Everest (l.) in the first daylight

In the coming winter there will be no commercial winter expedition to the highest mountain on earth after all. The Nepalese operator “Seven Summit Treks” (SST) postponed their Everest project by one year to winter 2019/2020. “We are personally busy this year”, board director Chhang Dawa Sherpa writes to me, adding that a strong SST team will accompany the Spaniard Alex Txikon on his upcoming winter expedition to K2 in Pakistan.

Clients opted out

Alex Txikon on Everest in winter 2017

The US mountaineer and blogger Alan Arnette had previously reported, citing SST Managing Director Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, that two of the original five interested clients had opted out of the winter expedition and that the project had therefore been postponed by one year. As reported, for the first time ever an Everest winter expedition had been advertised as a commercial one. Pointing that out, Alex Txikon had given up his original plan to set off for the third consecutive winter to the highest mountain on earth to tackle it without bottled oxygen. “Well, honestly, the perspective of having a commercial expedition on the mountain has put me off,” the 36-year-old had said.

Last success 25 years ago

The mountaineering chronicle “Himalayan Database” has so far recorded only 15 Everest summit successes in the meteorological winter. For weather researchers, the cold season begins on 1 December, while the calendar winter does not start until the winter solstice on 21 or 22 December. The first winter ascent was made on 17 February 1980 by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy. The only one who scaled the highest mountain on earth in winter without bottled oxygen was Ang Rita Sherpa on 22 December 1987. The weather on that day was unusually good. The extreme cold in winter usually causes the air pressure in the summit region to drop even further. An ascent without a breathing mask is then at the absolute limit of what is possible.

Mount Everest

Winter climbing on the eight-thousanders was previously reserved for the best and toughest. In the 1980s, the heyday of winter expeditions to the world’s highest mountains, the Polish experts for the cold season were called “Ice Warriors”. In that decade they achieved seven winter first ascents of eight-thousanders. Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy kicked off on 17 February 1980 on the highest of all mountains, Mount Everest. It’s strange that a commercial winter expedition might pitch up their tents there for the first time.

Five clients by the end of May

Wielicki (l.) and Cichy after the first winter ascent of Everest in 1980

However, the whole thing’s a little mysterious. On 28 May, Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, chairman of “14 Peak Expedition” and managing director of “Seven Summit Treks”, announced for the first time on Facebook that there would be an Everest winter expedition between 1 December 2018 and 28 February 2019. Five clients had already decided to join the expedition, wrote Tashi, adding that there was now “an open platform for all interested parties”. In total, the team would consist of more than 30, Tashi said. Shortly afterwards, “Seven Summit Treks” and “Arnold Coster Expeditions” – the operator was then called “Co-Partner” – also tendered this winter project. It was interesting that the introductory passage was changed: “Welcome all, but (you) should be experienced!”, it was said at first, then “Welcome all if you would like to take an advantage of less crowded and more adventure on Everest”. Tashi Lakpa Sherpa quoted a prize of $38,000 per person on Facebook at the beginning of July. By the way, the permit for climbing Everest is much cheaper in winter than in spring: 2,750 instead of 11,000 dollars per foreign climber.

Txikon: “It has put me off”

Alex Txikon wants to experience loneliness on Everest

Then it became quiet about the planned commercial Everest winter expedition – until Alex Txikon gave an interview about his winter plans to “explorersweb.com” a week ago. This time he wouldn’t go to Everest, said the 36-year-old Spaniard, who was one of the first winter ascenders of Nanga Parbat in 2016 and had tried in vain in the past two winters to climb Mount Everest without bottled oxygen. “Well, honestly, the perspective of having a commercial expedition on the mountain has put me off,” said Alex. “It’s the absolute solitude which makes winter Everest so unique and its climb so challenging so, with all respects, I’d rather look somewhere else for my next winter expedition.”

No answer yet

Arnold Coster

Txikon obviously referred to the announcement at the end of May, as he also spoke of five clients so far who were determined to participate in the commercial expedition. I tried to find out more. On the websites of “Seven Summit Treks” and “14 Peak Expedition” I searched in vain for references to the winter expedition. On the site of “Arnold Coster Expeditions” I found what I was looking for. “Join me on Everest this winter to climb Everest away from the crowds … a true adventure!,”is written there. However, the further information to which a link leads seems to have been taken from the invitation to a quite “normal” Everest expedition and contains no reference to the special challenges in winter. My questions to Mingma Sherpa, the head of “Seven Summit Treks”, and to Arnold Coster about the current status of the project have so far remained unanswered.

Last success 25 years ago

While Mount Everest has been climbed more than 9000 times to date, the so far 15 summit successes in the meteorological winter are rather modest. For weather researchers, the cold season begins on 1 December, while the calendar winter does not start until the winter solstice on 21 or 22 December.

