MOUNTAINEERING IN HIGH ALTITUDES: EQUIPMENT, TECHNIQUES

HIGH-ALTITUDE MOUNTAINEERING

For high-altitude climbs in the Himalayas, Karakorum and elsewhere you need a lot of money and people to carry stuff. In the old days large numbers of porters were needed to ferry equipment back and forth between the camps. Most of the work of climbing a mountain is carrying supplies day after day from one camp to the next, usually over the same terrain, until you get enough equipment up to the final camp. Among the measures of the diligence and humanity of an expedition was how much of this kind of work the expedition members did themselves without the porters. When the weather is good you go for the summit in one last final push.

One goal of any serious high-altitude climber is to scale, an “eight-thousander,” — one of the 14 mountain peaks in the world that is taller than 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) — if not all of them. All of them are found in either the Karakoram range of Pakistan and western China or in the Himalayas in Nepal and Tibet.

According to NASA’s Earth Observatory: Eight thousand is a perfectly arbitrary number. Yet, no other number looms larger for mountain climbers. Fourteen is a number that pushes climbers to the point of obsession. It’s big enough that only the most ambitious consider climbing all of them, but small enough that doing so over a lifetime still seems possible. Even in the United States, a country where most people shun metric measurements, climbers dream of ascending the eight-thousanders. The “twenty-six-thousand, two-hundred-and-forty-seven-footers” hardly has the same ring. [Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov ]

Gasherbrum II in Pakistan — the world’s 13th highest mountain at 8,034 meters (26,358 feet) — is considered one of the safest and easiest eight-thousanders to climb. Over the years, climbers have skied, snowboarded, parachuted, and even hang-glided down from the summit. There had been more than 930 successful ascents of Gasherbrum II as of 2012, while only 21 people had died trying—a fatality rate of about 2 percent, the second lowest for the 8,000 meter peaks.

High-Altitude Mountaineering in Nepal

Hundreds of foreign climbers flock every year to Himalayan peaks in Nepal, which has eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mt. Everest. In 2018, the Nepal government issued permits to 792 mountaineers to attempt summits of 26 mountains in the country from April to May, including 346 permits for the world’s highest peak, Everest. [Source: Gripped May 1, 2018]

The Himalayan spring climbing season starts in April when temperatures warm and winds are typically calm and generally runs until early June. Those trying to summit Everest usually can only do so a few days in May, when the winds die down and there is no threat of storms. September marks the beginning of the autumn, post-monsoon climbing season, which runs through November. The weather conditions are often as good or almost as good in the fall season in October but climber prefer the spring because there is more daylight then.

Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-highest mountain at 8,188 meters (26,864 feet) is considered the easiest 8,000 meter peak to climb in Nepal and Tibet. It is a popular destination of commercial climbs and is considered a good warm up for Everest. Cho Oyu is just a few kilometers west of Nangpa La (5,716 meters, 18,753 feet), a glaciated pass that separates the Khumbu and Rolwaling Himalayas and has traditionally been the main trading route between the Tibetans and the Sherpas in the Khumbu region. Nearness to this pass and the generally moderate slopes of the standard northwest ridge route is what makes the Cho Ayu climb relatively easy. Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain at 8,163 meters (26,781 feet), became more popular in the late 2010s year after Chinese authorities restricted access to Cho Oyu.

Deaths, crowded routes and trash particularly on Everest but also on other Himalayan mountains in Nepal have raised questions about the whole idea of opening big Himalayan mountains to fee-paying commercial climbers or sponsored expeditions. Authorities in relatively poor Nepal are sensitive to such accusations that they issue too many permits for climbing mountains as the permits are a vital source of much needed hard currency for the Nepalese government.

High-Altitude Mountaineering Equipment

Mountaineer and climbing gear used to climb Mt. Everest, K2 and other high-altitude peaks includes an ice ax, crampons (spike things that attached to the boot), plastic boots with an inner liners, gaiters (to keep snow from falling in the shoes), glasses with ultraviolet lens (to prevent snow blindness), light and strong 8- to 12-mm rope, ice screws (hammered in the ice with an ice ax), harness, carabineers (used to attach the ropes to the ice screws and harness), and oxygen canisters.

Crampons made of ultralight titanium are best in terms of lightness. Others recommend steel ones for their strength and yet other say aluminum is best. According to mounteverest.net; Titanium ones “are light, but considered not durable. We took our chances with them and they never broke on us. Bring spares and carry one spare at the summit attempt. Secure them to the boots with steel wire if they keep falling of. There are however many brands of crampons around. Choose your favorites, remember only that ice climbing crampons differ from glacier crampons. [Source: mounteverest.net mounteverest.net]

Harness: North Face makes a great no-nonsense harness. Remove the stuff that you don't need. Tie about half a meter of line with a carabiner for the fixed ropes. Forget screw carabiners, you want them big and simple at Everest. Make a knot halfway up the rope and hook up a jumar with another carabiner. Secure the jumar in the front to your backpack straps or at chest level when not in use, this being the easiest way to get hold of it. Use a repelling device or just a carabiner if you know the technique.

Ice Axe: Straight shaft and light. That's it. We use Camp but there are others around.” Everest climbers “keep the axe on their pack most of the time (until Lhotse Wall and summit).

Rope: We carry a light 15-meter glacier rope at all times. Most people don't. We bring it for rescue or crossing unsafe places. Or in places of missing ladders and/or fixed ropes. We also tie in to each other if there are no fixed ropes at dangerous sections.

Gear to Stay Warm

Climbers usually wear polypropylene layers next to the skin, which helps move sweat away from the bodies, medium layers of insulation, and outer layers of Gortex for protection against wind, snow and moisture. Unlike most rock climbers, Mt. Everest mountaineer don't wear helmets because they are more concerned with keeping their heads warm than protecting them from falling rocks and ice.

Boots worn by Everest climbers are often made by Millet, who acquired the Italian business OneSport. According to mounteverest.net; Get them oversized (1-2 sizes). This is not your average weekend climbing trip and you need something where your toes have space to move freely, or you'll get frostbite by rush delivery. HotTronics make great heating pads and wires that can be used in your boots on your summit attempt. Michael Strynoe rebuilt the battery packs to give more power at a lower weight using AA Lithium batteries. [Source: mounteverest.net mounteverest.net]

Clothes: You will need multi-layer clothing for climbing between Everest Base Camp and Camp Three. The temperature changes dramatically when the clouds obscure the sun. One or two layers of lightweight Gore-Tex over fleece will work well, since the layers will be easy to shed or add. Carry a lightweight down jacket at all times. Use a cap to protect your head in the sun. Wear water-resistant gloves in the icefall and a good pair of down mittens higher up. Carry a spare mitten on your summit attempt.

Use a heavy down suit for the summit. We wear it already from Camp Two on the summit attempt in order to save weight. If you choose to do that, move early in the morning or you'll boil. We have used down suites from both Mountain Hardwear and North Face and they all worked equally well. Check that the hood will work together with the oxygen mask, covering your face properly. If possible, bring a spare down suit for cold nights in Everest Base Camp. Bring plenty of lightweight socks to change.

Face Mask: Use a heat-exchanging, wired face mask for protection against Khumbu- cough. Use the mask already from Gorak Shep. You'll get used to it and be protected right from the start. You should find the mask in stores for cross-country skiing. If you don't, check the gear link list on this web site. The Finnish manufacturer is listed there.

