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JerryA
Mountain climber
Sacramento,CA
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May 24, 2014 - 12:11pm PT
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Weidlich has been above Camp 2 since May 8th ?
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steve shea
climber
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May 24, 2014 - 01:12pm PT
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There was the first ascent, first solo, first sans Os, first guided, first ski, first women's ski, hang glide attemtps, body snatchers expeds, wingsuit attempt, speed ascent, enchainments blah blah blah. But this is the ultimate disgrace for what was once a proud endeavor. .02
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jstan
climber
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May 24, 2014 - 01:45pm PT
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Has anything as proud as what Mallory and Irvine did, been done since? In wool shirts and leather boots yet? Every past accomplishment changes how we look at what is done today. With the "routes" marked on it El Cap looks like a plate of spaghetti. Nothing is the same as it was in the day.
Were we willing finally to suck up the cost always associated with doing a new thing, how might we change the way we live? That is a really interesting question. Yet no one tries to answer it.
Why are we attracted to "proud" things at all? Simple lack of self-confidence? At some fundamental level do we simply need to grow up?
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steve shea
climber
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May 24, 2014 - 01:48pm PT
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Yes, but helos? There is some personal value to the discipline of ethic. This is the summit at all costs. Good for her but not for me.
For me the tops in proud was Messner solo and Troillet/Loretan totally unassisted Hornbein ascent. But BITD even on the extravaganzas, the members put in the route. Not sherpas. It was still climbed as a team exped style, but climbed. No more at least on the South col route.
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zBrown
Ice climber
Brujo de la Playa
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May 24, 2014 - 02:42pm PT
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I certainly don't have the answer, but this bears (well) repeating.
Why are we attracted to "proud" things at all? Simple lack of self-confidence? At some fundamental level do we simply need to grow up? |
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - May 26, 2014 - 03:15am PT
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Here's the latest Update.
Cleo Weidlich has abandoned her climb of Lhotse with two Sherpas and is back in Kathmandu, having failed.
Wang Jing did indeed take 21 hours to climb from the South Col to the summit of Everest and back. She left at 9pm and returned at 6 pm the following day. She explained that it was extremely difficult because there were no fixed ropes except at the Hillary Step and they were breaking snow.
She was greeted enthusiastically by the Sherpas, both officials and ordinary people, on her walk from Base Camp down to Lukla, for defying the odds and persevering through a long and difficult ascent. No doubt it will be debated whether the conditions made up for the helicopter. She has also noted that she had already been up and down the icefall before. The Nepalese government is now also enthusiastic about her climb. She is already on her way to climb Mt. McKinley. Her goal is "to set world record of climbing the nine highest peaks in all the continents within the shortest — five months — time". She told reporters that she may then stop climbing next year.
Both Sherpas and the Nepalese officials are now insisting that Everest was never closed, that this was false information given out by the western guide services. The Sherpas are saying that they are still struggling against the Nepalese government but western climbers should not have to suffer for that. I can't help but have the impression that they are now having second thoughts about what happened during the moments of high emotion and the consequences to their income. Blaming western guides may also be a power move by both Sherpas and Nepalese.
And finally, kudos to 16 year old Matt Moniz from Colorado who has summited both 8,201 m. Cho Oyu and Makalu, 8,643m. in the same week. He is National Geographic's Explorer of the Year.
There are still people trying to summit from the North side where a large team of Russians has already had success, but for me, that pretty well winds up the strangest season yet.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 26, 2014 - 09:26am PT
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Strangest season yet.....maybe the saddest season with the deaths of sherpas who were preparing the way for a lot of people who didn't belong there.
Strangest season yet....because a Chinese woman took 21 hours from high camp because there were no FIXED ROPES except for the Hillary Step and they had to BREAK trail.
Strangest season yet because a summiteer had to actually work for it.
If it remains this way, which is highly unlikely, without sherpas fixing ropes and breaking trail we could see some BETTER seasons on the horizon.
edit: Mallory and Ervines climb was far from one of the better efforts on Everest because they violated the most important tenant in mountaineering.....they failed to get back to tell the tale.
