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Everest Weather Reports for Spring 2006
Current summit weather on Mount Everest 8,850 M (29,035 feet)
5/26/06 - Winds at 20 to 30 knots from the west and temperatures at -21C. Snow at times
5/25/06 - Winds at 20 to 30 knots from the west and temperatures at -21C. Snow showers at times
5/23/06 - Winds at 20 to 30 knots from the west and temperatures at -22C. Clear skies
5/22/06 - Winds at 10 to 30 knots from the northwest. and temperatures at -22C. Clear skies
5/20/06 - Winds at 20 to 40 knots from the northwest. and temperatures at -27C. Clear skies
5/19/06 - Winds at 20 to 45 knots from the northwest. and temperatures at -27C
5/18/06 - Winds at 40 knots from the northwest. and temperatures at -28C. Snow heavy at times
5/16/06 -Winds at 36 knots at variable directions, and temperatures at -28C. Clear early in the day
5/15/06 - Winds at 40 knots and variable direction, and temperatures at -28C
5/14/06 - Winds at 45 knots from the west and temperatures at -27C Mostly sunny early in the day
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Everest Dispatch
Dispatch from Mountain Link - May 24, 2006Team is in Kathmandu and leaving for Bangkok tomorrow. They will be going their separate ways to arrive back in the states. This is the end of the updates. The team really appreciates all the support and interest you have had during this expedition. — Mountain Link Team
Dispatch from International Mountain Guides - May 24 - 1:00am PST (1:45pm Nepal Time) All Climbers Safely Down to the Col
Ang Jangbu reports that Dan and Jim are safely back on the south col. Paul and Fiona are back to Camp 2. Dave and Dennis are at base camp. Justin left BC this morning. The current plan is to finish bringing down the whole south col and Camp 3 tomorrow (25 May), Camp 2 down to 1 on 26 May. Clear off all camps by 27 May. Order yaks to arrive BC on 28th and head out on 29th with a heli charter out of Syangboche on 31 May or 1st June. We'll keep you posted! — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director
Yesterday's Climbers All Down Safe; Today's Getting Ready to Go Up
Ang Jangbu reports from Base Camp that Dave, Dennis, Phinjo and Ang Karma came down to 2 this afternoon. Fiona is staying at camp 4 tonight. Sherpas on South Col tonight are: Dasona, Mingma Ongel, Tashi Dorje, Tashi Tshering, Pemba Dorje, Cheppi, Passang Rinjing, and Ang Namgya. As of now Paul is going to go back up tonight and try again. We have assigned Tashi Dorje to climb with him. Tashi Tshering is climbing with Dan. Pemba Dorje is climbing with Jim. Cheppi is carrying Dan's extra bottle and will continue to the summit. They plan to leave South Col at about 9 or so. Mingma Ongel is coming down with Fiona in the morning. Passang Rinjing and Ang Namgya will carry empty bottles down tomorrow. Dasona will remain at South Col tomorrow on support. Mingma Tshering, Mingma Tenzing, Karma Rita and Dorje Lama are moving from BC to 2 tomorrow. Kami P and Kami T will round trip carry from camp 1 tomorrow. They all carried from 1 today. AP, Nima Karma and Samduk carried from 2 to 1 today. Sophia and Brenda went down today and Justin is heading out tomorrow. — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director Dispatch from International Mountain Guides - May 21 - On Track for Summit Bids
Mark Tucker reports that Dave, Jim, and Dan are at Camp 2 and that Dennis, Paul, and Fiona and their Sherpas Dasona, Mingma Ongel, and Phinjo are at Camp 3. The weather is looking decent and everyone is on track for summit bids. Brenda and Sophia made it down to BC and as previously mentioned, John, JF, Walter, Karl, and Markus headed down the trail yesterday. So far so good! — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director
Dispatch from Alpine Ascents International - May 20 - 2:45 pm - Everyone Is Safe Back at the South Col
I just got the call from Vern that the last members of the climbing team are now back at the South Col. It has been a long day (and night) for everyone so we will all soon be climbing into sleeping bags for a good sleep. I would like to give a big thank you to Nima Kancha who has been selflessly working at the South Col to keep all the climbers supplied with drinks and food. About an hour ago he went out with juice to meet the last people coming back to Camp 4. He didn’t have the glamour job of going to the summit, but we wouldn’t have made it without him.