Mountaineering Gear Checklist

Clothes:
four pairs of socks
Six pair of underwear
Two pairs of shorts for the walking at lower elevations
Three T-shirts for the walking at lower elevations
Two bandanas or a sun hat too keep off the sun
Good sturdy Hiking shoes [Source: Summit Post]

Camping stuff:
sleeping bag (as warm as possible)
sleeping pad (remember you can be sleeping on rocks, so get a good one)
headlamp with extra batteries
cup with spoon attached
Swiss Army knife
stove. Get one you can easily buy the gas cartridges in the country you are climbing as airlines generally don’t allow passengers to take gas cartridges. Markhill stormy hanging stove with Blueway cartridges has been recommended. Allow at least one canister per day for up high per
Two man tent. In may cases you will need three tents or more: one for base camp and ones for camps two and three.
Three liter water bottles with insulators (You should drink at least five liters per day at high altitudes)
Food.
Lots of sunscreen and sunscreen plus zinc

Stuff to stay warm:
Two expedition weight Patagonia long underwear tops (or 1 depends on how dirty you like to be)
expedition weight Patagonia long underwear bottom
1 lightweight fleese bottom
heavy weight Patagonia or similar fleese jacket
Gortex shell jacket
Gortex shell pants (full length zippers)
Down filled jacket liner from Feathered Friends of Seattle
Downfilled Gortex guides Parka Warm hat with ear flaps
Two pair of heavy duty mittens (in case you lose one pair up high)
fleece gloves
ski gloves

Climbing gear:
pair of Koflach double plastic boots (more comfortable than other), One Sport (warmer, but expensive) or Asolo
pair of gaitors
pair of ski poles
ice axe
pair of sharp crampons (test them on your boots before you leave and make sure they fit perfectly)

Mountaineering Techniques

Mountaineers find it easier to climb on snow than rock. They use aluminum ladders to get over the crevasses and ice pinnacles as they have since 1953. Climbing ropes stretch and harnesses spread the shock evenly along the lower body so that if a mountaineer does fall, he or she can survive the shock.

Many climbers relieve themselves inside their tent: either into a plastic bag or through a vestibule in the tent. One climber told Time, “It can be a little bit gross. But if you go outside and take your pants down, you’ll have two inches of snowpack blow into your pants in about 10 seconds.”

Fixed Ropes have become of fixture of climbing on Everest and other high-altitude mountains. A fixed rope or fixed line is the practice of fixing in place bolted ropes to assist climbers in exposed mountain locations. They are widely used on popular climbing routes but are frowned upon and considered unsporting by "Alpine style" mountaineers. Many guided expeditions to peaks over 8,000 meters rely on fixed ropes to get through steep, icy or otherwise dangerous sections of the route. In changing mountain environments with glaciers, ice falls and areas with large amounts of snow, fixed ropes generally have to reset at the start of each climbing season.

According to mounteverest.net: “Once upon a time, when a small community of lonely, honest and silent heroes performed alpine climbing, it was common for all expeditions on a mountain to share the burden of rope fixing. Well. While there is still a vague, romantic belief that this is how it should be done on Everest, it is crushed today by the new era of alpine climbing. The fact is, that most climbers visit once or twice, never to return to Everest — or even the Himalayas — again. Climbers today are far more many than in the old days and not always very experienced either. Often, they are led by large commercial expeditions, and have no part in the rope fixing at all. [Source: mounteverest.net mounteverest.net]

Mountaineering Technique on Everest

"Everest is scary," wrote Jon Krakauer in “Into Thin Air.” "It's scary precisely because it doesn't look that scary. It isn't particularly steep and it doesn't present great technical challenges. You're lulled into thinking 'I've climbed hundreds of mountains harder than this.' But you never climbed them at 28, 20,00 feet."

Nepal has no rescue procedures for climbers in danger. Each expedition is responsible for its own safety. It is not unusual for climbers to abandon their attempt to reach the summit to help bring down a climber that broke his leg or was injured in some other way.

To get a across a section of the Khumbu Ice Fall that killed one their climbing mates, Barry Bishop and Lute Jersted, members of the 1963 American Everest expedition, used a Tyrolean traverse A Tyrolean traverse is a method of crossing through free space between on a rope. The climber attaches himself or herself to the rope with a carabineer and harness and hangs underneath, pulling himself or herself along with his or her hands. Such techniques are not really used anymore on Everest or that much in high-altitude climbing except to cross rivers.

Mountaineering Techniques That Make Everest Easier

Climbers today have the advantage of 60 aluminum ladders over the treacherous Khumbu ice fall and thousands of meters of fixed ropes to hold on to and a foot print trail nearly the entire way up. Every season the trails are moved to adjust for changes that have occurred in the ice flow.

Small or narrow crevasses are jumped over, On the less technically demanding parts of the route, a Sherpa usually breaks a trail in the snow and sets a rope line on which the climbers attach themselves so they don't slide off the mountain if they fall or stumble. All the climbers have to do is place their feet in the foot prints ahead of them.

The blind climber Erik Weihenmayer told Time: ”It is so specific in terms of where you can step. Sometimes you’re walking along and then boom, a crevasse is right there, and then three more steps and another one, and then a snow bridge. And vertical up, then a ladder and then a jumbly section.”

Fixed Ropes Climbing

“Fixing the route” with “fixed ropes” are a big part of climbing very high mountains. Sometimes it is done the with assistance from governments or Alpine clubs. Often they are set by expeditions or climbers themselves. These days at Everest and in the Himalayas in Nepal much of the work is done by Sherpas.

Alan Arnette wrote: “Ropes are a key part of climbing, alpine, siege style, or rock. After a few weeks on the mountain, that rope becomes your best friend, and in case of a fall, it is a genuine lifesaver. Without the fixed ropes, the death toll would be significantly higher. Fixed ropes are used on most 8000 meter mountains, including K2. On lower peaks including Denali, Rainier or Mont Blanc, it is common for climbers to climb roped together but not on a fixed line. If one person falls, the others are responsible for stopping that fall. [Source: alanarnette.com, April 21, 2017]

“Simply put, a thin nylon rope aka “fixed line” is anchored to the mountain side marking the path aka “route” climbers should take. The rope is about the thickness of your thumb and is attached to the climber’s harness using a carabiner and a jumar. To see how the rigging is set up, Tim Mosedale has a nice description on his site. While it may seem silly that mountain climbers need a rope to mark the trial, there’s more to it than marking the path. In addition to marking the route, which is extremely useful in whiteout conditions, the fixed line also provides a safety net for a climber in the event of a fall.

“The way the ropes is attached is by using ice screws, primarily in the Icefall or very icey areas but more often by driving an aluminum picket into the snowy mountain side and attaching the rope using another segment of rope. All in all this is very time consuming and it takes days to get the route set to the summit. That is why we rarely see summits in April as the Tibetans and Sherpas are busy establishing the route while the climbers are acclimatizing.

Ladders

Alan Arnette wrote in his blog: One of the famous features of climbing Everest are the ladders used to cross crevasses. In the Khumbu Icefall, there are between 20 and 30 crevasses. In the Western Cwm, there can be a few more and finally a couple at the base of the Lhotse Face. One the north side, there are several near crampon point as climbers ascend to the North Col. Most Nepal side climbers will make at least four round trips through the Icefall meaning they will cross over 200 crevasses. [Source: alanarnette.com, 2013]

“The ladders are not always straight across a crevasse, in fact almost never. They can go down, straight up, be positioned at an angle, anything but horizontal. There can be dual ladders in high traffic areas. Sometimes an up ladder and a down ladder. Most teams will practice crossing ladders with their full size 8000 meter boots and crampons on while at Base Camp just to get the feel for it.

“Approaching the ladder, you pause for an inspection. How many ladders are lashed together? Not too bad if only one, but three, four or more, it sinks in the middle, it bounces. Watching a Sherpa crossing ahead, you see the wobble – left, right, up, down. The safety lines are in place so you look at the anchors, the place where they are secured to the ground, or more accurately, the snow or ice. The thin nylon line is tied in a squirrelly knot through a hole in an piece of bent aluminum – a picket. That’s all? Looking across the crevasse you see the rope tied to an ice screw, but in the hot sunlight the hole has melted out and the ice screw bobs freely.

