|
|
First Teams Summit as Everest Season Begins |
|
Sean Markey National Geographic News |
| May 20, 2003 |
|
Seven mountaineers reached the pinnacle of Mount Everest today, the first to summit the world's highest mountain this climbing season. The first group of five climbers reached the summit at 8:15 a.m. local time, according to news reports on the Indian Express and Explorersweb Internet sites. The five climbers—Sherpas Pemba Bhiring Sherpa, Pemba Tengin Sherpa, and Da Dandi Sherpa, together with Frenchman Philippe Grenier and Hiroyuki Okochi, of Japan—summitted via Everest's North Ridge from the Tibetan side of the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) mountain. The successful summit followed days of severe winds on the mountain. Two Sherpa climbers, Danuru Sherpa and Phy Nuru Sherpa, from the American-sponsored International Mountain Guides Expedition also reached the summit today, according to a dispatch from expedition leader Eric Simonson on the EverestNews.com Web site. The summit push comes just nine days shy of the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's historic first ascent of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Hoopla surrounding the 50-year anniversary of the duo's epic climb has drawn dozens of expeditions to the mountain this spring, the first of two climbing seasons each year. Since 1975, more than 1,200 climbers from 69 countries have summitted the world's highest mountain. This year, expedition teams vying for the summit represent nationalities throughout Asia, Europe, and North America, among others. Teams attempting the summit from the Nepalese side of the mountain converge at Everest Base Camp. At 17,600 feet (5,364 meters), the staging ground resembles a small, albeit high-altitude, tent city complete with a medical clinic, crude bar, and Internet café. The base camp even hosted its first marathon on Sunday. Severe Winds Severe winds and cloudy conditions in recent days have hampered previous summit attempts, according to expedition team Web site dispatches. Last week, American climber Jess Roskelley, son of veteran climber John Roskelley, reported on EverestNews.com wind speeds between 60 and 80 miles per hour (100 to 130 kilometers). Wind gusts tore tents from their moorings and forced his team to retreat to lower elevations, he wrote. Weather forecasts for today predicted clear skies and relatively calm winds, according to several expedition dispatches on EverestNews.com. If favorable weather conditions hold, many more climbers from other expeditions are also likely to reach the summit. Late May often provides the best window for summit attempts on Everest during the spring climbing season. The all-time record for single-day summits was set two years ago on May 23, 2001, when 89 climbers reached the summit. This year, to help avert potentially dangerous crowds of climbers along the summit route, expedition leaders agreed during an April meeting to double and triple-rope key sections of the route above Camp IV (or 23,000 feet/7,315 meters), according to a Web site dispatch by Luanne Freer, an American doctor serving at an Everest Base Camp medical clinic. Oldest, Fastest, Most Bodacious Reaching the summit of Mount Everest is hard enough. But a number of climbers this year have sought additional challenges, vying to be the oldest, fastest, or longest-suffering team to reach the summit. Llahkpa Gulu Sherpa hopes to shatter the Everest ascent speed record by five hours. The current record of 16 hours, 56 minutes was set in 2000 by Babu Chiris Sherpa. Chiris died the following year after falling into a crevasse. Gulu stands an outside chance, however, given the fact that he's previously summitted the mountain an astonishing nine times. Dick Bass, a 73-year-old ski resort owner from Dallas, Texas, was the oldest climber on the mountain this season, and vied to become the oldest climber to reach the summit. But Bass, who previously summitted the highest peaks on all seven continents, including Everest, turned back earlier this month due to back injuries. The record remains 65 years old. The 2003 American Ski Everest Expedition seeks to send seven climbers up the North Face of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen or the use of porters. According to the team's Web site, the climbers expect to spend 45 days on the mountain and, assuming they reach the summit, to be the first Americans to ski from the top. Italian snowboarder Marco Siffredi carved the first snowboard tracks from the summit in 2001, only to vanish from the mountain during a second attempt the following year. A more unusual decent was logged in 1988 by Jean-Marc Boivin. The climber launched his paraglider from the summit of Everest, landing 11 minutes later at Camp II at 19,400 feet (5,913 meters). This year, several expeditions have pinned their hopes on somewhat more modest claims. Karma Gyeltshen aims to be the first mountaineer from the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan to reach the summit. In April, 14 disabled Americans, five traveling in wheel chairs, others on prosthetic limbs, were pleased to have accomplished their goal of reaching Everest Base Camp after a three-week trek. More Mount Everest Stories From National Geographic News: Dark Side of Everest Awaits Climbers, TV Viewers On TV: Surviving Everest Tells of Triumph, Tragedy 1963 Flashback: First Everest Summit by Americans Everest Attempt Is Focus of New Reality TV Show Everest Climber to Emcee Summit Attempt on Live TV Everest: Now Just Another Tourist Trap? Everest Clinic Tends Ills on High Everest Time Line: 80 Years of Triumph and Tragedy Making Movies on the Roof of the World Everest Snowboarder Vanishes On Second Try Altitude a Major Challenge to Climbers The Sherpas of Mount Everest Everest Melting? High Signs of Climate Change Everest Anniversary Expedition Wrap-Up National Geographic 50th Anniversary Everest Expedition Reaches Summit Everest Anniversary Team Makes Final Summit Attempt Jet-Stream Winds Trap Climbers on Everest Sons of Mount Everest Pioneers to Repeat Historic Climb Related Stories From National Geographic Magazine: Everest: 50 Years and Counting Sights & Sounds: The Sherpas American Summit Related Stories From National Geographic Adventure Magazine: After the Storm: '96 Everest Survivors (Audio) Romance on Everest: The Highest Taboo The Everest Mess Little Sister, Big Mountain: Climbing the Himalaya's Cho Oyu Life on Assignment: Himalaya's Cho Oyu (Audio) The Last Cairn: A Climber's Tragic Saga (Excerpt) The Slipping Point: Disaster on Mount Hood 8,000-Meter Man: Ed Viesturs Q&A: Eric Simonson, Everest Sleuth Q&A With the Man Who Found Mallory On Television: National Geographic Channel: Surviving Everest |
| © 1996-2008 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved. |