The Everest season isn't quite done yet, and a couple of teams are going to try to stretch it as far as possible. Alan Arnette is reporting on his Everest 2007 page that the Project Himalaya Team are hanging tight at hoping for a June 3rd weather window. If all goes well, the four climbers on the team will make a summit bid, with 2-3 Sherpa's on stand-by in case a rescue attempt needs to be made. The team is playing it safe as they go for their second summit attempt.
Meanwhile, Conrad Anker's Altitude Everest Team is, according to Alan, hoping for a weather window as late as June 11th. (!) The team is filming a documentary on George Mallory's Everest expedition and are climbing in vintage 1923 clothing, and are hoping to summit after everyone else so as to not have to worry about other climbers, in modern gear, getting into their shots. Anker, and his climbing partner Leo Houlding, will even go so far as to remove the ladder at the Second Step in order to more accurately recreate the conditions of Mallory's climb. June 11 seems like a very late summit attempt to me. The monsoon will be moving into the area at any time, and conditions will deteriorate very quickly. Anker is a very experienced climber however, so I'm sure he'll play it safe, I'd just really like to see this documentary get made!
Finally, the Outdoor News Wire, amongst plenty of others, is reporting that Japanese climber Katsusuke Yanagisawa has become the oldest person to ever summit Everest. At 71 years of age, the retired junior high-school teacher reached the summit as part of the HiMex Team. Congratulations Katsusuke-san!
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