“Knowing you have little choice, you approach the ladder. Carefully, slowly, you move your feet towards the edge. Bending over, you grab the right hand safety line, then with your other hand you press the locking mechanism of your carabiner inwards and clip onto the line. Your ‘biner is tied to your harness with a short piece of nylon webbing. Repeating this procedure, you are now hooked on both safety lines. Your life is now in the hands of the makers of nylon.

“Your crampon’s front points jut out from your boot as you focus your eyes on the first rung. The question is whether to put the mid part of your sole on the rung or to gingerly put your front points on one rung and the back of your boot on the trailing rung. The latter runs the risk of being caught when you lean forward, forcing the rung tightly against your crampons. Only a Cirque du Soleil move would allow you to free yourself. Seeing the Sherpas make this move gives you confidence so you move forward. The right boot settles on the ladder, then your left foot moves quickly in place. You hold onto the ropes with a grip so tight that if you fell, your shoulder would dislocate before your grip would release.

“Your hands are slightly behind you to pull the line taught. All of a sudden, the line goes tight from both sides. Teammates have squatted at both ends of the ladder to pull the rope tight making it more of a rail. You appreciate this and return the favor at the next crossing. One step is followed by the next and then a third. Your eyes focused on the ladder, your boot, your knee – anything other than the seemingly bottomless pit below you....A few more steps, your foot reaches the snow covered ground.... Looking around you feel good. Only 199 more ladder crossing to go.

Everest Climb and Ferrying Supplies

It generally takes about two months to climb Mt. Everest. Most of that time is spent waiting around various camps to get acclimated to the altitude and waiting for good weather conditions. The Everest Base Camp (BC) area — on the Nepalese side anyway — is like a high-tech refugee camp, with kitchen tents, dining tents, satellite dishes, boom boxes, video equipment, portable generators and even makeshift restaurants, bars and partying areas. Altogether climbers often spend about three months in Everest area. It takes about 10 days to three weeks to trek to and from Everest Base Camp from Lukla, the nearest airstrip. Once at Everest Base Camp it takes an average of 40 days to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest.

Above Everest Base Camp on the Nepalese side of the most-used climbing route to the summit of Everest — the South Col Route — are four camps: Camp One (C1), Camp Two (C2), Camp Three (C3) and Camp Four (C4). In the old days a greater part of an expedition was spent ferry supplies up to the camps, and going back down and repeating the process. There is still of this done today to some degree but a lot of this kind of work is done by Sherpas and porters. A lot of time is spent just sitting in the camp getting used to the altitude. The going up and down and acclimatizing generally takes a couple of weeks up to a month. When weather conditions are right climbers make their final assault from Camp Four, try to make the summit, and return to Camp Four for the night. The next day climbers can usually descend all the way Everest Base Camp.

Safety worries due to carelessness and poor judgment are increasingly becoming a concern. Omkar Khandekar wrote in the South China Morning Post: Although the Nepalese government fixes support ropes all the way to the summit at the beginning of every climbing season, every ascent is fraught with risks. It can still be a chore getting supplies up the mountain. Climbers traverse the section between base camp and Camp 1 as many as 10 times to ferry supplies.

Hillary and Tenzing’s Everest Expedition

The expedition that Hillary and Tenzing were part of included more than 400 people, including team of a half dozen climbers as well as a brain surgeon, a doctor, a physicist, a photographer, a physiologist, an agricultural statistician, a schoolmaster, an oil company executive, oxygen tank technicians and a poet and 35 Sherpa guides and climbers and 362 Sherpa and Nepalese porters, many of them veterans of previous British expeditions. The porters carried a total of 18 tons of equipment, food and supplies. Altogether nine camps were set up on Everest.

Morris wrote in Smithsonian magazine: The expedition “had a strong military element — most of its climbers had served in the armed forces. Most had been to the well-known English private schools. Several were at Oxford or Cambridge. Two were citizens of the most loyally British of the British dominions, New Zealand. One was from Nepal, and therefore seemed a sort of honorary Briton. Nearly all had previous Himalayan experience.”

The expedition spent more than three months on Mt. Everest. Morris wrote: “The expedition went like clockwork. It was rather like a military campaign. Hunt took few chances in his organization and tested everything first. He’d brought two kinds of oxygen equipment , for instance, and climbers tried them both. Camps established on the mountain flanks enabled men to haul equipment up in stages, and when they were sick or overtired...they went down to the valleys to rest.”

After the arriving at Everest Base Camp, much of the expedition involved sending coordinated teams up the mountain, carrying supplies to increasingly higher camps on the icy slopes and dangerous rock ledges. The ten tons of supplies was ferried up and down the mountain with everyone doing their share. Hillary estimated that by the time he reached the summit the had climbed Mt. Everest three and a half times: Between Base Camp and Camp I he went back and forth four times over four days in mid April. During the process of moving 1.5 ton of stuff to Camp II Tenzing prevented Hillary from falling in a crevasse. After Camp VI was established at 24,000 feet, Hillary and Tenzing brought up supplies from base camp. They also moved supplies between Camp V at 21,000 feet and Camp VII on the South Col at 26,000 feet.

Drudgery of Climbing K2

On an expedition lead by the famous Austrian woman climber Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and her husband r Ralf Dujmovits that approached K2 from the China side, “Chip Brown wrote in National Geographic: “For most of July and half of August the six members of the International 2011 K2 North Pillar Expedition had been shuttling up and down the seldom attempted North Ridge of the worlds second highest peak. Theirs was the only party on the remote Chinese side of K2. The mountaineers were climbing the ridge (as it is commonly referred to, even though “ridge” understates the steepness of the terrain) without bottled oxygen or high-altitude porters. [Source: Chip Brown, National Geographic, April 2012]

“It had taken 42 days for the six climbers to establish several camps connected by thousands of feet of rope fixed across a route that included everything from vertical rock and ice to avalanche-raked slopes of chest-deep snow. They pushed themselves to break trail in heavy snow, haul gear, shovel out campsites, pitch tents, melt ice. Many times they relinquished their gains on the mountain, going down to sleep at the lower elevation of Advanced Base Camp, at 4,650 meters on the K2 North Glacier.

“The approach to K2 from the north side is challenging. After reaching the village of llik by SUV, the expedition spent five days trekking through the Aghil Pass and across the Shaksgam River before it reached Chinese Base Camp. It took dozens of camels and eight Kyrgyz drivers to haul 2.2 tons of gear across the bed of the Shaksgam River to Chinese Base Camp. The cost: US$17,000-plus eight pairs of sunglasses.” At one point “the swift current nearly swallows a two-hump Bactrian camel crossing the frigid stream that drains multiple glaciers in the Sarpo Laggo Valley of the Karakoram Range. The channel was the last but most difficult water barrier before arriving at Chinese Base Camp.”

“In her rucksack Gerlinde had spare batteries, extra mittens, toilet paper, a second pair of sunglasses, bandages, drops for snow blindness, cortisone, a syringe; for her main sponsor she also carried a flag with the name of an Austrian oil company. For herself, she had a tiny copper box containing a figure of the Buddha, which she planned to bury on the summit. Inside her suit she tucked the half liter of water she had managed to melt; in her pack it would freeze.”

Siege Tactics to Climb K2

In an article on climbing K2 in the winter, Mark Jenkins wrote in National Geographic: “ Polish mountainerr Krzysztof “Wielicki’s favored approach to winter expeditions is to use “siege” tactics, assiduously erecting a series of three or four tiny camps at various points on the mountain to give the climbers just enough shelter to warm themselves, rest, and eat before moving up. All the camps are connected by ropes anchored to cracks in the rock and ice. These “fixed lines” allow the climbers and porters to move more easily between them. [Source: Mark Jenkins, National Geographic, February 25, 2018]

“But high-altitude mountain climbing isn’t just about going up. The climbers must adjust to the whisper thin air (especially Wielicki’s team which is not using bottled oxygen), so they go up the ropes to Camp 1, spend a few nights, then come back down to base camp and recuperate for a few days. On the next foray, they go higher to Camp 2, spend a few nights, then descend back to base camp. This up-and-down process continues over a month, allowing their bodies to adjust.

