At least 570 climbers, including foreigners and locals, have summited Everest so far this season, Nepal’s Department of Tourism (DoT) said in a press release today. A few more groups have met since then, so the final figure will rise.
For example, SummitClimb put 10 people at the top today. They reported great conditions, no wind and no crowds. Everyone returned to Camp 2 on the same day.
Almost final figures
The DOT had listed 426 foreign permits for the south side of Everest as of May 22. Last year, the final number of permits was 478, and the final number of summits was 656. Remember, many of those permitted foreigners failed to reach the summit. , and the final count includes the many Sherpas who did.
On a somber note: the search for Daniel Paul Paterson and Pastenji Sherpa has been called off. The climbers are believed to have fallen when a cornice broke off meters from the summit. The sad number of climbers who have died on Everest and Lhotse this year stands at seven, while Nawang Sherpa continues to be reported missing.
Outfitters whose members have completed their peak performances are dismantling their higher camps. The official end of the season is still a week away, but some forecasts suggest the monsoon could hit a few days earlier. Helicopters are currently busy returning equipment and climbers to Kathmandu.
Everest no-O2
The only confirmed summits on Everest without oxygen so far are those of Piotr Krzyzowski of Poland – he also submitted Lhotse no-O2 a day earlier – and Sirbaz Khan of Pakistan.
We are double-checking the no-O2 claim from India’s Skalzang Rigzin and will confirm it as soon as possible. His team claims that Rigzin has previously reached the Lhotse without oxygen, but that information contradicts The Himalayan Database.
Hugo Ayaviri of Bolivia climbed Lhotse without oxygen, but abandoned his plans to climb Everest that way; Valery Babanov fell ill and withdrew; Asma Al Thani didn’t try; Moeses Fiamonci tried on May 22, but turned around at 8,700 meters; Tunc Findik from Turkey and Frank Loke from Norway finally reached the top with bottled O2.
We are waiting for news from Norrdine Nouar from Germany. According to his tracker, he has maintained altitude since arriving on Everest just after summiting Annapurna. He reached Camp 4 earlier this week and then withdrew. His tracker located him at Camp 3 today.
One team on the north side
On the north side, a single client and a Sherpa guide equipped by Climbalaya finally reached the summit yesterday. Lukas Furtenbach confirmed that he saw the small group two hours behind his own top group. Only the Alpenglow team is currently on its way to the top. The climbers spent a night on the North Col (Camp 1 at 7,000 meters). They are now ready for the final summit push on an empty mountain.
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