Video: Climbing Kangchenjunga

At 8586 meters (28,169 ft) in height, Kangchenjunga is the third highest peak in the world, and yet it few people know about the challenges of climbing the mountain. While the mainstream audience and press focuses on Everest, and others keep an eye on K2 – "the mountaineer's mountain" – climbers on Kangchenjunga tend to toil in obscurity. The mountain offers a formidable challenge in its own right and has a bit of mystique about it in that no climbers have actually gone up to the true summit. That place is considered sacred, and out of respect to the mountain, the first ascenders, Joe Brown and George Band, stopped short of the top – a tradition that has continued to this day.

Filmmaker Philippe Gatta accompanied a team of French and Swiss climbers to the mountain this past spring, and has now released a fantastic video on the experience. You'll find it below, but get settled in, as it is nearly 15 minutes in length. Well worth watching however.

Video: View From The Top of Kangchenjunga

Exactly one month ago today, Christian Stangl, along with climbing partners Maro Panzeri, Sangay Sherpa, and Tunc Findik stood on the summit of Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world at 8586 meters (28,169 feet). The video below captures that moment and gives us all a brief glimpse of what it is like to be on top of an 8000 meter peak.

While watching the video, keep in mind that Christian summetted without the use of supplemental oxygen. Listen to his breathing in the video, and you'll get an idea of how hard it is to accomplish that feat.

Himalaya 2011: Spring Season By The Numbers

Earlier today, ExWeb posted an excellent re-cap of the 2011 Spring Himalaya climbing season, breaking down all the stats and records, while putting it all into perspective for us. They have the scoop on the highs (pun intended!) and lows of another very busy spring in the mountains.

Amongst the stats that may be of interest is the fact that there were, according to ExWeb's count, roughly 680 summits in the Himalaya this year. Of those, about 500 took place on Everest alone. Remember, this is in a year that was said to be quieter than normal. That is a much higher number than what I had been led to believe, but the folks over at Explorers Web are bit more tapped in on those kinds of numbers, so I'm inclined to believe them. The remaining 180 summits were spread out across a variety of peaks, but of the 8000 meter mountains, nine saw successful summits, including Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Annapurna, and Shisha Pangma.

Most of the post is made up of a list of "firsts," which include the first summits on a variety of peaks by climbers from specific nationalities, as well as age records for the youngest and oldest to scale some of these mountains as well.

Finally, the post wraps things up on a solemn note with a run down of the climbers who lost their lives in the Himalaya this spring. That list is always too long, no matter the number on it, and is a sobering reminder of the dangers we all face when going to high altitude.

Himalaya 2011: Left For Dead On Kangchenjunga

Another story that broke out of the Himalaya in the past few days has been the odd and sad tale of Cleo Weidlich, who became the first American woman to summit Kangchenjunga a few weeks back. On her descent however, Cleo began running into trouble, and ended up being left behind by her Sherpas team, and had another Sherpa extort money out of those trying to help her just for an extra bottle of oxygen.

You can read the entire sordid affair at the Climbing Blog over at About.com, but the gist of the tale is this: While descending Weidlich started to lose her eyesight and complained of pressure on her eyes. Things got worse from there when she tore a ligament high on the mountain, but was still able to make it down to Camp 4, located at 24,600 feet. After spending the night there, she reportedly started acting irrationally, which led the Sherpas to believe that she was suffering from cerebral edema as well.

The lead Sherpani called for a helicopter rescue, but because of where she was located at the time, it was determined that Cleo would have to descend further before that could happen. By that time, other western climbers had joined in the rescue attempt, but reports seem to indicate that the behavior of the Sherpas was not what one would expect on an expedition of this level. There are accusations of abandonment, reckless behavior, and extortion.

Fortunately, the woman lived, but mostly thanks to other climbers who came to her aid. Were it not for their help, it seems that Cleo would have been left behind to die, all alone on Kangchenjunga. I encourage you to read the entire, scary tale, by clicking here.

Himalaya 2011: News From All Over

The 2011 Himalayan climbing season is starting to wind down for another year, but there is still plenty of things happening on peaks throughout the region. With so many expeditions taking place at this time of the year, it is a real challenge to keep up with all the activity, so apologies in advance if I've neglected someone or failed to mention an expedition.

