Climbing
ArchiveLeif Whittaker shows you Everest Base Camp in a film shot by Michael Brown of Serac Adventure Films. Want to shoot your own…
Six a.m. at Everest Base Camp and I wake to the sound of a Nepali screaming into a cell phone. A few days ago a new cell tower was installed at Gorak Shep (translation: Dead Bird), the last Khumbu Valley outpost a thousand feet below us, and…
Eric Simonson's IMG Blog is noting the first summits of 2010 onEverest. As expected it came on the south side from the Sherpa teamfixing lines to the top. Sherpas from AAI and Himex were also on the team and I will report their names as soon as I receive…
It’s Day Six of Expedition Hanesbrands’ trek to Everest Base Camp. We’ve passed the14,000-foot mark and are spending a relaxing layover day in Pheriche. The view from the window of the Himalayan Hotel is a maze of stone walls, most of which enclose a very large yak.
Team Romero had a busy weekend. They spent their first night at the North Col (phlog above) and climbed as high as Camp 2 (app. 27,450 feet) before returning to advanced base camp…
Thereare good weeks and bad weeks on Everest, a bad week is when someonedies. On Monday, April 26, Hungarian climber Laszlo Varkonyi was sweptinto a crevasse by an avalanche on the North Col. A desperate searchensued, however, by Thursday, the search was called off. The entire north side was…
Oh Eun-sun of South Korea claimed a summit of Annapurna earlier this week, which would make her the first woman to summit all 14 of the world's tallest mountains–except for the fact that her total check list of achievements is in hot dispute within…
On one of my Everest climbs, I was told outright – “If you can't getto camp 3 in under 5 hours, you are out.” After a discussion with mygrim reaper on people skills, the logic of the statement made sense.Speed is your friend on any mountain, much less the…
Team Jordan plans to carry their gear up to the high camps tomorrow, according to the team's Facebook page. Along the way, they hope to reach the 8,000 meter mark, which will be…
You never know who you’re going to run into in the lobby of the Hotel Yak & Yeti. The former royal palace, with its scarlet lobby chairs, baby grand piano, and bar that serves a cold Tuburg beer, is the…
Team Jordan is resting at advanced base camp, where Jordan woke to find himself covered in a light snow. The team also managed…
I’m going to do Rainier this summer. I’ve done a few mountains in Canada and Kili, but wore rental boots...blisters galore. So I want to find a good boot to do Rainier. Any suggestions?—EvanDenver, CO
There was a large avalanche near the North Col on Monday, Tibettime. Before going further, remember that breaking news of accidentsfrom Everest, especially from the north side, in almost every case isinaccurate. However, many teams are posting updates on their websitesto inform family members of the status of their…
For most Everest climbers this is week three or four away from home.They are making good on their acclimatization efforts with over 100climbers now having spent a night or two as high as camp 2 on the southhowever significantly fewer even touching the North Col on the north. The…
Everest's north face (photo by Carsten.nebel, used under CC 3.0) Team Jordan is preparing to climb to the North Col, marking their…
Jordan Romero appeared on the Today Show yesterday. Video above. For those of you not familiar with Jordan, he is 13 years old…
In the age of social media, a group of celebrities demonstrate that "raising awareness" isn't always code for self-congratulation.
