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Everest witnesses crowds of climbers in peak season

May is the peak season to climb the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. It seems that the highest peak on the earth is no longer too high to reach. On the contrast, the Everest witnesses crowds of climbers in peak season.    

 

Everest-climbers

So many Everest climbers. The most popular tour route to Everest is Lhasa to Everest Base Camp Tour.   

 
In May, we can see multiple summits on both sides every day. However the North side took the full force of high winds, as usual. Sadly, there were also deaths.
 
There were about 300 summits in last week alone, well over 600 for the season. But they were orderly and the waits at the usual suspects were reported by climbers to be under half an hour. It appears the leaders learned from last year’s problems. But more than anything, having nine days of summits compared to only two made all the difference.
 
Last week started strong with over 75 climbers reaching the top on Monday. This included the Everest Trilogy by Kenton Cool and Dorje Gylgen who summited Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse – this had never been done in a single push from Base Camp. Dorje Gylgen did not summit Nuptse.
 
Also, on top was Brit Dan Hughes who made history and attracted unwanted attention from the Nepali authorities with his live BBC interview from the summit. Samina Baig, became the first Pakistani woman to summit. Samina’s brother, Mirza Ali did not summit – there was some confusion about this.
 
The teams on the North side pushed hard through harsh winds, some made it, some held tight, some retreated. During the week, a Japanese climber died on the North side in the harsh environment. He is reported to still be attached to the fixed line near the exit cracks.
 
The action really picked up mid week as the winds finally abated. Six Indian students, all age 16, from Sanawar India made the summit along with their guides, leaders and Sherpas. 80 year-old Japanese Miura Yiuchiro summited, setting an age record.
 
Dave Hahn got his 15th summit, a non-Sherpa record. Melissa Arnot set an American female record with her fifth summit. Lakpa Sherpa holds the female record with six summits. Phurba Tashi with Himex tied Apa Sherpa for the most Everest summits with 21.
 
There were multiple other firsts and history but I leave it to them to share their success with the world. A sincere congratulation to each climber for their effort regardless of the result.
 
Of note, Russell Brice, Himex, had a very good year ending this week with 22 summits on Everest alone. He also put climbers on the summit of Nuptse and Lhotse. I’m sure he is proud of this year after a difficult 2012.
 
As the week ended, the helicopters were busy. Many climbers choose to ride share back to Lukla or even to Kathmandu and not trek out through the Khumbu. On the North, some teams are still at Base Camp waiting for drivers from the CTMA to shuttle them back to Nepal.
 
Several teams still had Sherpas removing all the tents, oxygen bottles and gear from the mountain. Within a few days, Everest will be quiet once again.
 
Last week there were four deaths. In addition to the one mentioned earlier on the North, Lee Hsiao-shih, 57 from Taiwan was reported to have died on Lhotse. Sung Ho-Seo, 34, of South Korea was attempting the climb on the South without supplementary oxygen and died on his way down the mountain. Mohammed Hossain, 35, from Bangladesh, died in his tent a few hours after successfully summiting from the South. There have been nine deaths for 2013, four were Sherpa. None were attributed crowds.
 
Master Catherine Jigme

About the Author - Master Catherine Jigme

With exceptional passion and outstanding leadership, Mrs. Catherine has dedicated herself to Tibet inbound tourism and China tour for 15 years. As one of the handful females who see great potential of Chinese inbound tourism, Catherine has made great contribution to promoting Tibet tourism and enhancing the employment of Tibetans and prosperity of local Tibetan community.

Over the years, she travelled overseas with Tibet Tourism Bureau many times to promote Tibet tourism. Currently, Catherine works as the marketing director of Tibet Vista, an opinion leader behind the whole team of Tibet Vista.

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