Climb for Climate Mount Everest Expedition
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Climb for climate Mount Everest expedition Mount Everest expedition, South Col - Southeast ridge route Cost: US$ 37990 March 29, 2013 - June 6, 2013 Group size: 6 to 12 members Expedition leader: Erik Ravenstijn Eastern Himalayas, Nepal 1 Index Introduction 3 About Mount Everest 4 Our Mount Everest expedition 5 Climbing route 6 Included in cost 9 Itinerary 10 Experience required 11 Leadership 12 Health 13 Personal equipment needed 14 Booking 15 More information, questions and contact 15 2 Introduction We are proud to offer a top quality expedition to the mountain of mountains ... the Everest. Everest is probably one of the most coveted peaks in the world, being the highest with 8848 meters above sea level. Mount Everest from Kala Pattar Some of the benefits of our expedition: A private sherpa for each member on the summit attempt, who climbs with you from basecamp to the summit and back. All sherpas are Mount Everest summiteers. Outstanding medical support, with doctors available in basecamp and trained and certified medical staff high on the mountain. More than enough oxygen and spare oxygen, also spare oxygen masks and regulators. Western expedition leader, Mount Everest summiteer, with at least 10 years of experience in organizing expeditions and alpine climbing. The expedition leader has climbed this route on Mount Everest before. 3 About Mount Everest The Mount Everest is 8848 meter high and is located in the eastern Himalaya, on the border of Nepal and China. The first attempt on the mountain was from the Tibet side in 1922, but it was not until 1953 that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited. There is not total certainty that Hillary and Tenzing where the first to summit, since George Mallory and Andrew Irvine never came back from their summit attempt in 1924. Until today, most climbers believe that Mallory and Irvine didn't make it to the summit given the circumstances, but nobody knows for sure. In 2006 the following statistics were known about Mount Everest: out of the 10000 summit attempts around 3000 succeeded and around 200 climbers died on the mountain. Mount Everest provides some of the coldest and windiest weather on our planet. Source: Explorers Web April, May, September and the beginning of October are the best months for climbing on Everest. June, July and August offer warmth and not so much wind, but the extreme snowfall due to the monsoon makes the climbing nearly impossible, although the beginning of June offers some possibilities. 4 Our Mount Everest expedition Our Mount Everest expedition begins in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, on March, 30. We pick you up from the international airport of Kathmandu and bring you to the Summit hotel (3 stars). We will stay a few nights in Kathmandu to rest from the international flight and to prepare for the expedition. After a few nights we will take a plane to Lukla (2800 meter), from where we start our trekking to Mount Everest basecamp. We will arrive in Mount Everest basecamp around April 10. After a few days of rest we start our acclimatization tours to the higher camps on the mountain. During these acclimatization tours our highest camp reached is camp 3 (7300 meter). In the beginning of May the acclimatization tours to the higher camps are finished. We will take more than a week rest in basecamp (or in the villages below basecamp), before we start looking for a weather window in which we can climb to the summit. The warmest and calmest weather is often around half May - the end of May. Once a window of calm weather appears, we will climb from basecamp to the summit in 5 days. On the first day we climb from basecamp to camp 1, on the second day from camp 1 to camp 2, etcetera and on the fifth day from camp 4 to the summit and back to camp 3 or camp 2. Our sherpa team will install all camps and will carry all necessary food, kitchen equipment, stoves, oxygen and gas and also each member's sleeping bag and matress to the high camps. This way you don't have to haul heavy bags up the mountain, but just some personal clothes, climbing equipment, snacks, water and other small equipment (headlamp, photocamera, etc.). You will have more energy left, you will feel more rested and will climb much faster on the summit day, which will be a contribution to your safety. Together with the other expeditions on Mount Everest, we will fix rope on all the difficult and dangerous sections along the route. 