Mount Everest

Before the season, actually all agreed: Commercial climbing on Everest would hardly cope with another year with accidents and without summit successes. It turned out differently. More than 400 ascents via the Nepalese south side of Everest, more than 100 on the north side, five deaths in the summit area. Everything back to normal? Any problems to point out? I’ve asked some expedition operators, who were on Everest this spring. The first three have already replied: Phil Crampton, Adrian Ballinger and Russell Brice. There are some coincidences. But read for yourself!

Crampton: “Why not regulate the mountain like Chinese do?”

For Phil Crampton, born in UK, living in the US, it was the 14th and final season on Everest. He had announced in advance that his company Altitude Junkies would focus from 2017 on “less crowded” mountains like the eight-thousanders Makalu, Dhaulagiri and Kangchenjunga. Crampton himself has scaled Everest six times. This season, the Altitude Junkies team recorded 16 summit successes. Here is Phil’s balance:

Phil Crampton

“The Everest spring season was as normal as it could have been after the devastating 2014 and 2015 seasons. The mountain was not as crowded as usual this year but that still didn’t stop the bottlenecks on summit day from the crowds of climbers that were reported from May 19th. Expedition operators and the government are already talking in Kathmandu about the increased number of foreign climbers expected for the 2017 season as many people still have permits that will be honored from the previous two years. I continue to see climbers with inadequate high altitude experience on her flanks and most of these climbers are signed up with low budget less experienced operators. Everest climbers and their experience is not regulated by the government and it seems that anyone willing to pay the $11,000 permit fee is allowed to climb. Why not regulate the mountain like the Chinese government do requiring all Chinese nationals to have previously climbed an 8,000-meter peak before being issued a permit for the north side?”

Ballinger: “Trash on the mountain, inexperienced climbers”

Adrian Ballinger tried this spring along with his US compatriot Cory Richards to climb Everest from the north without oxygen. The world could follow their ascent in real time via Snapchat under the hashtag #everestnofilter. Adrian turned around at an altitude of about 8,500 meters when he noticed symptoms of altitude sickness. Cory reached the summit. Ballinger’s company Alpenglow Expeditions had a commercial team on Everest too. That’s what Adrian wrote to me:

Adrian Ballinger

“2016 was a great season for Alpenglow on Everest. 100 percent of our commercial team summited (four climbers, three Sherpa) in great conditions. The north side route was in great condition, and much safer than my experience of the south side the past eight seasons. The CTMA (China Tibet Mountaineering Association) rope-fixing was, for the most part, excellent. Issues on the mountain do exist and need addressed, primarily problems caused by low-budget operators without western guides. These problems included leaving trash and human waste on the mountain, accepting inexperienced climbers on teams, and utilizing other teams’ resources due to a lack of their own. None of these problems are insurmountable, but regulation and enforcement of commercial companies on the mountain is necessary.” 

Brice: “New Nepal operators with too little Sherpa stuff”

The New Zealander Russell Brice can also be satisfied with this spring’s season on the south side of Everest from his perspective as head of the operator Himalayan Experience. Six of his clients, including German Andreas Friedrich, reached the highest point. Russ has encouraged me to shorten his season record on the Himex website. That’s what I did:

Russell Brice

“After I saw so many people going to the summit on the 19th I was not surprised to see the events that unfolded later in the season happen. Like one news article headlines, it was back to “Business as Usual on Everest” but I really wonder if we never learn from our past mistakes! There are now many more new Nepal operators here, and we see that they have limited numbers of Sherpa staff, so often these teams are unable to offer any Sherpa support to get equipment up the hill or to actually fix ropes. It was a very democratic decision to have nine different teams being involved for summit rope fixing, but it was not efficient what so ever. It would have been better to have two or three companies involved with Sherpas who all know each other and who can work well together, and also who have one Sirdar or leader to follow the instructions from. This would mean that the rope fixing would be more efficient and subsequently would be done more quickly and therefore put the Sherpas in less danger.”

