Himalaya 2011: News From Lhotse

Everest gets much of the attention in terms of Himalayan climbs, but its neighbor Lhotse is quite a challenge as well. Standing 8516 meters (27,940 ft) in height, it is the fourth highest mountain in the world and shares a large portion of the same route as the mountain in whose shadow it always sits. But plenty of climbers are on that peak this year as well, and there has been a notable summit to report.

Michael Horst has been climbing with the Alpine Ascents team this spring, and according to the team's blog, he accomplished an impressive feat over the weekend. Horst topped out on Everest on Sunday, and then less then 24-hours later, he also bagged the summit of Lhotse as well. The Alpine Ascents blog says that they think he may be the first climber to achieve this double-summit without first descending to Base Camp to rest. Instead, he returned to Camp 4, rested there, then went right back up into the thin air. Pretty impressive, and definitely worth a hearty congratulations.

Meanwhile, the North Face Lhotse Ski Expedition team has sent back their second video dispatch, which you can check out below. The team is currently still on the mountain, and are preparing to go for their summit bid, which will be followed by a ski descent. In the video, you see them arriving in the Khumbu and trekking up to camp, where they begin their expedition in earnest. There are plenty of great shots of the region and it really gives you a great sense of what it is like to be there. Lots of memories ofr me on this one!


The North Face®: Lhotse Ski Expedition Dispatch Two from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Himalaya 2011: Everest North Side Updates

Over the past few weeks there has been a flurry of activity on the South Side of Everest, as the commercial teams are well organized, and worked together to fix the ropes. That has led to the first wave of summits, and as we all know, many climbers are currently moving up the mountain to get in place for a second summit push at the end of the week, when a 48-hour weather window is expected to open once again.

But getting news from the North Side of the mountain has been especially difficult this season and to date, there have been no summits from that side of the mountain. In fact, as of Sunday, it seems that the ropes aren't fixed to the top yet, which is leaving climbers sitting in Base Camp, wondering when they'll get their opportunity to go up. As you probably already know, rope fixing on this side of the mountain is handled by the Chinese Tibetan Mountaineering Association, which seems to be a bit unorganized and lagging behind their counterparts to the south.

Still, there is some word as to what is happening. Kenneth Koh, who is climbing with the Project Himalaya team, has been sending out tweet from Everest, and you can glean some information from what he has posted. Yesterday, Kenneth sent out a tweet which read: "It's too long to just sit around BC, so we are hiking up to ABC today for a couple of nights to keep fit." That indicates to me that they're still waiting for the okay to go up the mountain, and like everyone else, they're hoping for a weather window. In an earlier tweet, he mentioned that it looks like everything could be set by the final week of May.

Kenneth's teammate Grant Rawlinson has also been blogging from the North Side, and he echos his companions comments. They're continuing to wait and trying to stay busy and healthy until their opportunity comes. But what if that doesn't happen? The Sherpas may not get the ropes fixed until the weather window at the end of the week, and since it is only 48-hours in length, the teams may not be in position to take advantage of the opportunity to dash up the mountain. What if another window doesn't come? The entire North Side season would be a bust, leaving many bitter and disappointed climbers. Lets hope that doesn't happen.

Finally, two guys who may be well suited to make a quick dash up the mountain, Ueli Steck and Don Bowie, arrived in Base Camp today. The note on Don's site says that they will take the next few days to assess the situation and prepare for their climb. If anyone can take advantage of a small window, it is probably Ueli and Don. Stay tuned. If Steck summits, it'll be his third 8000 meter peak in a little more than a month.

Four Climbers Injured, One Dead on Denali

While most of our attention has been drawn to the Himalaya over the past few weeks, some daring climbers have been making spring attempts on Denali. One of those climbs went bad last week, leaving one climber dead and four others injured on the West Buttress of the mountain.

According to this story at the Alpinist, six climbers set off for their final summit push on the 6196 meter (20,327 ft) Denali on May 11th. They began the day at High Camp, located at 5242 meters (17,200 ft), in conditions that were said to be excellent, although high winds were in the forecast for later in the day. One member of the group elected to stay in camp due to the forecast, while Tony Diskin, Jeremiah O'Sullivan, Beat Niederer and Lawrence Cutler, along with their two guides Dave Staeheli and Henry Munter, headed for the summit.

