Tibetan north side of Mount Everest

The expedition operators in Nepal might have been so shocked that they dropped their pencils. In the “New Regulations for Foreign Expeditions 2019” in Tibet (available to me) it says under point 6: “In order to ensure the healthy and orderly development of mountaineering and minimize the occurrence of mountaineering accidents, mountaineering teams which were organized in Nepal temporarily will not be accepted.” As I have learned from a reliable source, a delegation from Nepal immediately traveled to China to have this regulation removed or at least weakened. Apparently the delegates of the Nepali operators were at least partially successful. Some agencies, however, are supposedly to receive no more approval. The Chinese and Tibetan Mountaineering Associations announced to cooperate in future only “with expedition companies with good social reputation, strong ability of team formation, logistic support, reliable service quality, excellent professional quality, and (who are) law-abiding”.

One client, one Sherpa

Garbage cans in Everest Base Camp

From spring 2019 onwards, every client commercial expeditions on one of the Tibetan eight-thousanders will have to be accompanied “by a Nepalese mountain guide”. There are also new regulations regarding environmental protection and mountain rescue. For example, each summit aspirant on Everest will have to pay a “rubbish collection fee” of 1,500 US dollars, on Cho Oyu and Shishapangma 1,000 dollars each. Nepalese mountain guides will be exempted from this fee, as well as the base camp staff. In addition, all members bar none will be required after the expedition to hand in eight kilograms of garbage per person from the mountain to the responsible Chinese liaison officers in the base camp.

Rescue team in ABC

In future, a team provided by the Tibetan authorities and the local operator “Tibet Yarlha Shampo Expedition” will be responsible for mountain rescue on Everest, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma. During the time of summit attempts, four to six rescuers are to stay permanently in the Advanced Base Camps. For each expedition, the Chinese-Tibetan authorities will collect a deposit of 5,000 US dollars, which will only be refunded if there have been no accidents within the group and if all environmental protection requirements have been met.

Three 8000ers at a glance: Mount Everest, Lhotse, Makalu (from l. to r.)

The much-discussed new rules for expeditions in Nepal are in effect. According to Dinesh Bhattarai, General Director of the Ministry of Tourism, the amendment of the mountaineering rules was published today in the government  gazette. “The Department of Tourism can now issue certificates to the Sherpa summiters,” Bhattarai told the newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, referring to the only new rule that in advance had been met with approval by all sides.

500 Sherpas can request certificates

After the spring season 2016, the coveted certificates were for the first time denied to local climbers. The reason given at that time: Within the meaning of the law Climbing Sherpas who fix ropes on the route or support clients up to the summit were no expedition members and therefore did not receive any certificates. It was a slap in the face of the Sherpas, without whose support most climbers of commercial expeditions would never have a chance to scale an eight-thousander. About 500 Sherpas can now request their summit certificates, which mean more to them than just a piece of paper. The certificates are considered as proof of performance, as a kind of self-promotion.

Solos forbidden

From now on, also the controversial regulations are obviously in force: Neither blind climbers nor double amputees will receive permits for all mountains higher than 6,600 meters – these fall under the responsibility of the government . Solo ascents will be forbidden. Every mountaineer is obliged to climb with a guide.

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.

South side of Mount Everest

The workers were the first. Today nine Sherpas reached the summit of Mount Everest, as first climbers this spring, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA). The Sherpas belonged to a team including members of several expedition operators, which fixed ropes up to the highest point at 8,850 meters. It was the first summit success on the Nepalese side of Everest since 2013.

Two seasons ended prematurely

I deliberately ignore the alleged success of Chinese Wang Jing and her Sherpa team on 23 May 2014. She had been flown by helicopter to Camp 2. That spring, the season had ended prematurely, after an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall had killed 16 Nepalese climbers. In 2015 a huge avalanche which was triggered from the nearby seven-thousander Pumori by the devastating 25 April earthquake had hit Everest Base Camp and killed 19 people. After that all expeditions had departed.

Way is paved

After the Sherpas have now prepared the normal route on the south side up to the summit, the way for the members of the commercial expeditions is paved. Several teams want to take the very the first good weather window for a summit attempt. It is due to open from Saturday to Monday.

