Busy season for the doctors of Everest ER

by Kraig Becker on

The spring climbing season in the Himalaya is well underway, with dozens of teams climbing on a variety of mountains across the region. The busiest of those peaks is Mt. Everest of course, where in a few weeks time, a couple of hundred mountaineers will be hoping to stand on top of the highest summit on the planet. Many of them wouldn’t have a chance of doing so however, if it weren’t for the hard work of a dedicated team of doctors who staff the Everest ER.

More formally known as the Everest Base Camp Medical Clinic, the Everest ER first appeared on the South Side of that mountain back in 2003. It is a joint effort between the Himalayan Rescue Association of Nepal and the U.S., two organizations that work closely with one another to ensure that the climbers have a reliable place to have their health needs addressed. Over the course of the past eight years, the ER tent has become a staple on the mountain, dealing with everything from minor sprains and bruises to life-threatening high-altitude sicknesses.

2011 has been a particularly busy season for the staff of the Everest ER. Last week they noted that they had already seen 276 patients and were on pace to shatter all previous records for the number of visitors to come through the doors of their tent. Since setting up shop in April, they’ve had to evacuate three of those patients due to the severity of their altitude sickness, but each of them recovered nicely once they were taken to lower altitudes. Another patient, a Sherpa no less, made the ill advised move of taking off one of his gloves while high on the mountain. The 100 mph winds there quickly delivered a severe case of frost bite that the docs had to treat as well. The vast majority of the other ailments that the ER team has had to deal with have been simple stomach issues, severe colds, and a case or two of the Khumbu Cough, an upper respiratory condition that is common to visitors of the region.
The record number of patience that the Everest ER doctors have seen this year is not indicative of careless climbers or overcrowding on the mountain. In fact, by most accounts, Everest is quieter this year than it has been in some time. But over the past eight years, the ER staff has built an excellent reputation of having the skills and supplies necessary to treat any health related problem that the climbers have, and that has earned them a healthy dose of respect around Base Camp. In years past, some of the larger commercial expeditions would bring their own team doctor with them, but now many of them are saving money by leaving their doc behind and relying on the Everest ER squad instead. This means that mountain is probably safer then ever to climb, as a well trained, and well prepared, medical staff is on duty at all hours of the day and night.

Of course, everything that they’ve treated thus far this season is just a warm-up for what is to come. Later this week the Sherpa guides will complete the process of fixing the ropes all the way to the top of the 29,029-foot peak. Once that work is complete, the other climbers can begin their summit bids at well, and sometime around the middle of the month, they’ll do just that. The real dangers of the climb will reveal themselves when the mountaineers head up to the top en masse, where they’ll be left exposed, possibly for hours, in extreme cold and thin air.

They can rest assured however, that the Everest ER docs are there for them should they need them.

[Photo credit: Pavel Novak via WikiMedia]

Legendary Sherpa to attempt 21st summit of Everest

by Kraig Becker on

Legendary Himalayan mountain guide Apa Sherpa has returned to his home country of Nepal once again this year, where he’ll be attempting his 21st summit of Mt. Everest. If successful, he will extend his existing record as the man to accomplish that feat most often.

Apa, who now lives in Utah, left his friends and family last Friday, and set off for the Nepali capital of Kathmandu. That city serves as the gateway to the Himalaya, and most mountaineering expeditions to the region begin and end there. Apa says that he knows that climbing the tallest mountain on the planet is risky, but he feels compelled to go back once again in an effort to help his homeland. The mountain guide’s Apa Sherpa Foundation raises funds to improve educational facilities of children living in the Himalaya.

The beginning of April traditionally marks the beginning of the spring climbing season in Nepal, Tibet, and other Himalayan countries. Over the past week, climbers and trekkers have been arriving in Kathmandu and setting out for Everest, Annapurna, and a dozen other high peaks. Climbing these giant mountains is no simple affair, and most will spend six to eight weeks attempting to reach the summit of their choice.

For Apa, this is all old hat. He has been making the journey to Everest every year since the late 1980’s, achieving his first successful summit in 1990. For the past three years, he has been a part of the Eco Everest Team, which is made up of a group of very experienced Sherpas who work together to clean up trash from the mountain. The team has been directly responsible for removing tons of discarded gear, empty oxygen bottles, and other waste products from the slopes of Everest.

If all goes as planned, Apa should be making his record-breaking 21st summit bid sometime in mid-May.

Mountain biker set to ride up Everest

by Kraig Becker on

In the world of high altitude mountaineering, there are few challenges bigger than Mt. Everest. Standing 29,029 feet in height, it is the tallest peak on the planet, remaining unclimbed until 1953 when Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay finally reached the summit. Since then, literally hundreds of climbers have stood on top of the mountain, but not a single mountain biker has ever managed to conquer it. One man hopes to change all that this year.

Bob “Gnarly” Goldstein has been riding mountain bikes for years. The 45-year old copier salesman from Topeka, Kansas says he just prefers them over other kinds of bikes, saying they are simply more comfortable to ride and “they can go anywhere!” Bob has taken his trusty Huffy Cyclone on a number of local trails and on vacation with him to Colorado, where it not only helped him to get around Boulder, but allowed him to enjoy the mountain scenery as well. Soon, he’ll turn his sights on the biggest mountain of them all.

