Everest and Himalaya wrap-up: Summits and rescues on Everest and Lhotse, Pasang lost on Makalu
Live image over Contact 4.0 of climbers at the Geneva Spur, courtesy of Andrew Brash (click to enlarge).
Live image over Contact 4.0 of Andrew Brash (left) and Peak Freaks team leader Tim Rippel at the South Col, courtesy of Andrew Brash (click to enlarge).
Live image over Contact 4.0 of climbers near C2 on the Western Cwm, courtesy of Adventure Consultants(click to enlarge).
Pasang Gurung, 37, died on Makalu on May 20. Image of Pasang courtesy of the French Makalu team (click to enlarge).
Sultan had an epic below the South summit. Image courtesy of Peak Freaks (click to enlarge).
09:34 am CDT May 22, 2008
(MountEverest.net) Several teams topped out Everest today, and many others prepare for tomorrow and Saturday. Rumors are bouncing around the walls of the crowded peak, with word of fatalities. Jamie McGuinness has left a voice report about the current state from South Col.
On Lhotse, Carlos Pauner has been helped down to C2 due to AMS. On Makalu, the French team mourns the death of a Nepalese member.
“It has been a busy night,” reported Peak Freaks home team. “Dom, Larry, Scott, George, Farouq and Tim have all summited. Everyone except Farouq, Tim and Sultan are now down at C4. Sultan collapsed just below the south summit. Tim and two Sherpas have been roping him down all night; Farouq is now with them helping too."
"Tim sounded very positive in that Sultan will be fine; they are refreshed after the arrival of Lhakpa Sherpa, who came up from Camp 4 up to help and supply them with drinks and food. Tim says it should be clear sailing now getting him down to C4 from where they are.”
A climber lost?
“There are a lot of messed up people here,” reported Andrew Brash from the South Col today. “People on their way down had told me 4 deaths yesterday - obviously an alarming thing to hear. Garnering the information though, it seems there was one death yesterday, that of one climbing without O2. Some others certainly had epics.”
”Now we're preparing for the summit push,” Brash wrote. “I can't see the route ahead, we're in the clouds and it's snowing. Hopefully the weather will clear out and we will have a routine ascent and descent.”
Mountain Madness office received a call from BC yesterday, reporting that summiteers Doug Pierson, Francisco Arredondo and Tendi were on their way back from C4 to C2. Willie Benegas remained at the South Col assisting in a rescue...
Carlos Pauner helped down from Lhotse
...of Carlos Pauner who turned around 200 meters shy from Lhotse summit yesterday.
“On the summit night, a sore throat got him delayed from the start,” Carlos' home team reported. “He climbed for many hours and, 200 vertical meters away from the summit, he noticed it was already very late. Exhausted, with numb fingers and an aching throat, he could not take the risk of a descent in the middle of the night, so he made up his mind and turned around."
Carlos left C4 earlier today, but his state deteriorated shortly after departure. Willie Benegas and the Catalan team, on descent from summit, caught up with him at 7,200 m. Pesuming Carlos was showing symtoms of HACE, they gave him O2 and high altitude drugs.
Pauner called home from C2, stating he is feeling better and that he has some O2 to spend the night on.
Carlos' mate Javier Perez headed from BC to C2 this evening, in order to help.
Today’s Everest summits
Alpine Ascents’ first team, "Team Red", led by Dave Morton, reached the summit of Everest this morning at 8:20 am, local time. Besides Dave; Jeff Dossett, Melissa Arnot, Tsering Dorjee Sherpa, and Fura Kancha Sherpa reached the top as well. They had left the South Col at about 10:30 last night and climbed through the night in reportedly excellent conditions.
“While clouds and snow enshrouded BC the climbing team enjoyed fairly clear skies and almost no wind,” AA’s BC manager Ellie Henke noted. “The climb was not easy however. With a climbing window of only a few days, Team Red encountered many other climbers on the route, leading to bottlenecks and hold-ups in many places."
"From just below the South Summit it took them about two hour to negotiate the traffic jams to reach the true summit. Everyone is now safely back at the South Col ready to enjoy a good meal and some sleep. Tomorrow they will start on their way back to BC.”
Apa Sherpa, climbing with Eco Everest team, has bagged his 18th Everest summit (check a separate story published earlier today).
More Wednesday Everest summit reports
Adam, Ang Namgya, Kurt and Kancha Nuru called IMG HQ’s from the summit yesterday. Their fellow-team mates Chip, Vance, Joe, and their sherpas (Jamling, Pemba Dorje and Mingma Tshering) had summited earlier that day.
