The spot formerly known as Hillary Step

I vow to stop writing about the Hillary Step after this blog post. Because where nothing is, nothing has to be reported. “It is 100 percent that Hillary step is gone,” Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, expedition leader of the Nepalese operator “Imagine”, writes to me. On 14 May, the 32-year-old had climbed to a point between the South Summit (at 8,750 meters) and the former Hillary Step (8,790 meters), where he had waited for hours for the return of his summit team and thus had plenty of time, to take a close look at the spot. On the Hillary Step, says Mingma, “no more debate is required further in future”. No matter what the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism is saying. Before this spring’s season, the authority had actually subpoenally obligated all climbers not to make any statement about the Hillary Step to the media.

Small stone out of Everest crown

Hillary Step in 2013

Mountains are changing – even faster and more clearly visible than before due to climate change. In case of the Hillary Step, however, it was probably the devastating earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015 that made the rock fall. Everest-experienced British expedition leader Tim Mosedale already pointed out in 2017 that the former rock climbing passage was now just a snowy slope, much easier to overcome than before. Mosedale substantiated his claim with pictures. Even then the Government of Nepal considered this a kind of a lèse-majeste, though in fact only a rather small stone had been broken out of Everest crown. Actually, the Ministry of Tourism should even be happy about this alleged mishap: A bottleneck less, which used to be a frequent source of traffic jams, which had a negative effect not only on safety, but also on Everest marketing.

Twelve meters of rock

The first ascenders of Evereste: Edmund Hillary (l.) and Tenzing Norgay

Sir Edmund Hillary is probably laughing in climbers’ heaven at the government’s ridiculous attempts to hush up what hundreds of mountaineers have seen with their own eyes: the twelve-meter high boulder, a real hurdle that Hillary once had had mastered first, no longer exists. On the first ascent in 1953, the New Zealander had taken heart and had climbed up through a thin crack between rock and ice. “It was then for the first time that I knew that we were going to get to the top,“ the Everest pioneer once said about this last key section that had been named after him. The New Zealander died in 2008 aged 88.

As many successes as never before

Sir Ed was critical of commercial climbing on Everest. “There are people who hardly understand mountaineering,“ the Everest pioneer told me when I interviewed him in 2000. “They do not care about the mountain. They have paid $ 65,000 and all they want is to set foot on the summit, go home and boast about it.” In the just finished 2018 spring season, ten years after Hillary’s death, reportedly a total of more than 700 climbers reached the 8,850 meter high summit ascending from the south and the north side of the mountain. Even if Billi Bierling and her staff working for the chronicle “Himalayan Database” have yet to confirm the information, the season will probably be the most successful in Everest history, as measured by the number of summit successes. And the third one without Hillary Step.

Hillary Step in 2017

The big boulder is gone. This is for sure. Tim Mosedale, a six-time Everest summiter from the UK, has added some pictures to Facebook to support his statement that the Hillary Step, the striking twelve-meter-high rock at 8,790 meters, no longer exists in its previous form. Tim’s pictures show: Where once a mighty boulder represented the last serious challenge before the summit, now only a few chunks are lying around. The British expedition leader had already claimed this in mid-May after his successful summit attempt: “It’s official. The Hillary Step is no more.”

Government speaks of misconception

Hillary Step in 2009

Mosedale had to accept some criticism, especially from Nepal, where he was accused of spreading “fake news”. The Nepali government made even an official statement. They had asked the “Icefall Doctors”, the highly specialized Sherpas on Everest, wrote the Ministry of Tourism in a press release: “The report furnished by the Icefall Doctors confirms that the Hillary Step is still intact and is covered with snow. The misconception may have appeared as a new route to the summit is constructed which is some five meters right to the original route.”

The last-mentioned was right, says Mosedale, “but it was to the right because the Hillary Step wasn’t there and we ascended a snow ridge instead.” The Briton receives backing from other climbers who were on the summit this spring, such as the US expedition leader Garrett Madison. “It’s pretty obvious that the boulder fell off and has been replaced by snow, Madison told the magazine “Outside”. “You can see some of the rocks below it that were there before, but the gigantic boulder is missing now.”

Result of the 2015 earthquake?

Hillary Step in 2017 (close-up)

This made the ascent easier during this spring’s season, with a lot of snow in the summit area. The consequences of the change in terrain during dry years with little snow, in which there is no broad snow ridge, remain to be seen.

