The dream of an Everest summit success in the first run has gone. Alex Txikon has abandoned his summit attempt and returned to the base camp. “I assure you that I have not given up,” the 35-year-old Basque wrote on Twitter. On Monday, Alex had climbed along with Norbu Sherpa and Chhepal Sherpa at temperatures of about minus 40 degrees Celsius to the South Col on 7,950 meters. But there such a strong wind was blowing that it was impossible to pitch a tent. “We have decided it was not the time to challenge nature at these heights and conditions, since we are nothing in dealing with it, and we could have suffered frostbite or even worse,” Txikon wrote later from Camp 3, adding that at times, it had become a tougher battle than the summit attack of last winter on Nanga Parbat.

After two nights at above 7,000 meters Txikon turned around. Winter is far from over. Alex Txikon will get even more chances. So time to recover and to try it once again.

Danger welds together. When Alex Txikon returned to Base Camp after six exhausting and exciting days on the slopes of Mount Everest, he hugged every Sherpa who had accompanied him. “In this team everyone knows what needs to be done,” the 35-year-old Basque writes in his blog. The appreciation is mutual. In Alex’ words, Norbu Sherpa told him during the descent: “I believe that for more than 20 or 30 years, no westerner has done what you are doing.” Like the six Sherpas, Txikon had carried up loads of more than 30 kilograms through the Khumbu Icefall and further up.

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The clock is ticking. The German ski mountaineers Benedikt Boehm and Sebastian Haag started in Tibet their attempt to set a speed record on the two eight-thousanders Shishapangma and Cho Oyu. “The only thing I can think of is that it’s gonna be the hardest seven days of my life. That’s for sure,” says Benedict in the video, which you can watch below. Sebastian is even more clearly: “This is the start button for seven days of torture, for seven days of suffering, seven days of bleeding and sweating.” Within a week, Bene and Basti want to climb the 8027-meter-high Shishapangma, ski down, cycle with their mountain bikes to Cho Oyu, climb up and ski down this eight-thousander too.

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