Part way up the mountain, Diskin turned back. Suffering from frostbite on his fingers, he was assisted down the mountain by Munter. When the pair arrived at High Camp, they gathered up the climber there, and moved further down the mountain. Meanwhile, the others continued to go higher, eventually reaching the summit late in the afternoon. On their descent, O'Sullivan tripped and fell, dragging his teammates, who were all roped in, down the glacier for about 300 feet. He broke his leg in the fall, and the report says that Niederer also dislocated a shoulder and that Staeheli broke a rib.

 With the team in bad shape, Staeheli attempted to call for help, but was unable to get a radio signal and the satellite phone was damaged in the fall. The guide sent Niederer and Cutler, who was uninjured, down the mountain to seek help, while he attempted to drag O'Sullivan in a bivy sack, giving up after just a few hundred feet.

At about this time, the winds began to pick up and temperatures began to drop, so Staeheli made the decision to go down to High Camp with Niederer and Cutler to try to organize a rescue, leaving O'Sullivan on the mountain above 19,000 feet. They stumbled down the mountain, and at one point, Staeheli and Cutler became separated from Niederer, who went missing somewhere on the descent. Stumbling into High Camp, the guide and his lone remaining client, were aided by another team that has also gone up to the summit that morning.

The weather took a turn for the worse and a rescue wasn't possible until the following day. Helicopters were able to go up the mountain, where they pulled both O'Sullivan and Niederer off the high slopes of Denali. O'Sullivan was alive, but need immediate attention, while Niederer showed no signs of life at all, and was later declared dead. At this time, the cause of his death is not known.

For the full story, be sure to read the account by the Alpinist. It is a sad tale, with a set of circumstances that put the guides and other climbers into a bad position. It was almost as if things were going to turn sour no matter which decision they made. This will no doubt be one of those mountaineering stories that are debated for a long time.

My condolences to Niederer's friends and family for their loss.

Himalaya 2011: A New Weather Window Opens

The weekend was a slow one on the South Side of Everest, with high winds slamming the weather window shut. All told, some 40 climber reached the summit last week, but plenty more spent the weekend in Base Camp, where they anxiously watched the weather reports and waited for good news. That good news came last night in the form of a second projected weather window for the end of this week. It now looks like we can expect another round so summit bids on Thursday and Friday, and teams are now on the move to take advantage of that opportunity.

Amongst the climbers who have begun the ascent are Alan Arnette, who sent an audio dispatch this morning from Camp 1. He reports that the conditions on the  mountain are favorable right now, and that he and the entire IMG team he is climbing with, made the climb up to C1 in rapid time. Normally, a lot of teams would push on to Camp 2, but they have elected to spend the day in Camp 1 and conserve their energy for the final push. The plan is to go up to C2 tomorrow, then on to C3 on Wednesday. Thursday, the team will climb to the South Col and Camp 4, where they'll rest for a few hours before leaving for the summit at around 3 AM Friday morning local time. If everything goes as planned, they should arrive at the summit sometime Friday morning. For Alan, who sounds in great spirits on the dispatch, this would be a major milestone in his 7 Summits For Alzheimer's campaign.

David Tait has started back up the mountain as well and will be checking in from Camp 2 later in the day via sat phone. In his latest update, he talks about facing the Khumbu Icefall yet again and the toll that the climb is having on his body, having lost a considerable amount of weight. You may recall that David was on his summit push last week when winds picked up on the mountain, causing Himex boss Russell Brice to pull the plug mid-ascent. Tait, and others, were forced to descend all the way back to BC, where they had a short rest before turning around again. The entire Himex squad is hoping to top out during this new weather window later in the week.

There was sad news to report from Everest this weekend, when it was revealed that Japanese climber Takashi Ozaki died on the mountain. ExWeb says that it was apparently a result of HAPE, and notes the particular injustice of Ozaki dying on the normal route of Everest after he helped pioneer some of the more challenging, and little used, other routes on the mountain. Ozaki, who was 58, had plenty of success in high altitude mountaineer, as he had successfully climbed six of the 8000 meter peaks. My condolences to his friends, family, and teammates.