Already in 2016, climbers had reported that the Hillary Step looked different compared with the time before the devastating earthquake in Nepal two years ago. It is quite possible that the big boulder has become loose and fallen down during the quake. Summit aspirants staying in the Western Cwm on 25 April 2015 had watched stonefall from Everest and Lhotse.

Last key section before the summit

Hillary Step in 2013

The Hillary Step is more than just a piece of mountain, it is a myth. Climbing experts classify the rock only somewhere between the first and second degree of difficulty according to the scale of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). But at this extreme altitude, where oxygen is pressed into the lungs with only one-third of the pressure compared to sea level, even this climbing, which might be laughed at in the Alps, becomes a real challenge. It was not without reason that over years traffic jams formed on Hillary Step, because many clients of commercial expeditions were just overstrained. On the first ascent in 1953, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary had taken heart and had climbed up through a thin crack between rock and ice. “It was then for the first time that I knew that we were going to get to the top, “ the Everest pioneer once said about the last key section that had been named after him. The New Zealander died in 2008 aged 88.

Wrath of the gods

South side of Mount Everest

Mountains are exposed to seismic activities as well as the climate and thus can change. Rockfall occurs all over the world. Thus Mount Cook, the highest mountain of New Zealand, lost considerably height in 1991, when rock and ice broke down from the summit. So why shouldn’t it happen on Mount Everest? The Sherpas call the highest of all mountains Chomolungma, “Goddess Mother of the World”. Natural events such as rock fall or avalanches are regarded in their faith as a sign that people have incurred the wrath of the gods. Perhaps that explains why many people in Nepal don’t want to accept that the Hillary Step does not look like it was before.

North side of Everest in the last daylight

If a mountain could breathe a sight of relief, Mount Everest would probably do it now. A total of more than 1,000 climbers on both sides of the highest mountain on earth have left the base camps and have returned home. There is silence again on Chomolungma, as the Sherpas call the mountain. Time to take stock. The exact figures are not yet available, but this spring some 600 summit successes have been recorded, increasing the number since the first ascent in 1953 to more than 8000.

Discussion about Jornet’s double ascent

Kilian Jornet on Everest

The most spectacular performance was made by the Spaniard Kilian Jornet, who climbed up to the summit twice within a week without the use of bottled oxygen. He set off for his first ascent from Rongbuk Monastery and climbed in a single push to the highest point, with only a short stopover in the Advanced Base Camp (ABC) at 6,400 meters. Only 38 hours after his departure from the Monastery he returned to ABC. A few days later he made his second ascent. This time it took him 17 hours from ABC to the summit at 8,850 meters. Afterwards, discussion arose because the 29-year-old did not present summit pictures or GPS data to document his ascents. Jornet promised to publish the data of his GPS clock. Already in 2007, Pemba Dorje Sherpa had made an Everest double ascent without breathing mask within a week.

Three eight-thousanders in five days?

Nirmal Purja

Nirmal Purja, a soldier of the British Gurkha regiment, also climbed Everest twice this spring, albeit with the use of bottled oxygen: on 15 and 27 May. Eight hours after his second summit success on Everest, the 34-year-old stood on top of Lhotse – and on 1 June he reached the summit of Makalu. Three eight-thousanders in five days? According to the Nepali Ministry of Tourism, the information is still being examined.

Kuriki wants to return

Overall, there were at least five successful Everest ascents without supplemental oxygen this season, possibly even nine: According to Indian media reports, four members of an Indian army expedition reached the summit without bottled oxygen. Other mountaineers failed, like the German Ralf Dujmovits in his eighth and, according to his own words, “definitely last” Everest attempt without breathing mask. The Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki also returned without summit success – from his now seventh attempt. He had wanted to climb via the West Ridge and the Hornbein Couloir to the summit. “I’ll be back,” the 34-year-old said.

Seven deaths

A total of seven people did not return from Everest this spring. Six climbers and a base camp cook died. Above all, the death of the Swiss top climber Ueli Steck made headlines all over the world. The 40-year-old fell to death during an acclimatization climb on Nuptse. A report on four dead climbers found in a tent on the South Col proved to be a hoax.

For the 21st time on top of Everest

Kami Rita Sherpa on the summit

Two records were achieved by Sherpas. The 46-year-old Kami Rita Sherpa from the village of Thame in the Khumbu area summited Everest for the 21st time. So he closed the gap on Apa Sherpa (also born in Thame), and Phurba Tashi Sherpa from the village of Kumjung, who have also 21 ascents under their belts. Lhakpa Sherpa had already been the woman with the most Everest ascents before this season. The 43-year-old Nepalese, who lives in the USA, bettered her own record to eight summit successes now.

