Himalaya Update: Big Adventures Still Underway

ExWeb has a good update today on the situation in the Himalaya, with news from all over the region. While the Fall season is now winding down, there are still some big climbs ongoing.

On Kangchenjunga, Fredrik Eriksson is on his final summit push as he attempts to make the first full ski descent of the mountain. He and his climbing partner Jörgen Aamot are currently stuck in Camp 2 however, as they wait out a storm. They are reporting heavy snowfall and whiteout conditions are preventing them from going any higher for now.

Over on Annapurna, only the American Dare to Dream Team remains on the mountain, still hoping for a crack at the summit. Over the weekend, the team made up of Czechs Martin Minarik and Petr Masek, along with Slovak Dodo Kopold gave up their attempt after getting as high as 7500m on the peak. Reports from Annapurna indicate that the weather is sketchy there as well, and that the upper portions of the mountain remain unstable.

Unstable is the word that comes to mind on Ama Dablam as well, where teams are hoping to scout higher on the mountain before proceeding up. According to IMG, they are hoping to get reports from experienced climbers who have been on the mountain before, to more accurately assess the risks near the summit. Avalanches continue to be the biggest source of concern, as the higher faces of the mountain, which are now mostly clean of snow, and showing exposed blue ice instead.

Meanwhile, on Everest and Makalu teams are hoping to put up new routes. The Korean team is still toiling away on the Southwest Face of Everest, working that new route, while Steve House’s Team is in a holding pattern, waiting to continue their attempt on Makalu’s new route as well.

The season will begin to wrap up in the next week or two, and the weather windows are closing rapidly. For most of the teams still in the Himalaya, there is probably only one opportunity left for them to bag their respective peaks. If the conditions cooperate, there should be some exciting reports from Nepal soon.

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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.