Here is a picture of us, with Kusum Kanguru and the Dudh Kosi river in the background, on our way to Namche today after a successful flight yesterday to Lukla (the “world’s most dangerous airport”) and stay-over in Phakding last night. We’ll be here in Namche (~11,500′) for the next couple of days acclimatizing and awaiting the arrival of the rest of the team (Willie & Matt), who are set to arrive tomorrow. Looking forward to having the team together again!
38 hours of travel and Carla and I made it to Kathmandu safely. Hoping for clear skies early tomorrow to fly to Lukla and walk to Phakding, which would get the Everest & Lhotse 2015 expedition officially underway…
Courtesy of Outsideonline.com (click for larger view). It appears that the route through the Khumbu Icefall this year is closer to the middle/orange line in this picture (as opposed to the red line, which was the route for many years).
Above is a view from Outside Magazine (www.outsideonline.com) of this year’s approximate route through the Khumbu Icefall (up to Camp I – there are 4 total camps above base camp), which also helps put the icefall in perspective, with appropriate scale, relative to the rest of the mountain (using Google Earth). Also, please see this article regarding the route itself (the picture in the article itself is worth clicking the link). Some big ice cliffs to overcome this year (4 ladders tied together should make for some good fun).
We depart Monday, so this will be the last post until we’re actually in Nepal and working our way up the Khumbu Valley toward base camp. In the meantime, click this link for a great article penned for National Geographic by my young, but very accomplished, climbing partner, Matt Moniz, recapping our expedition last year.
With departure imminent, I want to sing the praises of my beautiful (inside and out) girlfriend, Carla, and her efforts to bring much-needed winter clothing to the kids in the mountainous regions of Nepal. She coordinated a similar effort in 2012 for our first trip to Nepal, and the grateful beneficiaries of that effort can be seen at left. I also want to extend my sincerest thanks to all of you that donated your children’s winter clothing (either in 2012 or for this trip) to make these moments possible. We are simply the grateful conduit for your generosity.
The climbing season in Nepal is getting underway and our team is looking forward to joining the fray shortly. Most teams are already making their way up the Khumbu Valley and will be arriving in Everest base camp in the next few days. We will be coming in behind most of the groups, but with a small, strong team, we will have plenty of time to acclimatize effectively. There are reports of rain/snow in the Khumbu, so we may have timed our arrival optimally to avoid some of this, although we will find out if this is the case soon enough.
Courtesy of Garrett Madison; Madison Mountaineering
The Icefall Doctors, the dedicated team of Sherpa that each season establish and maintain the route through the perilous Khumbu Icefall (site of the devastating avalanche on 4/18/2014 that tragically claimed 16 lives), have been hard at work setting the route to Camp I and Camp II. Reports suggest that they have shifted the route away from the dangerous hanging glaciers on Everest’s West Shoulder (the cause of last year’s deadly avalanche) toward Nuptse. This should help mitigate some of those risks and make the route a bit safer for all that climb above base camp this season. However, the new route will pose its own challenges as Garrett Madison points out in his recent post (which includes some great pictures of the new route vs the old that expand if you click on them while visiting his page): Madison Mountaineering
As our expedition gets underway, I will try to keep this blog updated regularly as travels, conditions and connectivity permit, but a great option to follow what is happening on Everest in its totality every year is Alan Arnette’s excellent blog (link at left – but note you need to scroll down a bit on this page to see his most recent posts). Alan’s coverage this year should be particularly interesting given the events of last year and the fact that he will be reporting directly from Everest base camp this year as he attempts to climb Lhotse.
Everest, Lhotse & Nuptse as viewed from the summit of Cho Oyu (26,906′) on May 17, 2014 (photo courtesy of climbing partner and 2014 expedition teammate, Charley Mace)
It’s that magical time of the year when climbers from all over the world converge on Kathmandu and head up the Khumbu Valley, and elsewhere, to pursue their Himalayan dreams. For the third time in four years, count me amongst them.
I feel very fortunate that many things have conspired to allow me to return to this majestic place yet again, including a generous sponsorship from Q-Force (a terrific, Quercetin-based chew that helps build endurance, promote recovery from strenuous work-outs, sharpen mental acuity and boost the immune system). With Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism finally approving the recognition of our “unused” 2014 permits for Everest & Lhotse, all of the pieces have fallen into place, including the return of my stellar team from last year.
Mike Moniz, of the father-son team, will not be returning this year with us since he climbed Everest & Lhotse as a member of my 2012 Everest expedition. Therefore, I will be returning with his 17 year-old son, Matt (an exceptionally strong climber), and expedition leader extraordinaire, Willie Benegas. As a strong and nimble team of three, we will be going in a little later than usual, beginning our trek through the Khumbu in mid-April (most Everest teams are arriving in Kathmandu as I write this). This should put us in position for a late-May summit attempt of Everest (29,035′) and then Lhotse (27,940′).