With April now upon us, mountaineers and trekkers are descending on the capital of Nepal –Kathmandu. The city is the last stop before heading into the Himalaya and Bob, and his trusty bike arrived there just yesterday. Soon he’ll begin his tune-up ride to Everest Base Camp, located at 17,600 feet. Once there, the real challenge will begin, as he intends to pedal all the way to the summit.

Goldstein knows that his task won’t be an easy one. He’ll have to navigate through the dreaded Khumbu Icefall, riding his Huffy across ladders precariously placed over crevasses in the glacier. Once on the other side, he’ll start the long, slow, grueling climb up the South Col and eventually to the top. “I’m pretty sure I’ll only be using the first three gears,” he says.While most climbers carry backpacks stuffed with layers of warm clothing, crampons, carabiners, and other climbing gear, Bob will have a few other items in his pack. He’ll be carrying spare inner tubes, a small tire pump, and special tools for changing a flat on the slopes. When asked by an incredulous Sherpa where he intended to carry his oxygen bottles, Goldstein replied “Duh! I have two bottle cages right on my bike dude!”

Bob says that he has been training his whole life for this opportunity. He regularly tackles some of the bigger hills in his home town, and his recent rides have gotten him off the pavement and onto the dirt trails as well. He’s even been practicing changing flat tires as quickly as possible, as the biting winds and sub-zero temperatures on Everest can turn those kinds of activities into brutal endeavors. Goldstein says he has no intention of losing a finger or toe due to frostbite, brought on by fixing a flat.

And after he suffers through all the pain and challenges of getting to the summit, Bob will be in for the ride of his life. He says he’s looking forward to “bombing” back down the mountain, and “catching big air” off the Hillary Step. “Which reminds me,” he adds hesitantly, “I need to go check my breaks.”

Good luck Bob! We’re cheering for you.

Nepal declares 2011 year of tourism

by Kraig Becker on

The tiny Himalayan country of Nepal is making a major push to attract visitors this year, as they’ve kicked off the 2011 Tourism Year campaign hoping to lure travelers with their vast natural wonders, that include the tallest mountain in the world in Mt. Everest.

The overall goal of the program is to raise awareness in countries across the globe of everything that Nepal has to offer. The country is famous for its fantastic trekking and climbing throughout the Himalaya Mountains of course, but also offers plenty of cultural immersion, complete with a heavy Buddhist influence. For those looking to for something other than a mountain experience, there is also the Chitwan region, which offers a tropical rainforest setting and plenty of wildlife to view as well.

While Nepal has set a goal of luring more than 1 million visitors from around the world into it’s borders in 2011, the Tourism Year program is squarely aimed at neighboring India. Officials hope to draw more than 300,000 travelers from that country alone, and an organized marketing campaign is already underway in ten cities along the border between the two nations.

Nepal’s economy is highly dependent on the tourism trade, and these efforts show just how important it is to the government there. If they hope to bring in more visitors however, that government is going to have to remain stable. One of the challenges of traveling in the Himalayan country is the political unrest has, at times, made some regions unsafe, and general strikes in Kathmandu can bring that city to a halt, with travel in and out at a stand still.

Still, those issues aside, travelers who do make the journey are in for a treat. Adventure travelers will especially love hiking in the mountains and those looking for a healthy dose of culture won’t be disappointed either. Kathmandu can be noisy and chaotic, but head out into the countryside and you’ll find quaint villages, beautiful temples, and friendly people who love to welcome visitors from abroad.

Hundreds of trekkers stranded in Himalaya due to bad weather

by Kraig Becker on

More than 2000 travelers remain stranded in the Himalaya after bad weather moved into the region earlier this week. High winds and thick cloud cover have conspired to cut off all flights back to Kathmandu, leaving the high altitude trekkers with an unexpected extended stay in the mountains.

Most of the travelers were returning from treks in the Khumbu Region of Nepal, which includes hikes up to Everest Base Camp, located at 17,600 feet. Those treks generally begin and end in Lukla, a small and remote village in the Himalaya, which sits at an altitude of roughly 9100 feet, and offers the only true airport in the region. That airport is little more than a runway that runs up the side of the mountain, and is widely considered to be amongst the most dangerous in the world. The already tricky approach to the village becomes impossible when you add bad weather to the equation.

Fortunately, help began arriving yesterday when the Nepali army sent helicopters to Lukla to start evacuating some of the stranded travelers back to Kathmandu. Their helicopters perform much better in the poor weather conditions and offer plenty of lift to get the trekkers and their gear out of the Himalaya safely. With so many travelers waiting for a ride however, it’ll take a few days before everyone is back in the capital.

Having visited Lukla this past spring, I can’t even imagine where all of these trekkers are staying at the moment. While it is one of the larger villages in the Khumbu Valley, that isn’t saying a whole lot. There are a number of good teahouses to stay in there, but the rooms fill up quickly, and generally it is a very transient place, with adventure travelers coming and going on a regular basis. With 2000 trekkers in the village, it must be one very busy and crowded place.