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Leader: Chris Harling
In the early hours of this morning the team made their first journey through the infamous Khumbu Icefall. From base camp it took them around 6 hours to reach camp 1. Tomorrow they will have a much easier day moving the shor ditance to Camp 2, that said no day is easy on Everest. They will still have to contend with the intense heat that is common place in the Western Cwm.
The team headed up to Camp 1 on Pumori as part of their acclimatisation and have practised some climbing skills on the ice near to base camp. Today they had their Puja ceremony, so they are now ready to start heading up the mountain on their first rotation.
The team arrived at Everest Base Camp at lunch time today and the Scenery has been spectacular. Tomorrow they will have a gear sorting day in preparation for the first foray into the Khumbu icefall.
Today the team climbed Lobuche East, reaching the summit around & 8am local time. They are now back down resting at Lobuche village.
Chris has messaged to say the team are now at Lobuche and have met up with our Lhotse team. Tomorrow they will all head up to Lobuche East High Camp.
Chris and the team moved up to Dingboche yesterday in a speedy 3 hours. All the team are going strong. Today the team have been acclimatising on Nangkartshang, the ridge behind Dingboche, up to 5073m, where they were rewarded with spectacular views of Lobuche, Tabuche, Island Peak, Makalu, Baruntse & Ama Dablam.
Today the team walked up to Ama Dablam base camp, for a bit of acclimatisation, while they wait for their bags to catch them up after their helicopter ride yesterday.
The day after the team travelled to the Langtang valley we received news that the opening of the border with Tibet was going to be further delayed to the last week in April, with no exact date given. Permits had received preliminary approval but had still not been signed off. In addition to this the exit date from Tibet, 31st May, was not going to be extended for any team planning to climb this year. This meant that the acclimatisation needed for climbing the North side was now being compromised and Adventure Peaks felt it was no longer safe to attempt the North side of Everest.
As you can imagine this was a bitter blow and very hard decision to accept for the team, especially after so much planning and preparation that has gone into getting ready for such a climb.
Undeterred, the team have weighed up their options and have now travelled back to Kathmandu. Using their acclimatisation from being in Langtang they have now helicoptered to Pangboche and will attempt the South side of Everest. Prior to trekking to base camp, they will climb Lobuche East, to further aid in acclimatisation.
The team are now in Langtang and weighing up there options for what to do next. Apparently there is now a via ferrata on the cliffs above Langtang village, which has caught their interest. They plan to walk up to Kyanjin Gompa this afternoon.
Chris and the team arrived into Kathmandu yesterday. They have submitted their visa forms for Tibet today. It looks like the border might not open until the 17th April, so the team are planning to head to Langtang in order to start acclimatising.
Chris Harling has over 21 years experience teaching a wide range of outdoor activities. He is a qualified teacher and member of several National Governing Bodies including the Association of Mountaineering Instructors. He is a trainer and assessor for the Mountain Leader and the Single Pitch Awards and is qualified to teach Summer and Winter mountaineering. His vast climbing and mountaineering experience has taken him to six continents, including Himalayan expeditions. Chris has climbed Mt. Everest via the North Ridge twice with Adventure Peaks.
I am enjoying keeping in touch with this wonderful adventure due to my love of mountains and ofcourse my special grandsonJayson . Good luck and may the weather be perfect for all of you. Blessings 🙏👍