Hans Wenzl on top of Mount Everest

He had to push himself to his limits. Last Saturday, the Austrian Hans Wenzl – as reported before –  reached the highest point on earth at 8,850 meters, despite adverse weather conditions, ascending from the Nepali south side without bottled oxygen. Mount Everest was already the eighth eight-thousander which Hans summited without breathing mask. He previously had stood on top of Broad Peak, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I and II, Manaslu, Cho Oyu and Makalu. In addition, he reached in 2005 the 8,008-meter-high Central Peak of Shishapangma which is 19 meters lower than the Main Summit. His long-term goal is to complete the eight-thousander collection without supplemental oxygen. Even though the 46-year-old is not a professional climber. Wenzl earns his living as a site foreman of an Austrian construction company. For his expeditions he has to take holiday. Hans lives in the village of Metnitz in the north of Carinthia. He and his wife Sonja have two adult sons. He replied to my questions, which I had sent him to Nepal.

Hans, first of all congratulations on your success. You climbed the last stretch up to the summit of Everest last Saturday alone and in contrast to your team partner Ferran Latorre without bottled oxygen. How did you experience your ascent in the summit area?

I have climbed Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. For me, it was always out of the question to use a breathing mask! I didn’t think that the ascent from Camp 4 to the summit is so long. It was quite windy and foggy.

Finished: The highest point on earth

Were you able to think about anything at all when you reached the highest point after all  the exertions?

Of course, I was slower than the climbers ascending with oxygen. But I wasn’t completely exhausted when I reached the summit.  I was alone up there for about 20 minutes, between about 0.30 p.m and 1.00 p.m. local time. And I thought: Now I am here at the highest point on earth and all alone. I’ve managed it without oxygen. I knew it!

Many say the descent is actually more dangerous because you have achieved the great goal, you are losing your power and concentration too. How did you experience the descent to the South Col?

The descent was really very exhausting, especially on the Hillary Step. I fell there. The time to return to the South Col in daylight was running short. Nobody was still en route but me. I had to be very concentrated on the descent to get down quickly and safely.

Everest was your eighth eight-thousander without bottled oxygen. How do you rank this summit success compared to the previous seven ascents?

Because of the altitude and without supplemental oxygen, Everest was probably the hardest summit so far for me.

Northern route on Everest

Mount Everest has shown his teeth again on the past weekend – just on the day when eight climbers were on their summit push without bottled oxygen. Contrary to expectations, on Saturday wind gusts and snowfall in the summit area made the ascent difficult. The result: two summit successes without breathing mask on the north side, one on the south side. Two climbers, who used supplemental oxygen at all and reached the highest point at 8,850 meters. And three summit aspirants, who turned back because of concerns for their health.

Wenzl’s eighth eight-thousander

Latorre, Wenzl and Graziani back in BC (from l.)

All of these mountaineers have arrived safely in the base camps – which is the most important of all news. The only one who reached the summit on Saturday from the south without bottled oxygen was the Austrian Hans Wenzl. For the 46-year-old Carinthian, Everest was his ninth eight-thousander after Broad Peak, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I and II, Manaslu, Cho Oyu and Makalu. He climbed them all without supplemental oxygen. According to Spanish media reports, Wenzl reached the summit around Saturday noon, a few hours after Ferran Latorre, who – as reported before – finally had used a breathing mask because of the adverse weather conditions. By summiting Everest, the 46-year-old Catalan completed his eight-thousander collection. Ferran had climbed the other 13 eight-thousanders without the use of bottled oxygen. The Frenchman Yannick Graziani turned back at 8,500 meters – his countrywoman Elisabeth Revol “halfway” to the summit, as she wrote today on Facebook: “But it was an incredibly beautiful and intense adventure.”