Anything else? As the second blind climber after the American Erik Weihenmayer, the 50 year-old Austrian Andy Holzer reached the summit of Everest. The 26-year-old British Mollie Hughes was ranked number 15 in the circle of female climbers who summited the highest mountain on earth from both the north and the south side.

10-year ban for mountaineers without a permit

The fact that morality on Everest is not exactly the best was proved again this season. Some climbers missed oxygen bottles, which they had previously deposited in high camps and obviously had been stolen. The South African Ryan Sean Davy was caught on the south side trying to climb the highest mountain without a permit. The Pole Janusz Adamski, who climbed from the north to the summit and then descended via the southern route, had no permit for the Nepali side too. Both of them were banned from mountaineering in Nepal for the next ten years. The actually due fine of $ 22,000 was not imposed in both cases. Why, remained open.

Where is the Hillary Step?

Has the Hillary Step gone?

There has also been much talk about this spring’s weather on Everest, which according to meteorologists was as difficult to predict as never before. And, of course, about the Hillary Step, which – in the opinion of the six-time Everest summiter Tim Mosedale – is no more. Sherpas contradicted, and the Nepalese government said: “The Hillary Step is still intact and is covered with snow.” Last year too, there had been speculation as to whether the striking rock formati

Mount Everest (from Kala Pattar)

A ladder at the Hillary Step? This story just won’t die. Last spring, a member of the Nepalese government had given a tip to some journalists that there were considerations in Kathmandu about this subject. After this year’s General Assembly of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) at Flaggstaff in the USA a few days ago, the issue was item 1 of the final news release. “As one of the most iconic landmarks of the world, Mount Everest belongs to all of mankind”, the UIAA statement reads. “Thus, the ascent of this magnificent mountain should be reserved to those who acquired the skills and the experience needed to reach the highest point of the world.”

And the ladder on the north side?

The UIAA does not support “the addition of permanent structures to the ascent routes, as this would lessen the value of the achievement, spoil the adventure and encourage the abuse of this sacred place we call Mount Everest.” Does it also apply for permanent material deposits which the operators of commercial expedition would like to install above the dangerous Khumbu Icefall, so that the Sherpas would not have to carry up and down equipment which is used year after year? And what’s about the ladder at the Second Step, which alleviate the key point on the Northeast Ridge since 1975? Does the UIAA want the Chinese to remove the ladder or is it taken for grown together with the mountain after almost 40 years?

Two ways at key points

There is not much to suggest that Nepal’s government really needs a decision support on Hillary Step just now. In spring 2013, for the first time Sherpas fixed two ropes at the bottlenecks of the route so that traffic jams could be avoided. Even on the Hillary Step – without a ladder. Taking the UIAA statement literally, the entire commercial climbing on Mount Everest would have to be debated. How many of the hundreds of summit candidates really have the necessary “skills and the experience” for climbing Everest as demanded by the UIAA? That issue could be disputed splendidly.

One of many suggestions

One point, two ways (© IMG/Mike Hamill)

Already in 2013 it was reported with bold letters, that soon there would be a ladder at the key point in the summit area. And it was also whispered about that during the general assembly of the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) in Pontresina in Switzerland in October – much to the annoyance of the Nepalese delegation. The ladder was only one of many suggestions, said then UIAA honorary member Ang Tshering Sherpa, who meanwhile has been elected once again President of the Nepalese Mountaineering Association (NMA). The 60-year-old pointed out that in spring 2013 for the first time double ropes had been fixed at bottle necks like the Hillary Step. These measures had “led to a safer and more secure climbing season with no reports of traffic jams”, Ang Tshering said in Pontresina.

Double ropes at critical points

Experience means maintaining what has worked well. The Everest Expedition Organisers’ Association (EOA) has announced that this season second ropes would be fixed at critical points. Dawa Steven Sherpa, leader of the Eco Everest Expedition 2014 and a member of EOA, mentioned not only the Hillary Step but the “Yellow band” (7600 meters) and the “Geneva Spur” (7900 meters) on the steep Lhotse face and also the “Balcony” (8500 meters) in the summit area. He was not speaking of ladders. These are now used by the Sherpas in the Khumbu Icefall above basecamp. The so-called “Icefall doctors” have begun to work on the route through the dangerous labyrinth of ice.