We'll start once again on Everest today, which is where the bulk of coverage has been on the South Side, but the teams approaching from the North are finally getting their chance. As reported yesterday, the 7 Summits Club  topped out not long after the ropes to the top were fixed and apparently the Asian-Trekking squad was also there at about the same time. It is unclear which team reached the summit first from the North Side, but in the greater scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. Both teams enjoyed summit success, and the North Side is open for business. Most other teams are looking for summit bids late this week, and there is no news on when Ueli Steck and Don Bowie will make their attem32pt. My guess is that they'll go for it before the crowds, but it depends on how they feel and what the weather dictates.

On the South Side there are still a few teams making their summit attempts as well, including the Jagged Globe team, who are on the move today. Edurne Pasaban and her team are hoping to head back up later this week as well. They turned back at Camp 4 over the weekend due to illness on the squad and windy conditions, which can be tough to endure when climbing without oxygen. The Spanish climber, the only woman officially recognized for climbing all fourteen 8000-meter peaks, also took part in a rescue on Lhotse of fellow countrymen who ran into trouble while descending that peak.

Speaking of summitting without oxygen, ExWeb is also reporting that a monk by the name of Bhakta Kumar Rai spent 32 hours on the summit of Everest, meditating for 27 of those hours. He was on oxygen for just 11 of those hours as well. Impressive feats all around, especially when you consider most people only spend a few minutes on top.

There is sad news to report this morning from Cho Oyu, where a number of sources are saying that Dutch climber Ronald Naar has died. Apparently he had given up on his summit bid due to bad weather, and on the descent he was feeling ill. He later collapsed in Camp 3. Naar had previously conquered the Seven Summits, as well as K2, and also enjoyed polar exploration too. This was to have been his last expedition.

There was also alarming news from Kangchenjunga as well, where Alex Gavan reported a dicey situation involving a Serbian climber named Dragan. Apparently, he was suffering from both HACE and HAPE, and had to be evacuated from the mountain via helicopter. No news on his condition as of yet, but it sounds like a very serious situation. Keep your fingers crossed!

Finally, on Lhotse, the previously mentioned Spanish team that was in trouble over the weekend included Manolo "Lolo" Gonzalez, who had to be evacuated from the mountain following a harrowing descent in bad weather. Lolo, and the rest of his squad, reached the summit, but conditions made for a slow descent, which left them exposed at altitude for far too long. Gonzalez ended up spending the night alone on the mountain until he was discovered by another group of climbers the following day.

Ryan Waters and his teammates also topped out on the mountain, as did Zsolt Eross, who claimed his ninth 8000-meter peak. What made this one special however, is that Eross suffered a climbing accident in 2010, which required that a leg be amputated. He earned this summit with an artificial limb. Congrats to Zsolt and the rest of the Lhotse summitteers. 


More news to come in the next few days I'm sure. There is still a lot happening, despite the end of the season looming. Lets hope there aren't any more causalities or serious accidents. 

Himalaya 2011: More Summits On Everest And Kangchanjunga

As expected, a second wave of summits has begun on the South Side of Everest, where teams have gone up this morning despite higher winds. The trend is expected to continue into the weekend, as other teams are currently poised to make their bids as the winds die down later in the day.

The Himex team put eight of their clients, along with three guides and ten Sherpas, on the summit this today, after setting out at about 12:30 AM local time. Apparently, the team moved efficiently and with good speed, and over took other expeditions at the Balcony. There was a traffic jam at that point, so the ever-industrious Himex Sherpa's circumvented the ropes that were in place, and short roped their clients over that portion. They were soon on their way to the top, leaving slower teams behind. Amongst the summiteers today were David Tait, who has now stood on top of Everest on four different occasions. Well done to all!

The final IMG team is in place at Camp 3 and waiting to move up as well. That's where we heard from Alan Arnette this morning, who says that the winds are expected to dissipate, allowing the teams currently in a holding pattern to make their summit bids tomorrow. If all goes according to schedule, they'll be at the top around or shortly after dawn.