Tomorrow everyone will be gathering their energies again to make the descent down the Lhotse Face to Camp 2, where they will spend tomorrow night. The following day is the final slide down the icefall to base camp. I’m sure everyone is looking forward to thick air, showers, and Gopal’s wonderful cooking. — Goodnight for now , Ellie — Everest Base Camp
Dispatch from Mountain Link -May 18 - We all arrived - Tomorrow we will head to high camp, at the south col
Perspective from Chris: We achieved Camp 3 - got in around 2 pm. It was a tough, tough day for me - real hard - one of the toughest days I've ever had. And, the team, all six Western climbers are here and in good spirits. And soon as we arrived we went into our tents to relax. We're on oxygen and that helps us rest and keeps us warm. It's a beautiful day. Some of our friends summitted today, and weather looks clear for tomorrow and through the 20th. Tomorrow is going to be a tough, tough day as well, but I think I can do that. I tell you what though, I don't know how I can go and get 6 or 7 hours rest and then go out and do a 16 hour day - they say the oxygen will help me, but we'll just do the best we can. The team is just great - in good spirits. The Sherpa team will come up tomorrow on the SouthCol.
Just an additional note, people may be interested in Camp 3. We're right at 24,000 feet. We have three, two-man tents. We have lines all around the tent and we don't even go outside the tent without being clipped in. There are holes all around. Camp itself, of course, is on solid rock so it's more spread out. From here, the route is really clear and it's always fun to see the mountain chip away. Of course if you know something of Everest, you know we're only 5,000 feet away - less than a mile. But when you're sucking air and taking 30 seconds for each step, you might as well be 100 miles away. I thought everyone might get a kick out of the camp and those who know oxygen, I'll sleep tonight on 2-liter and then climb tomorrow on 3-liter and in the tough sections, I'll crank it to 4. Goes without saying, all of us have support, but we've got to be realistic here. I told a real famous climber, good friend Dave Hahn, who is an American going for the record, sets the summit for western climbers, and just a real gentleman - that of the last of the surviving climbers, I am by far the oldest - makes you feel good to know that you're a fish out of water. Hahn is a good friend with all of our team and he'll try to summit with us. — Chris Balsiger
Dispatch Alpine Ascents International - May 18 A Good Night at Camp 3 - Good Morning for May 18
The news today comes from base camp because the team is really busy getting packed up at Camp 3. As I write this they are starting on their way up to Camp 4 at the South Col. Yesterday everyone moved up from Camp 2 in what turned out to be blistering heat. Normally everyone is bundled up in warm clothes to withstand the wind and chill of the Lhotse Face, but yesterday the sun was out it full force. I think Lakpa’s comment over the radio was, “this is just too hot”. From base camp we watched a big buildup of clouds starting about noon. They looked very threatening – in the American Midwest we’d be expecting thunder, lightning, and hail. But Dave informed us that up high it was pretty benign and that they were very grateful for the shade.
It took the team between seven and nine hours to go from Camp 2 to Camp 3, where they moved into the tents anchored onto the side of the mountain. Unlike the last time at Camp 3, this time the climbers have the luxury of breathing oxygen. The last time they were trying to get their bodies to acclimatize; this time they are going for the summit and will take all the help they can get. So everyone passed a restful night with the oxygen tanks set at a half liter flow for sleeping. Today they will continue using oxygen as they climb up to Camp 4 and on up to the summit. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t have to be breathing extra oxygen all the time. By this time they are very well acclimatized, so they are able to take their masks off to do chores around the tents or to take short walks. But when there is work to be done, like climbing, breathing extra oxygen helps a lot. The other myth is that breathing oxygen helps you climb a lot faster. The reality is that it helps you climb a little bit faster, but the real value is that at high elevations it really helps you stay warm.
