Everest Ice Doctors Operate on the Khumbu Icefalls

by Kraig Becker on

Many people operate under the assumption that the most dangerous part of climbing Everest is the so called “Death Zone”, above 26,000 feet, or the summit itself. But on the South Side of the mountain, at least statistically speaking, that just isn’t true. There have been more deaths in the Khumbu Icefall than any other area on Everest, and the Icefall is located just above base camp at about 18,000 feet.

The Khumbu Icefall is found at the southern most end of the Khumbu Glacier, and due to the shifting nature of the ice, large crevasses and giant ice towers are formed in the region. These large cracks make it extremely difficult to cross through this portion of the mountain, and since it changes so rapidly, a new path must be created each year. Enter the Khumbu Ice Doctors.

The Ice Doctors are a team of highly skilled Sherpas who are integral to the success of climbing on Everest on the Nepali side of the mountain. Each year they lay down a series of ladders across the crevasses, and use a thin nylon line, held in place by ice screws and anchors, as a guide rope across the open spaces. Climbers than walk across these openings, usually in their mountaineering boots and with crampons on, stepping on the rungs of the ladder for support, and using the thin ropes to help stabalize themselves. For many, it can be a very terrifying and intimidating proposition.

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It can take dozens of ladders to complete the course through the Icefall, and the climbers will pass through the area several times in the course of establishing their higher camps on the mountain and going through the acclimatization process.

Because the ice can move as much as three to four feet per day, the Ice Doctors stay on the mountain through the end of May maintaining the route and making sure that the ladders and ropes remain in place. Once they pack up their gear and head home, the climbing season is considered over on the South Side for another year, and access to the upper reaches of the mountain is closed once again.

Reports from Everest this year say that the ice docs have used more than 20 ladders in completing the route, and it was expected to open today, giving the teams their first real access to the mountain itself. Many of the teams have already been making practice runs through the Icefall, but now the real work begins, and they’ll soon move through it for the first time, and set-up Camp 1 just on the otherside of this dangerous landmark.

The Indomitable Miss Hawley

by Kraig Becker on

There are a number of legendary men who cast large shadows over the world of mountaineering. Men like George Mallory, Sir Edmund Hillary, and Reinhold Messener, whose exploits in the mountains are told around campfires from the Karakorum to the Andes. But there is a woman who stands with these legends and casts a large shadow of her own. Her name is Elizabeth Hawley, and even the most accomplished mountaineers must pay homage to this Himalayan Queen.

The 85 year old Miss Hawley, as she is known amongst the climbers, first traveled to Nepal in 1960, and she hasn’t left since. She became transfixed by the mountains and the culture of the people that live there, and was drawn to the men who climb the big peaks of the Himalaya. Her training as a journalist compelled her to tell their stories, and soon, she was chronciling all of the major climbs.

Today, nearly 50 years later, she is recognized as the utmost authority on Himalayan climbing, and she still meets with each and every expedition that comes through Kathmandu. Miss Hawley is known for her incredible memory, and she will usually quiz climbers about their plans before they set out to the mountains, and then mercilessly debrief them about the climb upon their return. Often times she has the final say on whether or not an expedition is deemed as having successfully reached the summit, and her Himalayan Database is updated yearly to reflect all the latest climbs. Once entered into that database however, a mountaineer is immortalized, and their story is certified by the indomitable Miss Hawley.

To find out more about this amazing woman, checkout her biographay I’ll Call You in Kathmandu.

The Logistics of Everest

by Kraig Becker on

As we mentioned last week, the Himalayan climbing season is in full swing, and the first teams of mountaineers should be arriving in base camp on Mt. Everest this week. BC on Everest falls at approximately 17,500 feet, higher than most mountains in the world, but it is only the beginning of the climb that hundreds of people have paid as much as $65,000 each, and devoted two months of their spring, not to mention countless hours of training, to attempt.

The first of those numbers is the one that usually gets people to raise their eyebrows. $65,000 is the upper end of the spectrum when it comes to climbing Everest, and it is possible to go for as little as half of that, which is still quite a sum of money of course. But when you’re climbing the highest mountain on the planet, do you really want to go on a “bargain” rate? The money goes to cover the cost of supplies, bottled oxygen, guides, Sherpas, and more.

Once non-climbers get over the sticker shock of how much an Everest climb costs, they then focus on the two months that it takes to complete the task, and they often wonder how come it takes so long. The two month time line includes when the mountaineer sets off for Kathmandu and continues up until they depart Nepal for home. Upon arriving in the Napali capital, there is usually a few days spent there acquiring permits and organizing gear, before they fly to Lukla and begin the roughly ten day trek to base camp, or head to Lhasa in Tibet, depending on their chosen climbing route.

There are a number of paths that climbers can take to reach the summit of Everest, and they can vary greatly in difficulty. The two most popular routes are the North and South Col routes. The North Col falls in Tibet, and thanks to the borders of that country being shut down for over a month, there are few teams climbing from that side of the mountain this year. Instead, the vast majority are climbing the South Col route, which is the same one that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay used back in 1953 when the made the first successful ascent.

No matter which side you climb from however, the approach is similar. Teams will establish a series of camps at various altitudes on the mountain. Each time they go up they will build one of these camps, leaving behind supplies that they will need when they make their final summit push. After the camp is created, they will spend the night there to acclimatize to the altitude, before descending back down to base camp to rest, recuperate, and resupply before repeating the process, going higher on the mountain, until all four of the required camps are complete.

On the South Side of the mountain, Camp I is located at 19,900 feet. From there, the climbers go up a bowl shaped valley called the Western Cwm to establish Camp II, also known as Advanced Base Camp, at roughly 21,300 feet. Moving up the Lhotse Face, they will build Camp III at 24,500 feet, before finally creating Camp IV at 26,000 feet, just below the region of the mountain dubbed “the Death Zone”, so named because the air is so thin at that altitude, that the human body actually begins to break down due to the lack of oxygen.