Meanwhile, on the North Side, rope fixing is suppose to be finished today, which will finally allow teams to reach the summit. A number of teams, including the 7 Summits Club, have already set out for Advanced Base Camp in hopes of being in position to go up as soon as possible. Kenneth Koh, who is climbing with Project Himalaya, Tweeted that he and the rest of the team are heading up today as well, and they hope to summit sometime around the 27th of the month, which would be a week from today, weather permitting. I hope for their sake, that the window stays open for them, as it seems to be a narrow one from the Tibetan side of the mountain.

Meanwhile, there has been a lot of activity on Kangchanjunga today as well. The third highest peak on the planet at 8586 meters (28,169 ft), sees far fewer climbers than Everest, and is a formidable climb in its own right. On his Twitter feed, Alex Gavan reports that 50 people went up today in one of the biggest summit pushes Kang has ever seen. At this point, we're not sure how many made it but we do know that  Alexey Bolotov reached the top, as did Christian Stangl, who reportedly is suffering from some frostbite. A French team consisting of three climbers also topped out, but from the reports, it seems that bad weather and cold turned back a good portion of the climbers. Alex is recovering from a stomach bug himself and hopes to go back up soon, weather permitting.

It seems it will be another very busy weekend in the Himalaya, with summit attempts coming on a number of peaks. Wish everyone well and keep your fingers crossed that everyone gets down safely.

Himalaya 2011: Route To South Col Fixed, Summits Soon?

It was a rather quiet weekend on Everest's South Side, where many teams were recovering from their acclimatization rotations higher on the mountain. The weather has reportedly turned to fog, and there is now rain at the lower elevations, which seems to indicate that a warming trend is in the air. That will make a number of people happy, as the current cold, snowy, and windy conditions have made things rough on the mountain so far.

The biggest news of the weekend is that the route up the South Col is now fixed all the way to Camp 4, thanks to the combined efforts of the Sherpas of several of the bigger commercial teams. That means that supplies can now start to be funneled up the slope for the inevitable summit push that could come sometime around the middle of the month.

Tim Rippel, reporting in for the Peak Freaks, says that their Sherpa team is set to return to C4 sometime around Thursday or Friday of this week, and possibly sooner depending on the weather. Similarly, the IMG squad reports that their Sherpas are heading up to the South Col tomorrow for their supply run, and they are predicting that the ropes to the summit could be fixed by the end of the week as well. That means we could see our first summits of the season on Everest by Friday of this week.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the region, Alex Gavan is reporting that his team is starting up for Camp 3 tomorrow on Kangchenjunga. C3 on that mountain is located at about 7300 meters (23,950 ft), and with their acclimatization complete, they are just waiting for a favorable weather window before making an assault on the summit. If all goes well, they could potentially be on top by the weekend as well.

Don Bowie has sent a dispatch back from Cho Oyu a few days back. He and Ueli Steck have arrived on that mountain and have already gone up to Camp 2 at 7000 meters (22,965 ft). They were expecting bad weather over the weekend however, and may still be in Base Camp, waiting an opportunity to go higher. Last week, Ueli said that his Shisha Pangma climb had caught up with him a bit, so he wasn't thinking about going for any kind of speed climb on Cho Oyu, but perhaps he'll feel differently if he has more time to rest. After they knock off this peak, it is on to Everest for Don and Ueli.

Finally, ExWeb is reporting that the Iranian team on Manaslu reached the summit over the weekend as well. That mountain, located in Nepal, is the 8th highest mountain in the world, standing 8156 meters (26,759 ft) in height. They expect more details on that climb soon. Congrats to the entire team!



Project Himalaya: Behind the Scenes in the Khumbu Valley from Mountain Hardwear on Vimeo.

Himalaya 2011: Snow and Cold Weather Continue On Everest

The 2011 climbing season on Everest is shaping up to be one of the coldest, and snowiest, in recent memory. The weather seems to be the primary focus of discussion even as teams continue their acclimatization process, with many dispatches noting that the weather pattern has remained the same all season thus far. Clear skies in the morning bring cold temperatures, with clouds moving in later in the day, usually dumping snow on the mountain.