And, if climbing two of the four tallest peaks in the world in one push wasn’t enough of a challenge, conditions permitting, Matt & Willie will attempt to be the first to ski down the Lhotse Couloir back to Camp II (skiing from 27,940′ to 21,500′ down the Lhotse Couloir and Lhotse Face – the steep, snow-covered face on the central peak in the photo above). I will gladly serve as witness and videographer for that portion of the expedition, as that’s a bit out of my pay-grade at this stage.
Training day on CO’s Continental Divide
A highlight of this year’s expedition will be having Carla join me for the trek to Everest base camp, which by itself is more than a two-week journey from 9,300′ up to 17,500′ through the many welcoming villages of the Khumbu Valley. Additionally, we’re hopeful that she will be able to attend our puja ceremony, once at base camp, where we ask for permission and safe passage during our climb. In 2012, we did a two-week journey through India and the Kathmandu Valley on my way to climb Everest. Last year, in 2014, she met me in Thailand for a week of R&R on beautiful Kata Noi beach after my successful ascent of Cho Oyu (26,906′) while the team awaited final approval from the Chinese to climb Everest from the North side (an approval that never came). The trek through the Khumbu Valley is one that she has always wanted to do, so this year’s expedition, hopefully, will culminate in both of us realizing a lifelong dream.
The always agreeable, Camden, ready for yet another ascent.
We depart in a little more than two weeks, so things are a bit hectic as we finalize preparations. That said, I am getting up to the hills to train quite a bit with my trusty climbing partner, Camden, who never complains about the wind, weather, snow conditions or anything else. A quick treat and scratch of the belly and he’s ready for whatever the day has in store for us (wouldn’t it be great if we were all so amenable). We’ve climbed a dozen or so peaks in the past few weeks, with many more to follow prior to departure, so he’s doing a fine job of getting me ready for another Himalayan season. More to follow, and I will try to keep this blog up-to-date as the expedition and connectivity allow.
Click picture above for complete Cho Oyu slideshow
By clicking the picture above, you will be taken to my complete photo narrative of our 2014 expedition on the world’s 6th tallest peak, Cho Oyu (Turquoise Goddess). It was a great expedition with an exceptional group of people, however, the Himalayan season was not without its challenges.
As you well know by now, we headed to the Himalayas with the highly ambitious goal of climbing three of the world’s six tallest peaks in one push (Cho Oyu, Everest and Lhotse). Our plans were derailed by a horrific tragedy, a work stoppage and global geo-politics, as we worked feverishly to get a permit to climb Everest from the North side (Tibetan/Chinese side) once the South side in Nepal shut down after the serac collapse that tragically killed 13 Sherpas and 3 Nepalese porters. To this end, we had incredibly high-level contacts in the US government contact their counterparts in the Chinese government to lobby on our behalf. Despite calls to the Chinese Mountaineering Authority on our behalf from extremely high-level Chinese Generals, Chinese foreign ministers, etc., a permit was not forthcoming with our only reply or explanation being a simple “no.”
Willie & Matt upon their to Kathmandu after successfully summiting Makalu, the world’s 5th tallest peak
So, Matt Moniz and Willie Benegas continued our team’s mission (as we didn’t have the financial resources necessary to send all four of us) by changing gears completely and climbing Makalu, the world’s 5th tallest peak, in a record-setting, 3-day alpine push. Meanwhile, Mike Moniz continued his extraordinary efforts to attain an Everest permit for the team. At this point, I remained in the region, by relaxing and recovering on the beaches of Thailand with Carla (an exceptional way to recover from a big climb), in case our Hail Mary efforts shook free the ever-elusive North-side Everest permit. After waiting nearly a week and the spring Himalayan climbing season quickly coming to a close due to the imminent arrival of the Indian monsoon to the Himalayas, it was time to fly home. I made it home on 5/31, and Mike & Matt Moniz soon followed. And, with that, our Himalayan season came to an end with the team climbing the 5th & 6th highest peaks in the world, but leaving some unfinished business for us all.
Kata Noi Beach – Phuket, Thailand
I think we all believe strongly that our team would have accomplished our goal of climbing three 8,000 meter peaks in one push had the South side season on Everest not ended in tragedy, as it did, or if the Chinese had simply granted us a permit to climb the North side of Everest. The team was strong, determined, acclimatized and in good health coming off our successful climb of Cho Oyu, which made the circumstances that were well beyond our control sting that much more. It’s one thing when you’re unable to climb due to illness, physical exhaustion, inability, poor conditions/weather, etc. and it’s a whole other thing to be denied your dream by nameless, faceless bureaucrats. Perhaps, if nothing else, it keeps the name of this blog relevant and a return trip to Everest, yet again, possible. We’ll see what the future holds, but this season’s frustrations and successes will have to suffice for now. It was certainly a season of ups-and-downs, but I am thankful for the incredible climb of Cho Oyu and the camaraderie of my teammates, which will make the good memories far outweigh the frustrations of this adventure.