“After the team finally establishes Camp 4, they wait for the next good weather window and the climbers who feel strongest will attempt to make the summit. After switching routes, the team and their high-altitude porters (local Pakistanis who assist teams in the Karakoram like Nepal’s Sherpas do on Everest) had to remove all the ropes, tents, ice screws, and other equipment from the Cesen Spur and establish the new route up the Abruzzi Ridge.

“The mountain is dry and the rock fall is bad up to Camp 1,” Wielicki told me, noting that the lack of snow to hold rocks in place made the danger worse. In the background I could hear the wind whipping the walls of his nylon tent. Fist size rocks were randomly whizzing down the wall. “It just became too dangerous to continue,” Wielicki explained. In response, the team switched the route they’d planned to take up the mountain. They abandoned the Cesen Spur, a shorter, steeper line, in favor of the Abruzzi Ridge, a longer route but better protected from rock fall.

Camping Gear for High-Altitude Mountaineering

Tents: According to mounteverest.net: “Choose a big, cheap tent for Everest Base Camp. You will need the space and privacy, especially if joining a large expedition. There should also be tents at Camp One, Camp Two, Camp Three and Camp Four. The Camp One tent can double as Camp Three or Camp Four tent since you will climb Everest Base Camp to Camp Two in one go when acclimatized. [Source: Tom Sjogren, mounteverest.net]

“You will need high quality tents at all high camps. North Face, Marmot and Mountain Hardwear are the dominating brands. Call the agent in your area and ask for a good price. Getting gear for free is difficult since these people are trying to make a living out of it, but buying at wholesale price should be easy in return for a picture or so.The agents, often high altitude climbers themselves, are also a great source of information about new materials.

Sleeping bags: They need to be Down with at least 1000 grams/35 ounce of filling. Don't go cheap with sleeping bags. You will need two or three of them. One of them can be lighter (for the trek and also for Everest Base Camp later in the season). Within just a couple of days, the bag will absorb up to one kilo (2 pound) of your perspiration, this affecting both it's power of insulation and your load. Allow the bag to dry up on top of your tent every sunny day. Secure the bag with rock.

Pads : Get a set for each camp. You need double layers in Everest Base Camp and Camp Two to protect you from the rocks. If you feel cold easily, you might need double layers for the other camps as well. ThermaRest works great together with RidgeRest or the like. No crampons in tent, they'll puncture the Therma.

Cooking: Get a Camp Two cook, or — if in a small expedition — share one with other people. That will make both you and the sherpas much happier. Past expedition we spent 30 days above Everest Base Camp. Tendi, our Camp Two cook, really helped the sherpas and us to stay in good health. We actually preferred Camp Two to BC! For the high camps, carry 2 small Titanium burners. Working two stoves when you are tired really makes a difference. Your cooking time will take half the time, allowing you more rest.

Bring two light pots with lids for Camp One, those ultimately proceeding to Camp Three and Camp Four. You could also bring a spare to keep at Camp Three. You need a spoon to eat. Keep a good knife (Leatherman works great) in your pack at all times. Plastic mugs. Don't forget potholders. These tend to disappear too, so bring two for camp. Bring plenty of matches and lighters. Beware, last year we bought 30 lighters in Kathmandu, none worked higher than Everest Base Camp and we still have no clue why! Get the sherpas to shop for the good ones or bring from home.

Water purification: We used Swedish liquid water purification called Aqua Care. It has absolutely no taste and is highly efficient. Put a few drops in cold water and you can drink almost anything. No need to boil all water has really helped us to cut down on gas. The snow around camps is often contaminated with human feces and should always be carefully checked and purified. Pour the Aqua care into everything, and make sure that the cooking staff has water bowls with desinfectant in it outside the cooking tent to wash their hands after visits to the bathroom.

Gas: Order gas through your trekking agency. If you have a Camp Two cook you will need about 20-30 normal size cans for your personal climb. The cost is US$7-10 per container. The trekking agency will provide a large gas container for the Camp Two cooking tent.

Maps and Compass: The Washburn map is for sale on the streets of Kathmandu. Bring also a small compass. Use it to take a bearing from Camp Four to the wall when going for the summit. There are no ropes on this section and people have been lost on their way down when clouds or night set in. Much of the tragedy in 1996 could have been avoided if people had found their way back to Camp Four. Sometimes, strobe light is used by expeditions on Camp Four for direction in foul weather on descent. Another option is the use of a small, handheld GPS unit. Do use some of the options, and fix ropes wherever possible.

Best Food for High-Altitude Mountaineering

According to mounteverest.net: “Spam. Spam. Spam! You will watch it turn into a strange pinkish shade on your frozen tin plate, put it down and shed another pound this week. The opposite of everything your doctor told you is on the other hand the good news on Everest diet! Bring all the fatty goodies, the important thing is that you really like them. Don't experiment by bringing unfamiliar foods from home. [Source: Tom Sjogren, mounteverest.net]

Eat lots of the local vegetables (onions, cabbage, carrots). Really try to finish the heated can fruit that your BC-cook will offer you. It's solluble fiber content is extremely effective against hemorrhoids and constipation. Garlic is excellent for altitude adaptation. It thins the blood. The sherpas eat it constantly and so should you. The smell? HAHA. You're on Everest, pal. The garlic smell will be among the nicest snuff you'll encounter.

Hard salami, processed cheese, peanut butter, jam, tinned ham, some tinned meals, snacks, candy and chocolate — dream it all up and then bring it. Check expiry-dates for ready made sweet pies and other cakes and desserts. Many lasts surprisingly well and are excellent packs of calories (forget about the trans fats for this occasion only).

For high camps; cup-a-soups, instant soups, dried cheese&ham tortellini (a hit), more chocolate, marzipan, hot chocolate powder, milk powder perhaps, some coffee and tea. Cereals and oatmeal for breakfast. Hiking powder meals are not mandatory — try instead instant "real" foods (rice/pasta casseroles, macaroni-cheese meals, "real" soups requiring a few added minutes to cook). If you don't like it at home, you won't like it better on the mountain. Make it as easy on you as you can by bringing foods you actually enjoy.

On the climbs: Candy bars, nuts, crackers. Sports Bars and Sports Jelly. Sherpas eat boiled eggs on climbing. Bring them too — wrapped with some salt in a plastic bag — along with a piece of salami, cheese and bread. The more "real" food you eat at altitude the better you'll perform. Anatolij Buchreew had raw carrots. The occasional canned tuna, salmon and sardines will be a treat. Tubed cheese. Powder Energy drinks. Bring yourself to eat. Extreme weight loss is a fact on Everest — just mere existing at that altitude speeds your metabolism rate by 10 percent. Typically we lose around 10-20 lb. (5-10 kg), even if really stuffing ourselves

Communications and Tech Gear for High-Altitude Mountaineering

The Internet has really changed expedition climbing. The first major Everest news story to break on the Internet was the climbing accidents on Everest in 1996. Today, almost all expeditions have their own website and you can call anyone on a smart phones from Everest Base Camp and far up the mountain. Satellite phones are a thing of the past, unless you want a back up if the Internet goes down.

Equipment is getting lighter, warmer and stronger all of the time. These days climbers often use walkie talkies to communicate with members of their team and cell phones to talk to everyone else. Up until 2010, many climber relied on satellite phones to talk to the outside world. That year 3G towers were installed near Mt. Everest's base camp, allowing people to use the Internet and their phones there as well as far up Mt. Everest. No doubt the technology has improved greatly since then.

