Mountain giude Dave Hahn reached the summit of Everest over the weekend, marking the 13th time that he has stood on the top of that mountain. That number represents the most summits of any non-Sherpa ever, extending Hahn's own personal record.
The National Geographic Adventure blog has Dave's account of his summit climb, which you can read in its entirety right here. Climbing without clients – his two paying customers went home last week without attempting the summit, Dave and his Sherpa team made easy work out of the climb, arriving ahead of most other climbers and enjoying plenty of time on top of the mountain all to themselves.
The account of the climb is fairly straight forward, although Dave says that the higher portions of the route were easier than normal thanks to plenty of snow pack and well worn trails. But he and his team made it a challenge for themselves by making one long push from ABC up to the summit, and then back down again. By doing this, they limited their time above 26,000 feet and thereby lessening the effects of the thin air on their bodies. That should allow for a quicker recovery time after their ascent as well.
Congrats to Dave for adding a 13th Everest summit to his already impressive resume.
Meanwhile, a couple of Dave's teammates on the First Ascent climbing team were turned back on Makalu over the weekend. Dave Morton and Melissa Arnot were hoping to summit that mountain, but both turned back for their own reasons. Melissa was feeling the effects of the altitude, which she was enduring without supplemental oxygen, and she was climbing too slowly to have a legitimate shot at the summit, so she turned back to Camp 4 fairly early on. Dave, on the other hand, continued to go up on his own, but noted that he too was moving slowly, despite the fact that he was feeling good. He thought that he was carrying far too much weight, with camera equipment, as well as excess food and water, and late in the afternoon he determined that it was best that he turn back as well. He was just 150 meters from the summit at that time, but thought that might mean another 2-3 hours of climbing. You can ready both of their accounts of the climb by clicking here.
Now, the two mountaineers are catching a flight to Everest Base Camp, where they hope to make a late season run up that mountain. They are acclimatized and familiar with the route, so they're hoping to add one Himalayan summit to their resume while they're in the neighborhood. Stay tuned for more!