Top of Everest (from the Northeast Ridge)

The Everest wave rolls, at least on the Tibetan north side of the mountain. According to an Indian operator, six clients of their commercial expedition team reached the summit on Saturday, accompanied by ten Sherpas. Among those who stood on the highest point on 8,850 meters was reportedly also Lhakpa Sherpa. It was her eighth summit success on the highest mountain on earth. The 43-year-old Nepalese who lives in the USA remains the woman with the most Everest ascents. Other commercial expeditions have started their first summit attempt.

No rope to the main summit

“That lower summit is Makalu summit on 10 May. We opened route from there to main summit on 11 May,” writes Mingma.

Meanwhile, there is more clarity about the ascents on Makalu last Wednesday. As the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol did before, Masha Gordon, who was born in Russia and lives in London, also confirmed that they climbed only up to the lower pre-summit. “We all reached the foresummit deeming the last few meters of the corniced ridge too fragile and hyper dangerous to cross,” the 43-year-old wrote to me via Twitter. Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, who said, he reached the summit of Makalu one day later, on Thursday, described the situation on Facebook as follows: “Rope was not fixed to the main summit.” He did it himself, says Mingma adding that afterwards his two companions, Tashi Sherpa and a Chinese client, climbed up to the highest point. “I felt like it’s completely nonsense to say Makalu is one of the easy 8000ers.”