That's all for now. Expect lots more news later in the week, when it appears there will be another round of summit bids. It is possible that this could be the final weather window of the season, as June is looming, and the monsoon won't be far behind.

Himalaya 2011: Everest Update!

It was a successful Summit Day for at least some of the commercial teams on Everest yesterday. The expected first big push took place on schedule, with a number of teams completing their climbs, while others elected to stay put or descend the mountain, in hopes that the weather would be a bit more safe and settled for another attempt today or early next week.

Alan Arnette, who is on Everest and in Base Camp at the moment, posted a good update earlier today with news on all the proceedings. He noted that some of his teammates on the IMG squad successfully topped out yesterday, and another group was heading up the mountain today. But Alan also says that the weather conditions for the summit bids weren't as good as the climbers would have hoped for, with winds blowing as hard as 50 mile per hour. Alan, who has been on Everest on three previous occasions, points out that usually anything more than 20 mph is too dangerous to risk going up.

But obviously, teams did go up, and in addition to IMG, the Peak Freaks also put 11 climbers on the summit yesterday, all of which are now back down the mountain safe and sound and in excellent condition.  The Adventure Consultants also put most of the their team on top as well yesterday, ending another successful campaign for that team as well.

David Tait was amongst the climbers with Himex yesterday who elected to head back down the mountain. He does an excellent job of describing his roller coaster emotions while first climbing up to Camp 3, and then descending back down the mountain when the weather took a turn. He also notes that a number of teams decided to go all the way back to Base Camp, but an ill-timed collapse in the Khumbu Icefall stranded many of them in Camp 1 for the night. As most of you know, the Everest Ice Doctors work hard to keep a route open through the icefall, but when a collapse occurs, it can take some time before they establish a new path.

Today seems to be a "wait and see" day. Some squads are moving up to check the conditions, while others are waiting for the next window, which is scheduled to open next week. Alan, who says he is feeling well and is strong, will be climbing then, and is hoping to claim his first Everest summit. Edurne Pasaban has just returned from her final acclimatization round, and will be looking for a summit bid, minus the supplemental oxygen, sometime late next week as well. Hopefully the conditions will be good for a second, or possibly third, round of summits then.

Himalaya 2011: Apa Nabs Number 21!

So, remember when I said I was going to Chile for a few days? Turns out things didn't go quite as planned. Massive storms in the Dallas area killed all outgoing flights and as I sat, in an American Airlines jet for three hours, slowly watching my window for catching my international flight out of Miami disappear, it slowly dawned on me that I was never going to get to the Atacama this week. I had a fairly small window of time down there, and wasting a day in Miami didn't sound all that great. So, here I am, heading back to Austin, with plans to re-book the Atacama trip for a few weeks down the line.

Now... where was I? Oh yeah, big things happening in the Himalaya, where teams have begun summitting Everest and other peaks. The news of the day of course is that Apa Sherpa has claimed his 21st summit of the mountain, topping out this morning at 9:15 AM local time. The successful climb extends his record for the person who has climbed the world's highest peak the most times. Apa, and the rest of his Eco-Everest team, will now start cleaning up the mountain, as they have for the past few years, bringing tons of garbage, left behind by other expeditions, down to be properly disposed of.  The team also leads the crusade to inform the general public of the effects of climate change on Everest as well.

The Adventure Consultants put a few climbers on the summit today as well, working hard to beat the crowds that are expected at the summit over the next few days. It seems that all the major commercial squads are now in place, to have a crack at the summit. Good weather is expected into the weekend.

Stay tuned for much more over the next few days. Congratulations to everyone who successfully reached the summit today. Well done. And good luck to everyone queuing up to have their shot tomorrow and Friday.

Himalaya 2011: Teams Jockey For Position On Everest's South Side

As predicted last week, the teams on the South Side of Everest are working to get themselves into position for summit bids later this week. With the ropes fixed to the summit, and the acclimatization rotations complete, everything now hinges on the weather. Team leaders currently have their eyes on the sky and are intently watching the forecast to try to judge the best time to make their summit bids. High winds have been buffeting the mountain the past few days, but it looks like they are calming down now, right on schedule for the mid-month push.