Today looks like another warm one as the team heads up to Camp 4. All the climbers have down suits for warmth, but today those suits are staying in their packs. We are also watching various weather reports that indicate we may be seeing more snow and wind in the near future. We’ll keep you posted as that weather picture develops. — Ellie Henke - Base Camp Manager
Dispatch form International Mountain Guides - May 15 - Summit Bid Plans
Expedition Leader Mark Tucker reports from Base Camp that the plans for the summit bids are taking shape. Sherpas Danuru and Tashi, two of our strongest, moved to the Col yesterday to start fixing rope in the morning to the Balcony. The first summit team will be Walter, Karl, Markus, JF, Dawa Nuru, and Justin. These climbers are at Camp 2 right now and they will be moving to Camp 3 in the morning.
John and Phu Nuru are moving up to Camp 2 in the morning and Sophia and Panuru are waiting for them. Those climbers will comprise the second summit team. Paul, Dasona, Fiona, Mingma Ongel, Dennis, Phinjo, and Brenda will be the third summit team. They are at Base Camp now and will be heading up to Camp 2 on the 17th. Dan and Jim are down in Pheriche getting some rest and will be back to Base Camp on the 17th and will be heading up a day or two after that. Now is where the rubber hits the road. All the training, planning and preparations come down to the next week or so. Keep your fingers crossed! — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director
It’s 7:45 pm here in Nepal on Sunday, May 14th- MOTHER’S DAY! It’s just gotten dark here in BC and everyone is already in bed for the night. Tomorrow we will be waking up early to head up the mountain and begin our push to the summit. Everyone was a bit quiet tonight as we ate dinner with the next week on their mind. Everyone is excited about the reality of moving up the mountain for a final time yet nervous about moving up again above CIII and into unknown territory.
Today we spent the day reviewing the oxygen system and making sure that our masks fit and were working properly along with the regulators… lots of Darth Vader jokes. After lunch it was back to the tents for some shut eye and organizing gear for the climb tomorrow. BC has become home away from home and our personal sleeping tents a bit of a sanctuary. We’ve been here long enough that they do feel like one’s own private home.
The day here was another glorious one after a very breezy morning. The winds whipped down off of the Lho La from Tibet to make for a cold morning until about 10:00 a.m. The afternoon was spectacular though and allowed for a great baseball game down at the “diamond”. Behind one of the American Team’s camp is a perfect pitch of ice that’s been the site of cricket matches, baseball games and rounds of golf. Despite someone trying to cork their bat our team pulled off a ‘W’ in the top of the 9th.
The whole team wants to send all of our best wishes to our Mothers and to all mothers out there. You’re the greatest! Happy Mother’s Day.
Our Liaison Officer, Namrata, arrived a few days ago and forced us out for a picture just before dinner. Here it is. Thanks Namrata for getting us out of the warm tent for a group photo we needed!
We’ll speak to you from CII. All the best — Dave
Dispatch from International Mountain Guides - May 13 - First Summit Team at Camp 2
The latest news is that Dave, Dan, and Brenda are down to BC, and the first summit team of Justin, Walter, Karl, Markus, Sophia, and J.F. made it up to C2 in good shape, and are planning a rest day tomorrow. John decided not to go up with them and is planning to head up in a day or two. Dan and Jim are going down to Pheriche for a couple days of rest before their summit push. The (above-the-Col) rope fixing Sherpas are standing by at Camp 2, ready to move to the Col tomorrow if the weather looks good. — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director
Dispatch from International Mountain Guides - May 12 - Resting and Watching the Weather
The South Col is now stocked and everyone is now back down for rest (with the exception of Dave, Brenda, and Dan who are back to C2 after sleeping at C3, and who will be back to BC tomorrow). Some of the Sherpas have now gone down to the village for a few days of rest. The first summit team of John, JF, Sophia, Justin, Markus, Karl and Walter is heading for Camp 2 tomorrow. If the fixing to the Balcony goes well, they will be looking at the 17th for a summit day. So far the weather report for the next week looks reasonably good, with the jet stream shifting to the north of Everest. We will be checking it closely over the next few days. — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director
The team had a big meeting at IMG Base Camp to figure out how the rope fixing will be accomplished over the next couple days. Jangbu reports that the Leaders from 12 different teams showed up and meeting went well. The Plan for fixing above the Col involves 2 Sherpas from IMG, 1 Sherpa from HG, 1 Sherpa from AAI, 1 Sherpa from AC, 1 Sherpa from Kobler, 1 Sherpa from the Spanish all go to the Col on the 14th and fix up to the Balcony on the 15th. Those teams who don't have the sherpa power contributed ropes and oxygen bottles. They have a sirdar's (Sherpa Leaders) meeting scheduled again tomorrow to coordinate rope/gear collection etc. — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director
Dispatch from Mountain Link - Last Update May 9
May 8, 2006 - Here is an update on the location of the team and the reasoning behind it.
