Tenjing Sherpa climbing Everest

The good weather window in the Himalayas is impressively long. Since this spring’s first ascent of Mount Everest on 13 May by the Sherpa team that had fixed the ropes up to the summit on the south side of the mountain, climbers have reached the highest point at 8,850 meters day after day. Several hundred summit successes have since been counted. Today, Tenjing Sherpa also succeeded, without bottled oxygen. The 26-year-old wants to climb directly afterwards the neighboring eight-thousander Lhotse, if conditions allow it. According to Iswari Poudel, managing director of the expedition organizer “Himalayan Guides”, Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, just like Tenjing, reached the summit without breathing mask today. It was already Lakpa’s third (!) Everest ascent this season, Poudel said.

Colibasanu and Hamor give up

Horia Colibasanu (r.) and Peter Hamor (l.)

Briton Jon Griffith, who accompanied Tenjing Sherpa to the summit as a photographer and filmmaker, used bottled oxygen on his ascent. They see their expedition as a tribute to their friend, the Swiss top climber Ueli Steck who fell to death a year ago on the nearly-eight-thousander Nuptse. In 2017, Ueli and Tenjing had planned an Everest-Lhotse traverse without bottled oxygen via the Everest West Ridge. That’s exactly what the Romanian Horia Colibasanu and the Slovak Peter Hamor wanted to tackle this spring. They declared their expedition over today. The avalanche danger on the route was too great, Horia explained the decision. They had climbed up to an altitude of 7,500 meters.

Lämmle without breathing mask on Lhotse

Thomas Lämmle on top of Lhotse

Already last Sunday, the German climber Thomas Lämmle reached the 8,516 meter high summit of Lhotse, just eight days after his success on Makalu. “Same style: Solo, without oxygen and carried all equipment (tent, stove, food, sleeping bag, etc.) by my own,” ​Lämmle wrote yesterday on Facebook. For the 52-year-old from the city of Waldburg in Baden-Württemberg, Lhotse was the seventh eight-thousander after Cho Oyu (in 2003), Gasherbrum II (in 2005 and 2013), Manaslu (in 2008), Shishapangma (in 2013), Mount Everest (in 2016) and Makalu.

Three of the four world’s highest mountains in 25 days

Nima Jangmu Sherpa

An extraordinary feat was also achieved by Nima Jangmu Sherpa. The 27-year-old reached yesterday as the first woman from Nepal the 8,586 meter high summit of Kangchenjunga. Thus the Sherpani scaled within 25 days the three highest mountains in Nepal, which are three of the four highest in the world. On 29 April, Nima Jangmu had stood on top of Lhotse, on 14 May on the summit of Mount Everest – with breathing mask. In 2008, the Frenchwomen Elisabeth Revol had also scaled three eight-thousanders in one season. Only 16 days had lain then between her ascents of Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II, without bottled oxygen and Sherpa support.

Besides Nima Jangmu Sherpa, another female climber from the team of the Nepalese expedition operator “Imagine” managed a Kangchenjunga summit success yesterday: Chinese Dong Hong Juan stood on her 13th eight-thousander.

Update 25 May: According to Iswari Paudel, Managing Director of Himalayan Guides Nepal Treks & Expedition P. Ltd., Tenji Sherpa decided after his yesterday’s Everest summit success not to climb Lhotse and instead descend to BC.

Update 1 June: Billi Bierling told me that Tenjing had used bottled oxygen above the South Summit (8,750 m), Lakpka Dendi above the South Col (7,900m). Means: No Everest ascent without breathing mask this spring.

High Camp in the Western Cwm

The preliminary work on Mount Everest and Lhotse is entering the final phase. According to Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, expedition leader and head of the Nepalese operator “Imagine”, today ten Sherpas were to climb up to Everest South Col at about 8,000 meters to pitch up Camp 4 . “Kilu Pemba and myself will fix Lhotse Camp 4,” Mingma wrote on Facebook yesterday. He wants to lead two Chinese clients to the 8516-meter-high summit of Lhotse. Five more Chinese from his team will tackle Mount Everest, including – as reported – the double amputee Xia Boyu, aged 69. Mingma is known as an early starter at the eight-thousanders. “I am quite sure that we will be the first team on the summit of Lhotse,” he told me in March when we met in Kathmandu. “We are planning to reach it at the end of April or in the first week of May.”

