Daily Everest Updates – 20th May
Updates from Everest from Individuals and Teams on the Mountain – 20th May.
“After waiting out bad weather at camp 2 our summit teams are on the move again.
“Everest climbers Mario C, Akash N, Remy K, and Francesco with guides Big Tendi, Pasang Teni, and Ang Dawa as well as Lhotse climbers Wolf R and Francisco M with guides Anup Gurung and Saman Gurang all moved up to C3 today. They made excellent time and the weather is quite reasonable there- light wind and good visibility.
“Everest climbers Jessica H, Jessica E. H, Hemanshu P, and Clayton W, Asma, Maria M, Vanessa E, and Mario F along with guides Tomas Ceppi and Oswaldo Freire are taking a rest day at Camp 2 for one more night. They will head to Camp 3 tomorrow.”
“Still cloudy at base camp Everest. The window on 26th is narrowing but still looks good.”
“Game Over. I pulled the plug on Everest.
“After spending several days at Camp 2, I felt great. My breathing was back to normal and my lungs were strong. But two cold, windy nights erased my progress, bringing back the symptoms I had originally descended for. Mingma and I tried to hike towards Camp 3 (in the top left corner) but barely made it out of camp before I could no longer catch my breath.
“Leaving the mountain without some sort of grand excuse (Avalanche! Covid! Frostbitten appendages!) is extremely humbling. This is the sort of long endurance challenge I usually thrive on, and having to quit for what’s basically a bad cold is beyond devastating.
“I’m going to go cry my tears, leave this circus behind, and try to learn whatever lessons I can from the experience. After a bottle of wine and a few days back in the Cali sunshine, I’ll be ready for the next adventure.”
Heimer Hallgrimsson and Siggi Bjarni
“The boys leave for early in the morning for Camp 3, set up shop there and then continue to Camp 4 the following night.
“They are aiming for an attempt to peak on May 23 and cross their fingers that the weather will be favorable.”
“We need to stay in C3 today.
“It’s okay we have sausage and a fondue 4 cheese – Lyophilized Mx3.
“Camp 4 tomorrow with better weather.”
“Bad weather lingers on. A heavy blanket of low cloud have been hovering over us for the past few days with intermitten snowing.
“Many teams are at C2 hoping to summit in the small weather window 23-24th. Three Lhotse climbers from my team left this morning for their summit push.
“But I will wait. Forecast says wind starts to decrease from 25th. Looks like we may have one last summit chance right at the end of season.”
“Leonardo Antonio Avezzano and Alaa Hashim Al-juneidi are still at camp 3. High winds at Camp 4 prevent them from moving any further so another night in O2 to be spent at Camp 3. They will decide tomorrow if moving to camp 4 or not is possible. It’s all up to the weather.
“Khadija Turki is still at camp 2. She is doing great and if the weather gets better she will move to camp 3.
“Pray for us for a good weather.
“Thinking of Gaza from here.”
“Summit day is officially in sight! Mountain Professionals’ Everest team continues to progress nicely up the mountain and is currently safe and sound at Camp 2. They set off on their final trip from Base Camp on the 17th, ascending straight to C2 to cap off what always makes for a long and challenging day.
“Shifting weather patterns due to India’s Tropical Cyclone Tauktae have complicated matters a bit, leading to high winds and moderate snowfall in camp.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the team decided to push their target summit date back and take a second rest day at 21,000’. With any luck, the weather will settle soon and the team will set out for Camp 3 feeling recuperated and ready to go!
“We’ll be back soon with more updates. Until then, keep the good vibes coming!”
“Many of you ask my why I’m doing this, especially now, after having failed to reach the summit so many times, now with a family, etc. I’ve had a hard time putting it into words but I think this is close to it:
“I read somewhere that “a story is a character that wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.”
“Without that, there is no story. Whether it be a book, a movie, or….life.
“When I look back on my life, I want to remember as much as I can from it, and it turns out our brains only really remember stories. Or at least they remember them better.
“My story related to Everest has been long and with tons of conflict. Even more so now. Being older with a lot more at stake, makes this experience a lot more challenging. But I know it’ll be worth the story at the end.
“Don’t be confused though; I’m not looking for a good story to tell at a cocktail party, that’s not what I mean (and to be honest, no one other than me will really understand or relate to the details of my personal Everest story anyways). What I’m talking about is the personal story that is what my life will unravel down to when all is said and done. What my life will have meant, in a memorable way, to me. THAT’s what I’m trying to create here.
“And so here I am. And here I go. Up, up, up, to the summit I go.”
“The rest period is now over and the time has come to get ready for the #summit attempt. The weather forecasts have been changing on a daily basis and so it did this morning also, showing us that we need to leave tonight if we want to avoid the next lot of bad weather coming.
“We’ve had a good long rest and, in fact, are as ready as we can get for a summit push. Mentally we feel excited and energized to give it a go; physically we’ve slept, rested, and eaten as much as our bulging bellybuttons allow. Now that the brief gap of calm is on the mountain, we’ve got to grab with both hands and go for it.
“There will be many other teams there too, but we are hoping that the several, clear weather days will spread the summit teams in a way that allows everyone to have a go within the safest possible way, space, and time.
“As the summit date itself may still change I won’t jinx it by writing it down 😉, but hopefully we can give you some good news in a few days’ time.
“Wish us luck!”
“We tried to go to Camp 3 this morning, but due to heavy wind and snow we turned back to Camp 2.
“Our plan is to wait until tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be better.”
“Well the weather hasn’t been playing ball recently and lots of teams are sitting it out at C2 or C3. Looks like things are about to start improving so expect plenty of movement imminently. It’s still going to be reasonably challenging tomorrow so wish everyone luck and safe passage.
“The next port of call for a lot of teams is The South Col – at 7,950m it is the highest camp on the Nepal side.”
