Everest North

It is time to look to the north side of Mount Everest. After the early end of the spring season on the Nepalese south side because of the avalanche accident in the Khumbu Icefall with 16 dead, everything is proceeding on schedule on the Tibetan side of Everest. About 100 climbers have got a permit of the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) to climb on the north side of the highest mountain in the world. The members of an expedition from Malta have already climbed to Camp 2 on 7500 meters by mid-week. “We need to wait for our summit window”, expedition leader Greg Attard reported. “The team is performing very well. Everyone is exhausted but excited and in good health.”

Tibetans fix ropes up to the summit

There are also Nepalese Sherpas working for the teams on the north side. So far there is no evidence that they would return to their home prematurely because of the avalanche disaster on Good Friday. In contrast to the south side they are not responsible for preparing the normal route up to the summit. This job is done by a team of young Tibetans who were trained at the “Tibet Mountaineering Guide School” in Lhasa. Alex Abramov is leading the Russian “7 Summits Club” expedition, which is, in his words, with 19 members the largest on the north side. From the Advanced Base Camp at 6400 meters Abramov is spreading optimism: “All is perfect, the weather is nice, the sun shines, just in the afternoon it sometimes snows.”