After a long climbing rotation establishing Camps 2 & 3 the team returned to basecamp May 3rd. At this point in the expedition rest and recuperation are critical to make a strong summit bid. Some expeditions will stay at base camp, which is more old school, but most choose to descend to a lower elevation to let the extra oxygen intake help their bodies recover from the stress of living and climbing at high altitude.
There are pros and cons to leaving base camp. We debated them more than a few times before making our decision. If we leave we could miss a potential weather window to make a summit attempt. This is a possibility that still haunts me, I admit I am still old school but my crystal ball broke a long time ago. It doesn't matter what the weather is doing if the team isn't physically and mentally prepared to give it their best attempt. Turning around in good weather is not an option we want to explore.
Hence the decision was made to descend and recover. The interesting part is how far to descend and for what amount of time. Well in this day and age there are large Russian made helicopters that can fly to just below base camp and then fly your whole team to Kathmandu in about an hour. Imagine waking up in a little stone tea house early in the morning high in the Himalaya, then swimming in the pool at the Hyatt before noon after a month of climbing. I not sure about most people but it has been working really well for us. The coughs and any nagging low grade infections have vanished in the last few days. By staying just a few days we don't feel it will compromise anyone's acclimatization. In fact Lhawang has been having such good luck at the roulette table in the hotel casino he has almost won enough to buy the helicopter flight back to the mountain.
The team plans to leave early morning from Kathmandu on May 9th and be in base camp on the May 10th. They will begin their summit push on May 11th. We will be working hard on keeping the dispatches flowing once the team is on the move back up the mountain.
Friends, family and loved ones,
We’ve gone deep. In the last couple of days we have descended down to 3800m, back to our first night below Tangboche at the little Ama Dablam Garden Lodge. Many changes have taken place since our last visit, most notable, all the Rhododendrons are in bloom. The surrounding Rhody Forest is ablaze with color, a veritable collage painting the hillsides. The other pleasant change is there is Oxygen…..lots of the life giving stuff. This is why we are here, for the O2. It changes everything. From the taste of food to the depth of our sleep, life is good. We are warm, well fed and very content. There are birds singing, pica whistling and Musk deer grazing. We’ve even believe we spotted the rare but mighty wild Lammergeier. These predators, with a potential of a 9ft. wingspan had us concerned that I might take Kay from us.
Needless to say our health, both mental and physical is on the mend. Our spirits are soaring. This is as close paradise as we can easily walk to in just a couple of days. Intuitively, it doesn’t make sense to go down to climb the highest mountain in the world, but the reality is it feels real good to recover from the detrimental effects of altitude. We hope this will pay off when we return to the mountain next week. Stay tuned to the further adventures of our team. Namaste — Vern Tejas Dispatch from Mountain Link - May 7
2006 Hi Everyone, I am going to keep this short. Check out the podcast and videos for more info. It really does tell the tale. However, our team is in Kathmandu. I know, I know...What!! Kathmandu!! As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "heck yes"! We are all doing great. That is why we are down. We are resting and recuperating and in a day we are going back to basecamp and will get ready for our summit attempt.