Makalu

How could that happen? Two Sherpa mountain guides who were working for an expedition of the German operator Amical alpin died in Camp 2 at 6,700 m during a summit attempt on the eight-thousander Makalu. Other group members found the two Sherpas lifeless in their tent in the afternoon. “We can only speculate,” Dominik Mueller, head of Amical, tells me. “We suspect that they cooked in their closed tent without providing adequate ventilation and then died of carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Small error with fatal effect?

Dominik is shocked and can’t find an explanation how the accident could happen. “I knew them. They were very experienced Sherpas”, says Mueller. “They were also rested after some days in Base Camp, not stressed. It happened without any external influence. I suspect that they made a small mistake which had a fatal effect.” The head of Amical stresses that it is too early to make a definitive statement about the cause of death. He wants to talk to the other expedition members to get more information. According to Dominik, the Amical expedition group on Makalu, with a height of 8,485 m the fifth highest mountain in the world, included four Sherpas – and nine western climbers: “They are all very experienced. Therefore they wanted no expedition leader and take care of everything by themselves.”

Carbon monoxide poisoning caused by gas cookers in a tent is rare, but happens now and then – also in the Himalayas. Just before the disaster on Mount Everest in spring 1996, yesterday 20 years ago, Arita Sherpa and Chuldum Sherpa, who belonged to the team of the New Zealander Rob Hall, were not able to take part in the summit attempt that later ended so tragically. They had suffered a carbon monoxide poisoning while cooking on the South Col and were not able to climb.

Not a chance

Once again his dream to climb Lhotse South Face was gone with the wind. As in 2014, Sung Taek Hong returns empty-handed from the mighty wall of the fourth highest mountain on earth to South Korea. After two months on the mountain, Sung and his team packed up. They aborted their last summit attempt at Camp 1. Sung tried to climb further up but it was impossible due to storm gusts of up to 150 kilometers per hour. Some gear was blown out of the wall. One of the Sherpa climbers was hit und hurt by a falling rock.

Another attempt next spring?

During their most successful summit attempt, the team had made it up to an altitude of 8,200 meters on a partly new route, just about 300 meters were left to the 8,516-meter-high summit. For Sung, it was the third fall season in a row without summit success on Lhotse. In 2013 his solo attempt on the normal route had failed, in 2014 and this year too he remained luckless climbing the South Face. But the 48-year-old has proved again his endurance and his ability not to give up. Thus we’ll see him very likely on Lhotse again. He hoped that he could return next spring, Sung said.

Mingma on his ascent on Chobutse

No trace of euphoria. On Wednesday last week, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa reached – as reported in my blog – the 6,685-meter-high summit of Chobutse in Rolwaling Valley in Nepal, solo climbing and for the first time via the West Face – a milestone in the history of Sherpa climbing. But instead of being cheerful the 29-year-old is simply happy that he survived his solo ascent.

Mingma, you have already been on top of Mount Everest, K 2 and five other eight-thousanders. How challenging was your solo ascent on Chobutse?

I have climbed Everest with bottled oxygen and the other six 8,000-meter- peaks without the use of oxygen. When I climbed these high mountains, I did it with partners and on routes with fixed ropes. But a solo ascent means climbing alone in free style, there isn’t any fixed rope or climbing partner to save you if you make a mistake. A mistake means the end of your life. So it is itself challenging. It took me three years to decide to go for a solo climb. Finally, I made it this year. Climbing Chobutse was my worst decision and mistake. I almost lost my life. After my summit success, I spent two nights and days without food, water or tent. I spent two threatening nights and a day at the same place in a whiteout waiting for the weather to clear up. My only satisfaction is that I made it to the summit, though it was the hardest climb of my life.

Chobutse

You and your Sherpa friends completed two amazing climbing projects within a month: a trilogy of first ascents by a pure Sherpa team and your first solo ascent of a Nepalese climber. What is the message that you want to send to the climbing world?

