Wasn't that too quick? A: Ahh, the question everyone asks and the one that is hardest to answer. The short story Everest - Unfinished Business tries to shed some light but I think it boils down to I just wanted to. I need five stars to align for me to try something of this magnitude: support from my employer, time off, money, support from my family and a deep personal desire. They were there for the '02 attempt and re-emerged for ' I thought about the night of May 15, a lot.
What went well, what didn't. What would I do different if I had another chance and so on. Q: Why did you choose Adventure Consultants in when they didn't get you to the top in '02 A: Interesting question of who is responsible for making the summit or not. It is perfectly clear for me.
The Guides are there to give you the opportunity but it is ultimately up to the individual climber. I appreciated their professionalism and attention to details. The group gear they provided was first rate and their Guides are world-class with all the experience you would ever need. They use the same Sherpas on each trip so there are few surprises.
On Everest '02, I saw many expeditions that were understaffed or seemed to have guides climbing for themselves. He is truly first class. I was overall pleased with Guy Cotter and the AC team in The logistic were very well done. The food at base camp was outstanding and the Sherpas second to none. Q: So how did Adventure Consultants perform in ?
A: We had a small team. In fact, Guy wanted to cancel the trip two weeks before we were to leave since the turnout was so low. But another climber joined thus keeping the trip viable.
All the Sherpas had stood on top of Everest at least once and Ang Dorge 8 times! I knew everyone one this trip except for my two fellow climbers. However, their performance was mixed. The Sherpas and base camp services were excellent as usual. The pre-trip interaction was not in AC's excellent tradition.
The expedition became difficult towards the end with the guide becoming abusive. All the climbing Sherpas made the summit but none of the clients or the Guide. I spoke with Guy after the trip and sent him a detailed letter with my concerns. He responded with sincerity and he made some changes to his operation based on my comments and from several other clients. A: I reached the same spot as in - about 27, feet m just under the Balcony. My body just did not perform well. I had trouble with the altitude above C2.
It started as we went to C3 on an acclimatizion trip. I returned to BC after spending the night at C3 or 23,' but never really got stronger. I suffered from a chronic cough and fatigue. I never felt I was in danger or was putting my teammates into danger so I continued with the expedition and climbed to the South Col at m. I left with the team for the summit and turned backed at m.
The Climb Q: Why did you go back when you did not summit in and ? A: Two reasons: 1 raise awareness and money for Alzheimer's research and 2 I wanted to. Now that I am retired different factors enter into my decisions but two are still critical: support from my family and a deep personal desire. My 82 year-old Mother had Alzheimer's in and was in a full time care facility. Everest project. It was a 5 climb plan plus fund raising and public speaking.
You can read more about it through this link. I know from my previous climbs that Everest draws much more interest than say Denali, for example, so it was the best climb for my Alzheimer's objective of awareness and donations.
I usually get over , hits a day on my website during my big climbs. But also, I really want to stand on top of the world! Q: Who did you go with? A: Mountain Professionals, led by Ryan Waters. Phil has a reputation of running a great BC and is an experienced Everest guide as well. HAD is a well known smallish logistics operator and guide service similar to Asian Trekking. But they are smaller and give more personal support. Q: How did they all perform?
HAD's base camp services were excellent. Outstanding food and tents. Their Sherpas were good. My Sherpa, Lam Babu was good. And I think the other team members were pleased with their support as well. Ryan was more of a hands-off facilitator. While I own the fact i did not summit, I was disappointed that my summit night plan did not work out as I had extensively discussed and planned with Ryan. Q: I understand the Chinese closed the North side just before you were to leave.
Was that true and how did it affect you? A: On March 10th the Chinese sent a fax to all expeditions who already had been issued permits asking them to not arrive on Cho Oyu or Everest - North until May 10th. This was too late to acclimatize and summit Everest safely. The reason for the Chinese actions were to prevent any protest on Everest while they were taking the Olympic torch to the summit and doing a nationwide television broadcast. Pure propaganda. Phil Crampton coordinated the change from north to south and without him, my climb would not have happened and I sincerely thank him for that.
Q: What was the impact of all this during the actual climb? A: Significant. You can read all the details in an extensive recap but the summary is the Chinese controlled the Nepal Government to such an extent that the Icefall ladders went in late, climbing restrictions were in place that prevented a normal year for acclimatization schedules, communications and censorship rules limited dispatches and climbers were threatened at gunpoint to comply with rules.