We have come down low to fully recover and basically get oxygen rich again. It personally paid off for me in 2004 and we cannot wait to get back up there with everything all set for a summit. Hopefully 10 - 14 days away. Keep your fingers crossed for greaaat weather! — JJ
The start of the Lhotse face
Photo by Alpine Ascents International
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Dispatch from Alpine Ascents International - May 7 - BC
Hey now, he we are back in basecamp: morning sun, morning coffee, morning showers, and warmth. That’s relative warmth. Along with all of those items comes smiles. Everyone is looking fairly clean as well after arriving in BC around noon yesterday and immediately lining up at the shower. It’s a long way from a few nights ago in CIII: morning coughs, morning tent condensation rainshowers, morning headaches, and cold. The upside? Incredible beauty at 23,000 ft. and the challenge of moving higher.
The week long round trip acclimatization process went well. Today the goal is to get a bunch of photos out to you from the trip. We did run low on power over the past couple of days so the May 5th dispatch is just being sent from BC today. We’ll talk soon. All the best — Dave
Dispatch from International Mountain Guides - May 6, 2006 - Route In Almost to Col
Expedition Leader Mark Tucker reports from Base Camp that the wind has settled down a bit now, and that despite some wet snow that fell today, the weather seems to be improving a bit. It sounds like the route is almost in to the South Col, and right now a number of the IMG Sherpas are at Camp 2, hoping to be able to start carrying loads to the South Col in the next day or two.
The remaining Sherpas at Base Camp will all be moving to Camp 2 day after tomorrow as well — so that will start the big push to get Camp 4 stocked with tents, rope, fuel, and oxygen in preparation for the summit bids. Walter, Markus, and Karl are up at Camp 3 right now spending the night. Jim and Jack are at Camp 2 right now, probably going to Camp 3 tomorrow. Dennis, Paul, and Fiona are also at Camp 2 now, planning to go to Camp 3 the day after tomorrow. — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director
Dispatch from Alpine Ascents International - May 4 - CIII - 7200m
It's 7:30 pm here in CIII! We made it up through some morning winds that gaveway to a very intense afternoon sun. The team was stellar today and everyone pulled into camp relatively close together at around 3 pm. Unfortunately we don't have the battery power to send photos of today now but will at a later time.
We've just finished up with some testing for research being conducted at BC. The fact that people were still up for being tested after arriving here shows that the team is doing great. Everyone is excited to have made this big step. Tomorrow morning we'll wait for the sun to hit the tents then begin our pack up and descent to CII. After a night in CII we'll head to BC briefly before our drop back.
The wind has just begun howling again here in CIII and it looks like we're in for a noisy night. All the best — Dave
Dispatch from International Mountain Guides - May 3 - Camp 3
Tucker and Jangbu report from Base Camp via sat phone that everything is going well for the IMG team. Today a number of climbers moved towards Camp 3. Dan went to the base of the Face while Justin, JF, John, Sophia and several Sherpas moved to Camp 3 for further acclimatization. Walter, Karl, and Markus are on their way directly to Camp 2 today from Base Camp. Jim stopped at Camp 1 to rest and melt some water, but may also continue up to Camp 2. The weather has been cold and windy but otherwise OK. — Eric Simonson, International Mountain Guides Director
We had a bit of a false start this morning- or perhaps trial run is a better term. This morning we headed out for CIII but once we gained the bergshrund ran into high winds on the face. We turned around just above the shrund to wait for a day with better conditions. It looks as though the wind has calmed this afternoon though there are still very high winds at the summit elevation.
So now we're resting up in the warmth of our tents for another go in the morning. The team is doing great despite running out of coffee at CII this morning and a dwindling TP supply. We'll make it through though.
Many teams are now making their way towards CIII for their highest acclimitization trip and some we hear are coming to CII as part of an early summit push. We'll be taking our time on our drop below BC before returning to be in position for our summit push.
We'll be in touch tomorrow from CIII. All the best — Dave Dispatch from Mountain Link - May 2
The team has returned to base camp after spending time at camp II acclimatizing. All team members are healthy and feeling strong. They are resting and eating great food prepared by Jennifer Barton, owner of Carrot Top Catering