Firstly: After the earthquake, Nepal is suffering from an economic crisis and tourism is the main source of our income. Fewer tourists means we suffer. So our main goal was to spread the news that Nepal is still safe to trek and climb. Only writing on social media and websites was not enough because fewer people would believe it. So we thought it was a good idea to prove it by action. We made our plan in the first week of September and started and completed our projects in October.
Secondly, we wanted to raise interest for climbing among Nepalese youngsters. Usually Nepalese climbers have been working for foreign climbers but now it is changing. We do climb for ourselves too. We can say changing profession into hobby.
Thirdly, we all are from Rolwaling Valley in Nepal. Rolwaling is a very remote area without electricity, transportation, proper school or health post. The population of that area used to be more than 300 people but only about 50 are living there now. If the situation remains the same, the valley will get emptied within ten years. Because of life difficulty, the local people migrate to the capital city. So our concern is to make Rolwaling Valley more popular. We have spots there for ice and rock climbing. So many mountains remain to be climbed but still this valley is backward. If it gets popular, more tourists like to visit it. And more tourists mean more job opportunities. We hope our people may return back to our place.

Do you feel that many Western climbers have a false impression about what Sherpas are and should they change their attitude?

There is no doubt that Western climbers have a good impression of Sherpa. Otherwise, they won’t hire Sherpa for their safe and secure climbing. The demand for Nepalese Sherpa is increasing. Now Western climbers invite Nepalese Sherpa to climb with them in the Alps, Pakistan etc. 

You are also head of an expedition operator. Is it difficult for you to separate between business and your own climbing goals?

I run an expedition company, Dreamers’ Destination. But I usually go to mountains leading expeditions. My people believe on me and climbing with me, so I have to go on mountains. I make my goals considering my business and I have my staff to look after the company, so I have no difficulty.

What are you planning next?

Actually, I was looking to go for the first winter ascent on Nanga Parbat. But after my solo ascent, my parents refused to let me go for it. So I will lead an expedition to Kangchenjunga in April and May 2016. I already climbed it in 2013, so a few friends of mine want me to lead an expedition again in 2016. Then I will go to Nanga Parbat and Gasherbrum in June and July as a part of my remaining 8,000-meter-peaks. 

Is there any current or former climber who is an example for you?

I am big fan of my own cousin Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa who was a guide of Scott Fischer’s Everest expedition in spring 1996. (Lopsang tried to rescue Fischer from the South Summit but could not move him any more.) He climbed Everest four times, three times without bottled oxygen. He was very popular at that time. If he was still alive (He died in an avalanche on Everest in September 1996.), I am sure he would hold many records on Everest. People are still talking about him and his deeds during that time.

The route Mingma wanted to take on Chobutse

The next Sherpa coup in the Himalayas, again in Rolwaling Valley. After Nima Tenji Sherpa, Tashi Sherpa and Dawa Gyalje Sherpa – as reported – had first climbed three six-thousanders within three days at the beginning of October, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa now succeeded in doing an amazing solo ascent. The 29-year-old stated that he reached the 6685-meter-high summit of Chobutse (also called Tsoboje) climbing alone and for the first time through the West Face. He had two cold bivouacs in the wall causing frostbite at his leg. Chobutse was first climbed by the Germans Wolfgang Weinzierl, Peter Vogler, Gustav and Klaus Harder in spring 1972, via the Northeast Ridge. Several attempts to climb through the West Face had failed.

On top of seven eight-thousanders

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa grew up in Rolwaling. He is the head of the Kathmandu-based expedition operator Dreamer’s Destination and one of the strongest climbers in Nepal. The list of his mountain achievements is long. He stood on top of Mount Everest four times, twice each from the Tibetan north (in 2007 and 2010) and the Nepalese south side (in 2011 and 2012). Mingma has climbed six other eight-thousanders so far: Manaslu (three times), Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga, K2 and Annapurna. In addition he opened new challenging routes on the six-thousanders Cheki-Go and Bamongo.

Passion for climbing

Even before he set off, the 29-year-old called his solo climb on Chobutse “the most important for my entire life”. Never before a Nepalese climber had done a solo ascent, Mingma wrote: “Sherpa are well known for their hard job in the Himalayas. The trend is changing. There are many young Nepalese climbers who have been doing so many climbing for themselves.” Recently, Swiss top climber Ueli Steck also enthused about the strong young Sherpa climbers: “It’s nice to see how a ‘new’ generation of Sherpas is growing up, who are really interested in climbing and not just in business. I think that’s awesome!” I think so too.

P.S.: Ueli Steck has meanwhile returned from Nepal to Switzerland – after a failed attempt on the South Face of Nuptse. “Winds were too strong. There was a lot of drifting snow at 7,000 meters. It was hopeless”, Ueli writes to me.