Also IMG climbers Justin, Dean, and Jaro were on the way to C4 yesterday, while another group comprising Val and Phunuru, Tim and Phinjo, Ryan, Serge, Rohan and Hamill were moving up to C3.
“On the 21st of May Matt Lipscombe & Mingma, John Dowd and Tenzing, Ken Stalter & Dawa, John Shelton-Smith & Tenji, and Sophie Denis & Jimba summited Everest,” reported SummitClimb guide Arnold Coster. “They all did fine and are back at the South Col. Unfortunately, yesterday Berry had to turn around on the way to camp 4 - he has already returned to BC and doing fine.”
“Also on Tuesday Eric, Christian, Andrew, Maciek, Agnieszka, Phurba, Lakpa, and Dorje went up to camp 3 to try for the summit on the 23rd," Coster noted. "Maciek had to turn around - he’s back safely in camp 2 with me and he might try another day.”
“The forecast says the weather will be fine until the 25th,” Arnold added.
There is good news too from Ryan Water’s Mountain Professionals team. “Scott Kress and Angus Murray from Canada and Alan Barrett from the US summited Everest last night and are now safely back in camp at the South Col,” reported co-owner Dave Elmore.
Teams in lower camps
“We are still in C2,” reported Henrik from Danish Everest team yesterday. “This night many teams went for the summit. Many made it, but it was very crowded up there. The lines started almost at the South Summit […] That's why our strategy always has been to wait for the second or third wave.” The team planned to climb up to C3 today, C4 tomorrow, and hopefully reach the summit on Saturday.
“This morning we went on a short walk to the lotse face for morale and sanity rather than acclimatisation,” Cheryl and Nikki Bart (with AC) reported yesterday. “We were all feeling weak and lethargic from our days at camp 2. The mountain is insanely crowded, and our daily pastime has been watching the dense line of ants ascend the Lhotse face. After much debate over the weather we have decided to start our ascent very early tomorrow (today).”
After doing some scientific field work at the South Col last week, which included installing a meteo station at 8000 meters, ‘Gnaro’ Mondinelli, Michele Enzio and Marco Confortola are back up again – this time aiming for the summit. Earlier today the Italians were resting in C2.
Lhotse: Mario celebrates the summit with Mondinelli's coke
Mario Merelli called home at last - yesterday from C2 - just back from the summit! “It’s been tough,” he said. “I topped out yesterday and returned for the night to C3 – I would have liked to climb further down to C2 where Marco was awaiting after turning around himself – but I was too tired.”
Mario reached the top yesterday at about 7.30 am, local time (he is not sure, since the clock in his sat-phone was not working). On the way down Mario dismantled his tent in C4, and proceeded further down heavily loaded.
”At arrival in C3, I got asleep inmediately," Mario said over the sat-phone. "Luckily, in the morning my friend Silvio Mondinelli came up from C2 to greet me with a coke,” Mario reported, before setting off back to BC.
After a first SummitClimb party summited Lhotse on May 19 (Harris and Lakpa summited at about 9:00 a.m.), a second team led by Sam Mansikka and comprising two-time Everest summiter Ron, Herman and Bert are in camp 2. Accompanied by two Sherpas, they will try to top out on the 25th. Another group will depart BC tomorrow, aiming for the summit by may 27.
”We have decided to make May 25 our summit day,” reported DCXP team member Paul from C2 yesterday. “This means leaving camp 2 for camp 3 on the 23rd. There is snow forecast for this day - my only hope is for enough traffic to keep the trail open.”
Makalu: Bittersweet summit - Pasang lost
Olivier and Jeff, from the French Makalu team, checked in from C3 at 8:00 pm, local time yesterday, hoping to reach ABC today. Ben arrived BC on Monday, followed by Ludo, Christian and Pemba. Unfortunately, Pasang Gurung, a high altitude porter with the team, fell sick (probably with HACE) and died while high up on the mountain.
“Pasang, 37, passed away while sleeping in C4, at 2:00 am on May 20,” the team reported. “He was waiting for four French climbers and five Sherpas to return from their summit bid.” Pasang, the team said, had been training and learning at Chamonix’s ENSA climbing school, in order to become a mountain guide. Makalu was his first 8000er.
“He was honest, warm and lively with every member in the team,” the Frenchmen wrote. “We are all shocked.” As a tribute, the team posted a cool video dedicated to Pasang on the expedition's website.
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