Sunday, October 1, 2006

Alpine Style Assault on Everest Begins!

According to this article over at MountEverest.net the Spanish climbing team on Everest started their bid for the Summit yesterday on the North Face via the Supercouloir route. The actual climb of the supercouloir itself should have begun sometime today. If all goes well, they should be on the Summit in about four days (Wednesday of this week). They'll be climbing without supplemental oxygen, fixed ropes, or established base camps, unlike the typical Everest climb. If the team sticks to the plan, it'll take another day to descend putting them back at the foot of the mountain on Thursday. This is also a rare Autumn climb, which means it's cold and snowy there, and the mountain is all but deserted.

As for the Supercouloir, it's a combination of the Japanese/Hornbein couloirs that is over 10,000 feet in length at a 60 degree angle, with Class IV rocks at the 8000 meter point. So, yeah, just another hike in the mountains. I'll make updates on this story as the come in.

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