5 Climbing Route Route from Mount Everest basecamp to the summit Our trekking towards Mount Everest basecamp starts in the village of Lukla (2800 meter). The route from Lukla to Mount Everest basecamp (5300 meter) is a path without any technical difficulties. Namche Bazaar, capital of the Sherpas, on the trekking route to Everest basecamp. From Mount Everest basecamp (5300 meter) the real climbing begins. Basecamp - camp 1 From basecamp to camp 1 the Khumbu Icefall has to be negotiated, a chaotic glacier with steep and unstable ice towers that can collapse at any moment. The Khumbu Icefall is one of the most dangerous parts of the climb. It begins just after basecamp and ends just before camp 1, at around 6100 meter. 6 Camp 1 Camp 1 is situated around 6100 meter on snow and ice and in between crevasses, at the end of the Khumbu Icefall. Camp 1 Camp 1 (6100 meter) - camp 2 (6500 meter) The route from camp 1 to camp 2 follows a gentle-angled glacier. Crevasses are the main danger here, but these are all secured with fixed ropes. Camp 2 (6500 meter) Camp 2 is situated on a moraine next to the glacier. From camp 2 we have a good view on the Lhotse Face, a 45 degree snow and ice wall that runs from a few hundred meters above camp 2 to the summit of Lhotse. 7 Lhotse Face, a 45 degree steep snow and ice wall, seen from camp 2 Camp 2 (6500 meter) to camp 3 (7300 meter) From camp 2 the route goes straight towards the Lhotse Face over a gentled sloped glacier. The Lhotse Face begins at 6750 meter and camp 3 is situated right on it, at 7300 meter. Camp 3 Camp 3 is situated right on the snow and ice of the Lhotse Face. Camp 3 (7300 meter) to camp 4 (South Col, 7900 meter) From camp 3 the steep Lhotse Face is followed up to 7750 meter. From that point, an ascending traverse is made towards the South Col. This stage is mainly over snow and ice, but there are also two rock pitches to be climbed. The first one is the Yellow Band at 7600 meter, an approximately 30 meter high rock slab. The second one is just before South Col, at around 7850 and is called the Geneva Spur. Camp 4 (South Col) Camp 4 is the highest camp and is situated on the South Col, a broad saddle between Mount Everest and the Lhotse (8511 meter). Camp 4 - summit The last stage from camp 4 to the summit is around 950 vertical meters, quite a distance at this altitude! From South Col the route starts with moderate snow slopes up to 40 degrees up to 'The Balcony' at approximately 8400 meter. In years with little snow, some short rock steps must be climbed on this part of the route. At 'The Balcony' the route joins the southeast ridge. The route first follows low-angled snow slopes from 'The Balcony', but soon the snow steepens up to 45 degrees and some easy, but steep rock slabs have to negotiated. This type of climbing is encountered until the South Summit at 8750 meters is reached. From here a knife-edge ridge of snow and easy rock will take you to the Hillary Step, a 10 meter high rock wall (grade II UIAA, YDS class 2 to 3 scrambling). After the Hillary Step at 8870 meter, easy slopes will lead you to the highest point of earth. 8 Included in cost Included in cost Excluded Private sherpa on summit attempt for each member. Flight from your home country Our experience is that this will increase your safety. If to Kathmandu and from other members go down on their summit attempt, you Kathmandu back to your home can still go up with your sherpa. country. A better than 1:1 ratio sherpas:members Personal insurances. Western expedtion leader (Mount Everest summiteer), Items of a personal nature, who has a minimum of 10 years experience in such as: laundry, drinks in organising expeditions and who is trained in medical Kathmandu, souvenirs. emergency situations. Doctors in basecamp, all necessary medicines (except All meals and drinks in from special personal medicines, if you have any), Kathmandu ($20 a day). emergency oxygen and a gammow bag. All meals and drinks on the Cook in basecamp, who prepares all food and drinks in trekking from Lukla to basecamp. basecamp ($20 a day). Airport pick up and drop off. Visa for Nepal. All wages, insurances and bonusses for all personnel. Vaccinations Transportation of all personal (maximum: 40 kilo) and Personal gear (sleeping bag, group equipment Kathmandu - basecamp - Kathmandu. matress, crampons, ice axe, Transportation of all group gear, all oxygen, all food and harness, helmet, clothes, all sleeping bags and matresses from basecamp to the headlamp, sunglasses, etc.). high camps by our expedition sherpas. Transportation of your personal Permit for climbing Mount Everest. Liaison officer for the gear to Kathmandu and from expedition.