North side of Everest

He cannot just carry on as if nothing had happened, says Dominik Mueller. The head of the German expedition operator Amical alpin today abandoned his expedition on the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest – after consultation with his clients, who according to Dominik also did not want to continue. “When I look in the faces of our cook, the kitchen boys and all the other Sherpas here, I cannot climb on in good conscience”, Dominik tells me by phone from the “Chinese Base Camp” at 5,150 meters, where according to his estimate are still 250 to 300 climbers and staff. The team’s cook has lost his house in Kathmandu, many others have not even been able to contact their families. “We can not sit here on a beautiful island and make for love, peace and harmony while there are thousands of deaths around us.”

A text message, not an official document

Dominik Mueller

There is still confusion about whether the Everest is now definitely closed, says Dominik: “This morning Thomas Laemmle, our expedition leader on Cho Oyu, received a call from the Chinese authorities that all Tibetan mountains were closed from 9 a.m and that the spring season was over.” Then Dominik sent a request to the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) whether this was also definitely true for Everest. “I received a text message: Everest is closed”, says the 44-year-old. “But there is no liaison officer or anyone else here at Base Camp who has an official document or who says: Yes, it is definitely closed.We are in limbo.” During the meetings, the Chinese officials mainly referred to the risk of aftershocks, says Dominik. They told the expedition leaders that the quake had torn new crevasses and that the North Col was very dangerous this year.

Dujmovits in Advanced Base Camp

Dominik says, the team of Chinese climbers that was to fix ropes on the normal route left Base Camp and was taken to lower villages – for him another sign that climbing will not continue on the north side of Everest. “If the authorities would really see a chance to climb on, the fixrope team would still be here and would be sent to ABC (Advanced Base Camp) to wait there for a few days.” Mueller expects that the whole mountain infrastructure will be taken back. Ralf Dujmovits, so far the only German mountaineer who climbed all 14 eight-thousanders, is staying at the 6,200-meter-high ABC. Ralf had reached the camp before the Chinese authorities ordered most of the climbers to return.

Way back to Nepal cut off

Mueller’s clients will travel back to Germany via Lhasa and Beijing at the beginning of May. Dominik himself want to stay with the Sherpas of his team at Base Camp. “It’s about the Sherpas and their families,” says Dominik. “They have supported us so often. Therefore it is for me a matter of course to stay with them in this difficult situation and to ensure that they come home.” According to his information, the way from Tibet to Kathmandu is still cut off.

Baumann visiting the family of avalanche victim Chhiring Sherpa

There was no climbing on Mount Everest on this Saturday. At the Base Camp at 5,300 meters, more than 300 western climbers and an equivalent number of Sherpas commemorated the 16 Nepalis who had been killed in the avalanche in Khumbu Icefall exactly one year ago. It was the worst avalanche disaster in the history of Everest. The German climber and physician Matthias Baumann had witnessed the tragedy at the Base Camp. Later he visited the families of the victims and launched a relief campaign for them. In March, the 43-year-old trauma surgeon from the city of Tuebingen traveled again to Nepal. He distributed money to the families of the victims and launched financial sponsorships to guarantee the education of the avalanche victims’ children.

Matthias, a year ago, you were at the Base Camp of Mount Everest, when the avalanche released in the Khumbu Icefall. You were among the doctors who first treated the injured climbers. Are you still thinking of what happened on 18 April 2014?

In recent days and of course especially today on the anniversary, I’ve been thinking of it again. I’m not traumatized because I am daily facing suffering in my job as a trauma surgeon. But it moves me emotionally, on the one hand because of my own passion for mountaineering, on the other hand because the avalanche victims were Sherpas, whom I do appreciate anyway.

You’ve collected a total of 100,000 Euros for the families of the avalanche victims and you were just now in Nepal to distribute the donated money. How are the families today?

My impression is that they have regained stability again, but not completely. When I visited them, most women of avalanche victims burst into tears. That was not the case last year – maybe because they were still in shock, maybe because they wanted to show strength in the presence of their children. This time it was much more emotional.

Meeting with Sherpa families in Kathmandu

The families lost their breadwinners. Do they make ends meet?