By Stephen Regenold For three weeks in April, I put my entire life on hold to trek in the Khumbu Region of Nepal. As a part of Expedition Hanesbrands, a major mountaineering initiative led bythe Canadian climber…
Team Jordan reached advanced base camp yesterday, according to the Team's Facebook page. The team reached 21,000 feet and experienced sub-zero temperatures and 37 mph winds. Jordan experienced a slight headache at that…
Climbers are making great progress with their acclimatizationrotations on both sides of Everest. The Sherpas are now starting to fixthe ropes to camp 3 high on the Lhotse Face – a great sign. On thenorth, Adventure Peaks is looking to move to the North Col For some teams, the…
Right around the time I started working at Outside, the editor Mark Bryant assigned Jon Krakauer a story that required climbing Mount Everest. The office was always supercharged, but in the weeks leading up to Krakauer’s May 1996 summit, the intensity at…
Team Romero remains at base camp, according to their most recent blog (sorry, no phlog today). But they did talk about life at the base of the mountain. Temperatures range from 48°F to single…
Jordan Romero, the 13-year-old attempting to become the youngest person to summit Everest, checked in…
Another good week on Everest with teams settling into base camp onboth sides of the mountain. Alpine Ascents was the last large team toarrive at south BC on Wednesday. They spent their time adjusting to thehigh altitudes of over 17,000'. Teams conducted their Pujas and evenpracticed some ladder walking…
Team Jordan's view of Everest's north face (photo by Carsten.nebel, used under CC 3.0) Jordan Romero is now at Chinese base camp. He and…
Jordan Romero got his first glance at Mount Everest from Tingri, Tibet – just a six hour drive from north side base camp, according to the team's Facebook page.They will rest for another…
Right on schedule, the second week of April, camps 1 and 2 arealready in according to this email I revived from Phil Crampton ofAltitude Junkies: My Sherpas have already established camp one and camptwo so we plan to continue to stock camp two in anticipation of theclimbers sleeping there.
Watch CBS News Videos Online Jordan Romero and his team are two days into their journey to Everest's north side base camp.
For the past 15 years, early April in the Khumbu welcomes the soundof footsteps, yak bells, hushed conversations and dreams seeping fromaspiring climbers. This past week, the dirt trails were quite busy. Expedition after expedition made their way to Lukla then Namche andon up the Khumbu towards base camp.
This spring I’ll be at Everest Base Camp for a month as theexpedition journalist for Expedition Hanesbrands, a team led by Jamie Clarke, a Canadianmountaineer who will attempt his second summit of the world’s highestmountain. (You can follow the expedition…
Jordan Romero and the rest of his team acquired their Chinese visas earlier today, according to Jordan's website. The team is set to leave Kathmandu for Tibet this weekend. Once in China, the…
RMI and Peak Freaks have arrived in Everest Base Camp in Nepal. The first of many. It is critical to take your time getting to BC. Tim Rippel explainsthat two of his climbers are going lower, not higher, due to the impactof altitude. He does an excellent job of…
Kathmandu ; photo by Wonderlane Jordan Romero, the 13-year-old attempting to become the youngest to summit Everest, landed in Kathmandu late Wednesday, around midnight local time. Team Romero is staying in the city to organize their gear and work with sherpas before…
Bruce Barcott profiled Jordan Romero in our April issue. Romero is 13 an attempting to become the youngest person to climb both Everest and the Seven Summits. While…
As regular followers of Everest climbs know, the weather is themake/break factor for all expeditions. And the forecasts are criticalfor the safety of teams. While it may seem straightforward given thesuccess rate we see in modern times, predicting the weather is far froma science as this interview with Michale…
This week, the majority of the 2010 expeditions are working theirway up the Khumbu towards Everest Base Camp on the south side. Permitsand visas have now been issued for north teams and they have leftKathmandu, crossed the boarder and are already in Tingri and otherTibetan villages. We can expect…
This past week saw Everest 2010 come alive; and real for theclimbers and families back home. Teams came and left Kathmandu asweather lifted enough for more flights to Lukla. Multiple dispatchesspoke of uneventful landings at the dangerous airstrip and then themore peaceful start to the trek to base camp.