Rather safe route

Route through the Icefall

Most commercial teams have completed their first acclimatization rotation on the mountain with overnight stays in Camp 1 (6,000 m) or Camp 2 (6,400 meters) and are recovering at Everest Base Camp. The team leaders unanimously praise the quality and safety of the route through the Khumbu Icefall, prepared by the “Icefall Doctors”. An incident on Wednesday did not change that. A serac collapsed, two Sherpas were slightly injured. “Incidents like an ice collapse or small avalanches are normal on the mountains,” said Ang Dorjee Sherpa, head of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) to the newspaper “Himalayan Times”.

Camp 2 at 7,000 meters

On Saturday, Romanian Horia Colibasanu and Slovak Peter Hamor want to set off from Base Camp to pitch up their Camp 2 at 7.000 meters and spend four to five days there. The two Europeans want to traverse the summits of Mount Everest and Lhotse, without bottled oxygen, according to their own words on a new route. In 2017, Ueli Steck had also planned to do the Everest-Lhotse traverse. Next Monday is the first anniversary of Ueli’s death. The Swiss top climber had fallen to death during an acclimatization climb on Nuptse.

Update 28 April: “Today we fixed till 8200m on Lhotse(8516m). Tomorrow we hopefully get to Lhotse summit,” writes Mingma Gyalje Sherpa on Facebook.

Dominik Mueller on Everest

There’s been a hail of success reports from Nepal. Especially from Mount Everest. Dozens of climbers reached the summit at 8,850 meters from both the Tibetan north side and the Nepalese south side. Among them was the Romanian Horia Colibasanu, the first mountaineer to have climbed Everest this spring without bottled oxygen. “It was very, very hard and very, very cold,” the 40-year-old informed on Facebook. For Colibasanu it was the eighth eight-thousander. He ascended from the north, as did the German expedition leader Dominik Mueller. The 46-year-old head of the operator Amical alpin reached the summit along with a client, both of them used bottle oxygen.

Sherpa team on top of Lhotse

The British Mollie Hughes also climbed up from the Tibetan side. In 2012, she had reached the summit of Everest via the Nepalese normal route. The 26-year-old was ranked 15th in the circle of female mountaineers who climbed the highest mountain on earth from both sides. The first was the South African Cathy O’Dowd in 1999.

According to the Kathmandu-based newspaper “Himalayan Times”, for the first time in three years, climbers have also scaled the 8516-meter-high summit of Lhotse. A Sherpa team fixed ropes up to the top.

Hamor completes his eight-thousander collection

Peter Hamor

On Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest mountain on earth, Peter Hamor has completed his collection of the 14 eight-thousanders – as the first climber from Slovakia. The 52-year-old reached the 8167-meter-high summit along with his countryman Michal Sabovcik. Except for Everest, Hamor scaled all the eight-thousanders without bottled oxygen. For Sabovcik it was the first success on an eight-thousander.

There has been also a summit attempt on Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain of the world. Among others, the strong Nepalese women’s trio, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, Dawa Yangzum Sherpa and Maya Sherpa, tried to reach the  8586-meter-high summit today. According to messages on Twitter, all climbers had to turn about 400 meters below the summit due to a lack of ropes.

Ralf Dujmovits

Never say Never Again! This is not only the title of an old James Bond film but could also stand for Ralf Dujmovits’ personal story on Mount Everest. The first and so far only German, who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders, had climbed the highest mountain on earth on his very first attempt in fall 1992. Due to bad weather, however, he had used bottled oxygen above the South Col. “I was very young at the time. It was a mistake,” says Ralf today.

After all, he climbed the other 13 eight-thousanders without breathing mask. And so he later tried to wipe out this Everest mistake again and again. In vain. In 1996, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015 he returned without summit success, for various reasons. This spring, the 55-year-old wants to give it a try again. For the eighth time, he will travel to Mount Everest, the fifth time to the Tibetan north side of the mountain. He will acclimatize in Nepal with an ascent of the 6,501-meter-high Cholatse in the Khumbu area, along with his Canadian partner Nancy Hansen. Ralf has now arrived in Kathmandu. I spoke with him shortly before he left to Nepal.

Ralf, I think, it’s allowed to say, that you and Everest have a relationship.

Ralf and Mount Everest (in 2012)

Yes, of course. If you have been there so often – it will now be the eighth time – an almost personal relationship develops. But I’ve always enjoyed being on Everest. I also look forward to it now. But I have to say quite honestly, that I’m a bit nervous, because I’ve really made it clear that this time is definitely the last time. I also told this to my friends.

And everyone laughed.

