Posts Tagged ‘Mount Everest’

“It was a prodigious white fang, an excrescence from the jaw of the world. We saw Mount Everest” – George Leigh Mallory 1921 on first setting eyes on the world’s highest mountain.

Oh-oh, I suppose it had to happen…

China has now imposed a ban on anyone under 18 and over 60 from climbing the world’s tallest peak, which shares a border with Tibet and Nepal. This restriction has been put in place by CTMA, the China Tibet Mountaineering Association which issued this new legislation on 10th June, 2010.

Everest from the Tibet side

It comes hard on the heels of  Jordan Romero’s ascent of the 8,848m peak from its Tibetan side at the age of 13. His climb, although successful, sparked debate throughout the climbing community.

The CTMA’s decision was welcomed by the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) which limits the age to 16. There is no upper limit on climbing in Nepal.

Currently, the oldest person to the summit Everest was a Nepalese man, Bahadur Sherchan, at the age of 76, though Sailendra Kumar Upadhyaya, former Foreign Minister of Nepal, has announced his goal of breaking that record.

The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) welcomed the decision to ban people under the age of 18 from climbing, but the organization is critical of the upper age limit. “Many climbers over the age of 60 have safely climbed Everest and other high peaks,” said UIAA President Mike Mortimer. “Although medical considerations might present problems, the older climber often has a wealth of experience missing from younger people.”

Lucky 13 year old Romero. His successful summit will now hold the record for the youngest climber on Everest until one of the two countries bend their minimum age limits.

Sad for the hopes of Nepalese speed climber, Pemba Dorjee Sherpa, who holds the world record for the fastest ascent on Everest—at 8 hours and 10 minutes—and had recently announced his plans to bring an 11-year-old Nepalese boy to the summit in 2011.

Probably just as well…

Mandy Ramsden, ex-Zimbabwean and single mother of 4, succeeded in her goal to become a 7-Summiter when she successfully summited the highest mountain of them all and stood on top of the world at the same time as Jordan Romero. The two teams had approached the summit from opposite sides, Mandy from Nepal and Jordan from Tibet as China has no age restrictions for Everest climbers.

Mandy is the second South African woman to climb Everest and the first South African woman to have climbed all Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the world’s seven continents. Even broader than that, she is the first woman from the continent of Africa to have achieved this goal!

She has spent the last 5 years tackling the Seven Summits. She conquered Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, Europe’s Mount Elbrus and South America’s Aconcagua in 2006. In 2007 she added Carstenz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) in Australasia/Oceania to her list. In 2008 she successfully tucked Denali, otherwise known as Mount McKinley in North America, under her belt. Vinson Massif happened in 2009 and now the fabled 8 848-metre Mount Everest, 2010.

Climbing mountains is a psychological battle as much as a physical one. Whilst acclimatising at Camp 2 before the final push, the team had a chance to see at close quarters the route they were going to take. Contemplating what she was about to attempt, Ramsden mused that “if all of this didn’t bring into sharp focus the reality of what we are facing, the leaden limbs, the high altitude insomnia, the breathlessness, the headaches and the waves of nausea were always there to remind us of the lunacy of our holiday choice.”

They had the perfect ascent. Their Adventure Consultants team was led by veteran New Zealand guide Mike Roberts with fellow South African Tony Hampson-Tindale and Irishman James Haydock.

Having waited for the weather window that would allow them to start the climb, they wished their support team goodbye with a cheerful “see you on the weekend” and arrived at their final camp, at 7,935 metres, on the South Col on 21 May – less than a thousand metres short of the summit. After a few hours rest they left the South Col at 22h00. Although it was snowing lightly they could see the stars above – conditions looked good.

They reached the South Summit as dawn was breaking. After changing their oxygen bottles they were ready for the final push. At 06h00 the first team member, James Haydock, stood on the summit. Roberts and Ramsden, accompanied by Pemba Choti, on his sixth summit and Passang Bhote, on his third, topped out just under two hours later.

Sharing the roof of the world with them was Jordan Romero who had climbed with his father and three sherpa guides.

They returned to the South Col for the night, before descending to Camp 2 the next day. Despite falling snow the following day they pushed on to Base Camp.