The IMG squad posted an updated yesterday saying that a weather front off to the East of the mountain had brought yet more snow, dumping as much as 12 inches (30.5 cm) on the Western Cwm between Camps 1 and 2. Despite that weather however, some of the team members, including Alan Arnette, spent the night at C2, with others waiting in Base Camp to begin their acclimatization rotation.

The Peak Freaks had hoped to climb up to C3 today as part of their process as well, but lead guide Tim Rippel reports in his Twitter feed that that climb was aborted due to the snow. The team had not intended to stay the night at the camp, but simply go up and "touch" it before heading back down to BC for some rest. The snow was reportedly quite deep higher on the mountain, and although the lines are fixed, the team decided to not risk going any higher for now.

The Himex team has laid out their plans for the coming days, and they have quite a busy schedule planned as well. After most of the crew completed a successful climb of Pumori, they are now prepared to have a go at the big hill, but they'll need to acclimatize more first. So, to that end, they plan is to climb up to Camp 2 tomorrow, and spend four nights at 6600 meter (21,653 ft). After that, they'll head up to Camp 3, spend a night there before dropping back down to C2 for one more night. After all that time at altitude, they'll return to BC, on or about May 4th, when they'll begin waiting for a weather window for their summit bid. An ambitious plan to say the least.

Elsewhere, the Field Touring Alpine team is on Cho Oyu, where they've also spend the night at Camp 1 and hope to go up to Camp 2 today. Whether or not they actually do that is dependent on the ropes being fixed to that point on the mountain. They report similar conditions on Cho Oyu as on Everest, cold, windy, and plenty of snow. Want to know what it's like on a Himalayan peak in the high winds? Check out the video below.

Finally, Anselm Murphy checks in today from Kangchenjunga where he reports that the Sherpas ran out of rope while fixing lines up to Camp 3. They hope to return to C2 tomorrow and then continue their work straight away on Friday, which is good news for everyone, as they all seem eager to get up to 7000 meters to finish their acclimatization. Much like everywhere else in the region however, the mountain is experiencing bad weather, with plenty of snow and high winds. It seems that all of the Himalaya are caught up in this same pattern at the moment.

Himalaya 2011: Expeditions Make Way To Makalu, Shisha, and More

Over the past couple of weeks I've been following a number of climbers and teams as they've made their way to Everest, mainly on the South Side. As is usual for this time of year, there will be a lot of traffic on that side of the mountain, and a good deal of coverage for everything that is happening there. But as you well know, that isn't the only mountain of interest in the Himalaya, and teams are now making their way to some of those equally, if not more, challenging mountains, that are a bit lesser known.

For instance, Melissa Arnot and Dave Morton are on their way to Makalu, the 8481 meter (27,825 ft) peak located on the border between Nepal and Tibet. It i the 5th highest mountain in the world and one that Melissa has dreamed of climbing for some time. She and Dave will be sharing their experience on the First Ascent Born Out There Blog, with their first entry being filed yesterday. The two climbers  arrived in Lower Base Camp, located at 4800 meters (15,748 ft) yesterday, and were expecting to shuttle all of their gear up to BC at 5600 meters (18,372 ft) today.

The Field Touring Alpine squad is en route to Cho Oyu as well, and according to this blog post they should be arriving in Advanced Base Camp tomorrow or Wednesday. The team drove from Tingiri to Chinese BC on Saturday, where they arranged yaks for the trek, and should have arrived at Intermediate Base Camp today. Cho Oyu is the 6th highest peak on the planet at 8201 meters (26,906 ft) and obviously the FTA team is climbing from the Tibet (Chinese) side of the mountain.

Alex Gavan is in Base Camp on Kangchenjunga as well, and filed this dispatch today with reports on climbs as high as C1 on that mountain already. Alex and one of his teammates have spent the night in Camp 1, located at 6173 meters (20,252 ft) and are now back in BC with the rest of the Kangchenjunga climbers. Acclimatization is going well, and Base Camp is crowded this year, with five teams on the mountain. That's a lot of activity for this peak.

