Everest: Summit Bids Are A Go! Weather Be Damned!

Another Everest Update today from MountEverest.net. Word is that despite the bad weather, teams are moving up and getting into position for their summit bids. The weather reports say it’s very windy on the mountain right now, but that those winds are expected to calm down and a weather window will open sometime in the next four to five days.

Things are especially busy on the North side where some of the larger teams are waiting for their chance. Nives Meroi sends word that she is heading up today despite the weather conditions and that she’ll wait for the weather window to open while camped at 6300m. There is also word that Wim Hoff, the so called Dutch “Iceman” has made it to the North Col in just his boots and shorts. You’ll recall that Wim is the crazy man who intends to summit in shorts. Lets hope that nothing… er…vital…gets frostbitten. As for me, I don’t think I’d want to take the chance.

On the South side things are a bit more quiet. Teams are said to be mostly acclimatized now, and are resting in ABC or even lower. There are still some fixed ropes to be put into place, and the weather window is still a few days away for them as well. Mike Haugen of the Coleman Everest Team is keeping his cards close to the vest and has elected to not reveal his team’s target summit day.

You get the sense that on the South face it’s much more relaxed and there is a “wait and see” attitude. Much more so than on the North side where the fear of traffic jams seems much more likely. Let’s hope the weather turns on schedule, and these anxious teams can start to make their way up.

Update: Alan is reporting on his Everest 2007 Page that there are two teams on the South side making their summit bids as I write this. The teams are breaking trail and laying down the fixed ropes with the hopes that they’ll make the summit today. I’m sure we’ll hear more about these teams tonight or tomorrow. It looks like not everyone is just resting at lower elevations.

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Kraig Becker

Kraig is an outdoor and adventure travel writer based in Nashville, TN. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to numerous online and print outlets, including Popular Mechanics, Gear Junkie, Outside Online, National Geographic, Digital Trends, Business Insider, TripSavvy, about.com, and of course The Adventure Blog.