As of this date, 424 climbers have summited Everest in 2010, with two fatalities. A new record for the number of ascents was set by the 50-year-old Apa Sherpa, leader of Eco Everest Expedition 2010, who now has 20 summits under his belt.

We are turning our attention today to the sixth of the seven summits – the grand daddy of them all – Asia’s highest mountain – the world’s highest mountain – the iconic Mount Everest, the roof of the world.

It is the mountain that we have all heard of – commanding more column inches than any other, more stories, more tragedies more deaths. The Tibetans call it Chomolungma or Qomolangma meaning mother goddess of the earth, the Sherpas call it Sagarmatha – goddess of the sky and the British called it Everest after a gentleman who had conducted a survey of India in the 1830s!

Well whatever your take it is an ultimate challenge and you will have to be very well prepared and very professional if you are to have any chance of success. Don’t forget the whole expedition could take the best part of 10 weeks.

Below are some pointers which may or may not encourage you to make further enquiries.

The cost

A ball park figure from a commercial guide service will be somewhere in the region of $50,000 but be aware that there can be a lot of extras. Below is a list of what might appear on your expenses list and this does not include clothing, insurance or flights.

• Climbing permits and fees – prorated per person, $25,000 for 1 person;$56,000 for 4 people; $70,000 for 7 people, etc.
• Sagarmatha National Park Entrance Fee – $100 per team
• Khumbu Icefall Fee (paid to Sagarmatha Park for route maintenance) – $2,375 per team
• Satellite Phone permit (paid to Nepalese Ministry of Communications) – $2,300 per phone
• Garbage and Human Waste Disposal (A comprehensive clean-up and recycling effort is underway on Mount Everest, to counteract decades of environmental abuse. This fee is paid to Sagarmatha Park officials.) –$4,000
• Oxygen (High quality oxygen and oxygen canisters are essential to the success and safety of climbers.) – $30,000
• Lead guide – $25,000 Note: The more famous your guide, the more he or she will cost you. For instance, for $125,000, you may be able to hire Ed Viesturs, the first American to summit all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks without the use of supplemental oxygen.
• 2 Assistant guides – $10,000 to $15,000 each
• Liaison Officer (ensures that your expedition meets all local regulation requirements) – $3,000
• Doctor (Some doctors will volunteer their services in exchange for a Himalayan experience.) – $4,000
• 7 Climbing Sherpas – $5,000 each
• 3 – 4 Cooks – $3,500 each
• 3 Helicopter charters from Kathmandu to Lukla – $16,500
• 150 Yaks (transport 120 lbs. of gear each, from Lukla to Basecamp) –$7,500
• Ritual expenses. (Sherpas perform many rituals along the way, to honor and appease the mountain, which they call Sagarmatha – goddess of the sky. Donations are made to the local monastery; there are daily rituals performed; prayer flags are flown at Base Camp; and finally, a Lama leads a day-long ceremony to mark the beginning of the ascent.) – $300
• Helicopter evacuation from Base Camp (in case of emergencies) –$5,000

So it is very expensive and you are strongly advised to check the small print of any company which offers a guided service up the mountain to be absolutely sure that you know what you can and cannot expect from your contract.

When to climb

There is little argument in when to go, you have a relatively narrow window of opportunity. And with more and more demand and one mountain with limited access then demand outweighs supply. Plan this expedition – probably two years before you attempt the summit. You will be going there in March, April, May – when the jet stream winds move to a more northerly latitude before the summer monsoon so making the weather on the mountain a tad more forgiving.

The mountain can also be climbed after the monsoon in October but it is considered very difficult because of the fresh snow that has fallen on the mountain during the monsoon.

Routes

Mt. Everest has two main climbing routes, the southeast ridge from Nepal and the northeast ridge from Tibet. There are other less frequently climbed routes but of the two main routes, the southeast ridge is technically easier and is the more frequently-used route. It was the route used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay who were the first people to successfully summit Everest in 1953.

