For Some Climbers, It’s Not Just About Going Up!

by Kraig Becker on

The spring climbing season is in full swing in the Himalaya, and the climbers on Everest, and the other major peaks in the region, are focused on acclimatizing and preparing for their summit bids, which are most likely to come around mid-May. For most of them, their focus is squarely on getting up the mountain, standing on top, and then getting back down in one piece.

But there are some climbers who feel that reaching the summit is only half of the adventure. Guys like Ben Clark, Josh Butson, and Jonathan Miller, who are currently in base camp on a 23,390 foot mountain in Nepal called Baruntse. For this team, the expedition isn’t just about reaching the summit, but also making an impressive descent as well. That’s why, when they reach the top, sometime in the next few weeks, they’ll congratulate one another, brieflyadmire the view, and then step into a set of skis, and proceed to make the first descent of the mountain.

This adventuresome trio will be climbing Baruntse along a new route, one that no one else has ever used to reach the summit before. They’ll also be climbing in “Alpine style” which means that they’ll go up the mountain in one push, carrying all the gear they need with them, including their skis. They’ll make the climb without the aid of Sherpas or porters of any kind. It is mountain climbing in it’s purest form, and then of course they’ll ski down a massive Himalayan wall that no one has ever skied before.

You can follow the expedtion at SkiTheHimalayas.com, where you’ll learn more about the climbers, view photos from the climb, and read regular dispatches, directly from the team, on their progress. Follow along as the adventure unfolds.

The Highest Cricket Match in the World

by Kraig Becker on

The sport of Cricket can trace its origins back to England in the 16th century. Over the course of the next 200 years, it rose in popularity to the point of becoming a national obsession in that country, and when the British Empire expanded around the globe, the game went international with it. Today, Cricket is played in more than 100 countries, one of the most popular sports in the world.

That popularity has inspired two teams to go to Nepal in an attempt to play the highest Cricket match in history. Over the past few weeks, the players have assembled in Kathmandu, flown to Lukla, and have been trekking up to Gorak Shep, a remote Himalayan village, where they intend to play an official match at 5165 meters or roughly 16,945 feet.

The teams are named Tenzing and Hillary, in honor of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, the first two men to summit Everest, the mountain that looms over the field they will be playing on. Traditionally a team is made up of 11 players, but these have 15 in order to ensure that altitude sickness doesn’t prevent them from fielding a full roster. That doesn’t seem likely however, as even though a few of the players have had to remain behind, they are expected to rejoin their squads over the next few days.

The trek to Gorak Shep was completed on Sunday, and the athletes will now take a few days to acclimatize and prepare for their match, which will include officially sanctioned umpires. You can read all about the teams, their quest to play the highest match in the world, and their adventures in Nepal at their webiste TheEverestTest.com.

A New Annapurna Circuit?

by Kraig Becker on

We mentioned the Annapurna Circuit a few weeks back, calling it one of the world’s classic treks, but also lamenting the fact that a new road, built in the name of progress, was altering the experience forever. What once took the better part of three weeks to traverse, can now be driven in just two days, and the solitude of the Himalayan hike is now gone.

While the traditional Annapurna Circuit may never be the same, according to this story from the Times Online, a new one may be emerging to take its place. An adventure travel tour operator based in the U.K. called Mountain Kingdoms, foresaw the impact of the new road, and hired three Sherpa Sirdars to create a new route. The result? An eight day trek around the Annapurna Massif, home of the 10th highest mountain in the world, that begins in Muktinath and runs back to Naya Phu, a village not far from Pokhara, the hub of that part of Nepal.

This new trekking circuit offers much the same experience as the old one. The clearly defined and easy to follow trail passes through a remote village every few hours, and those villages have the traditional teahouses that are popular along most trekking routes in the Himalaya. Teahouses offer inexpensive food and places to sleep, allowing hikers to travel much more lightly than on similar treks in other parts of the world.

The article indicates that the new route is breathtakingly beautiful, and a throwback to the quiet solitude of the old Annapurna circuit. For now, it remains a bit of a secret, but that is likely to change soon. Go now for a really unique trekking experience.

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.