According to mounteverest.net, whose information dates to the early 2000s: “You need a camera (for summit pictures). The environment is very forgiving, and even with just a cheap pocket style camera you will get some really nice shots. Bring spare batteries. Keep your camera inside your down suit when going high. A strong Polaroid filter is essential. Both high and low ASA's are useful. Camcorders get smaller and smaller. In this environment a mini-DV is good enough even for broadcast. Try to choose a three-chip camera. Take care with the electronic stuff. It shouldn't affect your overall safety and concentration on climbing. It's hard to climb and work a still camera at the same time. Aiming for video as well could affect your possibilities to make the summit and come down in one piece.

Walkie Talkies: Talk with the trekking agency or other expedition members about walkie-talkies. The yellow Motorola "Talk-about" has worked well for instance. Try to join in on a base station and share the costs. The Nepal government will charge US$ 50 for an individual walkie-talkie permit and around US$ 200 for a base station. Your trekking agency will take care of the permits for you. You will then probably be assigned specific frequencies to use and will need to calibrate the radios. When in Everest Base Camp, you should talk to other teams about an emergency channel. [Source: Tom Sjogren, mounteverest.net]

There are a number of brands around and new smaller units are constantly hitting the market. Choose a model with AA-batteries since charging high up is a problem. Lithium batteries are expensive but outstanding with respect to weight factor and cold tolerance. A Lithium battery will perform with almost no loss down to -20C/-30F. Every climber and summit sherpa should have his/her own set. There should also be a unit at Camp Two and of course in Everest Base Camp. Check the second hand market and/or last year's expeditions for good deals.

Power Supply: Solar panels work great on Everest. Just lay them out and hook up to a simple car battery and you will have more than enough power. We used 3 panels and filled our 210-amp battery in one day. Shop around at marine suppliers. You should buy the battery in Kathmandu and fill it in Everest Base Camp. If daily power is very important to you, bring a generator. Pick it up for a few hundred dollars in Kathmandu. Your trekking agency will help you find fuel. Connect your battery to an AC/DC converter (US 50 and up at your local electrical supplier or hardware store).

Fixed Ropes on Everest

Fixed ropes are a big part of climbing very high mountains. Sometimes it is done the with assistance from governments or Alpine clubs. Often they are set by expeditions or climbers themselves. These days at Everest and in the Himalayas in Nepal much of the work is done by Sherpas.

Alan Arnette wrote: As we end the third week of April, teams are all over both sides of the mountain. They are doing their first acclimatization rotation primarily to the lowest of the camps above base camp. For most teams they will do at least one more of these rotations but to the next highest camp before they are ready for the summit pushes in mid May. But the key to it all is getting the route set” referred to as “fixing the route” with “fixed ropes”.. [Source: alanarnette.com, April 21, 2017]

“The problem that is occurring in recent years is that the line can only support so much weight and it is common to have 30, 50 or even 100 people attached to the same rope. While, amazingly it has never happened, if the climbers were to fall together the lines would fail under the load. So in many high traffic areas, there are dual lines established, one for climbers ascending and one for descending climbers. In 2017, this dual route is established on the Lhotse Face. There are two routes on the Hillary Step but one is designed for climbers to rappel down, just off the Hillary Step proper, and onto an exposed ledge. It has not been used since it was established a few years ago as it requires skills most Everest climbers lack. But sometimes there is simply not enough room for dual ropes. Also, remember that it takes human effort to haul the gear high on the slopes and attach it to the mountain.

Describing how it was done on Everest in the late 2010s, John Branch wrote in the New York Times: “Every spring, as hopeful climbers from around the world trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, an elevation of about 17,500 feet, to begin acclimating for a summit push in May, a team of local Sherpas is hired to create the season’s route up the mountain. They establish the course up more than two vertical miles that hundreds of others will follow. First, the “icefall doctors” set ropes, ladders and makeshift bridges through the notoriously dangerous, ever-shifting Khumbu Icefall immediately above Base Camp. Others keep moving upward, setting anchors and stringing ropes until they reach the summit. The process can take weeks, and is often delayed by bad weather. [Source: John Branch, New York Times, December 19, 2017]

The route to the summit of Everest changes slightly each year, depending on variable conditions, like the snowpack or snow slides. In 2017, it opened on May 15, later than usual. The new route was strung near previous ones, and the worn, faded ropes of past seasons could be seen threaded among the rocks and through the snow.“Only when the ropes are fixed to the top does the Everest climbing season open. It usually lasts only a few weeks, squeezed between the route opening in early May and the projected start of the monsoon at the end of the month.”

When the Expeditions Fixed the Ropes Themselves

Up until the mid 2000s, the main expeditions often set up much of the fixed roped. Describing what that was like, mounteverest.net reported: “Fixing of ropes has simply fallen upon the expedition who actually gets up and does it, usually without much help from the others. Sometimes, meetings has been held and decisions has been made between expeditions on who is supposed to do what. This well intended attempt to co-operate has often ended in delayed acclimatizations due to wrecked deadlines, dangerous parts not fixed at all and on occasion even wrecked summit bids due to failed promises to fix at crucial timing. [Source: mounteverest.net mounteverest.net]

“In the end, one expedition simply takes it on itself to do all of the fixing, in order to be able to climb in time. The other expeditions then climb happily right behind, too often avoiding the bill afterwards. Rob Hall fixed most of the mountain in 1996, Boukreev in 1997, everyone and nobody in 1998 and then we did it in 1999. Neither us, Hall nor Boukreev were offered much help with cost or labor from (most of) the others — even after asking.”

“The costs for rope fixing above icefall are huge. Apart from the 5-km/3 miles of ropes, 200 icescrews, 500 ice picks and other gear that we had to bring, you also need additional sherpas and the sherpas need to be paid extra bonuses for the fixing. We used 5 extra sherpas for the fixing and it took all our guys about a week to fix the route from Icefall to Camp 4. It was done early, enabling early acclimatizations and summit bids. An additional 1500-meter/5000 ft of rope was then brought to Camp Four, where Pete Athens team completed the task between Camp Four and the summit.

“Our expedition budget was US$200 000 and we simply added the additional 10 percent — or US$20.000 — required for the rope fixing. We did so after a prior years (1998) disastrous fixed rope situation. We needed to ensure good odds for our own summit bid and additional safety for Babus record attempt. We simply didn't want to lose the summit or our lives on hassles with (some of) the other expeditions.

Ladders on Everest

Oxygen in High-Altitude Climbing

When it comes to oxygen, use it and rely on your trekking or mountaineering agency to make the arrangement, as the use of oxygen can be complicated and technical, and make sure you can trust your agency. According to mounteverest.net: Many people talk about climbing without oxygen, yet few actually do it. Even the sherpas will usually use oz. Even the sherpas will usually use oz. Don't get yourself into trouble by saving money on oxygen. Failing oxygen is a big cause of accidents on Everest. Bring plenty and bring the right stuff. You can sell your leftover oxygen back in Kathmandu to fall- and next years expeditions. You can find masks and regulators on the second hand market in Kathmandu, or you can rent it from your trekking agency. It's expensive and not reliable. [Source: mounteverest.net mounteverest.net]

Do not attempt Everest without oxygen, unless you are an experienced at climbing over 8000 meters (26000 feet) with at least one previous experience at 8500-meters (28000 feet) without oxygen. Your sherpa should carry a spare oxygen bottle for emergency. And remember to drink plenty of fluids.

The supplementary oxygen supply system is roughly built as follows: 1) It is an ultralight 3-liter or 4-liter (new) cylinder, pressured to 320 bar. 2) The pressure will however decrease with temperature. 3) Testing the bar reading in a cold Everest Base Camp is thus not a good idea. We bring a handheld scale instead (shop for it at game fishing stores for instance) and check the weight stated on the bottle. Neither altitude nor temperature affects the weight. A 3-liter bottle weighs around 2.6 kg when full. Approximately 1060 grams out of that is oxygen (this will vary between individual bottles). We weigh the bottles simply to make sure that they are full. A 3-liter bottle holds about 720 liters of oxygen.