The south east ridge – to climb Everest is a true expedition normally requiring 5 weeks on the mountain.The ascent via the southeast ridge begins with a trek to Base Camp at 5,380 m (17,700 ft) on the south side of Everest in Nepal which can take up to a week. Climbers will spend a couple of weeks in Base Camp, acclimatizing to the altitude.

From the Base Camp climbers make their way up the Western Cwm to the Lhotse  face, where the Advanced Base Camp is established at 6,500 m (21,300 ft).

Climbers then ascend the Lhotse face on fixed ropes up to Camp III, located on a small ledge at 7,470 m (24,500 ft). From there, it is another 500 metres to Camp IV on the South Col at 7,920 m (26,000 ft).

On the South Col, climbers enter the death zone where you have to wait for good weather before attempting the final push to the summit. It is not possible to stay at that altitude for more than two days and so if there is no break in the weather a climber may well have to about turn and make his or her way back down the mountain.

The  north east ridge - you start  from the north side of Everest in Tibet and trek to the Rongbuk Glacier and Base Camp at 5,180 m (16,990 ft) on a gravel plain just below the glacier. To reach Camp II, climbers ascend the medial moraine of the east Rongbuk Glacier up to the base of Changtse at 6,100 m (20,000 ft).

Camp III (ABC – Advanced Base Camp) is situated below the North Col at 6,500 m (21,300 ft). You have to then ascend the glacier to the foot of the col where fixed ropes are used to reach Camp IV and the North Col at 7,010 m (23,000 ft).

From the North Col, climbers ascend the rocky north ridge to set up Camp V at around 7,775 m (25,500 ft). The route crosses the North Face in a diagonal climb to Camp VI at 8,230 m (27,000 ft). From Camp VI, climbers will make their final summit push.

Above – the north east ridge – photo courtesy of Philippe Gatta

Everest is a must for every serious mountaineer but you must be well prepared. The video below from rexpem shows Rex Pemberton’s successful summit of Everest in 2006 when he became at the age of 21 the youngest Australian to summit Everest. What is very evident from the video is that even for a fit young man this is a very tough climb.

So having blogged about 6 of the 7 summits there must only be one left………..we shall see.

We were interested to learn from the Earth’s most extreme summit , that Mount Everest, (29,035 feet or 8,850 metres) had in June been conquered for a record 19 times.

On Wednesday, June 10, Apa Sherpa reached the summit of Everest,  for his 19th time—more than anyone else in the world. The 49-year-old Sherpa, originally from the village of Thame in Nepal and a resident of Salt Lake City since 2006, has climbed Everest for eight straight years and 19 of the last 20 years.

Apa also carried a sacred two-pound vase, called a Bhumpa, to the summit. The high monk Ngawang Tenzin Zangpo, Rinpoche of the monastery of Tengboche below the mountain, asked Apa to take the Bhumpa, which was filled with 400 different ingredients, relics, plants, and elements, to the summit as an offering to Chomolangma, Mother Goddess of the World, to protect humanity and help deal with climate change.

A wonderful achievement and we send Apa laudable messages of  respect – and so we started thinking about these extraordinary people – the Sherpas. We googled them and found this fascinating article – thanks to www.mounteverest.net – from which we have made a precis.

‘Sherpas are the inhabitants of the Khumbu-valley, the national park surrounding Everest. Living at altitude for generations, they have developed a genetic natural allowance for it. If you are well trained yourself, you might find in Kathmandu that the Sherpas do substantially fewer push-ups than you do. Don’t get too excited. Once you go above 3,000 metres/10,000 ft most of them will easily outrun you. Their natural advantage is strongest up to 8,000-metres/23,000 ft, there after they too will face problems. Most sherpas will consequently require oxygen above camp 4 in order to perform at their best…………….

Since Sherpas are stronger than us at altitude, they are very well suited for alpine style expeditions in the Himalayas. You will need them to carry the oxygen, the gear and as a safety on the summit push. Many “solo” climbers actually bring sherpas with them all the way up.’

The summitting of Everest is without doubt an extrem feat, but to do that 19 times – well – is there a word beyond extreme?

Apa Sherpa photographed in May 2009 shortly before he achieved his record 19th summit of Mount Everest.