Everest Southwest Face

29 Everest winter expeditions have so far been recorded in the “Himalayan Database”, 21 of them before 1990. In the winter of 1985 alone, four expeditions attempted the highest mountain on earth: three South Korean expeditions on different routes (normal route via the South Col, via the West Ridge and through the Southwest Face) and a Japanese team (via the Hornbein-Couloir). In total, only five winter expeditions were successful on Everest – most recently in 1993, when six members of a Japanese team climbed the Southwest Face to reach the highest point at 8,850 meters on 18 December.

The only one who scaled the highest mountain on earth in winter without bottled oxygen was Ang Rita Sherpa on 22 December 1987. The weather on that day was unusually good. The extreme cold in winter usually causes the air pressure in the summit region to drop even further. An ascent without a breathing mask is then at the absolute limit of what is possible.

Luo Jing (in 2016)

Also from the eight-thousander Shishapangma in Tibet, the first summit successes of this fall season were reported today. According to their own announcement, a team of the Russian expedition operator “7 Summits Club” reached the 8,027-meter-high summit , as did a team of the Nepalese operator “Seven Summit Treks”. SST-Board director Dawa Sherpa informed on Facebook, that Chinese Luo Jing was among those who stood on the summit of Shishapangma. It was the last of the 14 eight-thousanders that the 42-year-old still lacked in her collection.

All 14 in almost seven years

Luo (r.) on K2 in 2014

After South Korean Oh Eun-sun, Spaniard Edurne Pasaban, Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and  Italian Nives Meroi, Luo is now the fifth woman to have scaled all 14 eight-thousanders. Kaltenbrunner and Meroi did all their ascents without bottled oxygen. Luo Jing scaled her first eight-thousander in fall 2011: Manaslu. Since then, hardly a year passed without her successes on eight-thousanders. In less than seven years she completed the 14. In 2012, she stood on top of Makalu, in 2013 on the summits of Kangchenjunga, Gasherbrum I and II. In 2014, the Chinese scaled Dhaulagiri and K2, in 2016 Annapurna, Mount Everest and Cho Oyu. In 2017 Luo summited Lhotse, in summer 2018 Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak and now in fall Shishapangma.

“Mountains accepted me”

“After climbing so many mountains, I realized that I did not conquer the mountains, but the mountains accepted me,” the computer expert from Beijing told the newspaper “China Daily” last summer after her success on Broad Peak. Luo Jing is the first woman from China in the “14 Eight-Thousanders Club”.

Her compatriot Zhang Liang was the first Chinese to complete the 8000ers collection in 2017. This summer, he was the second person after South Korean Park Joung-Seok to succeed in the so-called “True Explorers Grand Slam”: he scaled Denali, the highest mountain of North America, and thus the last mountain of the “Seven Summits” still missing from him. Thus the 54-year-old had climbed all eight-thousanders as well as the highest mountains of all continents – and also reached the North and South Pole.

Update 4 October: According to a Spanish climber, who was also on Shishapangma at that time, Luo Jing reached “only” the 8008-meter-high central summit, not the main summit. Should this be confirmed, she would not have completed the 14 eight-thousanders yet.

Manaslu (l.) and Pinnacle East (r.)

The first summit success of the fall season on the eight-thousanders is reported from the 8,163-meter-high Manaslu. Dawa Sherpa from the Nepalese expedition operator Seven Summit Treks writes on Facebook that four Sherpas of their team have fixed the ropes up to the highest point. Besides Mingma Tenjing Sherpa, Gyaljen Sherpa, Tenjing Chhombi Sherpa and Temba Bhote, the Spaniard Sergi Mingote and the Brazilian Moeses Fiamoncini reached the summit. Mingote confirmed the summit success – also on Facebook – and added: “I am fine.” Last summer, Sergi scaled Broad Peak and then K2 in Pakistan, without using bottled oxygen. After Manaslu, the 47-year-old professional climber wants to tackle the eight-thousander Dhaulagiri even this fall, also located in western Nepal.

Almost 200 foreign summit aspirants

Now that the fixed ropes are laid up to the summit, there should be lots of success stories from Manaslu in the next few days. Almost 200 foreign mountaineers have been granted permits for this season to climb the eighth highest mountain in the world. This continues the trend of recent years: Among the clients of commercial expeditions, Manaslu has turned into “Fall’s Everest” in terms of popularity.

Mount Everest

If it is about its own income, the Nepalese government can’t take a joke. According to the newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, the Ministry of Tourism has fined Nepalese expedition operator “Seven Summit Treks” 44,000 dollars for forging a permit for Mount Everest. In spring, the authority granted a permit to an expedition led by the Chinese Sun Yiguan and managed by “Seven Summit Treks” to climb the highest mountain on earth. The original document was issued for twelve member. Later a fake version appeared in which an Australian and a Chinese climber had been added.