Most climbers start using oxygen at Camp Three. The main reason being that it will give you a good night's sleep (on flow 1 liter or less) before the long, strenuous summit attempt. Also, you will try out the gear and get used to it well in time. Using oxygen to Camp 4 gained Thomas only one hour of speed, compared to when he went without. Yet, it left him less worn for the summit attempt.

Sherpas will start using oxygen at Camp Four. At that altitude you should use a rate of one l/m while resting/sleeping. If you are weak, don't hesitate to put it up to two liters until you feel better. The main reason for weakness is however not lack of oxygen but lack of fluid. Try to drink 1 liter of water upon your arrival to camp, and another 3 liters before the climb. Bring 2 liters of HOT liquid for the climb, keep it in your down suit — never in the pack (it will freeze in no time).

But how much do climbers actually bring? Well, considering that up to one third of all climbers get into oxygen trouble up there, they are either bringing to little or using too much. If you use 2 liters a minute, 2 bottles will last you for 12 hours. 3-9 hours without oxygen, on the climb down, when you are the most tired ' will be a chilling fact! To be really safe, we each need around 2-3 bottles from Camp Three to Camp Four (including sleep), 2 bottles at Camp Four, 4-5 for the summit push and two spares. That totals 12. If you are up for another attempt you need at least another eight. That totals twenty bottles. The cost for this will be around US$300 each bottle or US$6000 in total. Invest this money and sell what you are not using upon going home. If you want, you can purchase cheaper bottles for the use at camps/sleep.

Different Oxygen Systems

According to mounteverest.net in the early 2000s: There are primarily two brands used today: POISK and UK. We have used both (the UK are cheaper yet heavier) and prefer POISK. The sherpas always want POISK. In 1999 we carried 15 UK bottles. 4 of them broke in the valve at Camp Four and couldn't be used. We were lucky to have enough spares, but as you would imagine, it could be fatal if it happened in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our recommendation is that you get new gear from POISK. It's US$250-380 a set, depending on how many you order, and definitely worth the money (you can sell the gear too after the expedition). Joining a commercial expedition in 1996, Tina was provided with a mask, used just a couple of days earlier by Becks (the climber with severe frostbites that eventually lost his nose). The mask was still covered with his blood. She was advised to clean it out with snow at Camp Two. You don't want that!

Kai Schultz wrote in the New York Times: “In the 1990s, a shift toward bigger commercial Everest expeditions was fueled in part by the introduction of affordable and lightweight cylinders from a single company: Poisk, a Russia-based supplier. Over the past 25 years, the company is estimated to have supplied more than 90 percent of high-altitude oxygen systems used in Nepal, said Igor Ashmarin, a Poisk spokesman. [Source: Kai Schultz, New York Times, April 23, 2019]

Alan Arnette wrote on his blog in 2013: “The Poisk system was the only game in town until the early 2000s when Ted Atkins introduce his TopOut mask. His approach was based on frustration with the Poisk mask. Atkins said the Poisk masks leaked, provided oxygen at a steady flow regardless of the needs of the climber, was uncomfortable and often froze in the harsh extreme of 8000 meter expeditions. Also, the Poisk mask continued to bring oxygen into the mask as the climber exhaled thus increasing the waste. [Source: alanarnette.com]

“The Topout mask aimed to solve those issue by using the equivalent of a plastic pop bottle as a reservoir. This allowed for a variable flow of oxygen as the climber’s efforts ranging from rest to extreme. Also, he designed an improved fitting mask based on 3M’s R-6311 respirator body. Once again, improvement is needed. On my descent from the summit of Everest in 2011, the tube going to my TopOut mask froze shutting off all oxygen to my mask. Of all places to occur, it was on the Hillary Step where I was exerting all my remaining strength to get down safely. Thankfully, my Sherpa, Kami, rushed to my aid as I reached the base of the Step and punched the frozen hose with a solid right fist. For 2013, he moved the flow indicator and controller from the regulator attached to the oxygen cylinder located in the climber’s pack, to an in-line device within the delivery tube allowing for easier adjusting and monitoring by the climber themselves. He also added a shorter tube connection to the bottle to address the freezing problems.

“Summit Oxygen entered the market in 2003 with a true on-demand system that used tubes placed directly into a climber’s nostril, similar to a hospital environment. It was used then and today in military applications but the flow was not sufficient to meet the demands above 8000m for the typical Everest climber. They needed a system that provided more of a steady flow. Greenwood focused on the more traditional system for climbers with a more traditional mask, regulator and cylinder. He designed an entirely new system and has continued to make incremental improvements. They offered a complete system of cylinder, valve, regulator, and mask in the lightest weight system on the market.

In 2013, several teams used the Summit Oxygen system with excellent success. Himalayan Experience, Himex, only used the Summit Oxygen mask and regulator as did Jagged Globe. While not attributing their perfect summit success record in 2013 to the Summit Oxygen mask and regulator, the companies give credit to the Summit Oxygen system. Guy Cotter, Adventure Consultants, had a good experience as he used a mix of TopOut and Summit Oxygen masks. He did experience a noisy valve and some dripping of the climber’s condensation down the front of their jacket causing zippers to get completely frozen up with the Summit Oxygen masks.

Using Oxygen in High-Altitude Climbing

According to mounteverest.net: During the climb, you will vary the flows between 1, 2, 3 or 4 l/m. Even though it is possible, don't go higher than flow 4. Oxygen becomes toxic and dangerous at that rate. The flow set by you will determine the duration of your bottle. If you breathe from it at the rate of 2 liters a minute — the 720 liters will be gone after 360 minutes. That's 6 hours. Should you use 3 liters a minute, the bottle goes in 240 minutes, or 4 hours. At 4 liters a minute, the bottle consequently empties in 180 minutes/3 hours. On the other hand, a flow of one only, will last the bottle for 720 minutes — 12 hours. [Source: mounteverest.net mounteverest.net]

Fitting the gear: 1) On top of the bottle there is a valve. Keep it protected from dust and damage at all times. 2) Fit your regulator to the valve. 3) Put the regulator on half a liter flow, before you screw it on. 4) After that, screw like crazy (if you are to slow you will lose too much oxygen). The escaping pressure will produce a loud noise. 5) Close the regulator. A hose is attached to the regulator. Be careful not to step on it, especially with crampons on.

The other end of the hose fits onto a mask. These masks were originally developed for Russian fighter pilots! Prepare for it to fit badly and constantly clogging your glacier glasses. Get the mask prior to your climb and try it out. The mask is not constructed for the extreme cold at Everest and will tend to clog. Squeeze the rubber parts once every thirty minutes while you are climbing, and you should be OK.

Using Oxygen at the Summit

According to mounteverest.net in the early 2000s: If staying one hour at the summit, we are looking at a time span of 15 to 21 hours. If your average use of oxygen is 2,5 l/m, you'll need at least 4-5 POISK bottles to be sure. Sure, perhaps you'll be really disciplined and use only one l/m at some parts, but that will just call for 3 l/m on the hard parts, since you'll get worn. You will still end up on the average 2 liters a minute consumption. Expect many hours without oxygen on your climb down — just when you are at your worst! This is the time when climbers die most often. [Source: Tom Sjogren, mounteverest.net]

Three bottles would rather be the minimum and that is what the Sherpas normally bring for themselves. If you are an experienced and altitude strong (which is not equivalent to sea level strong) climber, three bottles could be OK. Most people should however bring 4 bottles and still be careful with the usage. With an average of 2,5 liters that will last for 19 hours. In most cases that will bring you up and down safe.

We try to bring 5 bottles each if possible. That gives us a good margin of safety. The extra bottle is only going to Balcony (8500-m/28000 ft) for rescue. High up, we've been able to offer climbers in trouble spare oxygen because of this and that is a nice feeling too. It is just a spare bottle, but could mean the difference of your or your friend's survival.