It’s difficult. As always in such a case in Nepal, other relatives have to help. Women in the mountain areas have almost no chance to make money. In Kathmandu, that works a bit better. The Nepalese government increased its emergency aid for the families from 400 to 5,000 US dollars and handed over the money. Some expedition operators which had employed the Sherpas who died in the avalanche, for instance Alpine Ascents International, gave money too. Therefore the families are not fully dependent on themselves. But I got the impression that they still do need help.

In Khumbu, I also donated money to a Sherpa family whose breadwinner died on Everest in 2012 [Namgyal Tshering Sherpa fell into a crevasse near Camp 1]. This family had received only the emergency aid which was usual then, means $ 400, nothing else. That was brutal. After all, last year’s avalanche disaster draw a little attention to the fate of the Sherpa families that lost relatives on Everest.

Did you feel that the atmosphere within the Sherpa community has changed due to the avalanche incident?

Definitely. There were these different groups among the Sherpas. We saw that in the attack against Simone Moro and Ueli Steck in 2013. And last year I experienced myself how aggressive a small group of Sherpas was, while the majority actually wanted to continue climbing. I got the impression that after the avalanche disaster Sherpas have moved closer together again. There was a small positive effect, even if not all the demands of the Sherpas have been met.

Everest Base Camp

Currently, again more than 300 foreign climbers are at the Base Camp on the Nepalese side of Everest. Is it business as usual?

I think, actually the number of climbers should be reduced. But this is a double-edged sword. On the other hand so many income opportunities for local people are connected with climbing on Everest. Therefore, there is largely business as usual again, except for the fact that the permits cost additional $ 1,000 each [The price for an Everest permit is now $ 11,000 per person, regardless of the number of expedition members] and that the additional revenue is to go into a relief fund. In addition, the route through the icefall was relocated to some extent. But everything else remains the same.

The Nepalese government has decided that the permits from 2014 remain valid to 2019. That goes for you, too. What’s about your plan to try Everest again?

Dreams do not disappear, nor does the passion for climbing. For me, it was not possible this year because I changed my job. I would have preferred the north side of Everest, because there are now so many German high altitude mountaineers. That would have interested me as a physician too, because many of them want to climb up without bottled oxygen. Honestly, I really would have liked to join them.

Matthias Baumann in the Khumbu Icefall

Would you return to Everest with a different feeling?

I always felt personally connected to the Sherpa people. But after the experience of 2014, I have even more respect for them and their performance. For me, they are the true heroes on Everest.

It seems to me that many other climbers on Everest don’t show this kind of respect.

I think so too. Many see the Sherpas only as unskilled workers. Instead many of them are better climbers than the majority of the western Everest aspirants. This makes it much more interesting when you’re out with them. I do respect the Sherpas at eye level, and they realize me doing it this way. They tell me a lot about their culture, and we have lots of fun together. This is a real enrichment for me. Sometimes respect is greater than money.

P.S. Matthias continues collecting donations for the families of Sherpas who died in the Himalayas.

Dominik Mueller

The Everest climbers are in the starting blocks. In four weeks, the majority of them will travel to Nepal or Tibet. The final decision of the Nepalese government, whether and, if so, how exactly the permits of the prematurely terminated spring season 2014 are valid for 2015, is still to be made. Dominik Mueller, head of the German operator Amical alpin, doesn’t have to worry about that.  The 43-year-old leads an expedition to the Tibetan north side of Everest. His team will include not only “normal” clients but also three top-class mountaineering professionals from Germany. Ralf Dujmovits, so far the only German who climbed all eight-thousanders, wants to scale Everest without bottled oxygen – together with the Canadian Nancy Hansen. Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger plan to do the same. The German couple has so far climbed six eight-thousanders. Dominik Müller worked as an expedition leader on six of the 14 highest mountains. He reached the summit of Cho Oyo twice. “During the other expeditions, I had to put aside my personal interests being the leader”, Dominik told me. This time on Everest this could be different.

North side of Mount Everest

Dominik, soon you will be on your way to Mount Everest. Is this still something special for you?

Actually, each eight-thousander is special to me. But on the one hand Everest is simply the highest mountain. On the other hand it challenges me as an operator because there is a lot to organize, more than on other mountains.

There was a lot of discussion about Everest after last year’s events on the Nepalese south side. Did you find any change in the client behavior?