It was frightening at times, disturbing at other and annoying at a minimum. I will never trust the Nepal Ministry of tourism like I have in the past. Q: Why did you consider the North side this time even though you ended up on the south?
A: I thought about returning to the south since I know it so well but I felt that my summit chances as well as my safety were better on the the north. The Khumbu Icefall has become so dangerous in recent years with falling seracs and deep crevasses. Another consideration was that it seems the Icefall Doctors who manage the ladders have become a little sloppy. In , the Chinese were taking the Olympic torch to the summit as part of their Beijing games and have scared a lot of people away fearing over-control.
They were right!! The camps on the north are higher than on the south thus making the climbing days a little shorter. The North Col is at 23,, the same as C3 on the south. See the page on the North Ridge Route for a concise series of pictures and route descriptions. Q: What else did you do different this time?
A: The plan was to have more bottled oxygen thus giving me the option of using it at a higher flow rate or from lower down. I had to be careful about this choice since either way it increases my risk if something goes wrong such as mask or regulator failure. By depending on supplemental oxygen too much my body will simply die without it above 8,m if it is suddenly taken away and I cannot get down fast enough. Also,I had a personal Sherpa who helped me with the loads for example carrying my F sleeping bag to the north col.
I still carried the majority of my own gear but he was there when I need additional help. All in all, I felt very confident about this overall plan but it did not come together when it counted. Q: So, how did you do in ? A: I did not summit - again - I felt great the majority of the climb but felt it was too dangerous for me to continue and turned back just below the Balcony around 27,' which was feet short of the highest point on earth.
This was my highest altitude ever reached. In hindsight it was an easy decision but gut wrenching nonetheless. It was dangerous with large rocks being kicked by the conga line of people - we are lucky someone did not get killed that night. The weather was good - temps near 0F, clear sky and no winds. The masses moved pretty slow but faster than me! The bottom line was that I felt I was moving too slow to summit and return safely.
However, I let too many distractions get to me and I counted too much on the western guide to help me when I hit the wall i new I would. But the bottom line was that I needed to be tougher mentally. Q: Was there Internet coverage of the expedition? A: I posted extensive dispatches on this site but it was interrupted for several weeks when the Nepal Army imposed a communication blackout and confiscated our satellite phones. The dispatches can be read on the dispatch page. This was the main page for all the dispatches for all my recent climbs.
Q: Any regrets on turning around? A: A few. As I wrote this two years later and I feel could have done several things differently. While I trained hard, planned for most everything but in the end my mind said no at the extreme altitude. However, I feel good about the awareness and money I raised but I feel better than I am back home with my family to write about this. I returned in and summited with IMG.
Everest Facts. Q: Exactly where is Mt. A: On the border between Nepal and Tibet China. It is in the Himalayan mountain range which stretches miles from Northeastern Pakistan to Bhutan. There are over thirty mountains higher than 25, feet. Of the fourteen 8, meter peaks, nine are located in the Himalayas making it clearly the top of the world.
Q: How do they know the altitude? Fifteen years later using trigonometry and measurements from 12 different survey stations around the mountain 'Peak XV' was surveyed as the world's highest mountain at 29, feet. In it was re-named Mt. Everest and is called Sagarmatha by the Nepalese and Chomolungma in Tibet.
In , the height was adjusted to 29,'. Using a second Trimble GPS receiver at the 26,' South Col they could make an extremely accurate measurement by running the two receivers simultaneously. The new altitude was 29, feet or 8, meters. However, the Nepalese still use 29,' as the official altitude. Q: What were the standout climbs? It is still unknown if they made the summit, but both died on the mountain. In , Japanese Junko Tabei became the first woman to summit the hill.
But in , 16 Sherpas died in the Khumbu Icefall when an ice serac released on top of them. And in , 19 people were killed from an avalanche off Pumori Ridge that was triggered by a 7. Q: How many people have summited and how many people have died trying? A: The Himalayan Database reports that through August there have been 10, summits 5, members and 5, hired on Everest by all routes by 5, different people.
There have been summits by women members. The Nepal side is more popular with 6, summits compared to 3, summits from the Tibet side. The Nepal side has deaths or 2. Most bodies are still on the mountain but China has removed many bodies from sight on their side. The top causes of death are from avalanche 77 , fall 71 , altitude sickness 36 and exposure In there were summits, from Tibet and from Nepal and 3 didn't use supplemental oxygen. There were 11 deaths. Everest is actually getting safer even though more people are now climbing.