UPDATE – July 2010

Now, a year later,  Apa Sherpa has been up Everest once more – an achievement that will be hard for anyone to match let alone beat – a record 20 times! Our heartfelt congratulations.

Here’s another one for our extreme sports personalities – Ranulph Fiennes, or, more correctly, Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes – a British explorer extroadinaire and the holder of several endurance records. According to the Guinness Book of Records he is the greatest living adventurer.

This is what this extroadinary man has accomplished in his 65 years:

• 1969 Travels the length of the White Nile by hovercraft
• 1970 Traverses Norway’s Jostedalsbreen Glacier
• 1979 to 1982 Travels globe on its polar axis by land transport
• 1992 Discovers lost city of Ubar
• 1993 Attempts to cross the Antarctic unaided
• 2000 On solo walk to North Pole his sleds fall through ice
• 2003 Four months after double heart bypass, he does seven marathons in seven days
• 2005 Attempt on Everest ends when he has a heart attack
• 2007 Climbs north face of Eiger
• 2008 Exhaustion ends a second attempt on Everest
• 2009 Reaches Everest summit

He attempted Everest 3 times. The first time, in 2005, he had a heart attack 300m from the summit. The second time he was forced back at 8,400 metres, suffering from exhaustion. Afterwards he declared: “I won’t be returning to Everest.”

But defeat is simply not in his vocabulary, and despite everything he set off again. Just before 1 a.m. Thursday, 21st May, he became the oldest Briton and first UK pensioner to climb the 8,850 metre peak.

It is hard to believe, after his conquest of Everest and the north face of the Eiger, that this is a man who is morbidly afraid of heights.

Fiennes continues to compete in UK based endurance events and has seen recent success in the Veteran categories of some Mountain marathon races. His training nowadays consists of regular two hour runs around Exmoor.

He’s also an accomplished author. If you’re looking for a REALLY good read, try ‘The Feathermen’ – it’ll keep you spellbound.

Described by the organisers as “a feast for those who seek to stimulate all their senses to the point of near overload” the Mount Everest skydive took the participants breath away – literally.

After becoming the first woman from her country to skydive over the world’s highest mountain, Scottish born Jane Dougall was asked if she would ever do it again?

“Absolutely not,” speaking from Nepal she told TODAY’s Ann Curry, “It was the most phenomenal chance of a lifetime; I really did appreciate doing it at the time. But I’m gonna admit, hands up, I’m a coward, I’m scared, and no, I don’t think I’d like to do it again.”

However she did admit that it had been the most incredible experience, absolutely spetacular views and the experience of a lifetime.

A trio from Britain, New Zealand, and Canada were the first people to accomplish the feat and so get their names into the records books – Holly Budge, Wendy Smith and Neil James respectively.

Holly Budge, 29, a Winchester-born extreme sports enthusiast, said, after making a safe landing at a site 12,350 feet (3,765 metres) above sea level — the highest “drop zone” achieved by a parachutist, that “It was amazing, just spectacular. We had one minute of freefall and while we were above the clouds you could see Everest and the other high mountains popping out of the top,”

Before making her leap into the record books, Holly Budge, an experienced skydiver, explained that the unprecedented project was “first and foremost a challenge to myself. It’s all about taking yourself out of your comfortable norm.”

They fell at speeds reaching 140mph, hurtling past the highest ridges of the snow-laden Himalayas, before each released a parachute, made three times the size of a normal canopy to cope with the thin air. The jumpers wore oxygen masks to prevent their lungs from collapsing as they fell. Wearing neoprene underwear was compulsory — to prevent them from being frozen to death!

To Holly this experience was the most perfect 30th birthday present!

High and Wild, the British adventure travel company behind the project, is offering this unique experience to any interested extreme adrenaline seekers …

“Combine the visual impact of looking onto the summit of Mt. Everest and some of the other highest mountains in the world and freefalling past them; this adventure is a feast for those who seek to stimulate all their senses to the point of near overload. The 8,000ft wall of Nuptse and Lhotse which has an average height of 26,000ft are dwarfed by Mt. Everest behind at 29,035ft. The picture is taken from 25,000ft. This is 4,500ft below our jump altitude,” they say.