I live in Las Vegas and I spend a lot of time rock scrambling at Red Rock Canyon and I need a durable backpack. It seems that most packs are designed with weight over durability in mind. Unfortunately, Red Rock Canyon presents many "tight" spots which tend to damage these lighter-weight materials when they inevitably "drag" on the sandstone. Any suggestions?—BrianLas Vegas, NV
One measure of climbing difficulty is the rating and climbing has aterminology of it's own. You read that she just redpointed a 5.12c andwonder if this was something from NASA, or Congress. I have seen Everest described as a simple “walk-up” meaning that noactual climbing is involved so I…
Chad Kellogg, 38, will attempt to set a speed record on Mt. Everest without oxygen.* Kellogg will spend five to six weeks preparing, learning the route, and establishing camps. For the journey, he plans to start going up through the…
And the season begins. This week, climbers started arriving inKathmandu. Some immediately tried to get to Lukla, without success, andothers tried to get into Tibet, without success. However, as we enter Sunday in Nepal, the clouds broke and flights to Luklastarted again. I am receiving notes from climbers…
Climbers continue to stream into Kathmandu from all around theworld. I updated the expedition count and can already identify over150 named climbers just on the south side and over 50 on the north. But the true number could easily exceed 350 total on both sides. Toput this in context,…
Outside readers entered the Expedition of a Lifetime contest to win a five-day climbing expedition of Mt. Rainier with legendary guides, Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker plus First Ascent gear. Entrants were required…
On my first Himalayan expedition, I spent $1 per character to sendan email. “Hi, I’m back safely” costs $19! How times have changed. Twittering from the Top is not unheard of today. Expeditions sendemails, pictures and videos from trek to summit – all for pennies.Social media is a key…
During the tragic 1996 climbing season on Mount Everest, there was only one medical doctor at Camp III: Ken Kamler. Kamler spoke at…
The list of seven summits climbers used to read like an alpinist all-star team. Now there are kids who can include it on their college applications.
A scientific survey stated women find men who rock climb more attractive, according to ukclimbing.com. The report also stated men liked women who practice Yoga and cook. In a shocking revelation, men who enjoy Cheetos and Guitar Hero did…
Ina few weeks climbers will trade their warm homes and soft beds for twomonths of bitter cold, extreme heat and mind numbing oxygen deprivationas they seek to stand on the top of the world. I will be covering this season as I have for the past 8 years as…
The International Olympic Committee has granted full recognition to the International Federation of Sport Climbing, making climbing eligible for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics. In recent years the sport has gained popularity, especially in…
The first ascent of a giant north face in northern China, completed last summer by Americans Jed Brown and Kyle Dempster with Scottish climber Bruce Normand, is one of five nominees for this years Piolets d'Or, states…
Lei Wang may be about to accomplish something by her calculations only nine other peoplehave done thus far: stand on top of the 7 Summits and ski the lastdegree to north and south poles – assuming she summits Everest about 3months from now. Growing up in China, Lei spent…
On February 12, the full session of the International Olympic Committeeformally recognized the International Federation of Sport Climbing, meaningclimbing now can compete with other sports for entry to the OlympicGames, states…
Finland is usually associated with Nordic sports like ski jumping and cross country skiing. Now Anne-Mari Hyryläinen wants to make history by being the first Finnish woman to summit Everest. An accomplished marathoner, she saw Mount Everest for the first timewhile bicycling from Lhasa to…
Last week we looked at the north side of Everest for 2010, now let's have a quick look at the south for 2010 through the eyes of IMG's Eric Simonson. As many know, IMG is one of the largest operators on Everest and the other highest peaks…
Update: A Navy helicopter recovered the body of 52-year-old climber Joseph Bohlig from the crater of Mount St. Helens, according to oregonlive.com. An autopsy will be performed at…
Daniel Woods has just completed an ascent of what he calls “The Game” in Boulder Canyon, a V16 climb, which The North Face said could be the most difficult boulder problem in the world. Others…
It is about a month before teams from all around the world packtheir duffel bags for the flights to Kathmandu. Thus far the southlooks like business as usual with about 16 teams already announced. Toput this in perspective, in 2007, when we saw a record number ofEverest…