No, concerning the level of demand. But I have to point out that we don’t offer expeditions on the south side, just because of the dangers of the route. We only offer the Tibetan north side.  But it can be confirmed that more climbers tend to go the north side, because more operators are present there. I think it all depends on who is offering what where? The client follows the operator.

Have the Chinese driven up the prices?

The Chinese have been doing it in the recent years – not only on Everest, but also on the other eight-, seven- and six-thousanders in Tibet. They just try to get the maximum.

Ralf Dujmovits

This time, you have a rather unusual expedition group. There are not only clients, as they are usually found on commercial expeditions. The professional climbers Ralf Dujmovits, Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger bought themselves into your expedition. Does that make it special?

Of course. On the one hand, the professionals want to be free in their actions on the mountain. On the other hand the clients want to be attended in the best possible way. That may create some little tension. On the other hand, the average clients, of course, benefit from these experienced climbers. You won’t find so much concentrated competence at base camp in the near future.

Does this enable you to restrain a bit concerning your responsibility?

No, I am fully challenged. I want to attend the clients as well as the professionals in the best way possible, doing all the organizing, even those little things that have to be done on-site.

But this time, you will be also allowed to think a bit of yourself, won’t you?

My goal is to try Everest without bottled oxygen. We have a very good support team for our clients that will attend them in an optimum way. Thus I think I should have some freedom to do my thing.

Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger

Will it be your first attempt on Everest?

Yes. When I do find the time, I’ll climb together with Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger. It’s important that we are on the mountain not in a large group but in small teams. Then everyone can acclimatize individually and choose his own speed, depending on how he is doing. This is one of the keys to success on this mountain.

Apropos large groups.  There will be many of these on Everest. Do you have a plan how to avoid the crowds on the route, a special trick?

There can’t be any special trick, because you’re always depending on the weather conditions. But you may climb in a slightly counter-cyclical way by starting a little earlier or later when the good weather window opens. An advantage of the northern route is that there are not so many traffic jams, because you can overtake better. There are fewer bottlenecks than on the south side.

Let’s look into the future. If you want to play the prophet, what is going to happen on Everest in the next few years?

Hard to say. In Nepal, quite a lot is changing. The Climbing Sherpas exert massive pressure on the government. I welcome that. We are only guests in a foreign country, these people need to be properly insured. Regarding the route, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next. It is discussed whether using ladders or even whether to set up two tracks, one for the ascent, one for the descent. There are many ideas but still nothing concrete.

Much traffic on Everest

Some operators want to transport material to Camp 1 or 2 by helicopter. What do you think about this?

This is ambiguous. On the one hand you trust in the work of the Climbing Sherpas, on the other hand you cut their possibility to do their job. Finally, they also live on the material transports. For me, an ascent is only a true ascent, when we manage it without technical help from outside, means also without helicopters. Whether “by fair means” or with bottled oxygen, you should walk up and down the mountain by foot.

Are there still people who previously climbed only one or two mountains and want to scale Everest next?

We get such requests. But then it is the duty of us organizers to tell them: Listen, you’re not ready! Finally, it is also about people’s life. You don’t have to do everything for money, it’s also our job to advice the clients honestly.

But the operators have not been pursuing a uniform line so far.

That is precisely the problem. The client should carefully consider with whom he goes on expedition. He should consider how much experience an operator has on high mountains and how serious he advises.

P.S.:  I say goodbye now for a week to relax and ski in the Alps :-). Then I’ll be back for you. And here’s a bit of Everest to enjoy and dream:

Russell Brice

He kept silent for weeks, but now he has found very clear words. “This is my 20th year of operations for Himalayan Experience but never before have I experienced such a variety of emotions as I did this year” writes Russell Brice at the beginning of a five-part series of reports about what happened on and around Mount Everest this spring. At this point I can only sum up the content but you should really take time to read Russell’s first hand reports in its full length. The owner and expedition operator from New Zealand was at Everest Base Camp when the devastating avalanche went down over the Khumbu Icefall and killed 16 Nepalese climbers on 18 April. “It appears that there was already a traffic jam in this area at the time of the avalanche, so it is not surprising that there were so many killed and injured.”

Where did the money go?

