Himalaya Fall 2011: Summits To End The Season

The Fall 2011 Himalaya climbing season is quickly coming to an end as climbers finish their expeditions. Some are already heading home, while others are still coming down the mountain, but the last few days have seen a flurry of summits on several peaks.

On Manaslu, Himex has pust 46(!) people on top in the past two days, which is an astounding number. Their dispatch claims that is about 10% of the total number of people who have actually climbed the mountain since it was first summited back in 1956. Similarly, the Altitude Junkies had a dispatch yesterday saying that their team was in position to go up to the summit today, so it seems patience is finally paying off for those who stayed for a few extra days.

IMG is also reporting that their Shisha Pangma team reached the summit yesterday as well. It was a tough climb, with lots of trail breaking through deep snow, but in the end they were able to get up and down safely and are due back in ABC today.

There have been more summits on Cho Oyu as well, with the SummitClimb team topping out on Monday and more teams hoping to go up yesterday amidst good weather. Unfortunately, ExWeb is reporting that there is also an ongoing rescue attempt on that mountain as well, with a stranded Spanish climber in Camp 2. Apparently, the climber turned back from his summit attempt due to exhaustion, and now is unable to make his way unassisted down the mountain. Other climbers are going up to help him, but snow conditions are making things challenging, and there are few teams left in ABC to lend a hand. Lets hope for the best.

The exhausted climbers on Makalu,  Artur Hajzer, Kacper Tekieli, Adam Ciucka and Maciej Stanczak, along with four Sherpas, are continuing their very slow descent. They reportedly reached Camp 1 yesterday and should be back in ABC today, although Stanczak has had to be carried off the mountain due to his extreme exhaustion. They appear to be otherwise in good health and should be fine after a bit of rest.

Congrats to everyone who has topped out over the past few days. It has been a hectic end to the season, and while there may yet be a few more late summits, most of the season is now over, and the Himalaya will grow quiet until the spring.

Himalaya Fall 2011: Summits On Makalu and Cho Oyu!

This past weekend saw continued good weather in the Himalaya, which allowed some teams to summit while others were stymied by deep snow. Now, as the new week begins, some climbers are in place to make a last ditch summit bid, while others are packing up and heading home.

On Friday, ExWeb reported that the Polish team of Artur Hajzer, Tomasz Wolfart and Maciej Stanczak successfully topped out on Makalu after a long, and tough ascent. The three experienced climbers struggled on the way down however, and were actually stranded for a time in Camp 3, where they were too exhausted to move. It was bad enough at one point that a call for rescuers was put out, but that "SOS" was later cancelled and the team has now descended to Camp 2. While they are very tired, they are also in good health and feeling fine. They should be back in Base Camp tomorrow.

Over on Cho Oyu, the Jagged Globe team managed to successfully put three climbers on top, although it wasn't easy. They set off for the summit on Friday but found the snow to be too deep to move, so the climbers descended back to Camp 3, while the Sherpas continued fixing the ropes and clearing the route. On Saturday, the team gave it another go, and discovered that the snow had settled nicely, allowing them to ascend safely and in perfect conditions. Since then, the team has already descended back to BC, and the Sherpas have cleared the camps. They are expected to return to Chinese Base Camp today and back to Kathmandu by Wednesday. Congrats to Matt, Cian, and Jerome on a job well done.

Other teams on Cho Oyu were not so lucky. The Adventure Lovers squad turned back from their summit bid, and left BC on Saturday, with plans to arrive back in Kathmandu today. Likewise, the IMG team went up to the Yellow Band, but found the snow too deep to continue, so they abandoned their attempt and returned to ABC as well. They set out for home on Saturday.

The IMG team on Shisha Pangma hadn't given up yet and as of Friday, they were in Camp 1 on that mountain. There hasn't been any updates since that time however, so it seems likely that they descended and have decided to return to Kathmandu as well.

Finally, climbers are still holding out for a summit attempt on Manaslu, where the Altitude Junkies and Himex teams are reportedly in Camp 3 and are preparing for a summit bid tomorrow. It seems that conditions remain good on that mountain and things are proceeding on schedule and according to plan.

Judging from these reports it seems that the Fall Season will be over by mid-week, and it is likely that the jet stream will settle in over the Himalaya in the next few days as well. All in all, a fairly successful season, despite the trying weather. Lets hope the last of these teams gets up and down safely.

Himalaya Fall 2011: New Summit Bids Underway!

Extremely bad weather shutdown all summit bids last weekend, but the new week brought clear skies and generally good conditions. That has also brought on a new round of summit bids, with most teams now starting to move up their respective mountains, with an eye on topping out this weekend. They're also in a race against time, as the jet stream begins to move over the region.

Himalaya Fall 2011: Snow Stopped, Teams Plan For Next Summit Bid

Yesterday I posted a rather dire update from the Himalaya, in which nearly every team had retreated to their respective Base Camps after a massive storm dumped snow across the entire region. Today we get news that the weather has shifted once again – this time for the better – and plans are in motion for the next attempt on the summit. At least on Manaslu.

Earlier today, the Altitude Junkies posted a dispatch in which they reported that the snow had finally stopped flying and that conditions were "glorious" in BC. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that they are particularly good higher on the mountain, where heavy accumulations have buried the fixed lines and will make breaking trail an arduous task. On top of that, until the snow settles, conditions will be unstable, which could make avalanches a real possibility.

Because of those unsafe conditions, the AJ team isn't in a real hurry to head back up the mountain, although the current weather reports say that conditions should be good heading into the weekend. The team leaders aren't quite ready to announce their new schedule, but they have indicated that they'll be working with the Himex team to dig out the ropes and re-establish the high camps so they'll be ready to go as soon as possible.

There were some forecasts that indicated that the jet stream would move over the Himalaya around the first of October, so obviously there are some concerns that if that happens, the season will come to a quick end. But for now, it seems that the teams on Manaslu are feeling optimistic about their chances of another summit bid. We'll likely know more about their plans in the next few days.

No word from the teams on Shisha Pangma or Cho Oyu yet, but they were also hit hard by the storm. They're probably evaluating the situation too and hoping that they'll have the opportunity to climb soon as well. Once the jet stream settles in, cold weather and high winds come along with it, which means the end of the fall climbing season. Only a few brave and rugged climbers venture to the region in the winter.

Himalaya Fall 2011: Weather Window Slams Shut

At the end of last week, the climbing teams in the Himalaya seemed poised to take advantage of a favorable weather pattern to make summit bids early this week. In fact, a number of them had planned on standing on top of their respective mountains today, but that weather pattern shifted, preventing any serious summit attempts. Now, most of the climbers are simply hoping that they'll get another chance before the season ends.