The IMG team has sent their first climbers up the mountain, with the lead squad resting in Camp 2 today and planning on heading up to Camp 3 tomorrow. They'll likely spend the night there as well, and if the weather window looks good, they could begin the final push on Thursday with an eye on topping out on Friday. The other IMG climbers will go up in stages, staggered a day or two behind. That includes Alan Arnette, who returned to BC from a Camp 3 acclimatization rotation yesterday. He'll most likely rest in Base Camp for a few days before starting his climb, with an eye on standing on the summit sometime next week.

The Peak Freaks are one day ahead on their schedule, as they are expected in Camp 3 today, moving to C4 tomorrow and a possible summit bid on Thursday. By all accounts, the team is doing well, and all the members of the team are healthy, save one, who is headed back down the mountain due to stomach issues.

The Himex squad are in their traditional wait-out-the-rush mode, save one of their climbers. David Tait, who has summitted the mountain on three previous occasions, is already on the move, heading up to Camp 2 today. He is planning on being on the summit by dawn on Friday, provided his health and the weather cooperate.

So there you have it. It looks like things are moving right on schedule at the moment. Teams are jockeying for position and looking to take advantage of the current good weather conditions. If the weather holds, I suspect we'll see a steady stream of summits over the course of the next week or so. The past few years has given the climbers a fairly narrow window to reach the top, and then once that window was closed, the season was rather abruptly over. Perhaps that won't happen this year, but it has been an odd season on Everest in terms of weather.

One other note, the IMG update also said that due to the high winds, the rope fixing up Lhotse. That work is now scheduled to be finished on Friday of this week, allowing the climbers (and skiers!) to make their final push on Everest's neighbor as well. I'm sure that there will be some Lhotse Teams in Camp 4 that will be ready to pounce on the opportunity.

Stay tuned! It'll definitely be a busy week on the Big Hill.

Himalaya 2011: 82-Year Old Dies On Everest

Sad news from Everest today, as we have received word that 82-year old Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya died while trying to scale the mountain. He had hoped to set a new age record for reaching the summit and prove to the world that elderly people are still strong and vibrant, even after the age of 80.

According to the story, Upadhyaya was making an acclimatization rotation on the mountain and had just climbed up to Camp 1. What exactly happened after he reached that point, which is located at roughly 6096 meters (20,000 ft), remains unclear, and the cause of death hasn't been determined, but it seems likely that the rigors of the climb were a bit too much for his body to take.

In the original post I wrote about Upadhyaya's attempt I noted that he had almost no mountaineering experience, and while it is unclear if that had anything to do with his death, the lack of a climbing background certainly didn't help his cause.

My condolences to Upadhyaya's friends and family, who probably feared that this could happen.

Trailer For High Altitude Mountaineering Film Cold

What's it like to climb Gasherbrum II, the 8035 meter (26,362 ft) Pakistani peak in February? Apparently it is Cold. That is exactly the feeling you get from the trailer below, which is for a film that chronicles that very climb, undertaken by the likes of Corey Richards, Simon Moro and Denis Urubko. The film looks to be one to keep an eye on, as it seems to have captured both the beauty and the agony of high altitude mountaineering. Beautiful stuff.



COLD - TRAILER from Anson Fogel on Vimeo.

Himalaya 2011: Ueli Steck Shares Details Of Cho Oyu

Last Friday we got the news that Ueli Steck and Don Bowie had summitted Cho Oyu, notching Ueli's second 8000 meter peak in 18 days. Over the weekend, both men shared their thoughts on the climb, filing in some of the details of the ascent and their time on the mountain.

Ueli posted this detailed report, which gives us a timeline of the climb and conveys a sense of urgency that they felt due to weather window that had opened for the 4th and 5th of the month. After that, things looked dicey, and if they hoped to reach the summit before moving on to their next challenge, they would need to take advantage of what ever window nature offered. That's exactly what they did, and according to Ueli, it was a fairly easy, as far as 8000 meter peaks go, climb.