Mingma Sherpa rejects guilt

Mingma Sherpa

Since a permit costs 11,000 dollars per expedition member, the government lost 22,000 dollars in revenue. The double amount has now been set as punishment. The Ministry of Tourism also called on the police to identify the fraudsters. They’re facing seven years in prison. Mingma Sherpa, head of “Seven Summit Treks”, denied all blame and assured that his company would help bring the guilty person to justice. A former employees was responsible for the fraud, said Mingma, pointing out that his company is Nepal’s largest expedition organizer and transfers a huge amount of money for climbing permits season after season. “We don’t even think about doing such acts.”

Andreas Friedrich on top of Mount Everest

Happiness can not be planned, but to a certain extent the presuppositions. “I reached the summit, and I and my Sherpa Son Dorjee had it for us,” Andreas Friedrich, who, on 13 May, was the first German this spring season on the top of Mount Everest, tells me. “It was an incredible luxury to stand alone up there. I was very lucky.” He owes it to the foresight of his experienced expedition leader Russell Brice, says Andreas. The old stager from New Zealand, head of the operator Himalayan Experience, had stayed with his group at Base Camp, when almost all of the teams who planned their summit attempt for the days around 20 May had flown by helicopter to lower regions to recover in “thicker” air. “So we had an advantage of a few days and reached the summit as the first team of a commercial operator,” says Friedrich.

“Experiences were worth frostbite”

“Although the weather was really lousy – minus 30 to 35 degrees, gusty wind – I was fully in high spirits up there.”After he had taken some summit pictures, the German climber took his time for another quarter of an hour and “absorbed these views: the mountains suddenly shrunken to miniature size, the glaciers that were only brushstrokes”. The 54-year-old flight captain from the town of Munich suffered second to third degree frostbite at all fingertips during his stay on the summit. “The hand will remain sensitive for the rest of my life,” says Andreas. “But it was absolutely worth it. The experiences I made, the lessons I learned and all these new feelings by far outweigh the problems I’ll have with my five fingers in future.”

Like in the 1970s

This spring more than 400 climbers reached the summit of Everest from Nepal, more than 100 from Tibet. That seems back to normal – after 2015 without summit successes on both sides of the mountain because of the devastating earthquake in Nepal and after the premature end of the season on the south side in 2014 due to the avalanche incident in the Khumbu Icefall. However, it has been different in the Khumbu area, says Andreas Friedrich: “The tea houses were empty. Namche Bazaar was like a ghost town.” Even at Base Camp it was emptier as usual, only about 290 foreign climbers had pitched their tents, says Andreas: “The atmosphere felt like in the 60s, 70s: very relaxed. There was enough space on the glacier. And that continued on the mountain.”

No playground

Dangerous Khumbu Icefall

Only on their descent from the summit, Andreas and his teammates got into a jam – just in the dangerous Icefall, they met all the summit aspirants who had chosen 19 or 20 May as summit days. There were some among them who actually were not up to the challenges of Everest,” says Andreas, who scaled the eight-thousander Manaslu (in 2012) and other high mountains in the Himalayas before he tried Everest: “People who didn’t know how to go with crampons and cross the ladders in the Icefall or how to use a jumar (ascender). I saw it with my very eyes and shook my head. Everest is not a mountain for practice, no playground.”

Emergency oxygen lacking

He was not surprised that five climbers lost their lives on Everest this spring, says Andreas Friedrich. “I think it could have been avoided if all, like Russell Brice, had deposited enough oxygen for the case of emergency at the South Col or in Camp 3.” But local discount operators like Seven Summits Treks had abstained from doing it, says Andreas. “Everyone who books a local operator’s expedition for 18,000 Euros, may rub his hands for five minutes because of this bargain. But it comes at a price. You pay for it with much less knowhow and with extras which must be bought.”

Brice: “They would have been turned around in my expedition”

Russell Brice

Expedition leader Russell Brice is also tackling this thorny issue: “Once again the cheaper Nepal operators who actually have very little back up and who continue to take unsuitable climbers who spend far to long trying to get to the summit and then end up with problems are the main cause of death this year.” Such members would have been turned around by his expedition much earlier, the head of Himex writes to me: “All these clients who go with cheaper local teams should understand that there is a reason that these teams are cheaper, and that there is very little support.”

Andreas Friedrich agrees. He had to dig deep into his pockets to finance his Everest adventure, but he is convinced that the money was well spent: “If I botch it up or something happens, I can 100 percent rely on the risk minimization and crisis management of Russell and his Sherpas. And that’s worth its price.”

P.S.: Everest climber Andreas Friedrich is also the founder of the aid campaign “Mountain Projects”, aiming inter alia to build a school at the Nepalese village of Kagate.