More than 150 people were in the Icefall at that time, Brice estimates. He commends all people who got involved in the rescue operation that started quickly after the avalanche: “To see so many people running up the hill un-hesitantly putting themselves in danger in order to help others is most creditworthy.” Russell blames the Nepalese Tourism Ministry for the fact that on the day of the avalanche there were only three of 39 Liason Officers at Base Camp. “Remember that each Liason Officer is paid $ 2,500 plus travel expenses so we as expedition teams have just paid a little under $100,000 for nothing which begs the question as to where did this money actually go?”

“Corrupt people”

Rescue helicopter over the Khumbu Icefall

“Without consultation” the Ministry sent a large military helicopter to Pheriche to collect the bodies of the victims and take them to Lukla for further identification by the police, the 61-year-old reports: “A job that the Liaison Officers at Base Camp should have been able to do. Then the military helicopter had a mechanical fault so apparently had to stay overnight causing total indignation to the grieving families.” Russell excoriates the Ministry, especially the current Under Secretary Madhu Sudan Burlakoti: “Sometimes we have a good person who wants to understand whilst at other times like right now we have corrupt people who do not want to be helpful. Having been to several meetings in the past week with the Under Secretary, I am appalled by the lack of understanding, the conceited and abusive manner that this man deals with my staff and others of considerable repute.”

Same faces, same problems

Mount Everest (from Kala Pattar)

The expedition operator from New Zealand confirms that some Sherpas in Base Camp were ready to use violence. Russell asked his Sirdar Phurba Tashi if the Sherpas were still prepared to climb on Everest and Lhotse. “He told me that they all were, but advised that it would be unwise for Himalayan Experience to continue with the expedition as word was around that other Sherpas would break the legs of our staff and would firebomb our Kathmandu offices if we continued. It was with deep concern and reluctance that I eventually decided that it was best to cancel our expeditions.” Brice accuses certain Sherpas of having poisoned the atmosphere not only this spring but also after the avalanche on Manaslu in fall 2012 which killed eleven climbers and in the dispute with Simone Moro and Ueli Steck in spring 2013. “I see the same faces causing problems.”

They did not respect the agreement that each team should be able to make its own decision to climb or not, and that there should not be pressure put on teams, says Russell. “For this I have totally lost the respect of that particular Sherpa community that pushed these events through and hijacked the Everest season.”

Facing difficult times

After weeks of negotiations with the Tourism Ministry in Kathmandu the New Zealander is disenchanted. “This is the very best opportunity that the Ministry has ever had to make meaningful and progressive changes that will be appreciated by the Sherpa community and would demonstrate to the international community that they are serious about administration of this important tourist business”, writes Russell Bruce. “But no, they have done nothing, which is disappointing. What is even worse is that they are now embroiled in corruption, lies and deceit.” Russell expects that Nepal is facing difficult times. “It is now hard for the climbing and sponsorship community to have faith in the administration of mountaineering tourism in Nepal, the long term effects will probably be quite drastic and this will have an effect on the amount of employment of the local community; not only Sherpas, but hotels, airlines, food suppliers, porters, lodges, taxi drivers and even post card sellers.”

Basecamp on the south side of Everest

One crisis meeting leads to another, at Everest basecamp at 5300 meters as well as at the seat of the Nepalese government in Kathmandu. It is still unclear whether there will be attempts to climb the highest mountain in the world via the Nepalese south side this spring. “Most teams are leaving the basecamp. They are afraid that something will happen (many avalanches are still coming down), but also that other Sherpas could punish them for going on”, German reporter Juliane Moecklinghoff, who accompanies the blind Austrian climber Andy Holzer, writes in her Everest diary. “There have been several meetings among the various team leaders, Sirdars and Sherpas but it remains unclear what the final decision will be”, reports Eric Simonson of the expedition organizer International Mountain Guides (IMG). Since the avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall last Friday killed 16 Nepalis, all mountain activities have been resting.

Fear of financial hardship

There are also discussions among the Sherpas about what to do. “The majority would rather not return to the mountain as there is an overwhelming sadness at the loss of so many members from their close knit community, and this is the sentiment expressed vocally at mass meetings by the younger sherpas”, writes David Hamilton, expedition leader of the British Jagged Globe team. “The older Sherpas are aware that without the wages from the Spring Everest season many of the climbing sherpas will experience financial hardship in the year ahead.” High porters can earn about US $ 5,000 in a climbing season on Mount Everest, Climbing Sherpas, who lead their clients to the 8,850-meter-high summit and get an extra bonus, even up to $ 10,000.