Double ascent without breathing mask

Kilian Jornet on Everest

On the north side, the Spaniard Kilian Jornet climbed up to the summit on Saturday for the second time in a week without the use of bottled oxygen: in a single push from the Advanced Base Camp at 6,400 meters. After 17 hours he reached the summit. It had been hard to move fast, the 29-year-old said: “I think summiting Everest twice in one week without oxygen opens up a new realm of possibilities in alpinism and I’m really happy to have done it.” Without diminishing Kilian’s really great performance in any way – Pemba Dorje Sherpa succeeded a double ascent of Everest within a week already in 2007, at the time also ascending from the north.

“Only pain and gratitude”

Ballinger on the summit

The American Adrian Ballinger, who reached the roof of the world for the seventh time, but for the first time without supplemental oxygen, was happy too. “So much more to say, but my brain isn’t ready to process anything more than pain and gratitude right now,” wrote the 41-year-old on Instagram. His companion Cory Richards, who did not feel good during the ascent, used bottled oxygen to support Ballinger on the way up to the summit.

Turned back ahead of Second Step

The German Ralf Dujmovits, according to his own words, reached an altitude of 8,580 meters, just ahead of the Second Step, the most striking rock step on the Northeast Ridge. The 55-year-old decided to abandon his summit attempt when he began to lose feeling in his hands and feet due to the wind and snowfall – a careful decision. For the eighth time, Ralf had tried to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen. On his successful climb in fall 1992, the only German so far who has summited all 14 eight-thousanders, had used bottled oxygen in bad weather above the South Col. Dujmovits had climbed the other eight-thousanders without breathing mask.

Does Kuriki try it again?

On Sunday, the Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki ascended to Camp 2 at 6,400 meters on the south side of Everest. After his failed attempt on the West-Ridge last week, the 34-year-old had announced that he wanted to climb up again. The weather forecast predicts for the next days light snowfall and wind with speeds between 20 and 30 km/h.

Ralf Dujmovits

What a pity! Ralf Dujmovits has not been able to fulfill his dream of reaching the summit of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen. The 55-year-old turned back at an altitude of 8,500 meters. From Camp 3 at 8,300 meters, he telephoned his life partner, the Canadian climber Nancy Hansen. “He had to turn back at 8,500 m because a storm blew in: 40 kph winds with snow. He was losing feeling in his hands and feet,” Nancy wrote on Facebook. “As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed. The weather just didn’t allow for a summit.” Ralf’s wise decision demands respect and shows that he was still in control of himself.

Still all the fingers and toes

Top of Everest (from the Northeast Ridge)

Dujmovits is the only German so far, who has summited all 14 eight-thousanders. Only on Everest in fall 1992, he had used a breathing mask above the South Col due to bad weather. Ralf has always felt this was a flaw in his climbing career which he was so keen to eliminate. But this eighth attempt should be his “definitively last one”, he said. Today he slightly missed his sporting goal, but he has remained true to his principle: It is more important to come down healthy again. With a certain amount of pride, Ralf points out that he still has all his fingers and toes after more than three decades of expeditions to the eight-thousanders – not to mention the fact that he has survived all his adventures, in contrast to some of his companions.

Richards used bottled oxygen

The Americans Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards today reached the 8,850- meter-high summit, also climbing via the northern route. Cory used bottled oxygen, because he did not feel well, but wanted to continue to support his friend Adrian. Richards had reached the summit without breathing mask in 2016, Ballinger had to turn around at that time.

Latorre completes his fourteen 8000ers

South side of Mount Everest

From the south side, the Spaniard Ferran Latorre and the Austrian Hans Wenzl reached the summit, according to Spanish media reports. Latorre said after his return to the South Col, he finally had used bottled oxygen: “It was too hard.” It is not yet known if Wenzl was also using a breathing mask. With his success on Everest, Latorre has completed his eight-thousander collection. The other 13 peaks he had reached without supplemental oxygen.