He did note that he wasn't nearly as fresh on Cho Oyu as he was on Shisha Pangma a few weeks back. Judging from his report, he is looking forward to finishing the expedition, and heading home, as he has been away for some time now, and the toll of climbing and trekking in the Himalaya has begun to wear on him.

Of course, he and Don have one more peak yet to go, and that would be Everest. The pair hope to return to Lhasa tomorrow and spend a day or two resting there before driving to Everest Base Camp, provided the Chinese grant them permission to do so. It seems that they will most likely be in BC by the weekend, and should be ready to have a crack at the mountain sometime next week, provided they feel healthy and read, and the weather holds out.

For a second report on their climb, you can read Don's account by clicking here. He treads similar ground as Ueli, but shares some other details as well, such as a nasty bout of sickness that hit both men prior to their Cho Oyu ascent.

And for those asking, yes there is a summit photo this time. Ueli and Don were part of a small group of climbers who went up the mountain, as opposed to Steck's solo efforts on Shisha.

Himalaya 2011: Ueli and Don Summit Cho Oyu!

Ueli Steck and Don Bowie have topped out on Cho Oyu, reaching the summit yesterday and nabbing the second 8000 meter peak in just 18 days for Steck. Details remain a bit light at the moment, and the home teams for both men say that they are still returning to Base Camp, where we are likely to get more information, and possibly summit photos this time out.

Back on April 18th, Ueli made a speed climb of Shisha Pangma (8013 m/26,289 ft), going tent-to-tent in under 20 hours. That was just the warm-up for the Swiss climber however, as he immediately left that mountain for Cho Oyu, where he and Don have apparently made another light and fast alpine style ascent. Standing 8201 meters (26,906 ft) in height, Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world.

Up next, the duo will head over to Everest to try their luck on the tallest of the 8000 meter peaks. They'll likely arrive just in time as well. With the route to the summit in place, most teams are waiting for a weather window to begin their climb. I'm guessing Don and Ueli will wait out the crowds and rest up in Base Camp, before making another ascent. They'll probably want everyone out of their way once they get moving.

Congrats to Ueli and Don on a job well done. Two 8000 meter peaks in the span of less than three weeks is pretty impressive stuff.

Himalaya 2011: Skiing A New Line On Lhotse

I caught this video this morning while reading Backcountry.com's the Goat Blog. It is the first dispatch from a team of skiers and climbers from the Camp 4 Collective who have traveled to Nepal to climb, and ski, Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain on Earth. The video serves as an introduction to the three men and their expedition, and shows some of their early days in Kathmandu, one of the most colorful and chaotic cities in the world.

By now, the team is surely in Everest Base Camp and preparing to go up the Lhotse Face. Expect more dispatches in the near future and read their updates on the Vertical Carnival Blog. With the route now open on both Everest and Lhotse, they're no doubt waiting for the right weather as well.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, these people who climb and then ski an 8000 meter peak are nuts!




FINAL TNF Lhotse Ski Expedition Dispatch ONE 5.4.11 from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Himalaya 2011: Kenton Cool Nabs 9th Everest Summit, Tweets Success!

British mountaineer Kenton Cool has nabbed the first non-Sherpa summit of the year on Everest, just a day after the route was opened. While not a whole lot of details are known about the climb just yet, we do know that Cool is a guide with Dream Guides and that upon learning that the route was complete, he moved quickly to take advantage of a weather window.

According to the Dream Guides Blog, Kenton topped out at 7:30 AM local time this morning, and was back in Camp 4 three hours later. After a brief rest, he was expected to head further down the mountain, an is quite possibly resting in Camp 2 at this very moment.

Not only did Cool grab the first commercial summit of the year, he also sent a tweet from the roof of the world as well. You can follow his tweets at @KentonCool, where you'll find one that simply reads:

“@KentonCool: Everest summit no 9! 1st tweet from the top of the world thanks to a weak 3G signal & the awesome Samsung Galaxy S2 handset! @samsunguk”

Samsung was one of the sponsors for this climb, and he obviously used one of their smartphones to send the message from the summit.

