Everest 2018: The Critics Corner.

I’ve been covering Everest since 2002 and each year about this time in my coverage I get the usual comments decrying the commercialism, the tourism, the lack of skills by the climbers, the lack of challenge and more. Usually I ignore the comments and in rash cases delete them when they become personal or simply irrational, of course in my humble opinion. 🙂

After all, this blog is about celebrating the challenge of mountaineering, not a platform for those with agendas to put down others by their artificial definitions of what is a “good” climb.  I fully accept and respect the sense of climbing by “fair means” or unique, difficult routes and first ascents – they are to be celebrated without question. However for most climbers, the only rules that really matter are those around their own person goals. To see if they can do it. To see if they are who they think they are. To learn and return home a better version of themselves. This is what climbing is all about for me. The summit (or just the attempt), with or without oxygen, ropes or Sherpa support is secondary and does not take away from an individual’s personal achievement, as measured by that person alone and no other.

The Other Side

I have defended Everest climbers, and myself, since 2002. I have seen and heard it all. While I agree with some criticism, especially around those climbers with limited experience and those “guides” who take money with inadequate experience; overall an attempt of Everest is a moment in a person’s life to be supported and admired. I will dispute that anyone is “hauled to the summit.”

I could go on and on as I did in the article I wrote for Rock and Ice in 2013 but I won’t. I will simply quote Chris Bonington in a recent publication in the by invitation only Explorer’s Club Explorers Journal. If you don’t know Chris, do some homework. If you don’t know Chris, you may want to to reconsider your criticism. Here’s Chris.

EJ: What do you think of the way Everest is climbed today?

CB: Well, I’m incredibly glad that I did it when I did, because we had the place to ourselves. So far as what’s happened since, I don’t blame the Nepalese government for opening up the mountain and basically saying that any number of expeditions can go up it. This has created the opportunity for guided and commercial climbing. Now you have a thousand people at basecamp and a hundred on the South Col, where there are fixed ropes that go all the way to the summit. But I don’t begrudge or regret what happened. It’s a natural evolution. Crowds of people have been guided up on Mont Blanc or the Matterhorn in the Alps for more than a century now. What’s happening on Everest is the same.

But for each of these people going up today on fixed ropes it is still the experience of a lifetime.

I just think that the experience could be made better. But I’m not worried about it. Climbing is an adventure and adventure is alive and well.

.. more on : – http://www.alanarnette.com/blog

Autor : Alan Arnette

* source: – Everest 2018: The Critics Corner

** see also: – Trekking – posts on my site :

– Trekking in Nepal Himalaya : GOKYO, KALA PATTAR and EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK (19 days).

– Everest Base Camp – CLASSIC treks. / Version polish and english /

– Trekking in Nepal Himalaya : EVEREST HIGH VALLEY – Travel Guide. /Version english/

Everest 2018: Week Two Begins.

This week starts like last week – teams trekking or driving to base camp. So far, the season has no big surprises, just what we like this early. There has been a bit more precipitation than normal, but that could be, um, well it could just be the weather  🙂

Lobuche

As the #Everest2018 season continues, some teams are doing a first round of acclimatization on nearby Lobuche East. This is known as a “trekking peak”

but is still 6,119 m/20,075 ft. A few teams will actually camp out on the small area at the east summit. Almost no one will make the final climb to the true summit as it is heavily corniced and this is about acclimating so not worth the risk. But there are amazing views of Everest no matter where you stop.

Everest from Lobuche East by Alan Arnette in 2011

Camps in the Cwm

Teams at EBC are beginning to establish camps in the Western Cwm. Sherpas tried to go up today, Monday 9 April 2018 but were stopped by a small collapse of ladders crossing a crevasse near the Football Field. The crevasse is quite wide and will require four ladders lashed together to cross it. More work for the Icefall Doctors. This is quite usual, especially early in the season  but will be a common occurrence throughout depending on how stable the ice is around the route.

Everest 2018: Weekend Update April 7.

The first Sherpa team arrived at the Chinese Base Camp (CBC) on Tibet side for #Everest2018. Meanwhile more teams are arriving at Everest Base Camp (EBC) on the Nepal side. Everything seems to be on schedule thus far for the season.

