTube, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Anchor, and more. Just search for “alan arnette” on your favorite podcast platform.
Previous Everyday Everest Episodes
- Everyday Everest Podcast Part 16–Home and The End
- Everyday Everest Podcast Part 15–Summit!!
- Everyday Everest Podcast Part 14–Summit Push
- Everyday Everest Podcast Part 13–Climbing Above Camp 3
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 12–Summit Plan for the Team
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 11–First Summits
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 10–Climbing the Lhotse Face
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 9–Summit Date Planned
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 8–Suffering at Camp 2
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 7–Into the Cwm
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 6–Into the Icefall
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 5–Arrival At Base Camp
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 4–Blessing in the Khumbu
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 3–The Trek Begins
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 2–Hello Kathmandu
- Everyday Everest Podcast Series Part 1–Welcome and Part 1
Preparing for Everest is more than Training
There are five Summit Coach clients on Everest in 2024
If you dream of climbing mountains but are unsure how to start or reach your next level, from a Colorado 14er to Rainier, Everest, or even K2, we can help. Summit Coach is a consulting service that helps aspiring climbers worldwide achieve their goals through a personalized set of consulting services based on Alan Arnette’s 30 years of high-altitude mountain experience and 30 years as a business executive. Please see our prices and services on the Summit Coach website.