Reinhold Messner in Cologne

Actually I wanted to ask Reinhold Messner these questions during the International Mountain Summit in Brixen. But a planned press conference was cancelled and the 69-year-old left the venue in no time at all, for whatever reason. But I had not to wait a long time for the South Tyrolean. He came to me – in a way. Last weekend the most famous mountaineer of the world gave a lecture in my home town of Cologne. Before the event started Messner answered my questions.

Reinhold Messner, recently you visited Pakistan, a few months after terrorists had shot eleven climbers at the Diamir basecamp on Nanga Parbat. Describe the atmosphere down there!

The mountain has not changed, but the connections are much worse than I thought. The terrorists were contract killers close to the Taliban, paid to carry out a bloodbath. Originally they had a different target. A great festival with polo games etc. was cancelled, probably because the organizers were worried that something might happen. Then the hit squad turned to Nanga Parbat. After the assault the killers took their money and disappeared. Some of them have been arrested, but nobody knows who has been the principal. On the one hand the terrorists wanted to hit the north of Pakistan, the local tourism, which collapsed by 90 percent. But they also wanted to hit the western world. Fortunately there have not been more victims. There were more than 60 people on Nanga Parbat, but most of them were at the high camps then.

Do you think that climbers will avoid Nanga Parbat in the next few years because of this summer’s assault?

Diamir basecamp on Nanga Parbat

There are already requests for new expeditions. But the Diamir face is and probably will remain locked. The south and the north side of the mountain remain open. You can go there on winter expedition. The northern part of the Karakoram around the K 2 has not been affected, there were no problems. But I have also learned in my research that above Chilas, at the entry of the Diamir valley, four busses were stopped, all the men were taken out and shot. Women and children had to watch the massacre, then they were chased away and the busses were set on fire. And on the Babusar pass, which leads from the Swat valley along the Nanga Parbat to the Indus valley, jeeps were attacked in the same way. These news did not reach Europe. But now terrorism has also reached the north of Pakistan.

You have initiated aid projects in the Nanga Parbat region, including three schools. Is there an atmosphere of fear among the locals?

I was worried that these Taliban forces might have an interest to burn the schools, because also girls are going to some of them. This is clearly not the case here. But I have stopped my aid to Pakistan, out of concern that the whole thing falls into civil war. This would be a pity. I only keep the projects alive that we have initiated, I continue to pay the teachers as promised. But otherwise I ‘m moving the aid of my small foundation mainly to Nepal.

Right there, in Nepal, Swiss top climber Ueli Steck has caused a sensation by climbing solo through the Annapurna South Face. What is your view on this performance?

Ueli Steck on Annapurna South Face

Ueli Steck has not been very lucky this year on Everest. The attack at Camp 2 has actually not been directed at him. The Sherpas wanted to hit others, real parasites. Steck and Simone Moro are no parasitic climbers, even if they used the fixed route via the Khumbu Icefall, without having talked to the Sherpas or having paid them. Last year Ueli Steck climbed Everest via the normal route which was not “Steck-like”. But what he did now on Annapurna, was again typically Ueli Steck: Climbing quickly, climbing at night to avoid rockfall, via a very difficult wall. He had tried the South Face twice before but failed, once even quite dramatically, because he was hit by a stone. I really have great respect for this climb. The way he did it is the only one that allows you to climb such a difficult and dangerous wall in Alpine style.

Steck has lost his digital camera during his ascent, he had no GPS tracking. Do you think that a stain clings to his climb because it is not completely documented?

Once again we see critics who in fact have problems with themselves. As Ueli Steck describes his climb it is absolutely comprehensible. He is climbing solo, he loses his camera, there is no partner who has a second camera in his backpack, and he has no GPS system. I see no reason to doubt. If he does not have the ability, whoever else should have it? It is clear that doubts have arosen mainly in Switzerland where Ueli Steck has become so dominant in the creativity of modern mountaineering and where of course are rivalries. That is human nature. But to spread rumours like “Yes, it could be, but maybe not” via internet or pass them on to journalists, that’s no recommendation for climbers.

In other words: Ueli Steck is not in need of telling lies. Is the German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein – DAV) in need of offering commercial Everest expeditions as he will do next spring with the DAV Summit Club? 