It will be interesting to if there are any other climbers who will have a go at a summit bid while the weather is good. I'm still expecting the majority of the teams won't go until sometime late next week, but it all depends on their acclimatization rotation and how long the weather holds out. For now, it looks good though.

Congrats to Kenton on claiming his ninth summit of Everest. Well done mate!

(PS: This is my 5000th post on The Adventure Blog! Thanks to everyone for reading!)

Using Technology, Social Media, And Adventure For Change

I came across this interesting story yesterday on Mashable. It's about how a non-profit called FindingLife is using social media and technology to help spread the word about their projects, which in this case involves climbing mountains to raise awareness and funds to build a school in Kenya. FindingLife founder Elia Saikaly recently traveled to that country where he climbed Mt. Kenya along with 12 students from Canada and Kenya. The entire expedition was beamed back to schools in North America, where those classrooms could follow along with the team's progress and learn about life in Africa.

It seems that the expedition has been a success, as the FindingLife blog reports that the group reached the summit yesterday. They hope that their off mountain efforts are a success as well, as the message is to bridge the gap between students on different continents, while also building schools to help the under privileged children in Kenya.

Saikaly, who has made it his life's calling to address children's needs on a global level,  also climbed Everest last year and is now part of the Moving Mountains Trust, another organization that works towards helping people in developing nations to work towards a sustainable lifestyle that will not only improve their lives now, but in the future as well.

Below is one episode from an 8 part series that was filmed on the expedition, and it gives you a bit more insights into what the group is doing in Kenya. Excellent stuff!




Webisode 8 - Messages to everyone back home from Findinglifefilms on Vimeo

Himalaya 2011: It's On!! Ropes Fixed To Summit Of Everest!

Today was the day that everyone on the South Side of Everest, not to mention followers at home, have been waiting for, as we have received word that the route to the summit has been fixed, and climbers are now free to begin their summit bids. For most, that means completing their current acclimatization rounds, and then keeping an eye on the weather to ensure a good window for the approach.

The world comes from various sources, including the Peak Freaks, who noted that this was an incredible display of speed on the part of the Sherpas putting the lines together. The team of six reportedly left Camp 2 this morning, and made their way up above the South Col, where they grabbed the ropes, donned their oxygen masks, and went to work. They were done in no time, and were suppose to descend back to Camp 4 to spend the night, but they felt so good they just kept going down the mountain. They're now bak in Camp 2 and resting comfortably.

IMG has even more information on the climb saying:

Today the IMG sherpas Phu Tshering and Karma Gyalzen, and the rest of the fixing team reached the summit! They started at 1am at Camp 2, climbed to the Col in time for breakfast, fixed to the Balcony in 4 hours, and decided to keep going! The conditions up high were perfect, and they reached the summit at 4pm (May 6 Nepal time) and got safely back down on the Col at 5:50pm.

They are leaving South Col at 6:30pm and heading for Camp 2 tonight! The route was on snow most of the way (some years it gets quite rocky above the Col) and there was quite a lot of snow up on the summit ridge and Hillary Step. All total they fixed 1600 meters of rope on the way up and are setting double ropes on their descent in the steep places.

So there you have it. Reportedly the conditions of the route up to Camp 4 are excellent, so depending on weather, and acclimatization, expect summit bids to begin by early next week.

Congrats to these six amazing climbers on notching the first summits of the season on the Big Hill. They're hard work has made it possible for everyone else to follow, and their strength and speed is something that I'll always admire. Well done!

Now let the games begin!

Himalaya 2011: Ueli Checks In From Cho Oyu, Ready For Summit Bid

Ueli Steck and climbing partner Don Bowie have sent an update from Cho Oyu, the next stop in their Himalayan Triple Header this spring. You may recall that Ueli topped out solo on Shisha Pangma a few weeks back, and now the duo are prepping to go for the summit on the 8201 meter (26,906 ft) Cho Oyu.

According to the dispatch, since arriving on Cho Oyu last week, Ueli and Don have been acclimatizing at altitude and building their camps. They've been up as high as 7000 meters (22,966 ft) and are back in ABC and watching the weather closely. The forecast said that a window could open as early as today, and if that holds true, they may have already started the ascent.