First, yes. But then they took me serious, when I confirmed it again and again: the definitely last time! In this respect, I would now once again like to put effort into my partner Everest, and hopefully I will reach the summit.

You’ll be there for the eighth time. Do you become more relaxed or more uptight?

Although I am a bit tense at the moment, I will probably be a bit more relaxed on the climb. There were some years in which I went to Everest North Face with a certain tension. This didn’t work for various reasons. Afterwards, in the last years, I wanted to take the Messner route. [During his solo ascent in 1980, Reinhold Messner traversed to the Norton Couloir and climbed through it to the summit]. This did not work either. I told myself, I’d now take the Tibetan normal route, quite relaxed. And everything else will be seen.

But you won’t climb alone this time.

Not alone, anyway. You’re never alone on Everest. I will be on the mountain along with the Romanian Horia Colibasanu. We’ll probably share the tent up there. I also hired a Sherpa, who will carry for me a bottle of oxygen. If I realize that I get serious health problems, I would, under certain circumstances, use supplemental oxygen and then immediately descend. This means, the oxygen bottle is really only for the descent, in no case for the further ascent.

Tibetan North side of Mount Everest

Would it be an option for you to climb up without bottled oxygen and down with breathing mask?

No, my goal is, of course, up and down without supplemental oxygen. But I just want to keep this option open. In 2010, the Italian Abele Blanc was a few days older than me now, when he climbed Everest without bottled oxygen, aged 55. If I am successful, I would be the second oldest. Meanwhile I realize: For me, at my age, this is really pushing the limits. I simply want to have a certain reserve, a small backup.

Is this a bit like driving a car with safety belt?

(Laughs) I’ve never thought about that. I think, driving a car with seatbelt has become common practice. This also applies to mountaineering with bottled oxygen on the eight-thousanders. Unfortunately. I would rather say that I try to omit the safety belt. I will have the hand on the belt and I would fasten it, if necessary, very quickly.

Do you consider it as a break in style?

Quite certainly, it’s a break in style to take a backup with you. It is not the usual variant, but I don’t care now, because I want to finish my way. I look forward to it and can accept it for myself. I’ve been struggling with me for a while, but now it’s all right for me. Before or afterwards or whenever anyone can tell me what he wants. For me, this fits. And since I don’t hurt anyone, it should be fine.

Cholatse (in the centre, seen from Gokyo Ri)

All expect that Everest will be crowded this spring. There will be much more climbers than usual, not only on the Nepalese but also on the Tibetan side. You know have already experienced that. Probably it won’t impress you, will it?

Before I go to Tibet, I will pre-acclimatize along with my partner on a six-thousander in Nepal. Doing this, I want to escape a little bit from the crowds of people. Then I will reach the Advanced Base Camp in Tibet relatively late, so I hope that I won’t get into the mass ascent. Of course, there will also be many climbers on the mountain during my summit push. But that will not affect me, because I can not start as early as most of the people who climb with bottled oxygen. Start times on 10 or 11 p.m. are quite common now. However, I can not start so early, in this case I would cool down too much up there. I have to use the sun, which will hopefully help me a bit.

This sounds like you choose the same tactics as Ueli Steck on the south side of Everest, who wants to let the first weather window pass, so that the mountain is not so crowded anymore.

If it becomes apparent that a second weather window is developing, I would probably also speculate on it. Normally, it has been too busy on the mountain during the first weather window. And I just have to be able to go exactly at my pace. Too slow would not be good, because I cool down. I can not go too fast either, because I would lose too much body heat due to increased breathing.

Ralf in Everest high camp (in 2014)

On your last attempt in 2014 – I leave out the 2015 season with the earthquake in Nepal – you reached Camp 3 at 8,300 meters. At that time, you said: “I’ve made mistakes.” Did you learn from it?

I used a too light tent at that time, a single-walled one, weighing just one kilo. There was pretty much wind at night. Another problem was that I had a wet lighter and so I could not melt enough snow to drink water. However, in the end I failed because there was strong wind in the morning. I will not have any influence on the weather. But for all the other things, I hope that I will have the right options now. So I hope that everything fits, at least from my side.

You say, this will be definitely your last attempt on Everest. I can’t help smiling. But let’s assume that it will be really the last time. Are you tempted to take more risks?

I do not think so. I know myself very well. I also know that I can turn around. I have often done and would do it again this time, if necessary. For me, health is still the highest good. I won’t give up this principle of returning safely on my very last attempt – even if you smile, it really will be the last one.