Daily Dispatches – 21st May
Everest’s extraordinary summit surge continued into 21st May as another huge wave of climbers successfully stood on top of the world following yesterday’s historic traffic chaos high on the mountain.
After what is believed to have been the largest single summit day ever recorded from the Nepal side of Everest on May 20th, climbers once again took advantage of stable weather and calmer winds to push from the South Col overnight.
Among the standout stories of the day was a landmark achievement for Afghanistan as River Ahamd became the first Afghan woman ever to summit Mount Everest. Climbing with the Everest One team alongside Dawa Sherpa and Purba Sherpa, River reached the summit at 7:20am local time following a gruelling 13-hour summit push from Camp 4. The team are now descending safely back towards lower camps.
Everest One also praised climber Jacob, who made the difficult decision to stop his ascent at 8,000 metres after struggling to fuel properly during the climb. His decision once again highlighted the brutal demands of the Death Zone after weeks of delays and heavy traffic on the mountain.
Adventure Consultants enjoyed a hugely successful morning on Everest with multiple summit teams reaching the top in near-perfect weather conditions. Among them was Stella Hawkins, completing her first Everest summit, alongside legendary Sherpa climber Ang Dorjee Sherpa, who celebrated an astonishing 25th ascent of Everest. The team described clear blue skies, light winds and warm sunshine high on the summit ridge as climbers crossed the Hillary Step and final corniced traverse to the summit.
Later in the morning, the remainder of the Adventure Consultants team also reached the top, including Rob Smith, who completed his remarkable 10th Everest summit, while Pasang Bhote celebrated his 16th ascent and Sanduk Tamang his 17th.
Pioneer Adventure also confirmed another major success as their second summit wave safely reached the top of Everest. Climbers from India, China and Afghanistan stood alongside a strong Sherpa team after what the company described as a climb built on patience, teamwork and trust through difficult conditions on the mountain.
There was further success for Climbing The Seven Summits, who confirmed that their entire third summit wave successfully reached the top of Everest, continuing an incredibly successful season for the operator.
On neighbouring Lhotse, Asian Trekking celebrated a remarkable Himalayan achievement as Tenzing David Sherpa and Chen Tao completed the rare Triple Crown of Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse within just five days. After summiting Nuptse on May 17th and Everest on May 20th, both climbers successfully stood atop Lhotse this morning. Zhang Fangfang also completed the demanding Everest-Lhotse double summit after climbing Everest yesterday before pushing on to the world’s fourth highest mountain overnight.
Another major milestone was achieved by Asian Trekking’s all-female Border Security Force Everest expedition from India. The four-woman team successfully reached the summit alongside their Sherpa support team in what has been hailed as a historic moment for Indian mountaineering.
Meanwhile Norwegian climber Kristin Harila successfully summited Lhotse as she continues her bold attempt to climb Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse in a single season without supplemental oxygen. Having already climbed Nuptse on May 17th, Harila now moves closer towards completing one of the toughest endurance challenges currently taking place in the Himalayas.
Elsewhere on the mountain, the first 7 Summits Club summit team safely descended after their successful Everest ascent yesterday. Expedition leader Alex Abramov completed his astonishing 13th Everest summit, while another team from the operator is now moving upwards towards their own summit bid.
The upper mountain remains extremely busy, but after weeks of frustration caused by dangerous conditions and route delays, Everest is finally delivering the summit window climbers across Base Camp have waited for all season. More summit announcements are expected throughout the day and into the coming nights as additional teams continue moving upwards from Camp 4.
