Tendi Sherpa on Lhotse

The fast double pack connecting the highest and the fourth highest mountain on earth becomes more and more popular. This spring season, several climbers scaled the 8,516-meter high Lhotse, after they had been on the 8,850-meter-high summit of Mount Everest a day earlier. The new “Seven Summits” record holder Steve Plain from Australia and Brit Jon Gupta started the line on 14/15 May (see the video below). The Nepalese expedition leader Tendi Sherpa and US climber Mat Wood managed the feat on 18/19 May. Finally, on Sunday/Monday, the American Matt Moniz and his Argentinian mentor Willie Benegas followed.

In his father’s footsteps

The 20-year-old Matt continued a family tradition: In spring 2012, his father Mike Moniz and the Nepalese climber Chewang Lindu had stood on the summits of Everest and Lhotse within 24 hours. In 2011, the American mountain guide Michael Horst was the first to reach the highest points of the two neighboring eight-thousanders within one day. 20 hours and 20 minutes had lain between his two summit successes.

Two Sherpas die on Everest

R.I.P.

One day after the death of Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki, two more Everest fatalities are reported. According to the “Himalayan Times” newspaper, published in Kathmandu, a Sherpa guide fell into a crevasse near Camp 2 (6,400 meters). He could be rescued alive, but later died in Namche Bazaar, the main village of the Everest region, said a representative of the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism.

Martin Szwed on Everest

German climber Martin Szwed informed me today about another fatality on the Tibetan north side of Everest. On the way up, “an Indian climber died in front of our eyes at the height of the ‘Mushroom Rock’ (8,550 meters),” the 36-year-old wrote to me this morning. About 20 climbers had seen the dead on this day, said Martin, adding that he had tried in vain to clarify the man’s identity in the base camp. Meanwhile, Mingma Gelu Sherpa, managing director of the expedition operator “Seven Summit Adventure” announced that the dead was a Nepalese Climbing Sherpa of his team. He died of a stroke. According to his own words, Szwed reached the summit of Everest on Saturday, completing his collection of the “Seven Summits”, the highest mountains of all continents.

Tibetan north side of Everest

Now, also from the Tibetan north side, the first climbers out of commercial teams have scaled Mount Everest. Swiss expedition leader Kari Kobler reported that three of his clients reached the highest point at 8,850 meters today. On Monday, the team responsible for fixing the ropes via the Northeast Ridge to the summit, had finished their work. This had already happened a day earlier on the Nepalese south side. On Monday about 50 mountaineers had climbed to the highest point on the southern route. Among them was the Australian Steve Plain. The 36-year-old set a new time record for climbing the Seven Summits, the highest mountains of all continents.

And now the Triple Crown?

Steve Plain

Plain completed the collection within 117 days, achieving his goal of scaling the Seven Summits in under four months. Until then, the Pole Janusz Kochanski had held the record with 126 days. And Steve is not yet tired. Today, one day after their Everest summit success, he and British expedition leader Jon Gupta also scaled the neighboring eight-thousander Lhotse. Thus, for Plain and Gupta only the 7861-meter-high Nuptse is missing to complete the so-called “Triple Crown”, the ascent of the three highest peaks in the Everest massif within a season. Their first summit attempt on Nuptse had failed in early May, 200 meters below the highest point. “I didn’t name him ‘Strong Steve’ last year for nothing”, writes Tim Mosedale on Facebook about Plain.

Sherpa dies on Makalu, summit attempt on Dhaulagiri

Makalu

Meanwhile, a death is reported from the eight-thousander Makalu. According to the newspaper “Himalayan Times”, a 32-year-old Sherpa died of high altitude sickness in the base camp. He had worked for a Chinese expedition. On Dhaulagiri, 79-year-old Spaniard Carlos Soria and his team set off for their summit attempt. Carlos is tackling the 8,167 meter high mountain in western Nepal for the ninth time. Should he succeed this time, it would be his 13th of the 14 eight-thousanders. Besides Dhaulagiri only Shishapangma in Tibet is missing in Soria’s collection.