Matt on summit ridge of Makalu
With our original plans to climb Cho Oyu, Everest and then Lhotse permanently altered by the tragic loss of life in the Khumbu Icefall on Everest this season (great interactive article on that here), we worked diligently and from every conceivable angle to get a permit to climb Everest from the North/Chinese side. All of those efforts have been thwarted by the Chinese. To salvage our plan of climbing multiple 8,000 meter peaks this season, we set our Plan B sights on Makalu, the world’s 5th tallest peak at 27,765′. Unfortunately, we did not have the necessary resources to get the entire team to base camp via helicopter, so we sent young Matt Moniz (just 16 years old) and super-guide Willie Benegas.
I’m happy to report that they summited on May 25th at ~4am in a building storm after an unprecedented, highly ambitious, 3-day, alpine-style ascent. They descended safely and then waited out a snow storm for four days before returning to Kathmandu yesterday (5/29). They completed the fastest-ever ascent of Makalu, put the first Argentinian on the summit (Willie), only the 14th American and the youngest-ever on the summit (Matt). They even managed to say hello to our dear friend Heidi Sand on the summit, who is the first German woman to summit Makalu (Heidi was on my 2012 Everest team). Small world.
This is a tremendous feat and I’m proud that our team persevered to successfully climb the world’s 5th and 6th highest peaks in great form and in a single push. It wasn’t quite the Himalayan triple we had imagined but it is an incredible success amidst the most difficult of Himalayan seasons.
On summit of Cho Oyu with Everest behind me
As most of you know, our intent was to climb Cho Oyu as a more ambitious and interesting way to acclimatize for our planned attempts of Everest and Lhotse. Unfortunately (on so many levels), the tragedy that struck the south side/Nepal side of Everest this year (and subsequent Sherpa strike that ended the climbing season on Everest’s south side) rendered those parts of our plan irrelevant.
With our plans no longer intact, we quickly shifted our sights to climb the North side/Chinese side of Everest. However, the Chinese proved determined not to provide us a permit to climb Everest, via their territory, despite the fact that we had a Chinese visa that was good through 5/31/2014 and we were already climbing Cho Oyu on their soil — only miles from Everest base camp. We had extraordinarily senior-level contacts from the US reach out to counterparts in the Chinese government at Ministry levels (essentially the equivalent of Cabinet-level positions in the US government), who then advocated on our behalf. Still, rather unbelievably, to no avail. Perhaps, the US’s pivot to Asia didn’t help our efforts or our recent indictment of senior Chinese generals for cyber-crimes. Regardless, they remained steadfast and the answer remained “no.” Thus far, anyway.
So, we then looked into other options to continue our goal to climb multiple 8,000m peaks (over 26,250′ tall) in a continuous push. We decided on Makalu (the world’s 5th highest peak) since there were teams there climbing already that would make an alpine push to the summit over a few days more feasible. Unfortunately, the logistics, infrastructure and team required to do so proved problematic and expensive. Therefore, our team has only sent Matt Moniz and Willie Benegas to Makalu to make an attempt over the next several days (they arrived at Makalu’s Advanced Base Camp today), while Mike Moniz and I continue to work toward a Chinese permit to climb Everest — however unlikely it is at this point. We are acclimatized, and will remain so for a couple of weeks, should the elusive permit be granted, and we continue to hope against hope to get a chance regardless of how unlikely it is.
To that end, I remain in the region on the off-chance that a permit is granted, but departed Nepal today for Thailand. I am meeting my beautiful girlfriend, Carla, in Bangkok tonight and we will continue on to the beaches of Phuket, Thailand, for a few days of R&R until our flights home on 5/31 or the Chinese grant us permission to attempt Everest via the north side. So, the clock is ticking either way, but should the Everest answer remain “no,” at least we’ll make the most of it. And there is nothing like trying to negotiate with the Chinese while in the midst of a military coup in Thailand!!! At least the beaches are beautiful…
Please wish us luck, especially Willie & Matt while they are on Makalu, and I’ll continue to keep you posted as things develop.
After awakening at Camp II (23,600′) at 2am and departing for the summit at 4am, we reached the summit of the world’s 6th tallest peak, Cho Oyu (26,906′) – The Turquoise Goddess – at 11am on 5/17. We then descended all the way back to Advanced Base Camp (18,500′) in one long, 17-hour push.
We have awakened here the day after and are relishing the experience. The smiles in the picture say it all. Special thanks to a remarkable team of Sherpas who despite a painful Himalayan season gave their all to make this a safe and successful climb. Amazingly, our combined team fixed the entire mountain for all of the Spring 2014 Cho Oyu climbers and, therefore, carried and fixed 11,500 feet (3,500m) of rope, plus the requisite snow pickets and technical gear, up Cho Oyu this season.
Heading-up on our 3-day summit rotation tomorrow AM and we hope to stand atop Cho Oyu around midday on Saturday, 5/17. It looks like it will be blustery up there but doable. Will update as I can, but don’t expect to hear anything until 5/18. Thanks for all the well wishes.
Path to Everest 