Finally, Ueli Steck and Don Bowie are on their way to Shishapangma, which will be the first of their Himalayan triple header. The talented climbing duo hope to not only climb that mountain, but also Cho Oyu and Everest this season. Word is that Ueli has already been acclimatizing for some time, and is prepared to make fast and light, alpine style attacks on all three of these mountains. Ueli is already a legend in climbing, and if he pulls this off, he'll only add to that resume. See the video below for more.

We're just getting warmed up in the Himalaya folks. While over all traffic in the region may be down a bit this year, there are still plenty of fantastic teams going after some impressive mountains. The next month to month and a half are going to be very busy there.



Ueli Steck's Project Himalaya from Mountain Hardwear on Vimeo.

Himalaya 2011: Missing Gear On Kangchenjunga

While much of the news out of the Himalaya the past few days has been centered around Everest, which is typical for this time of the year, climbers on other peaks are arriving in their respective base camps as well. But what do you do when you arrive in BC only to find that your porters haven't arrived and none of your gear is in place? That is exactly what a Russian squad is facing at the moment.

ExWeb is reporting that there are nine climbers on the expedition and that they've now bee in Base Camp for five days with just the gear that they carried up themselves. Apparently the porters they hired misplaced the gear while en route, and turned back at some point, leaving the team stranded without their supplies. They're still trying to sort the situation out, but it is becoming a serious problem, as they are not only without their climbing gear, but most of their other equipment as well, including altitude tents, warmer sleeping bags, and so on.

Located along the border of India and Nepal, Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain on the planet, behind only Everest and K2. It stands 8586 meters (28,169 ft) in height. This Russian team had planned on working in tandem with two other teams on the mountain to fix the ropes and build three high camps, but without their gear, that plan could be in doubt. If the Russians are forced to abandon their climb, it would leave the remaining teams a bit in the lurch as well. Hopefully it won't come to that and the missing gear will be found. It seems highly suspicious that that much gear would just vanish.

For their part the Russians are doing what they can to stay in BC and wait for a resolution to the problem. But this shouldn't be a life threatening situation. If worse comes to worse, they'll hike back down the valley and stay at a teahouse while their gear situation is sorted out. I hope for their sake it doesn't mean an end to their climb.

ExWeb Strips Oh Eun-Sun of Status As First Woman To Climb 8000m Peaks

Explorers Web has made the move to strip Korean climber Oh Eun-Sun of the status as the first woman to climb all 14 of the 8000 meter peaks due to the continued dispute over whether or not she actually reached the summit of Kangchenjunga in 2009.

As you probably recall, Miss Oh reached the top of Annapurna this past spring, which was suppose to be her final peak before setting the mark as the first female to scale all the big mountains. Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban topped out on Shisha Pangma a few weeks later, becoming the second woman to accomplish that feat. Or so we all thought. Controversy followed when Edurne issued a protest of Oh's Kangchenjunga summit after several Sherpas stepped forward to claim that the Korean expedition didn't reach the summit. There were also no photos of Miss Oh on the summit either, just some non-discript rock on the mountain.

Miss Oh has continued to claim that she did indeed reach the summit of Kangchenjunga, so the whole affair turned into a "she said, she said" affair. For the most part, the controversy simmered own, with even Edurne seemingly admitting that Oh had claimed the record. For her part, Elizabeth Hawley, the grand dame of Himalayan record keeping, has marked Oh's Kangchenjunga summit as "disputed" as well, not seeing enough evidence to weigh either direction. But as the days wore on, the mountaineering community came to accept the fact that Korean climber was the first to join the elite ranks of 8000-meter summitteers.

Last week, ExWeb made the move to strip her of that crown and hand it over to Edurne. I haven't read the complete report, as it is behind their new pay wall and not accessible to the general public, but it's pretty easy to get the gist of their argument. They feel the evidence against Miss Oh is strong enough to justify the move and the ExWeb editors feel that she never officially reached the top of the 8,586 m (28,169 ft) Kangchenjunga.

Has anyone bothered to spring for the ExWeb Subscription yet? Have you read the article? Thoughts on stripping Eun-Sun of the crown and giving it to Pasaban? Does anyone see this as the "official" view?