The creation of these camps takes several weeks, thanks to the slow process of moving all the equipment up the mountain, and the equally slow acclimatization process. Once the camps are ready however, the teams will then wait in BC for a weather window to open. They need to have several days of good weather to make a summit attempt, and it can sometimes take awhile for such a window to open. In the meantime, they sit, and wait, and hope that they can finally get underway. Many experienced climbers say that the boredom that stems from sitting, and waiting, is the hardest part of the climb.

When the opportunity does come, the teams will set out from base camp, moving up the mountain, one camp at a time, spending the night at each before continuing upwards the next day. When they reach Camp IV, they’ll rest and prepare for Summit Day, which begins at midnight, with the climbers setting off in the dark for the summit with the hopes of reaching their goal.

If they’re lucky, they’ll get to the highest point on the planet by mid-morning, but slower climbers will straggle up to the summit into the early afternoon. There is a cut off point in which guides will turn their teams around if they are taking too long however, as they don’t want to be caught above 26,000 feet, after dark, when high winds, sudden storms, and low oxygen can be deadly.

Upon reaching the summit, the climbers will spend just 10 or 20 minutes there, before turning back down. The experienced climbers know that the summit is just the halfway point, and you still need to descend safely for it to be a successful climb. Most will end up spending the night back at Camp IV before completing their descent the next day, arriving back in base camp, where it all started.

In a day or two, they’ll begin the long trek back down the Khumbu Valley to Lukla, hop a flight to Kathmandu where they’ll spend another few days, before at long last, they’ll turn for home. By this point it is usually late May or early June, nearly two months since they set out after their dream.

Are We in a Golden Age of Green Travel?

by Kraig Becker on

Clearly the entire travel industry has been undergoing some dramatic changes over the past few years. There was a time when the thought of “green” travel was relegated to a relatively small, niche market that included some eco-conscious tour operators. But in the past few years there has been an inceased effort to be more green in all area of our lives thanks to an increased awareness of global climate change and a focus on limiting our impact on the environment in general.

This increased awareness and focus within the travel sector has resulted in more energy efficient modes of transportation, the rise of sustainable tourism efforts across the globe, and better environmental policies from many nations. All of this has prompted National Geographic Adventure to ask “Is This a Golden Age of Green Travel?”

Adventure cites an action plan from the World Tourism and Travel Council that offers ten ways to combat climate change and the fact that four major international airlines have begun testing jets that use bio-fuels. They also point to the fact that Marriott Hotels is leading the charge to protect a 1.4 million acre section of the Amazon Jungle.

As further examples of the green movement, the magazine offers up five great eco-lodges, on five different continents, that are all leading the way in sustainable tourism and caring for the Earth. Places like the Black Sheep Inn in Ecuador and the Odd-Balls Camp in Botswana, who are making it easier for us to visit exotic places, while leaving a minimal impact.

Classic Trek: The Annapurna Circuit

by Kraig Becker on

Climbers and high altitude mountaineers aren’t the only ones having fun in the Himalaya this spring. Plenty of backpackers will pour into Nepal too, setting their sites on one of the greatest treks in the world, the legendary Annapurna Circuit. Unfortunately, this may be the last great year to take this hike, as the completion of a new road could spell the end of the things that have made this one so special for so long.

The Annapurna Circuit gets underway near Pokhara, located in western Nepal, and has a completely different feel than trekking in the Khumbu Valley, the country’s other major backpacking hub. For one thing, it tends to not be as crowded, and it can provide a more authentic cultural experience.

Those planning to make the trek should expect to devote between 18 and 20 days to the journey. Over the course of that time, you’ll cover approximately 185 miles, and go as high as 17,770 feet in the Thorung La pass. The Circuit wanders completely around the Annapurna Massif, which is made up of a series of massive Himalayan peaks, of which, the central summit known as Annapurna I reaches 26,545 feet in height. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world, and considered one of the most challenging to scale. Trekkers will also journey in the shadow of Dhaulagiri, the 7th tallest mountain on Earth, which falls just to the west.

One of the unique elements to trekking in Nepal is that it allows travelers to stay in comfortable tea houses at the end of each day. These traditional inns are found in villages, located every few hours along the trail, and offer up warm, comfortable, and relatively inexpensive places to stay throughout the length of the trek. It also means that food and drink are plentiful, which allows for the backpacker to carry less gear and go at their own pace. The easy access to these Himalayan hostels means that you can spend all morning on the trail, and if you feel like taking it easy, stop early in the afternoon for a rest, or push on to the next village, not too far down the line.

As if the luxury of the tea houses wasn’t enough, the trail also has a number of Buddhist temples and other impressive displays of the traditional architecture of the region en route. Couple these attractions with the stunning beauty of the mountains, and travelers get a unique experience unlike nearly any other trek in the world.

The character of the Annapurna Circuit is changing however, and some fear that it will soon lose its charm. As I mentioned, a new road has been built in the area, and now increased traffic has turned a once remote, and tranquil hike into a dusty, noisy experience for trekkers. Many who have hiked the Circuit say that if you really want to experience it in its truest form, this is the year to go, as once the road is completed sometime in 2010, it’ll never be the same again.

The lasting impact of that road has yet to be seen, and for now the Annapurna Circuit remains one of the great clssic treks. It is easy to find a guide service to show you the route, either before you go to Nepal or after you arrive, but one of the other great elements of the Annapurna Circuit is that it can easily be done without a guide, making it one of the most accessible of the world’s classic treks.