It should be noted that they are not making an attempt on any kind of speed record on this climb. They do home to go light and fast, but beyond that, they're saving their strength for their final challenge, Everest from the South Side, which will take place in a few weeks time.

As for questions that continue to surround Ueli's speed climb of Shisha, I'm not sure why we haven't seen any summit photos. Perhaps Ueli didn't take the camera with him since he wasn't expecting to go for the summit that day. That seems unlikely, but it is a possibility. We have seen video of him high on the mountain and moving upwards very rapidly, but so far there has been no definitive proof that he has stood on top.

Perhaps once the entire expedition is over, we'll get plenty of that evidence offered to us, but for now, we simply have the reports from Ueli, Don, and their companions.

Gear Box: Brooks-Range Cirro Hoody Jacket

Just because calendar says that it is spring it doesn't mean that the weather will cooperate, especially when you head up into the mountains, where conditions can be notoriously fickle this time of year. Fortunately, Brooks-Range makes a fantastic jacket that is taylor made for springtime adventures at altitude.

True to the Brooks-Range philosophy, the Cirro Hoody is a no-frills jacket that gives you everything you need, and nothing you don't. Super-light in weight, the Cirro is warm, comfortable, and good looking, which also makes it versatile enough to wear on the slopes or around town. With three zippered external pockets, elastic cuffs, and a well designed hood that protects the wearer from the elements, it is clear that the designers knew what they were doing when they created this jacket. The inclusion of an internal pocket is much appreciated as well.

The Cirro uses Permaloft One as its source of insulation and Pertex as an outer shell. That means that you get a jacket that stays warm, even when it gets wet, but is also well protected from moisture as well. Those synthetic fabrics help provide a garment that is both warm and durable, but weighs just 12.4 oz (342 grams). I was particularly impressed with how warm this jacket is, especially considering the lack of weight and bulk. It makes for a fantastic piece of cool weather gear on its own and an excellent insulation layer in colder conditions.

As a frequent traveler, one thing I always appreciate is clothing that is highly packable. That described the Cirro Hoody to a tee. As I mentioned, this isn't a bulky or heavy jacket, and it also compresses down to a very small footprint, which comes in handy when you're stuffing it in a backpack. The fact that it adds very minimal weight to that pack is a further reflection on how well Brooks-Range knows their market and what we are looking for in our gear.

All of this comes at a great price as well. Brooks-Range lists the MSRP as $189, which is an excellent deal for a jacket this versatile and well made. Add one to your gear closet for a little extra springtime protection on your next adventure.

Himalaya 2011: Alan's Ready To Climb, Death On Manaslu

As I mentioned yesterday, work continues to progress at a steady pace on the South Side of Everest, and with the lines now fixed to the South Col, a steady stream of Sherpas are now shuttling gear up to Camp 4. If the weather holds, it is starting to look like the route will be set all the way to the summit by this weekend, and we could have guides on top of the mountain by Friday or Saturday. That will clear the way for the climbers to finish up their acclimatization rounds and start the waiting game for a weather window sometime around the middle of the month.

Our friend Alan Arnette posted a nice update from the mountain yesterday that helps to fill in some of the gaps as to what is happening at the moment. At the time that he wrote the post, Alan was back in BC, but is preparing to go back up the mountain to Camp 3 today. On his last acclimatization round, he went up and "touched" C3, but spent nights in Camps 1 and 2 along the way. This time he'll actually stay at C3.

Alan also notes that the last rotation on the mountain didn't go well for his health. He's been battling an upper respiratory lung infection and it made it very challenging to climb up to 7200 meters (23,621 ft). Once he returned to lower elevations, he was feeling much better however, and is now feeling strong and ready to back up. He also noted that he has changed his strategy for climbing the  mountain this time out, and is spending extra nights at Camp 1 in effort to conserve energy on the push at higher altitudes.

The weather continues to be odd, with snow at strange times of the day and colder than normal temperatures. Upper portions of the route are said to be more exposed than normal, despite plenty of snow, which can be a concern for the climbers who have to scramble up bare rock while wearing crampons. Those spikes are designed for ice and snow and don't exactly provide good footing on hard surfaces.