Ellen Miller is a quiet climber. Many people have not heard of her athletic and mountaineering achievements. For example, she is the only woman to summit Everest from both sides within the span of one year. I first met Ellen in 2002, on an expedition in which she summited…
Merced River Waterfalls photo by David Liu The National Parks Service is crafting a new Merced River Plan that could restrict climbing and camping near the river. The plan isn't finalized yet and the park service extended the public comment period to the end of…
Once again, an Everest expedition is trying to solve the who done itmystery of Everest: did George Mallory and Sandy Irvine summit Mt.Everest in 1924? You see Sandy Irvine, who went missing on Everest'sNorth side in 1924, had a camera. A plan is emerging for a new search for the…
In 1999, at the age of forty-three, Lori Schneider awoke with numbness in over 50 percent of her body. Two months later, her entire body was numb. She had Multiple Sclerosis – MS. MS is a disease that attacks the central nervous system, and often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed…
In the climbing world there are a few people who uniquely stand out:Messner, Viesturs, Moro, House, and many more – you know the names. Andthen there are those climbers who have forgotten more climbs than mostpeople have attempted. They may not have been the most difficult orgarnered the fame…
photo: Pavel Novak Historian Tom Holzel may have figured out a way to determine once and for all if George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were the first to summit Everest in 1924,…
Wish you could be climbing in Patagonia right now? This as close as you'll get from your office desk. Colin Haley wore a helmet cam while ascending Aguja Guillaumet. The audio is a little choppy from the wind, but the video is well worth it. (Hat tips:…
TAWOCHE 2k10 dispatches #4 from renan ozturk on Vimeo. Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards completed the first ascent of Tawoche's central south buttress, reports…
The human spirit is an amazing creature. Somehow, climbing big mountains brings it out. Cindy Abbott is no exception. With a broken leg on Aconcagua, she hobbled down from the high camps to be helicopter out, had surgery and was climbing again seven weeks later. Now she is going…
Utah-native Johnny Collinson, all of 17 years old, just became the youngest individual to reach the Seven Summits. Backpacker's Daily Dirt blog has the story and reports that Collinson reached Vinson Mastiff, in Antarctica, earlier today. Collinson made it just in…
Courtesy of Flickr The Mayo Clinic has set up an Argentine expedition to study the ultra runner Diane Van Deren. Roughly 20 years ago, Van…
You are upside down, wedged in a deep crevasse at 19,000 feet in the Khumbu icefall. Your teammate is on top of you. You think another is nearby. Everyone knew the serac would give way, they just didn’t know when. Walter Laserer found out, up close and personal.
In honor of Jonny Copp, Micah Dash, and Wade Johnson, who died in an avalanche in China last spring, Black Diamond, La Sportiva, Mountain…
We hear a lot about the famous people on Everest so I like to focus on the not so famous; however you might define that. In her hometown of St. John’s Newfoundland, TA Loeffler is quite famous; even a legend. If you have ever read her Blogs,…
A group of celebrities, climbers, musicians and others began their climb of Mount Kilimanjaro today. The group is part of Summit on the Summit – an effort to raise awareness about the lack of clean drinking water. You can…
Outdoor Research has just released their 2010 ice climbing events calendar, which puts them at five climbing festivals in January and February where they will host clinics, demos, and seminars. So, while OR is getting feedback from you about…
By Mary Catherine O'Connor Late last month, The New York Times' Kate Galbraith reported on a rising employment trend: jobs maintaining wind turbines. When the blades on turbines get stuck or damaged, they need to be quickly fixed, and what better experience could…
Dave Hahn has always stood out to me the consummate mountain guide.While some will certainly argue this point, I have witnessed Dave inaction a few times. Once in the Khumbu Icefall, Dave was guiding ahuge client. When I say huge, I mean 6' 3″ 250+lbs – not fat justlarge, huge.
If you want to see what it was like before ladders, sat phones and Gortex take the hour to watch this 1953 film. In spite of the Alford Hitchcock music, I highly recommend it as an excellent account of climbing Everest This incredible documentary of the 1953 summit brings…
Occasionally I meet people on climbs that leave a lasting impression. Brad Jackson and Sandy Hoby cross that requirement and more. I met them on Everest in 2008. They were on a different team but also climbing from the Nepal side. As is the case on Everest, you get to…
Climbers of all skills know of the Eiger. This 13,025' peak in the Swiss Alps has been a topic of legend and tales for centuries. Climbing the north face has been lusted and sought out by climbers and was featured in the Clint Eastwood classic, the Eiger Sanction. It…