Mount Everest (from Kala Pattar)

The German Alpine Club has not just my approval, but exceptionally I can understand it. The DAV has contained itself on Everest for such a long time. But there is no difference whether I prepare a route on Everest or on Gasherbrum I or II or Dhaulagiri or Nanga Parbat. The DAV has played this game for many years by offering 8000ers which were prepared for mass ascents.
I was on Mount Everest last spring and had to change my mind. The basecamp was perfectly clean, the toilets of the high camps were flown out every other day. Now the expedition agencies are so experienced that they work things out with each other: Who is responsible for Camp 2? Which cook is up there? Who will fix the last ropes from the South Col to the summit? This is so well-organized that there are no more jams because the groups – or should I say the clients, the tourists – are led up to the summit one after another.

Why should the DAV stand back? That’s just the biggest hype. I guarantee that within ten years commercial expeditions to all 8000ers will be offered in spring, summer or autumn depending on where they are. The international agencies are very, very good. If you book an expedition with them you know: I will be well supplied in basecamp. They will take care that I’m well acclimatized and give me a good guide. And they ensure that I as an ordinary climber will very likely reach the summit and will probably not perish. However, the risk is not zero.

How do you judge the announcement of the Nepalese government to set up an outpost at Everest basecamp with observers who shall ensure that everyone plays by the rules?

I do not see why they should bureaucratize the mountains more and more. The climbers themselves must be able to decide what to do or leave undone so that there is enough room for all climbers on the mountain. And there is room for everyone. The self-sufficient, traditional climbers shall go where the others are not, where they can climb alone and in their style. Each style is justified. The tourists have conquered Mount Everest because the agencies are working so well. If we do it in the Alps for 150 years, why should we ban it on Everest?

Russell Brice

Just now Russell Brice has a lot on his plate. The 60-year-old climber from New Zealand, owner of Himalayan Experience, is leading his 18th commercial expedition to Mount Everest. The most prominent of his ten clients who want to climb the highest mountain of the world is Evelyne Binsack. In 2001 she was the first woman of Switzerland who scaled Everest coming from the Tibetan north side of the mountain. This time Evelyne, aged 45, will try it from the south, for a documentary she also wants to carry her camera to the summit. Russell will stay at the bottom as basecamp manager, also looking after six climbers for Lhotse and four women who want to scale the 7861-metre high Nuptse. German journalist and mountaineer Billi Bierling is a member of this last mentioned team. Although Russell is „quite busy”, as he wrote me, he has taken time to send me his thoughts on occasion of the 60-year-jubilee of the first ascent of Mount Everest.

Hillary „a great leader with much foresight”

„Nepalis an extremely poor country, but fortunately it has the ‚Hidden Giant’ Everest”, Russell writes. „This one notable feature of Nepal has been responsible for practically all of its tourism income, either directly or indirectly.” Sir Edmund Hillary, who climbed Everest first in 1953 together with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, had „proved to be a great leader with much foresight”. He had used his fame to help the local population of Nepal. „We can easily sit outside of Nepal and have great personal ideas about Everest, but it is harder to actually make a meaningful contribution to the local people”, says Russell. „I hope that Everest will continue to be a source of income for the poor people of Nepal in a respectful way.” (You find his full statements on the two Everest-60-pinboards on the right side of the blog.)

Enough routes for all

Brice established Himalayan Experience in 1996

As someone who offers commercial expeditions Russell considers the great number of climbers on the normal routes understandably less critical as others. „Crowding we as operators can deal with between ourselves”, he wrote me in February. Now Brice points out that there were enough routes on Everest, also for mountaineers who want to climb in alpine style or any other style. „But I do not see many teams or individuals actually taking on these challenges. There are still new routes to do on Everest, and some route to be completed in their entirety.”

Russell calls on mountaineers and media to show respect for Mount Everest. He would like to „see those who climb Everest to respect the mountain and their own passions without having to make excuses of being the oldest, youngest, fastest, or whatever, any ascent is still a worthy achievement.” Brice appeals to the media „to respect the mountain rather than making it an excuse to make wild stories for the sale of publications”.