The plan is to now spend a few days going back up to Camp 3 before descending to EBC once again. After that, it is all about the weather window, and considering this is Alan's fourth time on Everest, he knows all to well what that waiting game is all about.

Considering the great work that Alan is doing to raise funds for the Cure Alzheimer's Fund, I'd personally like to see nothing more than him standing on top of Everest at last.

Other news of note, ExWeb is reporting that the Iranian team that summitted Manaslu last Friday lost a team member on the descent. Isa Mir-Shekari succumbed to altitude sickness at Camp 4 (7460m/24,475 ft) on that mountain on April 29th.

Also, David Liano, who was climbing Everest from the North Side has now returned to Kathmandu where he is battling what is described as a mild case of HACE. He now hopes to recover fully and return to the mountain, although he is shifting to the South Side for the attempt. Hopefully he'll be well enough to give it a go.

That's it for now, but stay tuned. Things are about to get very busy in the Himalaya. The next few weeks will be crazy with lots of news from the big peaks.

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: Record Number Of Visitors To The Everest ER Tent

The Outside Blog has an interesting post up this morning regarding current conditions on Everest's South Side, where the doctors in the Everest ER tent are on pace to see a record number of visitors this year. In a recent post to their blog, one of the docs says that they have seen 276 patients already this season, which they call "a blistering pace set to break all previous clinic visitation records."

While that may sound like there is some terrible virus working its way through BC this year or that the climbers are taking bigger risks, the Everest Docs have a different theory. They believe that after spending several years in Base Camp, where they have more than earned a reputation for reliable and high quality care, that the teams are coming to rely on them more. Some of the teams may have even left their own doctors behind in favor of using the established docs who have been a part of the Everest ER squad for awhile now. Either way, the med tent is definitely busier, and the patients are receiving consistently better care than they have in the past.

In the same blog post, the docs say that they've had to treat several cases of HAPE/HACE, but all of the climbers who have had to be evacuated were feeling find when the rescue chopper came. They've also had reports back that after they've been taken from BC, the patients have recovered nicely as well.

They've also had to deal with their first case of frostbite, suffered by a Sherpa who took his glove off at Camp 1 where the winds were howling at 100 mph (160 km/h). That incident prompted them to post some great advice on how to avoid frostbite when caught on in the cold. That list looks like this:

-Stay well hydrated and well fed to enable your body to generate heat!

-Avoid alcohol, which can impair your sensation (and judgment!)

-Avoid smoking, which will constrict your blood flow

-Don’t climb/trek under extreme weather conditions (wind, very cold)

-Avoid tight fitted clothing (eg no wrinkles in the socks)

-If your clothing/socks/gloves get wet from snow/rain or perspiration, DRY them quickly – including boot insoles

-Wear mittens rather than gloves in extreme cold and a liner glove underneath if you need quick temporary access to fingers (e.g. photography)

-Never ignore numbness – as an old professor once told me – 'if you feel your fingers and toes getting numb and you ignore it, that numbness might be the last thing you ever feel!' Numbness is a sign that you may be getting into trouble. If it doesn’t resolve by increasing activity, you need to get somewhere to take off your gloves/boots and rewarm yourself.

-Avoid rubbing frostbitten areas – beating on them only increases the chance of injury and doesn’t help them rewarm faster.

-IF you or your buddy has frostbite, get somewhere warm, but only rewarm the injured area if there is no chance it will refreeze. The quickest way to rewarm is to submerge in warm water (~104F, or the warmth of a hot tub, test the water first with a thermometer or an uninjured body part – a frozen hand can’t determine if the water is too hot!) 

–keep the area padded and protected against further heat loss. 

-Research suggests that a dose of ibuprofen may help prevent some of the inflammatory problems that result from frostbite

-Get to a doctor as soon as possible if there is frozen tissue or if normal sensation doesn’t return after rewarming. New treatments, like some antiinflammatories and clot-busting drugs are TIME sensitive - and are only effective if given within 24 hours of thawing.

Great advice straight from the doctors that I thought was worth sharing considering that many of us visit areas that get cold enough to induce frostbite, something I wouldn't want to wish on anyone. Keep these in mind the next time you're heading to a Pole!