Finally, an important fact to be remembered in all this is also that bottles occasionally breaks on summit attempts. Fighter pilots, who reach altitude of ,8000 meters (26,247 feet) without supplementary oxygen, will fall into coma within 4-8 minutes. For you likewise, running out of oxygen at a very high altitude means big, big trouble. It's like going in to a wall. You can not compare yourself with someone climbing without oxygen for the entire climb. They have adjusted their bodies gradually, whilst yours will have a shock. If you are on the ridge (8750-meter/28700 ft) and the oxygen is gone, your chances of returning alive are slim and the chance of returning without frostbite almost nonexistent.Don't trade US$250 against your life! Bring an extra bottle and save yourself or someone else.

Oxygen Issues Near the Summit of Everest

Kai Schultz wrote in the New York Times: “On a frozen lip of rock near the summit of Mt. Everest, the climber Adrian Ballinger watched as his teams’ oxygen regulators failed, one after another. Several of them hissed, swiftly expelling oxygen from cylinders carried by the hundreds of climbers who scale the world’s highest mountain every year. Others shot plumes into the sky “like fireworks,” Ballinger said. Panic spread among the 25 climbers. Of the group’s few dozen regulators, which sit atop cylinders and control the flow of oxygen, nine failed in less than an hour during their expedition last spring, he said. “This was by far my most dangerous day on the mountain,” said Ballinger, who has been leading Everest expeditions for over a decade. [Source: Kai Schultz, New York Times, April 23, 2019]

“But the peril that Mr. Ballinger’s two teams faced near the top of Everest was not an isolated incident. According to interviews and public records from the past two decades, at least 21 others have reported dangerous equipment problems, many of them pegged to leaking oxygen cylinders, malfunctioning regulators or human error made by inexperienced climbers. In interviews, guides, mountaineers and engineers said that efforts by some expedition organizers to maximize their profits had created an epidemic of old and substandard equipment being used on Everest. And they say the problem is drastically underreported.”

In the spring of 2018, “hundreds of climbers scaled Everest from two sides of the mountain in Nepal and Tibet, where the two teams led by Adrian Ballinger were thrust into exceptional danger. As their regulators failed on May 16, Ballinger scrambled to bring climbers down safely. Sherpa guides passed oxygen masks back and forth or went without them. Backup regulators were exhausted. At a lower altitude, four more regulators gave out. “This is the first time I’ve seen this,” Ballinger said, adding that the British company that manufactured the equipment, Summit Oxygen, had a good reputation. At least two other expeditions reported similar failures in Tibet. Around the same time, more failures were reported in Nepal.

“The broadcaster Ben Fogle had nearly reached Everest’s summit when two regulators from Summit Oxygen seemed to explode after they were attached to the group’s Poisk cylinders. A Sherpa and the expedition leader gave Fogle their equipment and averted a crisis. In an interview, Neil Greenwood, the managing director of Summit Oxygen, attributed the failures to high humidity on the mountain and “minuscule leaks” affecting the regulators.

“He said the problems had occurred over a short window of time and in several cases were exacerbated by climbers’ mishandling equipment. “There was a genuine issue,” he said. “We’ve put a solution in place. We’ve issued a product recall notice. It won’t happen again.” He has recently held training sessions to teach climbers how to use the equipment.

“Before his climb on Everest, Fogle had prepared himself for avalanches, earthquakes and crevasses. But the safety of oxygen systems was far from his mind, he said. “Rather naïvely,” he said, “I assumed the one thing that we humans can do very, very well is make equipment that doesn’t fail.”

Deaths and Near Deaths Related to Technical Oxygen Equipment Issues

Kai Schultz wrote in the New York Times: “The disappearance of one young British climber, Michael Matthews, then 22, near Everest’s summit in 1999 prompted questions about oxygen gear in particular. As Matthews and other members of his expedition began climbing out of base camp that April, some found that their equipment, some of which was secondhand, was leaking or dispensing no oxygen, according to court documents.But Matthews pushed forward, saying that his oxygen was fine and reaching the summit on May 13. It was the last day he was seen alive. It is thought that Matthews fell while descending during a storm.

“In 2005, his father, David Matthews, brought manslaughter charges against members of the expedition’s organizer and the oxygen gear supplier. (In England, a citizen can bring a private criminal prosecution.) But the next year, a judge threw out the case, ruling that there was no evidence proving that Michael Matthews, whose body was never found, had experienced equipment problems on the day he disappeared.

“Still, the industry remained largely unregulated, and climbers continued to report problems. Robin Moore, an American physician, was near the top of Everest in 2017 when she started gasping for air. Guides said her equipment looked fine and Moore had oxygen, but she soon fell unconscious. A Sherpa changed the cylinder, and oxygen began flowing again, snapping her awake, she said.

“In 2012, Ted Atkins, a British engineer who founded Topout, an oxygen systems company that offered one of the first competitive alternatives to Poisk, was screwing a Russian regulator onto a new European cylinder when it exploded in his face. After the accident, Atkins found that problems with oxygen systems were more pervasive than widely thought. Ten percent of used Poisk cylinders he had tested were leaking through their valves, he estimated, a striking number considering that most climbers use several cylinders each for a summit attempt.

“When Poisk introduced refillable cylinders, climbing guides began funneling used ones into a black market and cutting costs by bypassing the company for refilling and maintenance. Ashmarin said such misuse — along with the use of beat-up, expired cylinders — was the problem, rather than the gear’s design.

“Meanwhile, regulators — which help climbers gauge their oxygen supply — were sometimes freezing, dispensing no oxygen or giving inaccurate readings. More recently, Atkins found that a smaller number of cylinders were losing oxygen through the body of the tank, visible when submerged in water as gas bubbling out. “Every time you fill a cylinder, when you put the gas pressure in it, it expands,” he said in an interview with The New York Times last year. (Atkins died in an unrelated climbing accident in August.) “That expansion causes metal fatigue.”

“Ashmarin, the Poisk spokesman, said the company could not be responsible for problems occurring with equipment that the company had not performed maintenance on. He said that Poisk had not really been active in Nepal for several years, and that the company continued to warn about the risk of explosions and other problems if people use “expired or illegally refilled cylinders.” “For some expedition leaders, money comes as a priority and not safety,” Ashmarin said.

Taking Some Actions Against Oxygen Issues

Kai Schultz wrote in the New York Times: “The multimillion-dollar climbing industry has been only loosely regulated in Nepal. But now, as the spring season picks up in Nepal and Tibet, Nepal’s government is starting to take action.” In March 2019, officials announced a ban on cylinders older than 10 years, set standards for oxygen quality and said a group would be formed to inspect equipment. “It’s a serious issue,” said Mira Acharya, a tourism ministry official, adding that army personnel might be deployed to base camp to monitor teams. [Source: Kai Schultz, New York Times, April 23, 2019]

“Without serious reform, a crisis is imminent, said Dawa Steven Sherpa, the managing director of Asian Trekking, one of Nepal’s oldest climbing companies. “There is so much the market does not know about oxygen cylinders,” he said. Divas Amatya, the chief executive of S.D. Gases, a company that refills climbing cylinders in Kathmandu, said it was difficult to say how many deaths on the mountain might have been connected to equipment issues.

Nepal’s government has made little effort to investigate. Expedition organizers often leave dead climbers’ bodies — and their equipment — on the mountain, citing the challenges of retrieval. “Many don’t talk about the deaths out there, because they are afraid,” Amatya said. Worried about the safety, Amatya suggested to officials about a decade ago that old and unregistered Poisk cylinders, which are still used by many companies, be removed from the market. His recommendation was never carried out.

“Some climbing operators drag their feet when it comes to replacing old cylinders, taking them to cheap oxygen suppliers in Kathmandu or India, even if they may have expired years earlier, according to Atkins and others in the industry. Unlike newer cylinders, which are labeled with their expiration dates and rented out to ensure maintenance, older ones are often unmarked, making it difficult to discern their age.”