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Stewart Johnson
climber
lake forest
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May 26, 2014 - 10:00am PT
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I'm assuming Everests back side just isn't
In the minds of climbers anymore
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Stewart Johnson
climber
lake forest
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May 26, 2014 - 10:14am PT
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One would think super climbers would
Get some sponsors to pay for a trip
To the back side and do something
Different
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 26, 2014 - 10:16am PT
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One would think.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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May 26, 2014 - 10:34am PT
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edit: Mallory and Ervines climb was far from one of the better efforts on Everest because they violated the most important tenant in mountaineering.....they failed to get back to tell the tale.
All you need to know...whatever it takes to get your ass back home.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 26, 2014 - 11:18am PT
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Nice......proud effort!
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steve shea
climber
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May 26, 2014 - 12:40pm PT
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I look at the second Kangshung photo and think of Tasker and Boardman. So close yet so far. The East ridge is huge.
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Stewart Johnson
climber
lake forest
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May 26, 2014 - 07:01pm PT
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Two routes on that face
One climbed with twenty climbers which took two try's and employed
Oxygen a gas powered gear lift and
the most difficult climbing on the mountain
The other route climbed
The smaller buttress under the south col
Was with four climbers in 1988
With no oxygen
Niether teams used Sherpa above base camp.
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Stewart Johnson
climber
lake forest
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May 26, 2014 - 07:19pm PT
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They couldn't get the motors to work so a snow bag counterweight was used
Brilliant!
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Scott Patterson
Mountain climber
Craig
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May 26, 2014 - 09:47pm PT
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Has anything as proud as what Mallory and Irvine did, been done since?
Don't forget that Mallory lost seven Sherpa on his conquest.
Anyway, of course there have been many fine climbs on Everest since then. The 1963 West Ridge expedition comes to mind as one of the best.
Even recently, there have been many fine climbs. Actually, most of the routes on Everest have had little or no repeats. The Fantasy Ridge and Everest Horseshoe still haven't been done, despite some strong attempts.
One would think super climbers would get some sponsors to pay for a trip
to the back side and do something different
One would think.
Those days are mostly over. Getting sponsorship for new or seldom done routes on Everest is much more difficult than it used to be.
Everest isn't hip anymore (from a sponsor point of view) and almost all the media attention is focused on only bad news from Everest. Seldom do they report any good news. Exploration on new routes or repeating difficult routes is declining for this reason, while on the flip side the two standard routes have seen a big increase in traffic.
New climbs or difficult routes are simply ignored by the media in recent years and instead only bad news is reported. What sponsor wants to fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars for climb that will either be ignored by the media or one that will only report bad news.
A good example is that it is obvious from reading through this thread that most are completely unaware of the challenging climbs that have been done in recent years.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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May 26, 2014 - 09:49pm PT
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No, they did use a motorized winch on the successful ascent in 1983.
(Yet another "gray area" in climbing).
They also used the counterweight system for a higher segment of the hauling.
http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198400100/Kangshung-Face-of-Everest
During the ascent of the buttress we twice fired a rocket with a messenger line attached from Pinsetter Camp (20,000 feet) down toward the glacier just above Advance Base. Both attempts failed so we lowered our sights and succeeded in getting a line from Snow Camp at 19,000 feet down to 18,000 feet. We then pulled a 10mm highline up and following that a ¼-inch line which was to carry the loads. A tiny Honda engine allowed us to ferry everything to Snow Camp in a mere two days. John Boyle and Jay Cassell were our official engineers, but the gang was full of ingenious schemes for improving the system. In any event it worked and saved us from physical attrition. We could have carried the loads to Snow Camp in the same time it took us to perfect the winch.
A second hauling system above Pinsetter on the overhanging wall was a continuous line with a haul sack top and bottom. The load to be lifted to the top was loaded into the bottom bag and the top bag filled with snow until it was just a shade heavier than the load below. Up came the load with very little energy expended in the process.
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Stewart Johnson
climber
lake forest
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May 26, 2014 - 09:56pm PT
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Thanks for clarifying that , Clint
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