From to people died on Everest with 1, summits or But the deaths drastically declined from to with 8, summits and deaths or 1. However, three years skewed the deaths rates with 17 in , 14 in and 11 in The reduction in deaths is primarily due to better gear, weather forecasting and more people climbing with commercial operations.
Of the meter peaks, Everest has the highest absolute number of deaths at but ranks near the bottom with a death rate of 1. Annapurna is the most deadly er with one death for about every four summits or a 3. Cho Oyu is the safest with 3, summits and 52 deaths or a death rate of 0. If you dream of climbing mountains but are not sure how to start or reach your next level from a Colorado 14er to Rainier, Everest or even K2, I can help.
Site Home. Everest Home Climbing Home. Everest Pictures. Weather Guides. Summit Coach 's consulting service can help climbers of all experience levels better prepare and increase their chances of a positive expedition. Please click for more information on signing up , services , pricing and why select Alan as your coach. Everest Home. A: Most reputable guides will ask for your climbing resume and require some serious climbing experience. Ideally they want to see at least one 8, meter climb such as Cho Oyu but most will accept Denali or Aconcagua.
On my climbs, the individual experience ranged from previous Everest climbers to people with Aconcagua as their highest. Clearly those with experience above 8,m felt more comfortable and had fewer surprises during the climb. However, It was amazing to see people on Everest with little or inadequate climbing experience. Typically they paid a low price to get on a team's climbing permit but never had to answer tough questions from an experienced operator.
Unfortunately many climbers with this profile are the ones who get in trouble. Q: How many Sherpas, guides and climbers are generally on an expedition? A: Most guided climbs have eight to fifteen climbers with an equal number of support staff. Usually there are one or two western guides but not always.
An increasing trend is for the large guiding companies to have twenty or more climbers on their expeditions! With so many climbers, they usually have a lot of resources in case of emergencies, but not always. Make sure you understand how they run their trip. The best ones break the large team up into smaller sub teams. Everest legend Tom Hornbein explained it to the American Lung Association this way: The lower oxygen stimulates chemoreceptors that initiate an increase in breathing, resulting in a lowering of the partial pressure of CO2 and hence more alkaline blood pH.
You cannot do much to acclimatize at low altitudes but there are companies that claim to help the acclimatization process through specially designed tents that simulate the reduced oxygen levels at higher elevations.
I have no personal experience with these systems but you can find more details at the Hypoxico website. Outside Magazine posted an article in questioning their effectiveness.
Q: What kind of gear do you take? A: Mostly I use the same gear I use on other big mountains. In the winter months, from January to March , Mount Everest is cold, but from afar, visitors can get some of the clearest and most beautiful glimpses of Mount Everest. Snow, unsurprisingly, can be expected from December to February. From April to May, even mid-June , is arguably the ideal time to Mount Everest; not only is the peak often visible and clear.
For mountaineers, the climbing window between April and May is also one of the best times to attempt an ascent to the summit. From mid-June to August , summer may sound like the prime time to visit Mount Everest, but it is also monsoon season during which the mountain can receive large amounts of rainfall. During the monsoon season, the Everest peak is, more often than not, shrouded in mist. However, it is very cool in this season in Tibet and visitors can enjoy fine weather in other parts of the region.
Summer, then, is the best time to visit Tibet though visitors wishing to see the Everest peak may be disappointed. From September to November , after the monsoon passes and just before the harsh winter moves in, a small window of opportunity opens up for travellers eager to glimpse the mountain at its best.
Autumn is also the peak time for climbers, with many more climbers seeking to reach the summit than in the spring. Visitors who are interested in making the trek from Tingri to Everest Base Camp , the best time extends from mid-September to May, coinciding with the end of the monsoon season. By the end of September through December the weather tends to be relatively stable with mild to warm days and cold nights. At this time such permits must be arranged via Tibet travel agencies such as Tibettravel.
We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK". Sign Up. And it was a very dangerous job. Once, in , two of my Sherpa climbers got buried when ice collapsed in the Khumbu Icefall. Despite many rescue efforts, we were never able to recover their bodies. I had to return back home to my niece without her husband. The Western people, they always ask about the adventure.
But this was very tough. I wish this on nobody. There were good times on Everest. In , I climbed with a Sherpa-only team. When I am taking clients on the mountain, I have to worry about their physical state and keep an eye on them all the time.
But climbing with a Sherpa team was very fun. We were cracking jokes and climbing at our own pace. The last time I climbed was in , after 21 summits. My wife made me promise to stop. It was a tough decision, but eventually I listened to my wife. There are big changes on the mountain from when I first climbed to the last time. There is less snow, and more rocks.
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