Surviving on High Mountains

According to mounteverest.net: No mountain is safe. The Mount Blanc area suffers 50-60 deaths every year. All mountains are unpredictable and sometimes terribly unforgiving to negligence. Beware! Take control of your situation on Everest like on any mountain; by being sensible and well prepared. The following are some of the mishaps that we have faced during our 4 years of Everest attempts: avalanches, falling rocks, crevasse falls, other falls (including getting hit by falling climber), severe exhaustion/dehydration, whiteout, hurricane at 8600 m / 27000 ft, lost tents, frostnip, AMS, pneumonia and tropical and all kinds of other infections. To the above; witnessing accidents and deaths of other climbers. The death percentage on Everest is currently around 5 percent. You can do a lot to minimize the statistics for yourself. [Source: Tom Sjogren, mounteverest.net]

1) Always have the last word on your safety. Even if you join a commercial expedition, you can't count on anyone in a dangerous situation. It's very healthy to take control of your own gear, oxygen and climbing decisions. To turn around allows for new attempts. It's wiser to fail than to die. We turned around for 3 years on Everest. Surprisingly many excellent Everest climbers have done the same. To try 3, 4 or even 5 times is more common then you would imagine. And wise if the situation calls for it. In fact, the more inexperienced the climbers, the more often will they summit on their first attempt. It's chance-taking due to unawareness of the dangers and of course it's very hazardous. You might get away once or twice with it, but it's nothing for the long-term climber. Messners summit ratio in the Himalayas was 1: 3.

2) Respect the weather. Bad weather can turn an easy, sunny climb into a horrible, fatal inferno. The change is often fast and unforgiving. Suddenly, you are blind, the wind freeze the blood in your veins, you can't think and you can't find your way anywhere! Instantly, you feel a deadly fear whilst your mind keeps falling into a helpless dizziness. You cant feel your fingers, you can't feel your toes — there is ice on the white, dying tissue of your face and the roaring wind drowns your fellow climbers' desperate yells for each other. It's too late for everything. Don't get yourself into it. Check the weather forecasts, see that you understand them, take them seriously and don't allow yourself to get false security in large numbers of climbers. On prolonged climbs, bad weather might strike unexpectedly, contrary to forecasts of fine conditions. The mountain creates its own weather, impossible to predict well by todays models and especially without a weather station on the summit. Trust forecasts for general weather system predictions, but always keep an eye on the mountain. Place fixed ropes everywhere possible. Bring a compass, provide for a security light in camp. Minimize the risk any way you can.

3) Use the ropes. Don't hurry, clip in everywhere. At technical parts, fixed with old rope, clip in to several lines at once. Almost yearly climbers die in the Himalayas due to old rope. Pull at the ropes before clipping in. Check the screws and the ropes at all times. Don't climb together with large numbers of climbers on one rope. Don't lean on the ropes too much. Use your crampons and legs on steep climbs like the Lhotse wall. For unroped sections it might be wise to tie in to each other. Learn self-arrest techniques. Some climbers prefer not to tie in with someone (if one falls the other will get pulled along). We find it worth the chance to tie in anyway, providing you and your mate know self arrest really well.

4) Drink plenty. And we mean PLENTY. High altitude health problems like headache, edema, frostbite, confusion and such are actually more often related to dehydration then lack of oxygen.

5) Know yourself. A lot of strange feelings, reactions and symptoms occur at altitude. For instance; going high causes your brain to lack oxygen. A brain short on oxygen reacts by depression. In the old ages, when people slept in four-poster beds hung with thick velvety curtains, people lacked oxygen at night. Thats why this time in history is called the "nightmare-age". It's the same phenomena. The brain reacts on oxygen depravation by nightmares at night and bad moods during the day. Going down instead floods your brain with oz and you will get euphoric. This instead can cause psychosis. In dangerous situations, we all react differently. Some freeze, some panic, some are rational. How will you react? The knowledge of different situations at altitude — and your own reactions to them — is important for your self-confidence and essential for survival.That's why experience with altitude is so important prior to an Everest climb.

6) Know your gear, oxygen and alpine medicine. How much oxygen will be needed for the attempt? How many bottles is that? On what flow? What is your backup for os-failure? How do you change the bottles? What if the regulator clogs up with ice? What will you do if you lose a crampon? How does it feel to become snow-blind? Why does it happen? Why do people with hypothermia undress and neatly fold away their clothes? Seek knowledge in books and practice. Preparation is the seed of success. On Everest — it's also the key to survival.

7) Avalanche. Whilst there are some ways to "read" the snow, and various digging techniques for avalanche situations, there is really not much to do about it. Avoid climbs following heavy snowfalls. Especially on the Lhotse wall or the North wall. Climb swiftly past the dangerous parts, don't climb the icefall too late in the day, and — well — keep your fingers crossed.

Hotel and Helipad Near Everest Base Camp?

Chinese authorities said they would begin construction on a hotel, museum and helipad — an ‘international mountaineering center’ — in Gangkar, near the Tibetan Base Camp of Mt. Everest in 2017. The US$15 million project is slated to be built at at 5,380 meters (17,650 feet) above sea level. “There will also be a mountaineering museum; rental and repair centers for cars, motorbikes and bicycles; and restaurants and accommodation,” Nyima Tsering, the deputy director of the local sports bureau, told China Daily. “Guaranteeing such services would be a major lift for the region's mountaineering and outdoor sports industry.” [Source: Hazel Plush, The Telegraph, December 14, 2016]

The mountaineering center was scheduled to open in 2019. Googling in 2021 I couldn’t find any evidence of it. Hazel Plush wrote in The Telegraph in 2016: For local hotel owners, guides, Sherpas and tour operators, the wealth that Everest tourism bestows isn’t enough to buy them gilded elevators and shopping malls, but it does give them the means to keep the wolf from the door. China Daily paints a more positive image of the center’s impact on local employment: “ [It] is aimed at growing the mountaineering industry and local economy… and will help to boost the economy by helping local farmers and nomads to find jobs and generating tourism incomes.”

“Over the years, China has tightened its grip on this potentially lucrative sliver of Tibet. In 2006 it opened the Qinghai railway, which runs from the Chinese city of Xining to Lhasa in Tibet — although it is rare to see Tibetans on board, as most are forbidden to travel in and out of the country. More recently, the government has enforced stricter regulation on Tibetan tour operators. “The Chinese suddenly said that local companies weren’t allowed to own private Land Cruisers to transport tourists around any more,” says Steve Berry, managing director of Mountain Kingdoms — a British tour company which specialises in Himalayan trekking trips. “Instead, the cars would be owned by the government, and companies would have to rent them. They love regulation like this.”

“With its new tourist center, Base Camp may, in theory, be do-able in a day trip on a tarmac road — but it could well be the last day trip you take. At 5,380 meters above sea level, it is dangerously high for the unacclimatised visitor. “I wonder how many of the tourists are going to drop dead on arrival,” says Stephen Venables, a celebrated mountaineer and writer and the first Briton to summit Everest without oxygen. At 5,380 meters, oxygen levels are dangerously low and the human body needs time to acclimatise. He also said, “I wonder how much the Tibetan people — as opposed to their Han Chinese overlords — will actually benefit from all this...Everest is Asia’s Matterhorn — a fat milch cow which gives and gives.”

“According to China Daily, the development will include a helipad, and authorities “will cooperate with the Nepalese authorities... to facilitate helicopter rescue services” — a noble cause, and potentially useful for the local community to help them access outside medical supplies and provisions. Not everyone is convinced. “I suspect that the helipad will be mostly used for hoiking out tourists with altitude sickness,” says British mountaineer and expert Everest guide Kenton Cool. “I fear that people who are on a tight time scale will rush in, so a helipad is probably mandatory to get people out who fall sick.”

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Nepal Tourism Board (ntb.gov.np), Nepal Government National Portal (nepal.gov.np), The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Wikipedia and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated February 2022