The Big Picture

This past week on Everest has been busy with no surprises, just like it should be in early April. The weather is bit cloudy with rain down low and snow up high. In fact there are reports of heavy snowfall at EBC – but again this is fairly normal for early May.

The Himalayan Times reported that the Ministry of Tourism has already issued climbing permits to 30 expedition teams for different mountains and over 140 climbers representing 15 teams for Mt Everest. I fully expect over 400 summits, foreign and local, from the Nepal side and 200 from the Tibet side this spring season.

The first teams arrived at Everest Base Camp (EBC) on the Nepal side and the Icefall Doctors have the route put in all the way to Camp 1. Overall, it does not get better than this. The daily high temperature is in the 20’sF, at night it drops to single digits Fahrenheit. The winds pick up in the afternoon to 20 mph. Some posts are commenting that EBC is a bit cold. This is normal for early April but will warm up as the season moves towards summer.

AAI on Trek for Everest 2018

Trek Underway

Many are still on their way to the base camps but a few are already posting updates. On a disappointing note, Ben Jones, leader for Alpine Ascents, posted a reward for his lost or stolen computer:

$500 USD reward for my stolen MacBook Pro in the Khumbu either at Khumjung or Deboche. Bring or send to Alpine Ascents Basecamp and I will pay you no questions asked.

The Jagged Globe team is making good progress:

All the members of the climbing team and the trek team are now in Lobuje (4,910m). Two of the trekkers made the hike from Dingboche in five and a half hours with a Sherpa guide. The other team of 8 with two Sherpas made the 13.9km hike over the 5,535m Kongma La pass. The weather was perfect with clear skies and bright sunshine when the team set off at 07.00. As the morning progressed conditions became more overcast and the clouds increased. There was a bit of a view of surrounding peaks from the top of the pass but it started to snow heavily as the team descended. Navigating the crossing of the lower Khumbu glacier in a white out proved to be quite challenging, but the team reached the comfort of the Lodge at Lobuje at 14.30 after seven and a half hours of effort. Special mention goes to the three members of the trek team who set personal altitude records on the pass and coped admirably with the slippery snow on the descent

Jagged Globe Everest team leaving Chukkung. Courtesy of Kjetil Moen

Icefall Route Back Center

The biggest news this week was that the Icefall doctors got the route in to Camp 1 in the lower Western Cwm. As I’ve noted this is good news as it allows the Sherpas to begin ferrying loads to establish camps. It appears the rope and anchor gear for fixing the rope above Camp 2 will be transported by helicopter this season thus eliminating many carries through the Icefall. In 2016, the Icefall route didn’t open until 11 April and in 2017, 2 April, so everything is right on schedule if not a bit early.

The Adventure Podcast Episode 13: Talking Everest and Himalayan Climbing with Alan Arnette.

I’m happy to announce that Episode 13 of The Adventure Podcast is now available to download from all of the usual places – including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and Spotify. As usual, I’ve also embedded the audio into this post for those who would like to listen to it here. You can also stream it directly online by clicking here.

This week we welcome our first guest to the podcast. My co-host Dave Adlard and I sit down and chat with Alan Arnette about the upcoming spring climbing season in the Himalaya, with a lot of focus on Everest in particular. Alan is one of the best resources around when it comes to talking about mountaineering, and he always provides interesting insights and perspectives. Of course, we also start the show with adventure news including a sad story from the Volvo Ocean Race, news about the environment, and an impressive new record for the most vertical feet skied in a single day. And as always, we wrap up the show with some gear talk with information on a new budget camera from GoPro, our thoughts on Oru Kayaks, and much, much more.

If you’d like to offer any feedback about this episode in particular or the show in general, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and by email. We’d love to hear what you think. Thanks for listening!

https://www.podbean.com/media/player/nuj48-8e98c2?from=yiiadmin&skin=1&btn-skin=104&share=1&fonts=Helvetica&auto=0&download=0&rtl=0

Autor : Kraig Becker

* source: – The Adventure Podcast Episode 13: Talking Everest and Himalayan Climbing with Alan Arnette

** see also: – Trekking – posts on my site :

– Trekking in Nepal Himalaya : GOKYO, KALA PATTAR and EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK (19 days).

– Everest Base Camp – CLASSIC treks. / Version polish and english /

– Trekking in Nepal Himalaya : EVEREST HIGH VALLEY – Travel Guide. /Version english/