Two Broad Peak 8000ers?

Nepal has to be patient for about one more year. At its general assembly in Pontresina in Switzerland the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) has not yet decided whether it will recognize additional 8000-meter-peaks or not. According to the Nepal Mountaineering Association a UIAA commission had named six side peaks that could be accepted as prominent peaks with a unique identification: Kanchenjunga West-Peak (alias Yalung Kang, 8505 m), Central-Peak (8473 m) and South-Peak (8476 m), Lhotse Central-Peak (8410 m) and Shar (8382 m), Broad Peak Central (8011 m). “Both Nepal and China Mountaineering Association delegates welcome and fully support the UIAA initiation”, Nepalese Ang Tshering Sherpa, Honorary member of UIAA, wrote to me after his return from Switzerland. “Also Pakistan Alpine Club and Indian Mountaineering Foundation delegates were very positive but need more time to get approval from their association’s annual general meeting which will be held end of Dec 2013 or January 2014.”

Nepal hopes for a larger number of expeditions

Ang Tshering says that the question of new 8000ers will be discussed again at the meeting of the UIAA Management Committee in May 2014 in Istanbul in Turkey and afterwards at the next general assembly in Flagstaff in the USA. In Pontresina Ang Tshering had campaigned for the recognition of the additional 8000ers. “It is our duty to make mountaineering exiting for the next generation and make them feel that they are able to also achieve new successes”, the 59-year-old Nepalese said to the delegates. “Recognizing new peaks will also mean that a larger number of expeditions will be going to our mountains for climbing.”

Brawl on Everest a “single incident”

Ang Tshering Sherpa

In another speech at the UIAA general assembly Ang Tshering reviewed current discussions about Mount Everest. The Sherpa attack against Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith at the end of April was a very unfortunate incident, he said: “We hope that this single incident will not ruin and tarnish the image of the country and century long reputation of all Sherpa’s hard work, dedication, deliberation, honesty, courage and sacrifices for the sake of putting so many climbers on the top of Mt. Everest and other Himalayan peaks.”

Ladder at Hillary Step only one of many suggestions

Ang Tshering also referred to improvements in spring 2013 to manage the great number of climbers, e.g. by fixing double ropes at bottle necks. These measures had “led to a safer and more secure climbing season with no reports of traffic jams”, he said. Ang Tshering denied that Nepal had made any decision to fix a ladder at the Hillary Step. The delegates of his country  were “very upset”, that during the conference in Pontresina there had been rumors and criticsm concerning this point without giving the Nepalese the opportunity to express their view on it. In his words the ladder was only one of many suggestions and ideas the Nepalese authorities had received: “It is our intention to protect our mountains and that does mean that we have listen to new ideas, deliberate on their consequence and make informed and democratic decisions.”

Namasté, Chomo! Stefan is calling! Where the hell have you been?

Also Namasté! I was taking a snow shower. Wonderful, this monsoon!

Did you really need a shower after this spring season?

Joker, are you living behind the moon?

Almost. But from here it looked like you had a better press than in 2012 – perhaps because of the 60-year anniversary of the first ascent.

I heard something different. I just say: The brawl in Camp 2.

True, that didn’t go down well. What did really happen there?

You have to ask the participants. Only this: There are hooligans on the mountain too. And who is the victim once again? I am.

You? Why?

First, I am once again held responsible for an excess to which I haven’t even contributed a falling rock. And secondly, some more top climbers will turn their back on me. For my future this means: No delicacies, just fast food – if you know what I mean.

But after all, this spring you were able to welcome an 80-year-old climber on the summit.

Very funny! I haven’t laughed like this in a long time. Did I have an alternative? It would have been easy for me to blow him away. But in this case everybody would have said: Look, the killer mountain! Now Chomo’s got it in for seniors.

You were not even tempted?

Yoga.

Yoga?

I knotted my avalanche-prone slopes, held my breath and remained motionless until the old man was up. Afterwards I got a cramp.

In the Hillary-calf or the South buttocks?

(He is laughing) Good joke! But no, I had a crying fit. And I swore something to myself.

You make me curious.

If the first group of seniors with walkers reaches the South Col, I turn myself into a volcano.

Impossible.

I am already in negotiations with the climate change officer of the United Anger Mountains.

You are silly.

Silly, my friend, is if someone plans to fix a ladder at the Hillary Step.

What’s so silly with it?

That they don’t build a lift. Finally, we are living in the 21st century, aren’t we? Even mountains must be barrier-free.