Some demands satisfied

“All climbing activities will surely resume in a day or two”, said Madhu Sudhan Burlakoti, Joint Secretary of the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, trying to spread optimism. The government has now satisfied some demands of the Sherpas. So it announced to set up a relief fund for victims of mountain accidents and their families, for which a part of the climbing royalties shall be used. In addition, the insurance payout for those killed on the mountain shall be increased from a million to 1.5 million rupees (about 15,000 $).

Transport flights with helicopters?

Rescue flight on Everest

This is obviously not enough for the Sherpas at basecamp. The government announced to send a high-level delegation to Everest for negotiations on Thursday. The Tourism ministry has decided to reconsider its stance on not to let helicopters land above the basecamp for transport. So far, only rescue flights are allowed. The Nepalese, who were buried by the avalanche, had been carrying material and food for the Western climbers to the high camps. But even without their heavy loads they would have had probably hardly a chance to escape the deadly ice. “The mountain has been deteriorating rapidly the past three years due global warming, and the breakdown in the Khumbu Icefall is dramatic, especially at the upper icefall”, reports Tim Rippel from Peak Freaks Expeditions. “Each day we sit and listen to the groaning and crashing of the glacier. Political grievances aside, we are not here to kill people.”

Treacherous labyrinth of ice

The very first climbers had respect for the Khumbu Icefall. This is underlined by the nicknames which the members of the successful British Everest expedition 1953 gave to the risky passages through the labyrinth of ice: “Hillary’s Horror”, “Mike’s Horror”, “Atom Bomb area”. The icefall was “the key to all attempts on the south side of Everest”, wrote Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealander, who, together with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, stood first on the 8850-meter-high summit. Since then about 40 climbers, most of them Sherpas, were killed in the Khumbu Icefall by avalanches from the west shoulder or collapsing seracs. In recent years, high temperatures have even increased the danger of avalanches. For this reason, the New Zealand expedition organizer Russell Brice had abandoned his expedition in 2012.

No hope for missing climbers

The disaster on Friday was the worst in the history of Mount Everest. By now 13 dead bodies have been recovered from the ice and snow. There was no more hope to find the three still missing climbers alive, said a spokesman of the Ministry of Tourism. All victims are Nepalis, most belonged to the ethnic group of Sherpas. They all were carrying material and food from basecamp to the camp above the icefall, when they were hit by the ice avalanche. They had no chance to escape.

Double tragedy

The families of the victims are hit twice. They have not only lost a relative but also a breadwinner. Porters on Mount Everest can earn about US $ 5,000 in a season. The average income in Nepal is only $ 692, thus it remains one of 20 poorest countries in the world. The Nepalese government has announced a relief of 40,000 rupees (about $ 400) for the families of the avalanche victims. This is hardly more than a drop in the ocean.

The expedition organizers are obliged to insure their Nepalese staff. Last summer, the government in Kathmandu had decided to almost double the mountaineering workers’ insurance at the beginning of 2014. Now in case of death the families of Sirdars (head of the local team staff), mountain guides and high altitude workers who are climbing higher than base camp are given one million rupees (about $ 10,000), the families of basecamp staff 500,000 rupees (about $ 5,000). The American Alpine Club has established a Sherpa Support Fund for the families of the Everest avalanche victims.

Dangerous Khumbu Icefall

The spring season on Everest begins with a disaster. On the Nepalese south side of the mountain, an avalanche has hit the Khumbu Icefall. “Around 25 persons were swept away by the avalanche”, a spokesman of the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism said. “We have rescued eight alive, and 12 bodies have been recovered so far.” Four Sherpas were still missing. Climbers from six expeditions were caught in the avalanche. Due to other reports, all victims were Sherpas who were fixing the route route through the labyrinth of ice when the avalanche went off at an altitude of about 5800 meters.

The dangerous passage is called “popcorn field” because there are so many ice blocks of collapsed seracs or out of ice avalanches. This spring, some 300 climbers from 28 expeditions have pitched their tents on the south side of Mount Everest.

By now it is the worst avalanche disaster in the history of Mount Everest. In 1922, on the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest seven Sherpas were killed in an avalanche. In 1970 within days seven Sherpas lost their lives in the Khumbu Icefall.