Graziani and Sangay turned around

The Frenchman Yannick Graziani and the Sherpa Dawa Sangay turned back on 8,500 meters. “Too much snow, too much wind, you freeze on the spot. Too risky without oxygen,” Yannick said. Still, there is no information as to whether the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol has reached the summit. She also wanted to climb to the top of the highest mountain on earth without breathing mask today. This spring Elisabeth had already reached the fore-summit of the eight-thousander Makalu, and afterwards had summited Lhotse.

P.S.: I will be offline for the rest of Saturday and can’t deliver further updates. (3 pm CEST)

Update 28 May: Yesterday the Austrian Hans Wenzl was the only climber on the south side who reached the summit without bottled oxygen. Ferran Latorre had used a breathing mask far up. They both spent the night on the South Col and descended today. Elisabeth Revol turned back yesterday because of the adverse weather conditions “not far from the summit”, as she writes. On the north side, Kilian Jornet reached the summit without supplemental O2 for the second time within a week. Ralf Dujmovits yesterday descended all the way down from his turning point at 8,500 m to the Advanced Base Camp, today he went down to the Chinese Base Camp. Yesterday also Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards reached the ABC after their summit success.

Summit of Everest seen from the north side

Ralf Dujmovits is close to his big goal. In his eighth attempt, the 55-year-old finally wants to scale Mount Everest without bottled oxygen. Ralf is only about eight hours of ascent away from the highest point on earth at 8,850 meters – if everything goes well. Today Dujmovits, according to his life partner Nancy Hansen, reached Camp 3 on the Tibetan normal route at 8,300 meters, from where he called her by satellite phone. There had been a thunderstorm for the last hour, Ralf told the Canadian. It had taken him five hours to climb the 600 vertical meters from Camp 2. “He feels a little tired, but he sounds very alert and normal,” Nancy wrote on Facebook. “He will drink a lot now, rest a few hours, and leave for the summit at 1am Nepali time (1.15 pm Friday in Canada, 9.15 pm Friday in Germany).”

Little wind expected on the summit day

The weather forecast predicts for Saturday morning little wind and light snowfall, at temperatures around minus 25 degrees Celsius. In the afternoon heavier snowfall is expected. Dujmovits is the so far only German who has summited all 14 eight-thousanders. Only on Everest in fall 1992, he had used a breathing mask above the South Col due to bad weather – a fact he is still regretting. The current Everest attempt without bottled oxygen will be, as Ralf told me before the departure, his “definitely last”. I keep my fingers crossed.

Mask to moisturize the air

Special mask

The Americans Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards also reached Camp 3 on the north side without supplemental oxygen. “It was hard getting here. I’m scared now,” Adrian wrote on Instagram. In the picture he attached, Ballinger is wearing a mask which, in his own words, “warms and moisturizes the air we breathe up here”.

Latorre and Co. on the South Col

Sangay, Wenzl, Latorre, Graziani (from l. to r.)

On the south side of Everest too, the summit attempts of climbers, who are not using bottled oxygen, are right on schedule. The Spaniard Ferran Latorre, the Frenchman Yannick Graziani and the Austrian Hans Wenzl reached the South Col at 7,950 meters. They are accompanied by Sherpa Dawa Sangay. A short video, which Ferran posted on Twitter, shows strong gusts and snowfall. This was also reported by the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol, who climbed today from Camp 2 at 6,400 meters up to the South Col.

Klein turned around

The today still adverse weather conditions stopped the summit attempt of the Hungarian David Klein, who had climbed up – as I was informed only yesterday – from the south side without breathing mask. At about 8,100 meters, David and two Sherpas, who should film him, turned around because the wind was too strong. It was David’s ninth Everest attempt without supplemental oxygen. In his most successful one in 2014, the Hungarian had reached an altitude of 8,650 meters on the north side.

First balance

Even though a few commercial teams are still on the mountain, the Nepalese authorities have already drawn a first balance of the spring season on Everest. According to the Ministry of Tourism in Kathmandu, more than 450 people, ascending from the south, have so far reached the summit, including about 200 foreign climbers from 29 countries.